Year In Review Blog: Adventure

As the end of my first year in Germany approaches its inevitable conclusion, I reflect on my time here, the lessons I have learned and the person I have become. Many stories will get told for the first time, some existing stories will get a behind the scenes look. This series will last a week and by the end of the week, hopefully you will have a better view of what it is like to be a student abroad.

Episode 3: Adventure

An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. –G.K. Chesterton

There is no high man can create that matches that which a man encounters on the top of a mountain. It took me until Christmas day to finally get on top of real mountains. The magic of Christmas had struck me and my yearning for mountains had been temporarily tamed. However, this was just the appetizer in the meal that is unforgotten mountain ethereality.

No matter where I am, I have an undying desire to get to the highest point around. Being raised in Colorado has permanently imbedded into my head a need to be in the mountains. In the same way migratory animals in the desert search for their watering hole, I have to search for the mountains. Sometimes there are no mountains and there is nothing I can do about it. When this happens, I find the tallest building; there is something about being closer to the heavens, or further away from the cacophony of life down below. There is something spiritual about being in the clouds. Just to watch the world go by below, seeing the bigger picture, to know that for just a little bit, I am alone with my thoughts. There is hardly a thing better than to watch a sunrise or sunset, from this higher place.

I have been on top of Swiss Alps, Austrian Alps, Harz Mountains, and the Carpathians in Romania. Everywhere I go I seek mountains. There is however more to nature than the mountains. I also seek the grandeur of the ocean. The sound of the waves crashing onto shore, the beauty found in the tumultuous, and the vast openness is indescribable. In my trip to Venice I was able to see the wide open ocean. We didn't stay in the actual town of Venice, but one about ten minutes away by boat. Here, we searched for the wideness of the sea. It was night time when I was out there. The waves of the incoming tide splashed upon my toes. The ships out to sea dipped over the horizon meeting the appearance of the Milky Way. The magic of stillness can be found in the mountains and in the sea.

 My addiction for adventure, especially in the wilderness can never be completely thwarted. Adventure is one of the best addictions to have. It is far better to encounter the excitement of life than to sit around dreaming about it or watching it pass by from a window or computer screen. Adventure breeds creativity and imagination. When you are wandering through a rainy city you have never been too, with incorrect directions, no Internet, and no idea where you are supposed to be, creativity becomes a necessity. Our inconvenience was an adventure. We inadvertently found more of the city, and we didn't know it then, but because we saw how beautiful it was, we would want to stay in Brașov, Romania a little longer. 

Adventure is not defined by action. To just sit and listen to the music of Christmas time at Salzburg, or to watch a setting sun over the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, or to eat delicious food in a street café in Germany, can be as equal an adventure as watching fifty-thousand Italians celebrating New Years, getting lost in a country where you know nothing of the language, or backcountry skiing in the Alps. It only matters what mindset you are willing to put forth.

Misadventures, though sometimes unfortunate, still have the word "adventure" in them, and therefore have to make it onto this list. Sometimes misadventures are the best kind because one learns more from them than some regular adventures. As I stated earlier, misadventures can lead to creative thinking and good problem solving. Approaching things with a realistic view of what you are able to accomplish is invaluable. One has to know just to what lengths they are able to go to, in order to survive, or in some cases, keep life interesting. My list of misadventures, or unintended adventures is almost as long as my list of intentional adventures.

In some cases, as in any misadventure with a bicycle, I was trying to make life more interesting. I may have lost some pride and some skin, but that all eventually returns. In other cases, the misadventure came from making life too interesting and therefore too complicated. A good example of this was on our return trip from “The Quest of Lichtenstein”. After missing our connections because of incorrect estimations of time and distance the day before, we were stuck riding regional trains and dealing with all the problems they have. After an unnecessarily complicated travel, our misadventure came to a close with one final test of perspective. When the threat of being stuck in yet another small town train station became a bigger possibility, my mindset slipped from adventure to inconvenience. I became unhappy with the situation that was handed me, and even though there was nothing at the time I could do about it, I was frustrated. But with all misadventures come a good time for introspection. If one is willing to do so, it is a good way to really learn valuable lessons, especially about yourself, and who you really are.

Before coming to Germany, I was less aware of who I was. Planned adventures and unplanned adventures alike have shown me a lot more of myself than the placidity of staying within my comfort zone. Adventures shape who I am. Whether on top of a mountain, by the ocean, or stuck in random train stations, life has a way of teaching. We just have to be sure and be good pupils and listen to what it has to say.