SHIT HAPPENS - Part 1: GETTING LOST IN THE STREETS OF EUROPE

As much as everyone would love to have a perfect trip, you have to face the fact that something bad might happen.
And IF it does… just go with it.
There’s no turning back time.
What has happened happened and now you have to work past it and make the best of your current situation.

Starting with this article I’m going to have ongoing Blog Posts called: SHIT HAPPENS.
Because… well… It Does.
These posts will be dedicated to my mishaps and foolish travel mistakes.
Hopefully I’m not gonna be writing many of these, but who knows.
At least you can learn from my misfortunes and not make them yourself.

I have never lost my Passport(which I consider to be the worst thing to happen while traveling).
However I have had some unplanned and unfortunate situations arise during my travels.
Some small and some a bit bigger.
But I’ve survived to tell the tales and you will too.

GETTING LOST.

Getting lost might happen to everyone.
But have you ever been so lost that you started looking behind buildings to find a place to sleep for the night?
I have done that twice.

One time was in Salzburg, Austria; the other was in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Both situations involved me arriving after 10 pm.

And both times involved a limited amount of directions to my hostels location.

I was not traveling with a phone or a laptop at this time.

Thus explaining why I didn’t use Google Maps or GPS.

Plus this was in 2007 when iPhone 1 was just released.
Luckily for me I was helped by complete strangers also roaming the streets late at night.

First Time:

After 40 minutes of aimlessly walking around Salzburg I accepted my defeat.

I thought I was walking in the right direction.

But truth be told, I honestly had no idea.
I stood in the middle of an empty street and thought to myself “If I stand here long enough I will magically appear at my hostel.”

Sometimes getting lost can lead you to discoveries like this. — Finding random things while being lost.

That did not work.
Luckily a British guy rounded the corner and said “Hey, you look lost. Do you need any help?“
Yes I Did.
And as fate would have it, this kind soul had stayed at the same hostel the year before.

It took us about 30 minutes to find it(in the opposite direction I was walking).
I thanked him and mentioned my misadventure to the man behind the Check-In desk.
Before I could finish he cut me off and yelled “EMERGENCY!!!!”
He ran out of the room for about 2 minutes and when he came back he had a large glass of beer and said “Here you go Mate.”
All was good in the world.

My reward for finally finding my hostel.

Second Time:

In Ceske Budejovice.

After a miserably long journey I arrived outside of an ugly yellow building.

In no way, shape, or form did this building look like a Bus Station or Train Station.
Maybe I should have looked at it a little longer.(Hint Hint).

Everyone on the bus immediately dispersed in different directions.
I just stood there wondering “Where the hell am I supposed to catch my next bus to Cesky Krumlov?”
I go back on the bus and ask the driver “Cesky Krumlov bus?”
He points behind us and that’s all I get out of him.

I see someone else outside and ask them the same question and I get the same answer.
I figured I’d walk in the direction they pointed.

Maybe I’d miraculously come upon a large neon sign pointing me in the correct direction.

I’d arrive to a bus filled with midgets and strippers.

And the rest of the night would be enjoyed in spectacular fashion. But that sign never appeared and I had 2 hours to find it.

Not too thrilled to be lost at this moment.

The Journey.

I start walking in the direction they pointed.

Mostly staying on the major road which brought me into the city center.
Knowing damn well there wasn’t going to be a bus station around I asked the first group of people I saw.
The group gives me a point in a vague direction, so onward I went.
After a few more minutes of walking I felt lost again.

I came across another girl who I asked directions from.
She said her English wasn’t very good.

But then in perfect English she gave me great directions to the Bus Station.

I finally started seeing signs for the Train/Bus Station.
I find the building, walk in, see that no trains are running.

I ask the only person inside if she knows where the bus to Cesky Krumlov is.

She walks me outside, points, and says “400 meters that way.”
As soon as this happens I stop and look around for a bit.
A harsh realization sits in and I start laughing.

This wasn’t one of those “HAHA Funny” laughs.
It was more of a maniacal, “I might go crazy on something” type of laugh.
The reason being is because I’m right where I started when the bus dropped me off.
That building that in no way, shape, or form looked like a Bus Station or Train Station was actually BOTH; the train station and bus station!!!

Throwing my hands up with that "I'm so over this" face. — Throwing my hands up with that “I’m so over this” face.

The Journey Continues.

So I start walking in the same direction as before.
Instead this time I see paper stapled to telephone poles.

They say “Cesky Krumlov Bus 400 meters”, “Cesky Krumlov Bus 300 meters”.
I walk about 2 buildings away and behind a fence was a parking lot with buses in it.

Apparently I was too blind to see it last time.
I walked around the entire town for an hour to find a bus that was 400 meters away from where I was first dropped off.

I was not accompanied by midgets or strippers on the bus ride to Cesky Krumlov.
And the rest of that trip didn’t go without a few more mishaps.

But I made it where I needed to be and in the end it all worked out.

That’s how travel usually is.
Things go awry, but in the end it usually always works out.

Have you ever been so lost that you thought you were going to be sleeping on the streets?
Getting lost can turn into a new journey.
Tell me about your Getting Lost stories in the Comments below.

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Jeremiah Cooper

Welcome to Live Life Extreme, a travel blog about thrill-seeking travel through some of the largest cities to off the beaten path getaways.

My name is Jeremiah and I'm a photographer from Arizona.
I'm always in search of picturesque landscapes and adrenaline pumping adventure.
Follow me as I show you What and What Not to do when visiting new places in search of Cheap Travel and Cheap Thrills.