Gothic tower in Newcastle, England.

3.14.14

I have realized that I left the story of this Euro adventure unfinished. Forgive me for leaving you hanging for nearly four months . . .

I am home on the couch finishing the entry that follows. I started writing it the last night I was in Reykjavik before flying back to Colorado. I wrote most it that night, and am flushing it out and finishing it tonight.

I last wrote and posted to these pages when I was in York, England. From there I boarded the Flying Scotsman and rode at 125 mph up the East Coast Mainline to Edinburgh, changing to a local train for Glasgow. I stayed in Glasgow with my friend for a couple nights before flying to Reykjavik, where this entry picks up.

As of tonight, this travel journal has been viewed nearly 1,500 times from 34 different countries around the world. I am truly humbled. Thank you for following along on my journey.

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21 November, 2013

Back to the beginning, the city and hotel where this six week adventure began. Tomorrow I return to my home in America a different man from when I left. The trip turned out to be equally as much a spiritual journey within myself as through the countries and places I visited. I learned much about myself and about some things in my life.

I have been extremely grateful for the connection with some very special people to me, and that we have been able to stay in communication through messaging on Facebook and video calling on Skype. If you know who you are, you know both what I am saying and what you mean to me.

On this trip there has been a constant theme of holy places. Cathedrals built on the grounds of ancient temples, ruined abbeys, sacred hills, and hallowed sands. My belief in, and connection with the unseen forces and energies of creation have been strengthened by the experiences in and around these places.

During the month that I traveled nearly 1,600 miles in England and France, I was by myself, but not alone. The price of the freedom found in traveling alone is sometimes feeling alone traveling. I have enjoyed the solitude that I have found on this journey. While there have been days and nights that I have wanted a partner or companion to share the adventure with, there have also been moments and experiences that were deeply personal and only for me. I have had the internet, and that has provided me with both email and video chat with a few people who are close and important to me. Some of the brightest moments have been seeing a friend on the screen from half a world away and not feeling quite so lonely.

Many of the sacred places I have visited have made a profound impact on my being. There were quiet moments of prayer and contemplation in the chapels of the great cathedrals filled with silent presence and stillness of the divine in the moment. I have prayed repeatedly for knowledge of God’s will for me in my life and in situations in my life, and have been granted flashes of insight into possible outcomes. Most of all I have gained the knowledge that everything in the moment is perfect. That this life is an amazingly orchestrated web of coincidence. That everything is exactly as it needs to be.

This has been a most amazing journey, and the month I spent alone taught me lessons about myself, and being with myself, that are more valuable than any money could ever buy. Some relationships in my life have grown stronger and deeper, but most of all the relationship with myself has grown immeasurably. I have gained a deeper and stronger understanding and appreciation for the man I am and want to become.

I will never forget the falcons’ morning song in Bath, the thrill of the busy streets of London, the indescribable waves of emotion on Omaha Beach, the romantic air of Paris and Chartres, the medieval old cities of Le Mans and York, the near mystical experience of the Glastonbury Tor. There were moments of indescribable connection with the divine in the cathedrals and abbeys. So many moments that defy words that I will carry with me all my life. As with any adventure like this, there were places I have been to before, and others I hope to return to again someday. I hope that I can return to some of these places – particularly Paris and Bath – in the company of someone I love.

This has been a life changing journey, to say the least. I have rediscovered my innate love of travel and adventure in the world. I have discovered aspects of myself I have never known, and come home with a confidence and sense of independence that I certainly did not have boarding the flight from Denver in October. I have also rediscovered my love of writing and photography. It has been a pleasure to share in both words and pictures the journey as it happened.

My last night in Reykjavik I had dinner and late coffee with some new friends who it turns out I have a mutual friend with. Again, I am very impressed with the friendly and welcoming nature of the Icelandic people. I look forward to returning Iceland again and again in the future, both as a destination and layover point.

I spent the last day at the Blue Lagoon Thermal Spa. Swimming in the silica rich salt water for several hours before returning one last time to Keflavik International for my return flight to Colorado. The flight home was just under eight hours, and presented perhaps one of the more surreal moments of the trip, if not my life. We took off in the dark heading in a northwesterly direction and soon caught up with evening twilight. For six and a half hours I watched the sunset. On the clock, the westward journey took fifty-five minutes – quite a contrast to the initial overnight flight and thirteen hours on the clock that left me unsure what day it was when I woke from a nap my first day in Iceland.

I will leave you with a selection of pictures from the last few days of the trip.

York city wall. Parts of the defensive structure date to the Roman period.

Cholera graveyard just outside city wall. Train station in background.

Sign warning about public drunkenness in the train station. Sage advice for some of us . . .

On board the train in north eastern England. Railroad viaduct visible in distance.

The Flying Scotsman. This is only locomotive painted with this livery, and it was pulling my train!

Departing Glasgow International Airport, my ride for the first leg of the journey home.

Scottish Highlands with mid-November snow.

The southern coast of Iceland.

Back at Reykjavik Lights, the last hotel room of the journey.

Sunrise in Reykjavik. 10:15 am, 21 November.

The Blue Lagoon, a fantastic last day of the trip.

Leaving Keflavik International. Askja, who brought me to Iceland at the start of the journey, brought me home again.

My view for six and half hours.

Full circle. Back to the beginning at Denver International.

On returning home, my mom gave me this. She had printed all the entries here, and it is over 600 pages long.

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Thank you so much for following along on my journey. It has been amazing to be able to share my experience as it happened. I am headed on more adventures in the coming months. In three weeks time I am going to San Francisco to visit my best friend, then there will be two week long camping trips in the Rocky Mountains and the Canyonlands of the Utah desert. I plan to continue this website as a travel blog for these trips.

As we say in an organization I am involved with – The Journey Continues . . .