Backpacks and Trains by Nick Clarke

This summer I spent 2 months backpacking around Europe and I experienced some amazing things. Traveling is one of the most amazing things one can do and it can open your eyes to the world like nothing else imaginable. Being able to experience people from different cultures, backgrounds and religions was such a learning experience, something that cannot be taught in the classroom. I started my trip in the U.K., stopping of in London, Devon, and Edinburgh, Scotland. I had lived in England for 4 years so it was not my first time there but I dont rememeber anything from living there so seeing it again was a great experience. After Scotland my girlfriend and I flew to Paris where we began our actual backpacking. Paris was amazing but very hectic and being our first city was a little overwhelming but our next destination San Sebastian, Spain was the most amazing place I have ever been. A total beach town with a chill surf culture, this place was all about relaxing on the beach and hiking the near by mountains. Next was Barcelona which had amazing skateboarding and tapas but we were only there for 2 days which was a shame. Afeter a 24 hour train ride we arrived in Cinque Terra Italy on my 21st birthday and this place had the most amazing views I have ever seen in my whole life. Made up of 5 small towns right on the coast, you could sit and eat authentic Italian food right above waves crashing on the rocks below. The craziest thing done on my trip happened at our next location, Zermatt, Switzerland where we went snowboarding on the Matterhorn, the tallest mountain in Europe. This was the most unbelievable experience and standing below this monster of a mountain I felt one of the more spiritual sensations of my life. The end of our trip we were a bit pampered because we met my girlfriends parents in Greece and they treated us to 10 days in the Greek islands complete with fancy resorts and endless drink tabs. This was obviously amazing but i would trade that in a second for the feeling you get traveling by yourself, with no plan, not a whole lot of money and endless possibilities.