During this crazy time of social distancing and relying heavily on technology to feel connected to loved ones, I’m reminded of a time when I wasn’t so lucky. A time when I learned to disconnect. Against my will. A time when I learned that internet in Germany wasn’t what I expected.
Let me say first and foremost, my experience is just that: my experience. My lack of planning, knowledge, and travel savvy led to a funny life lesson moment.
A bit of background to set the stage is in order, I think.
The year was 2014 and I was fresh off of my first international flight to Europe. I had planned out as many adventures as I dared, hoped that everything was going to go according to those loosely set plans, and prayed that I was going to have the time of my life.
Since this was my first time traveling, and I mean REALLY traveling (not just a road trip to another state to visit family), I was ready. I was eager. I wanted to earn my stripes and start putting in my dues as a world traveler.
Prior to my trip, I’d spent hours and hours reading as many travel blogs as I could. Learning from the masters, as it were. Solo female adventurers that were defying society’s expectations and living a life they created for themselves. I wanted to be like that.
But first, I needed a beginning. I needed to start.
Germany was my first real foray into the world of travel.
I opted to do a study abroad in Kiel, Germany, at the end of my TESOL certificate program. So, for the summer of 2014, I lovingly called Kiel my home.
Read more about my study abroad experiences here.
The program started and I couldn’t have been happier. I met some amazing friends that I ended up traveling with, was enchanted by my current hometown, and was living the dream.
On one of our first afternoons, my friends and I ventured out to the local mall to get some of them set up with local SIM cards.
At this point, I had NO idea what a SIM card was, how it worked, or how much it cost. I hadn’t planned on being on my phone much while I was in Europe, relying solely on WiFi at school and in my dorm.
Because who needed to scroll through Facebook or Instagram while traveling through Europe?
But then I realized internet in Germany wasn’t the same as Utah or what I’d had in the US.
I didn’t appreciate how often I would try to Google things, check a map, or message people. Without even thinking about it.
I hadn’t planned on the fact that it might be a good thing to have internet in Germany while I was taking advantage of my German Rail Pass.
Newbie mistakes.
So I tagged along with my friends to look into this SIM card situation.
Again, I had NO CLUE what it was or anything like that.
My friend found what he was looking for and got his phone all set up. In the process, he managed to convince me to get a SIM card.
So I did.
Not realizing that my phone was locked. And it wasn’t going to work.
And guess what? I was okay with the fact that internet in Germany wasn’t what I thought it would be. I was a few dollars poorer, but the thought of being free from distractions was alluring. I was still riding the high of being in Europe for the first time. I didn’t want the stimulus of Social Media or anything else to distract me from the fairytale land in which I was now living.
During this time, I lived in a dorm-like apartment building with the rest of my classmates. We occupied half of a floor, sharing with other international students, so you can imagine how many people were trying to access the local WiFi at the same time, (some of us) trying to do homework.
On the rare occasion that I was actually able to connect to the WiFi, I had just enough time to message my mom and give her a quick update. After that, the signal would drop and I’d have to power down until I got back to campus.
Some days after school, I’d find myself walking around Kiel. I’d take a bus somewhere, disembark, and try to find my way around the way people used to: looking at maps on the bus stops, asking for directions (auf Deutsch), and working on tuning the internal compass.
During one such walk, I found my way to the boardwalk that wraps around the Baltic Sea.
Kiel, Germany, is known for its strategic placement between the North and Baltic Seas. Not only has it played host to 2 different Olympic sailing competitions (1936, 1972), but hosts the largest sailing event in the world. Kiel Week (Kiel Regatta or Kieler Woche) is an annual sailing event that draws a major international crowd, and I’ve been told it is truly a sight to behold.
Although our study abroad program started just as Kieler Woche ended, some of the big sailboats were still docked in the bay.
As I was admiring some of the ships, I pulled out my iPhone to take some pictures. Could you imagine my surprise when I saw that my phone had connected to a mysterious WiFi signal? Again, internet in Germany is weird.
At this time, I had no idea that cities around the world had these mysterious WiFi signals in random public places. Like a park in Cuba.
Once I fully realized what was going on, a funny feeling swept over me like an ocean wave. I was suddenly hit in the face with the prospect of connecting to the world.
An internal debate exploded in my mind. Should I make a daily pilgrimage to this spot by the water to check in on my friends? Should I watch a few of my favorite shows? Look at pretty pictures of the same location that I was in, but taken by someone else?
But then I remembered. Bus rides to the laundromat with Leisl and the long conversations and impromptu dance-offs with the laundry baskets.
Pizza lunches after class with the owner yelling “American Dream Boys” every time the guys walked in.
Train rides and pictures with the group, each trying to photobomb the other.
Searching for the legendary Kiel döner corner with everyone, laughing at how much easier it would have been with GPS.
It was like a scene from a movie. You know, the one where the camera zooms in on the character’s face and then pans out into a cut scene, with the memories flickering like an old-school cinema. And then refocuses back on the character’s face.
I had a decision to make.
Was I going to be tied to the world, having access readily at my fingertips? Answers to questions. Directions. Pretty pictures and lists of “must-sees” around Germany and Europe.
Or was I able to recognize that my current situation was amazing? That I didn’t need to have the constant influence of everyone helping me make decisions.
Did I need to be distracted? Or did I finally understand the idea of living in and for the moment?
It started to rain as I made my way back to the bus stop, phone in my pocket and a smile on my face. Internet in Germany was not what I expected, but that was okay.
I’d gotten along fine for a few decades without it constantly at the ready in my pocket.
I could do it again for a few months in Europe.
And you know what?
It was the best trip of my life.
Have you ever been forced to disconnect? Or voluntarily disconnected? How did you handle it?
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