As of today, I have been in Hamburg, Germany for a day now. The journey here was long and tiring. I drove from St. Louis to Kansas City which was a four-hour drive then the flight in total was twelve hours, so sixteen hours in total of traveling. Luckily, I traveled with a fellow student from the university, so it made the trip just a little bit better. I had a 2 hour and 40 minutes lay over in Iceland where I received my first stamp! Once in Germany, we decided to take the cheaper route and take the train and walk to the hotel. The walk was a bit more than what I expected but 360 euros over 20 euros made it worth it. Oh, and did I forget to mention the hotel doesn’t have air conditioning (thank God its cool around here) so we use a more natural air approach. Down the street is a strip filled with food and shopping stores. Yesterday, I had my first Germany meal it was like a beef wrap and it was delicious. I did a little exploring since I’ve been here but not much.
Today, my travel buddy and I walked to the ship to see where we need to go and see MV Odyssey in person. The ship is GIGANTIC! Like it was everything I could imagine and much more. Seeing the ship made the journey to get to this point worth it. To see my progression of setting a goal, achieving the goal and soon living it was such a beautiful feeling and I’m so proud of myself. Seeing my new home (for the next four months) let me know that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. I am so ready for this life changing journey! I cannot wait to see the world, explore different cultures, eat exotic foods, take pictures and meet so many people. This will be challenge being away from my love ones, but it will be worth it. I board the ship Sunday September 9, 2018 at 10:00a.m.
-Sadeja Harper
