Go on a trip alone? Doesn’t that seem kind of boring? Well, sometimes traveling by yourself allows for opportunities and flexibility that you normally would not have while traveling with friends.

This past weekend, I had no concrete plans, and many of my friends decided to go to Austria. To be quite honest, at times I can be introverted, and I like time to myself. On a whim, I decided that I wanted to visit Berchtesgaden, which is on the extreme southern tip of Germany, in the Alps! I don’t know how familiar you are with history, but it’s a really small mountain town, and it is where Hitler had his “Eagle’s Nest”, which was basically a beautiful summer home on top of a mountain with an amazing view of the Alps. The guy knew a good getaway.

Berchtesgaden in the morning

My plan was to visit the Eagle’s Nest, but I found that it was closed for the winter. However, I am not easily deterred and decided not to let that stop me! I love hiking and mountain climbing, especially alone and with my family, so I decided to hike up to the top. I was told that the only way to get up is by driving to a certain point, then taking a gold-plated elevator. Right.

I did a lot of scouting out the area on Saturday, and found that there really are no trails to the top. Most of it is private property, but I snuck around anyways. The view was incredible! Couple that with a sun and temperatures in the mid 60s, and you have a perfect weekend.

Even though I love to write, sometimes I just cannot come up with enough adjectives to describe what I’ve seen.  Take a look at these photos, and you can see what I mean!

Hiking in the Alps

Because I was alone and could really dive into my passion for hiking, I dedicated the weekend to it and hiked 12 or 13 miles. Although, traveling alone opens up opportunites that I never would have imagined!

Since I was traveling alone, on Saturday night I decided to find a restaurant for a quick bite, then off to bed early for another day of hiking. I found this place that seemed cozy, so I went in. It was kind of crowded, so the waitress pointed me to this large table, with a couple at one end of it. It is not uncommon for strangers to sit at the same big tables in old-style restaurants in Bavaria, but often the two parties would simply exchange formalities and not converse. This time it was much different.

I ordered some food and a beer, and the couple started talking with me. Soon, we were talking about economics, soccer, and the hotel that they own in Austria. Soon enough, a whole bunch of their friends came by the table and sat down, all in their late 50s or early 60s. They were extremely friendly and we talked, half in German and English about anything and everything.

It turns out that I was at a special table, called “Stammtisch”. Basically, it’s reserved every night for a certain group of people, and it is quite an honor to sit at that table. Essentially, only the respected people of Berchtesgaden sit there. But here I was, and they were kind of having the “good old boys” routine going, and it was super fun! Then, the waiter slid a shot over to me, and one of them nodded his head to me. They taught me that it was a tradition in the town to drink a shot of this particular vodka after every meal. They ended up buying me more food and drinks. And I found out that Hitler would sometimes come to the place years ago. What a night!

So if you have thought about traveling alone, give it a try. It is not nearly as scary as you may think, and it gives you the flexibility and opportunity that you never could have imagined!