Ever since I was a little girl I’ve felt homesick for places I’d never been. Whenever a European city would flash across my TV screen I got a rush of nostalgia in my chest that I still feel to this day when I think about certain places. I was lucky enough to grow up in a wonderful family that I am still incredibly close with; however, they lacked the sense of urgency that I had to see the world, outside of the occasional family holiday in Hawaii or Disneyland. So when I turned eighteen and moved out on my own, I knew exactly what to do with my new found freedom — start planning my first big Europtrip! And boy, was it a let down.

I will go more into detail about that particular trip eventually on the journal section of this blog, but to summarize: I learned that trying to see six countries in six weeks was a very bad idea, and that fast paced, unplanned travel is not for me. I decided that going forward in my travels I would prioritize quality over quantity, and developed a strict one-country-per-trip policy.

I hope that my villain origin story will help at least one person to avoid making the same mistake that I did with what I call my EuroSprint, and instead consider something more slow-paced. I also want to be clear there is nothing wrong with this style of fast paced, chaotic travel if that’s what you actually enjoy and you know what you’re getting yourself into. But that’s not what this page is about.