The Roads I Didn't Plan
I wasn't really looking for a destination
I think some journeys become special when you stop trying to make them special. I started this one simply wanting to get out, wander around, and see where the paths would take me. I didn't have every stop planned or a perfect route in mind. Sometimes I knew where I was going, and sometimes I just saw a path and thought, 'Why not?' Somehow, those were usually the moments I remembered most.
There were days when my bed was a campsite and my roof was the sky. It sounds romantic when you say it like that, but there were definitely moments when I wondered why I had voluntarily chosen to sleep somewhere that had absolutely no proper bed. 😂 Still, waking up somewhere surrounded by trees, quiet air, and nothing demanding my attention felt different. It gave me a kind of peace I didn't realise I was looking for.
Exploring around Berlin and Munich, I had plenty of forests, lakes, and beautiful places to choose from. But after a while, I stopped caring about finding the 'right' destination. I became more interested in taking the less obvious path — the one that wasn't crowded, wasn't on my list, and didn't promise anything. Sometimes I would walk without knowing exactly where I was going, and that uncertainty became part of the fun.
I ended up finding a few places that felt completely my own. Maybe they weren't hidden treasures in the grand scheme of things, but in those moments they felt like they belonged only to me. I could sit there, look at the water, listen to the trees, and just be there without having to rush anywhere.
When I think about that journey now, I don't remember it as a collection of places. I remember how I felt moving between them — the tired legs, the unexpected views, the quiet mornings, the random turns, and the little moments where I realised I was genuinely happy just being there. The journey felt like a lifetime because, for a little while, I wasn't trying to get anywhere. I was simply living along the way.