Epilogue
I knew leaving Sri Lanka that my big, multi-month journey was coming to an end, and my mind had already started to think about what life might look like once I return home. Rather than insist on being an adventurer until the very end, I decided the best use of my time was to more gently acclimatise myself back to normal life. To let my mind to wander to what comes next, to allow myself mornings researching at a laptop, and still have time to explore new places on my way back. I decided to visit Germany. Closer to the UK both culturally and geographically, and also home to a few friends I'd met on my travels who I was excited to reconnect (and, to the relief of my suffering bank account, stay for free) with. I visited several places in Germany, but it didn't feel right to write a blog post about each - in Germany I felt less like an adventurer and more like a part-time digital nomad - but it remains a part of the journey I'd like to remember. Here then, is the epilogue.
I managed to see a real mix of what Germany has to offer. Darmstadt, Carla's home, has some really beautiful and was delightfully untouristy. Meeting Carla's friends and joining the pride (or "Christopher's Street Day" in Germany) events there were a window back in to normal life, a welcome change after months of very un-normal life. A day trip to Heidelberg showed me an utterly stunning (but as a result, much more touristy) example of a small west German city. Erfurt was even smaller, but very sweet to walk around with beautiful architecture and a surprisingly tasteful opera themed hostel - much better than I expected for what I could afford! Then to Dresden, which was a real change - big imposing baroque architecture all over the old city, huge buildings with a heavy, dark beauty to them. Finally, Berlin, home to Luke and Nanna, and a place which absolutely is (as people had told me previously) "a big east London". Tattoos, Warehouses, unique fashion, a place of real history, a place of techno clubs.
Along the way I experienced much German culture. I was delayed multiple times on hot trains with no air conditioning - something I have learned is an essential part of the German experience. I played flunkyball and rage cage (German drinking games) and danced all night in a Berlin techno club, of course after the group were deemed not cool enough to enter our first choice. There was of course much food: käsespätzel (cheesy thick German noodles), brat- and currywurst (classics I'm always happy to try again), pork neck in a black beer sauce with Thüringer klöße (local potato dumplings, the sauce was fantastic), the bread that Germans hold so dear (the Laugen bread [the same dough used to make pretzels] was my favourite, but it's still got nothing on focaccia [sorry Germans]), multiple Berlin döners (much better quality meat that in the UK, a totally acceptable lunchtime food), and of course a selection of excellent German beers.
It was probably with a mixture of sadness and excitement that I boarded a plane back to London. Honestly though, I could barely detect either as those feelings were thoroughly overshadowed by an extreme long term exhaustion. I'm proud of my body for pushing hard and keeping up with my adventurous nature for so long, but after 8 months (exactly - to the day!) of bad sleep, constant time zone changes and no real personal space, I can feel my body crying out for a proper rest. It will take it a while to fully recover from everything I've put it through, but it starts with a night of good sleep in a room to myself.
One of the questions I get asked a lot is whether I got what I wanted from my time away. I absolutely did. My main objective was simply to tick off an item that has been on my bucket list for years: long term travel. I had the gap year I didn't take when I was younger, and I think I was probably able to appreciate more of the land, culture and experiences than I would have done back then. If anything, with age I've become bolder. Snowboarding, skydiving, surfing and scuba diving were some of the real highlights of my trip, and the last two show I also completed a secondary objective I had at the start: to become more comfortable in water. Indeed, I wasn't great at surfing but I've now logged 30 dives and have completed my PADI Advanced Open Water Diver qualification. I wasn't planning on snowboarding at the start of the trip, but I really enjoyed it and I hope to be able to improve my skills in future.
I also learned though that I don't need to ever travel for so long again. Don't get me wrong - I thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip, and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have such an adventure. But after 3-4 months I was really, really tired, and while with a little rest I managed to get my energy back, I don't think I ever rediscovered the energy and the enthusiasm I had at the start. It's only human nature that the eighteenth waterfall you see will never be as impressive as the first, and once culture shock and incredible natural beauty become normalised, the challenges of travel become less hidden by the excitement. I'm glad I did it this way - I've learned something about myself, and my bucket list is one item lighter. If I ever get the opportunity to do this again, I'd go for shorter bursts of a few months at a time.
Of course, all good things must come to an end. I felt ready to return home, to rest, recover and make a fresh start on a new chapter of life. Yet as I type these final sentences, no matter how ready I feel, it's difficult to say goodbye. 8 months, 9 countries, 65 places. It's been a hell of a journey. So long. Farewell. See you soon.