Solo Trip To Scotland

Scotland is surrounded by magic. The Highlands are so wild, distant, calm and carefree. Everyone is nice and smiles at passersby on the street. The sky is constantly changing. A grey day can easily be replaced by a bright day. In every corner you will find a river, a waterfall or a lake. You can even find all three together. The sound of the trickling water envelops you on all sides, combining endless spaces and changing landscapes. The sense of wildness of nature is felt. Even the old buildings and castles blend in with the wild and make a legendary landscape. This is a perfect place for a solo trip.

 I flew alone because I chose to fly solo.

There is something about being completely alone in a foreign land. It is like magic in the air that gives a feeling that anything can happen, the feeling that all options are spread out before you and you are the only master to yourself. You can do what you want, when you want and for as long as you want. When you are alone, the timing of things is more accurate and fun. You pay more attention to the small details and you have the opportunity to deal with everything yourself.

I could clearly see how my frequency was reflected in my reality and how I was the only one influencing it. The timing of the buses was just right for me. I did not stand in lines and arrived just in time everywhere. Continuing the magic, whenever I needed to pre-book a spot there was only one place left and it was always for me. I took four flights full of people and on every flight I had a row of seats to myself – magic! Every thought that I had  happened quickly in reality. I felt lucky, lucky that I had listened to myself and flown to Scotland and lucky to experience all the synchronicities I was experiencing and fortunate to have met the people I was meeting.

But in fact the thing I am most appreciative of is that everywhere I went, I felt at home. I felt a sense of belonging.

I am happy that I feel at home anywhere I go. It is reassuring to know that I do not need time to get used to a particular place or to take in the atmosphere. I just find peace everywhere, especially surrounded by nature and even more so when the place is new and unfamiliar. Something in the adventure awakens me and helps me settle in quickly. At the end of the day we all spend the most time with ourselves. It is important to just feel comfortable with yourself and adapt to different situations.

On one particular track that I did, I felt a feeling that I had not felt for a long time.

It’s pretty hard to put into words, but it was “dizzying”. I had had such a feeling many times when I was a little girl. For instance while looking up, I would feel that I was so small compared to the sky and that it was going to fall on me. The vastness made me dizzy. During the track I was alone in the middle of a huge field, surrounded by impressive mountains rising to heights, lakes and waterfalls on all sides and skies adorned with mesmerizing clouds.

And I? I was so small in the face of that spectacle, in the face of such powerful nature. Alone in the wilderness. I was facing Creation. Standing and absorbing all that goodness. I felt as though in the next moment the earth was going to swallow me up or that the sky was going to fall on me because I had invaded its serenity.
 

The biggest surprise of my trip was that I actually enjoyed eating alone.

The truth is that whenever I saw people eating alone, my heart contracted, but still when I sat down alone I did not feel as bad or as strange as I thought I would. It was refreshing, my eating was slower and more peaceful. I was in no hurry to disappear from the restaurant, nor was I hurt when I was asked three times if I was going to dine alone and then the extra cutlery was removed from the table.

It was fun and refreshing to be alone. All the options were spread out before me, like slices of a huge chocolate cake that was all mine. Another significant advantage was that there was no need to develop small talk to fill the silence. I could just enjoy it and the space it provided.

The only thing that bothered me was that the places I visited had an allocated time.

I had booked hotels in advance, so after a few days I had to leave the Highlands and move on to the capital. It’s not that Edinburgh wasn’t a fun city, I had a great time there. I just did not feel like I had exhausted the Highlands and I would have probably stayed there longer if I hadn’t had to move on to the next hotel.

I was delighted to find that I remembered a lot of the streets of Edinburgh and that I was quite familiar with them. The most important thing in my opinion when traveling alone in a big city is the ability to convey that everything is fine and that you know exactly where you are going. So I always walked with the height of confidence, even though I wasn’t exactly sure if I needed to turn left or right. At this point, I would like to thank the inventor of the ingenious invention – Google Maps.

I actually discovered on this trip that I have good navigational abilities. I remember the turns I make or need to make and I am able to reach my destination quickly.

The only problem was that it got dark early so it felt like there was a lot to do in only a few hours of daylight.

Walking alone in the dark in a foreign country is not always pleasant. There are places where it is really unsafe, but in Scotland it felt different. Of course the capital city has all kinds of people so it’s not really an exact science, but I did not let it stop me or prevent me from seeing everything I wanted to see. This is one of the reasons I chose to sleep in a central place, so I would be relatively close to everything.

I did not just choose Scotland, I knew I would feel most comfortable and safe there. Not just because I had already been there a few years before, but also because the people there are nice. The main reason that I returned to Scotland is that it is just magical. It is interesting and the views, even the buildings in it just make you admire them.

The truth is that it felt so natural and normal for me to travel alone that on my way back to Israel I wondered how I would return to travel with other people. There is something empowering about a solo trip that no other experience can give you. It helps you learn more about yourself and makes you deal with things all on your own. I recommend you try and take a solo trip at least once in your life.
 

I invite you to read more about my experiences in Scotland here.