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.

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!

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!

Couch Surfing, in its most basic definition, is essentially spending a night in a stranger’s house, which they offer for free. You find them through the couch surfing website, where both you and they have a profile.

Before I go any further, I would like to say to my mother, who is likely more than a little worried at this point that couch surfing is a very legitimate way to be housed for the night and is quite safe. I am convinced that she believes I do the craziest things, but is not really surprised. Pastor Chris sent me a quick email, saying that he added me to the prayer list and that my mom told him that if I went to the moon, she wouldn’t be surprised. Just so long as I call home when I get there.

Even so, there is little worry about couch surfing. On the website, www.couchsurfing.org, both people who are willing to open their homes and people looking for a place to stay create profiles about themselves and what they are looking for. The homeowner describes their home, when it is available and usually about themselves and what kind of people they want to host. They also include what the sleeping accommodations are like. The traveler creates a similar profile, about who they are, where they come from, and where they are going. The homeowner can then accept or reject a request from the traveler.

Almost every place we looked at in Saarbrücken (in Saarland, which is bordering France and Rhineland-Pfalz) seemed fine. Well….except for one. This particular guy wrote that he is only looking for hosting guys, you would sleep in the same room as him, and he requests “interesting and curious men”. No thank you.

It turned out that couch surfing was the best choice we made. Our host Elen met us at the train station and gave us a ride to her place, which was much appreciated after trekking all day with our heavy backpacking packs. She took us around the city and told us the places of interest, good bars and clubs, and some historical background. We even got to go into Saarland’s parliament and sit in the state president’s seat. Awesome.

Matt and I, who had to work on a class project on Saarland, arrived at about noon. We were a bit curious about how Elen could be spending so much time with people that she just met on a work day. It turns out that she is a police officer in the city, and was working later that night. Well Mom, you don’t needn’t worry about my safety on this trip!

The three of us went to a beer garden and chatted about the differences of life in America and Germany. Elen has never been to America, and even as a cop she could not believe that just about anyone can own a gun. Hurray second amendment! As a thank you for hosting us, we bought her dinner at a nice restaurant with amazing local food. I had about the best sauerkraut in my life.

Afterwards, Elen left for work and we headed on back home, and turned in for the night. She was asleep in the morning, but bought us French baguettes with chocolate on and in them. She was very thoughtful.
One more difference between America and Germany: as I hopped into the shower, I realized that the hot water heater was literally on the wall above the tub. As you turn the hot water on, you can see the flames heating the water. Strange.

Our trip to Saarbrücken was very pleasant, mostly due to Elen’s kindness. I would certainly recommend couch surfing if you are looking to save some money and want to meet new people. Possibly not for the faint of heart, but Mom knows that has never been me.