Traveling Solo (and Meeting New Friends in Unconventional Ways)

Prague marked the second time I have traveled truly solo. The first was in Italy (Sorrento, Positano, and Capri).

I love traveling solo. In fact, I'm glad Kristen touched on this recently. There is something exhilarating about traveling by yourself and HAVING to push outside of your comfort zone to meet new people and create interesting experiences.

The picture above shows you two of those people I met while in Prague. One of the best ways to meet other travelers is to join a free walking tour. Usually these tours just expect a tip at the end, but it's not required. Funny enough, the tour group I was on was a tad stoic, save a couple of guys I noticed that were joking and having a good time. I chatted intermittently with them, and by the end of the tour I asked, "Hey, do you guys want to grab some lunch with me?"

They said yes, and not only did we get some lunch, we went beer tasting. I learned that they lived in South Africa, but were both originally from Zambia and Zimbabwe. I also listened as they explained that they were annoyed the black culture in the U.S. identifies themselves as "African American." Interesting perspective from two guys in Africa! I explained that everyone in the States comes from another country, and we identify with that heritage. We talked about the avid stereotypes Americans hear/say/believe about Africa, i.e., "Eat your food, Bob, some child in Africa is starving right now!" We all laughed at that overused saying. Especially because both of these blokes were doing just as well as me financially (if not better). Talk about busting stereotypes! As we were walking around Prague, I joked that they were my bodyguards. A lot of laughter was had.

And this. This is why I love solo travel! To have these conversations with people I would never normally meet. To become enlightened in another way of thinking. These are the travel moments I live for.