England
Reading time: 8 minutes
Themes: Adventure, exploration
08 June
[By all accounts, I was a kid when I first traveled abroad - that much is clear looking back now. At the time, I felt as grown up as I’d ever been, and I suppose I was. I decided to travel to Europe on a whim, as my trips often have been ever since. I was eighteen years old and struggling in life. I am a child of divorce and my turbulent family dynamic translated into every other facet of my life, even though I didn’t realize it then. I had loved and pushed love away. Pulled close to people and burned bridges. I adventured out of my comfort zone and retreated into solitude. I didn’t care much for school even though I was intelligent because I knew I had no interest in going to college. I can’t remember the first time I realized that college wasn’t in my future, but it was young - all I knew was that I wanted to have my own company and be in as much control of my life as possible, and college didn’t seem like the avenue to attain that.
In the fall of my senior year of high school, I was working as a pizza delivery driver in the (then) small town of Erie, Colorado. Though the Columbian family that owned it was borderline sociopathic, I didn't mind it. It was close to home and laid back, and I had a crush on one of the other girls that worked there. I’ve always been a hard worker and an entrepreneur. I know what it takes to get what I want and how much effort I have to put in. I spent that year saving every dollar of tips and income that I got and working extra hours where I could. When I wasn’t working, I was scouring the internet for travel destinations along my route, printing out maps and other things, and gluing them into a black-and-white composition notebook. To this day, that notebook is one of my most treasured pieces of memorabilia, filled with quotes, drawings, and inspiration.]
I hugged my crying mother and brother goodbye at Denver International Airport. I was sad but did not doubt that I was doing exactly what I needed to do. I felt in every bone of my body that my heart yearned for adventure and growth. I had a check-in scare immediately at the airport that was quickly resolved, and after a layover in Salt Lake and Vancouver, I landed at London-Gatwick Airport in the late morning. I remember feeling the sharp pain in my shoulders for the first time as I hauled my sixty-pound hiking backpack on my back and camera bag on my chest through the London Underground to Victoria Station. When I got off the train, I had to walk another half mile to my Couchsurfing host, Giovanni’s flat, where I tried to sleep off the new sensation of jetlag for three or four hours.
09 - 10 June
I had never been the beneficiary of free travel accommodation before and throughout my first Europe trip, I learned a lot about what is expected of me and how to show my appreciation. Giovanni was an amazing first host; a warm, graying man in his sixties who generously shared his space and finances to show travelers just what his city has to offer. Also staying at Giovanni’s place was a young, intellectual German teen barely older than me named Vincent and an Estonian entrepreneur in his late twenties named Jaan Matti. I had never heard of Estonia before meeting Jaan Matti but that would change quickly. The three of us had a lot in common and fed off of each other in conversation as Giovanni listened and chimed in thoughtfully and articulately. We talked about each other's homes and cultures. I was exposed to new ideas and opinions that I hadn't received much of back home - luckily I was perceptive and interested in learning rather than enforcing my opinions so that's what I did.
My first day in England was spent embracing culture. Giovanni showed us some of his favorite spots to eat around Paddington. He treated us to an Italian dinner at his local spot and we shared a bottle of wine to celebrate my first legal drinking experience at eighteen. We went out to a pub nearby afterward where a local musician was performing the familiar sound of Wonderwall by Oasis. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face hearing a song I've taken for granted my whole life being sung live thousands of miles from home - it sounded different at that moment. Giovanni retired after a couple of hours and left Vincent, Jaan Matti, and I to ourselves. We bought some cigars at a local shop and walked around talking and laughing. It quickly became apparent that London has hundreds of rentable-bike stations. We rented a few and road all over town for hours, cycling through metro alleys and streets, passing iconic landmarks such as Big Ben, Hungerford/Golden Jubilee Bridges, and a hidden spot under Westminster Bridge that I had seen in a photo on Instagram. It was a surreal experience sitting on a ledge over the River Thames, smoking cigars with my new friends, in a city I'd only seen in photos.
