Who is the Explorer?
My name is Doma, and I’m from Hungary. As a fifth-year law student, I have spent some time at university, so to make it a bit more interesting, and to make the most out of it, I have started to use all of the international options I was able to. Right now, I’m in Konstanz, spending my third Erasmus semester abroad. This time, my chosen means of transport were night buses from Budapest to the western side of Lake Constance.
Who is the Explorer?
My name is Doma, and I’m from Hungary. As a fifth-year law student, I have spent some time at university, so to make it a bit more interesting, and to make the most out of it, I have started to use all of the international options I was able to. Right now, I’m in Konstanz, spending my third Erasmus semester abroad. This time, my chosen means of transport were night buses from Budapest to the western side of Lake Constance.
Anyone Can Find a Good Reason to Travel Green
I chose green travelling for a few reasons, and I have been travelling like this several times during the last two years. The reasons are the following: environmental considerations, the slow travelling experience, reasonable prices and luggage benefits, and the option to expand the travel itself into even more travelling.
Let Others Travel as Well
The environmental reason is simply the fact that a plane on that distance emits more than fourteen times the amount of CO2 that a bus or a train does. This amount of emission equals one-sixth of the yearly CO2 emission of a single person in the EU. It is a simple aspect, and still many people do not want to consider this factor in their decision-making, even though we need to care about our planet, no matter how much of a cliché this sentence is.
Travelling in More Than One Way
My other fundamental reason is the slow travelling experience that is strongly connected to green travelling. Every time I have a chance to slow down, take a deep breath, and realise where I am and in what direction I am heading, I feel more conscious and calmly prepared for anything. I use this time to think about my journey — not only the physical one, but the mental one as well — that I am going to have during the next phase of my life, which I have just started. I deep dive into my thoughts and emotions, my desires and fears, and also into my scars and memories. I use the time and place to reflect, to work on myself, and to grow as a person, to become a better version of myself.
Always the Filthy Lucre
The next reason is a bit simpler and more materialistic. Though I try not to always focus on materialistic meanings and aspects, I cannot avoid thinking about them. I won’t lie, I’m still a student on a tight budget. Most of the time, travelling green also means choosing cheaper options. Sometimes this is directly reflected in the price, but sometimes it is because of the additional fees that you would have to pay when travelling by plane. For example, luggage costs nothing or only a minimal amount of money, unlike on a plane, where the airline sometimes makes you pay the ticket price — or even more — again just to have a suitcase on board. In addition, to and from the airport, you often need to take a shuttle bus or some other transport into the city where you want to go. With green travelling methods, you almost always avoid this because the main stations are usually near the centre, or at least you can get there with local public transport and not with a special service.
Instead of a Quick Flight, Let’s Make It a Full Week of Adventure
Every green trip can be an extraordinary adventure when you visit and explore new places on the way to your destination. You can schedule some stops on the way, you can spend a day or two in any city you fancy, and you can spend a week or so getting to your new home, truly enjoying the process of going abroad for a semester, a full year, or even more. The first time I travelled to Helsinki from Budapest, I visited Warsaw, Vilnius, and Tallinn on the way there, and Riga, Krakow, and Prague on the way home. I spent one full day in each city while travelling during the nights by train or bus. It was an experience that I would recommend to everyone who goes on Erasmus or any other type of exchange.
The More You Mess Up Travelling, the More You Find Out
I truly believe that with every trip, you gain useful experiences. But if you choose green travelling, your experience will not only be useful but exceptional. You gain so much because you start to understand the world better, you understand more about the influence of your own decisions, your view of the world broadens, you become more understanding and empathetic, and you also become more open-minded to everything that is happening in the world around you.
I would highly recommend everyone to have at least one experience like this because they will be grateful for all the things life teaches them. I am on my third Erasmus within two years, and I have visited more than 20 different places with green travelling during that time. Many things have changed since the time I moved abroad, and many things will change after this one as well. I think there is always something that you can learn from such an experience, no matter where you are in your life.
So my last advice is this: travel green, so you will see what really matters.
