interrail 2019

I'm back from just under 2 weeks of interailing around Europe with my best friend, Ambra. Possibly the most wonderful weeks of my life. We flew to Berlin then took trains to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, flew to Milan, took a train to Lago di Como and then back to Milan before our flight back to London.

It's my second day back in the UK and there's this feeling of longing that I can't shake off. I am totally going to be that wanker that brings up their interrail trip in almost every conversation, but it really did have a huge impact on me which I will never be able to shed. The shit moments like transport fines, sexual assault, missed trains (and ambra's insistence on tomato pasta) are all glazed with a beautifully glossy sheen of longing and nostalgia for the chaos and thrill of new places, people, smells and experiences. Even the Billie Eilish album I had to play to sleep at our Budapest party hostel is tinged with an extra layer of meaning.

This trip was a personal triumph of some sort too.

I ticked off bucket-list cities, dragged Ambra to new museums, saw beautiful cathedrals and government buildings, sat in the grass under the sunshine, tried disappointing food but laughed about it after, realised I cannot speak a word of German, got caught in a storm with only a map of Berlin as shelter, fare-dodged, slept in a medieval building in the middle of the hills of a regional park, made the first move with friendships, met up with two uni friends in Vienna and Budapest who just happened to be in the same place at the same time by chance, swam in thermal baths, had stunning bus and train journeys, sat on the steps of a national library till 4am, had weird nights out *ahem Berlin*, opened up about love, sex, friendships, uni, changed into a bikini in the middle of a small street and dove head-first into a lake and was left breathless, learnt to keep myself calm in moments of intense stress (which I'm sure Dalal from last November will be glad about), stood up to cat-callers and sexual harassers, ate the most amazing pancakes, got absolutely mauled by Italian mosquitos, experienced true sleep deprivation, bought post cards, had many hair crises, opened my uni results surrounded by the mountains and got a solid 2.1 in my first year, deepened a relationship...fell in love, did a lot of self-reflection, appreciated this journey I was on, stayed in hostels for the first time and adored every moment of it and just did a shit tonne of learning and living. Oh, there is so much more to say but I wouldn't want to bore you all. And to think I was hesitant about going...

The possibility of travel diaries for each destination is still there. I didn't take many photos on my DSLR so you'd have to deal with my phone camera... I don't know if I'd do them like actual travel guides (but if you do happen to go to a city that we did, just DM me and I'll send you everything I know and would recommend.) Maybe I'll share stories from each city and what made them memorable. I think that's more 'me'.

I'm going to finish this here because I have this weird restless feeling in me which I have no idea how to deal with. I thought writing would help but it is still here. I'll try and actually write into a journal or something. Ah man, even opening google maps and seeing the blue dot in London is depressing me.

I can't wait to develop my film and share more on here.

Love from Dalal