This past weekend was so special to me because I went on my first solo trip! Normally if I am traveling by myself, I am going somewhere to meet family or friends. However, this time, I was going to a different country with the freedom to do whatever I'd like.
For my first destination, I chose to go to Vienna, Austria! Vienna is a beautiful city only an hour by plane from Berlin. I only booked my tickets to travel 2 days before I left but once I got to the city, I felt super comfortable with my weekend plans
Here's a little overview of my trip!
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| The Hofburg Imperial Palace |
I landed in the city around 8:00am so I had the whole day to explore. I planned on using my first day to explore the Museumquartier. This is where a lot of the museums in Vienna are. I went to 3 main attractions on the first day: The Hofburg Imperial Palace, The Imperial Burial Vault, and The State Hall of the Austrian National Library. The museums were truly breathtaking for a history geek like myself!
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| Fresco in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library |
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| The Hofburg Imperial Palace |
I also walked around the outsides of Staatsoper, The Art History Museum, and the Maria Teresa Monument.
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| The Art History Museum and the Maria Teresa Monument |
For the next day in Vienna, I went to explore Schönbrunn Palace and the Tiergarten Schönbrunn. Fun fact: the Tiergarten Schönbrunn is the oldest zoo in the world!
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| The Palace |
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| Yes, I saw a capybara and it was the best thing ever |
During my time at the palace, I had a photoshoot planned in the gardens with Amr Ebeid though Airbnb Experiences! Amr was a wonderful photographer and he gave me a great mini tour of the palace grounds. The scenery and views absolutely blew me away.
Just like that, 2 days in Vienna flew by in a blink of an eye and I was on my plane heading back to Berlin!
Tips for a first time solo traveler!
I feel like I picked up a lot of good tips and tricks as a first time solo traveler myself.
1) Put yourself out of your comfort zone!
Whenever I am doing something new, I always liked to have a "safety net" just incase I do something wrong the first time or until I get the hang of it. Going to Vienna alone was a huge step for me as a traveler and a person. It made me realize I shouldn't be scared to get out of my comfort zone.
2) PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!
As a solo traveler, you don't want to get to your destination and be completely lost. You should do some research before hand to have a tentative itinerary of what you wanted to do there. Remember, you can always tweak your plan once you get there!
3) Keep in touch with your family back home!
Before I left on Friday, I made sure to send all of my plane, hotel and activity information to a few family members back home. I also texted them often to keep them in the loop with what I was doing abroad to keep track of where I was. Safety first!
4) Don't be afraid to meet new people!
I really tried to communicate to as many locals and fellow travelers as possible. This is great advice because it gives you the opportunity to find people with similar exploring interests and gives you someone to talk to while traveling solo! Over the course of the trip I met my photographer, a super nice guy at a restaurant and another girl in my hostel from Florida! Put yourself out there!
5) Enjoy!
God has given me this blessed opportunity to be able to travel at such a young age, so I want to take advantage of it in as many ways as possible. For me, solo traveling was a chance for me to explore myself and explore the city as I wanted to on my own schedule. Make sure you soak up all of the memories you make (aka don't be afraid to take a lot of SELFIES!)
The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of opportunity. -Leonard Ravenhill
-Jenna
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