What does a person do when a friend lives halfway across the world? A lot of that depends on how adventurous a person is, how hard they work and the problem solving involved with travel.
Madi Nelson became friends with Marija Adams the year Marija spent a semester attending school here at Riverside High while living with her grandparents Eric and Linda Adams. After the semester here Marija went back to her home in Macedonia and the two kept in contact. Madi graduated from Riverside in 2023, and got her Associates degree in art from Northwest College.
“When she told me her family was going to be visiting this summer, I told her I wanted to visit her in Macedonia, “Madi relates. “She agreed and we set about getting me a flight with them so they could help me figure out customs and such.”
Then a small problem arose. The earliest flight that Madi could affordably get back home from Europe was like 5 weeks after they landed in Macedonia. Madi and Marita agreed that even though they are really good friends, that might be a little bit long for a visit. So Madi decided to just accept the adventure and take off solo to travel Europe.
“It was a little scary, but after being in Macedonia, and finding out how friendly the people there were I wasn’t as worried about it. Marita’s dad gave me advice, ‘Keep your passport, wallet and identification with you at all times.’ It was good advice, although I only had to show my passport a couple of times during the whole trip.”
While in Macedonia Madi was able to visit the capitol, Skopje, a city of over 526,000 people. It is the largest city in Macedonia and is over 2000 years old. There she became acquainted with the “street dogs” who live everywhere in the city.
“One day I just bought a whole bag of dog treats and wandered all over the city giving them to the dogs. They are all quite friendly.”
After spending two weeks with Marita and her family, Madi headed out on her adventure. Her first stop was Greece. She spent five days in Greece visiting many of the attractions there, getting the feel of traveling alone and seeing some awesome sites that made her “Feel very tiny.”
“I realized that we live in such a bubble here in the U.S. Our history is actually quite young,” Madi said. “Especially here in Wyoming we are so protected from the rest of the world. One thing that amazed me though is how helpful people are, even the language wasn’t as much of a problem as I thought it might be. Many people speak English, and even if they aren’t fluent, they tried to help as much as they could.”
From Greece Madi flew to Italy where she visited Venice, spending a few days there before traveling on to Rome. While in Venice, Madi toured the gondola routes, but failed to get a ride in one, because of a conflict with another tour.
“It was quite romantic, but I was in love with the wonderful leather purses that I could get for much less than here in the States,” she said. I would have loved to ride in a gondola, but the other tour ran late, and I just missed my chance.”
Madi was very impressed with Riomaggiore, one of a series of five towns along the coast called Cinque Terre where the houses are built on the cliffs above the water. They are quite famous for the colors on the houses. “I loved visiting them. I started to walk up a steep path to the top but decided against it because it was a pretty long hike. Everyone there is in really good walking shape, because they walk almost everywhere.”
While traveling Europe Madi stayed in hostels. These are places that rent a single bed rather than a room. Most of them have shared spaces where people get to know each other and sometimes go exploring together. The cost is very reasonable making them popular for younger travelers.
“The hostels have their own social structure. You can meet someone in the morning, decide to do a walking tour and by evening know their whole life story. I never felt unsafe in them. I met a person from Ohio in Rome we became friends, then we met again at Cinque Terre.
In Rome, Madi visited places that are part of history books, The Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, Vatican City and the Trevi Fountain, which she says, “Was too beautiful for words!”
Madi traveled by train, only having to rely on air travel for a couple of the jaunts. “The trains are cheap to ride, very convenient and the best way to get around,” she said. “I think the U.S. has missed it by not keeping train travel affordable and accessible.
Source: www.basinrepublican-rustler.com
