I’m taking a break from writing past stories. I’m going to write from the present and remain up to date with my current situation. When travelling before COVID, I made the mistake of delaying my writing each and every day to the point where I have actually forgotten some of the great stories I had to share. So now I’m in Leipzig, Germany, and I’d like to share how I got here.
If you read my previous posts throughout the quarantine period, you could probably tell I didn’t cope with it so great.
Actually, it wasn’t the coping of quarantine I had an issue with, but more so that I was back where I started, back where I’d tried to run away from once already.
I’ve heard people say you shouldn’t run away from your problems, as they’ll only follow you.
This is if the problem is you… or me.
Maybe that is the case.
But I can only find out by leaving and discovering what follows.
Once I returned to the UK I started purchasing more hiking equipment, a new bag, camping equipment – effectively a better-equipped survival bag.
When I left back in September, it was packed with many non-essentials, like fifteen t-shirts, warm fluffy socks and four pairs of footwear.
Maybe I should do a post on what I travel with now… hmm.
I tried to keep in some regular contact with friends and on several occasions, I facetimed my good Aussie friend Viv, whom I met in Slovakia.
We usually spoke about Serbia and how relaxed the quarantine was/is and how the Balkan lifestyle could suit what I’m looking for.
Then, whilst speaking with my German friend Laura, whom I met in Italy, I was informed that Germany was also pretty chill.
I’d been thinking long and hard about travelling around the UK, but honestly, I just don’t think British people are people that I really want to be around.
In fact when I meet other British people on the road, I’m kinda not happy. It’s hard to explain.
Things were on edge at home. I was desperate to go somewhere. Anywhere.
The farms in the UK were taking too long to respond and so Laura became my saviour.
I finished packing my bag on the 30th June 2020.
I flew out to Hamburg on the 1st July 2020.
Germany is great at the moment. There isn’t so much propaganda about COVID and the mask requirements are slowly being lifted – which is strange because most countries seem to be increasing the necessity of wearing a mask.
I’ve visited Hamburg before, but this time I saw a different side. Last time I was near Hamburg’s red-light party street and the surrounding area was all restaurants, bars and hotels.
So it was nice to see a quieter side of the city walking through parks, speaking to the ducks and checking out local markets.
Like most places, the markets are the best places to get food, in terms of quality and probably actually price.
2nd July 2020
Laura was obviously still living her normal life, working and studying, so we couldn’t do too much in the first couple of days, but we went to a Korean restaurant.
Laura also had her first ever Oreo milkshake and admits of a possible new addiction.
3rd July 2020
We went out shopping for ingredients to bake bread and cinnamon buns. Personally, I don’t bake much, but Laura has some real skills.
We also went to a vegan cafe for lunch. Laura made several attempts to misguide me from the true carnivore way.
The carnivore diet was something I started in 2019 and felt some fantastic changes in relation to my mind and body, although whilst travelling it’s incredibly difficult to sustain and so I fell out of touch with the strict diet.
Sometimes I find a light meal such as a small salad is great for lunch and keeping up productivity. Eating a huge meal just puts me to sleep.
We went to a small party in the apartment above Laura’s in the evening.
I got pretty drunk at the party and posed for some pretty embarrassing pictures.
Damn I lost a lot of weight during the lock-down. In fact I am incredibly underweight here. I weighed just 60kg before leaving the UK
4th July 2020
Incredibly hungover. Laura was working all day, so I stayed in all day watching Jurassic Park – which I referenced in my article about decision making – and The Green Mile.
I’ve never seen The Green Mile before, but its actually a very good movie. So good that I ended up watching it again with Laura when she got home.
The same three hour movie twice in one day. Terrible.
5th July 2020
It was time to leave. I’d organised a Workaway, house-sitting in Leipzig, Germany – Which is where I am now.
Laura wanted to show me some local Hamburg food, so we went to Brücke 10 and I had Fischbrötchen.
The only issue with this, was that I had fish breath.
Really bad fish breath.
And I had a six hour roadtrip in a full blablacar to Leipzig.
Fortunately I was able to buy some mints, before I met with them.
The trip was nice. The drivers were a young German couple and we talked about the possibility of swimming in the lakes, though we never managed to meet up, which was a shame.
I eventually arrived at David and Peter’s house in Leipzig, by a final tram ride. I will write of that experience separate to keep these posts short.
As ever, thanks for reading and I hope I have inspired you to make strong exact decisions. Things have a way of working themselves out if you sail in the direction you desire.
I don’t actually feel like I had a break between leaving Italy and now being in Germany. The UK wasn’t comfortable for me. It certainly doesn’t feel like home anymore.
Right now, I feel happy carrying my home on my back.