The next day was filled with sightseeing, drinking, and late-night adventures. In the morning, Vincent and I biked over to Buckingham Palace and saw the Queen's birthday ceremony. We pushed through the bustling streets to the River Thames lookout from the night before so I could get a photo then watched some street shows with these two German girls we met at the London Eye. Unfortunately, neither of us dared to get their numbers which we later regretted. Vincent and I rode all the way across town to the east side of the Brick Lane area and caught a street art tour. I learned about the iconic artist Banksy and got to see some of their original pieces. V and I grew bored quite quickly, however, and ditched out of the tour quietly to grab a street-vendor burger. I'll never forget the freedom I felt biking back to Giovanni's flat through bustling European traffic. We bobbed and weaved as fast as we could in unison and somehow made it home alive and without a honk or middle finger.
We got back to Paddington and changed quickly as Giovanni was treating us to a meal atop The Shard, the second tallest structure in England. It was the fanciest meal I've ever had, and I felt severely underdressed as I ate the platter of duck that G ordered and sipped on my cucumber cocktail. Jaan Matti and I laughed in the bathroom as we envisioned "pissing on London" from the thirty-second-floor urinal view. We had tons of great conversations about climate change and US culture that evening that left me more open-minded and understanding of how vastly different the European lifestyle is from my own. The most common theme, however, upon reflecting on my journal from that trip, was how similar we all are. I wrote several times during my time there about how stunned I was at the similarities between us despite our vast cultural differences. That realization has never left me.
After dinner, we went to a pub and thanked Giovanni as he went home. That evening I sat on an overlook of the River Thames with Jaan Matti and Vincent enjoying our beers. It was quiet, and the air was cool. We sat there talking and wondering how it was possible to feel so close to each other after meeting only two days before. I'll never forget that moment. We took an Uber home a little while later, but V and I were not ready for bed. Vincent told me a famous DJ was playing at Egg London Nightclub near the Market Estate suburb. Our only option, given it, was one or two in the morning, was the rental bikes. We embarked and road through the night of London, alternating single file and then side-by-side to talk depending on where we were. A clear memory burned into my psyche of that night, riding home after we arrived, and the line was preposterous, so we decided to turn back. We rode an hour home as the sun rose through the dark, quiet neighborhood streets that felt eerie yet beautiful. We had no fear, just the spirit of adventure and companionship. We got in at four in the morning and awoke around three in the afternoon to a semi-angry Giovanni stirring us awake after having returned home from work to us still sleeping.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
11 - 13 June
After being awoken in the afternoon, I didn't have a ton of time left in the day, but I made the most out of it by going on a Jack the Ripper tour with Jaan Matti. We met with the tour at Tower Hill Tram. I loved this part of London - it was clear that it was a business sector, but it felt extremely clean and friendly. We had a burger and some ice cream together and enjoyed the area. Afterward, we went to a pub and got a beer then walked around looking for a famous Banksy painting which we found in a popular club called Cargo which unfortunately isn't around anymore. We got hassled by a guy outside to buy a caricature which we eventually conceded to. Jaan Matti and I had a fantastic day together one-on-one and got to pick each other's brains. The next day I caught up on my sleep and photography. I cycled back to Westminster to document all the sites I had missed being present the past few days. I also had an unexpected run-in with the finish of a naked cycling race which, at eighteen, was pretty awesome. I remember quietly editing my footage back in Giovanni's flat by the window as the rain fell softly on the window. It was beautiful. That evening we patronized a local pub to watch England v Russia in the UEFA Cup 2016 (which was on during most of my visit to Europe). Note to self: Guinness is way better on tap than in a can.
At five-thirty in the morning, I sat in St. Pancras International train station in London to depart from England to Brussels reminiscing on the first foreign city I had ever been to. London, in a lot of ways, felt welcoming, and I now know that the majority of my ancestral roots are from there. I could feel that in a way that I didn't know how to articulate - I just knew I loved it. To this day it is still my favorite city, and I will forever be grateful for my short but eventful time there.
Thanks to Giovanni for your accommodation and hospitality and Jaan Matti and Vincent for your friendship and all the memories.
