I am not someone who “solo travels”. At least not in the way you’re imagining. I struggle to sleep in my own bed, let alone an eight-bed dorm. I find it hard to maintain contact with my best friend, let alone effortlessly make pals in foreign countries. And I would rather walk three kilometres in the wrong direction than ask a stranger if I’m going the right way.

So when the opportunity to travel around Europe by rail for two weeks by myself to write this article popped up, I instantly thought of all the reasons I couldn’t. But by taking a risk and actually doing it, I found that solo travel doesn’t have to be Eat, Pray, Love or some unhinged gap year fuelled by cheap liquor; it can be something that works with who you are as a person, even if you’re an introvert who doesn’t think you have it in you.

Here are my top tips for getting your head around solo travel and then thriving in it as an introvert.TUNE INTO YOURSELF The biggest thrill of this trip was remembering I can exercise free will, which is something that’s often squashed by work deadlines, social expectations, habits and just life. You can walk around Vienna watching the sun light up incredible Baroque buildings at 6.30am – no need to wait for anyone else to wake up! You can eat four meals before midday (two of them cake!) and head back to the hotel for a mid-afternoon nap and no one will even care! Or know!PHONES DOWN I love my phone! My screentime is through the roof! That is OK! But it’s unfortunately a fact that if you’re at a café scrolling, you’re less likely to notice the person next to you. You might miss a fellow caffeine fiend snapping pics of the gorgeous blue floor tiles at a speciality coffee place in Ljubljana and miss the opportunity to have a huge conversation (the barista joined in too) about curly hair and humidity; European history and inventive coffees (double espresso and ginger beer is delicious). I left feeling so happy in my heart and head, not rinsed from mainlining short-form videos.TRANSIT TIME Being an introvert doesn’t always mean you don’t like interacting with people, but it can mean you find it hard to start conversations! I found the easiest way to strike up conversations with others was at train stations. I was travelling around Eastern Europe with a Eurail Pass so spent a lot of time on platforms wondering if I was in the right place. Asking a simple question led to me making pals with a fellow traveller called Olja who I sat next to for six hours of travel across two different trains then grabbed lunch with. Also Maruša who was a local classical music student who was wise beyond her years! It’s not like we chatted the whole time, but it was so nice to feel like you were journeying with someone! Look… cows! Look… a rainbow!PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE Got a crippling fear of rejection? Same. But there’s something about being in a place where you know no one that suddenly makes suggesting plans with others so much easier. I asked another solo traveller I met while eating sausages and horseradish if she wanted to join me for ice-cream after dinner and another person if they were keen for an early morning swim in the lake the next day. Only one of those things ended up happening, but who cares? I suggested it and the world (or my ego) didn’t crumble!KEEP IT FLEXIBLE Usually, I am the least flexible person in the world. I need two hours of processing time if a friend suggests a different café to what was planned. But when you’re travelling by yourself it’s very easy to change your plans on a whim. I was planning on visiting Bratislava on my way from Bled to Budapest, but ended up going straight to Budapest because my Hungarian to-do list was bulging at the seams. Travelling by train with a Eurail Pass makes it super-easy to change plans in the moment – even stopping at a cute town mid-journey and catching a later train!BUT PRE-PLAN SOMETHING I found it really helpful to have something planned in each city I visited to anchor me and prevent arrival overwhelm. Whether it’s connecting via Instagram with a local artist whose stuff you love or a market tour to get a quick handle on the local delicacies you should be seeking out, a little plan helped soothe my busy mind.REMEMBER PEOPLE ARE NICE When I had the cardamom bun of my dreams at a bakery in Budapest (Läget Pékség) I was nervous that instantly going back for another one would be embarrassing… who is this slave to warm, spiced, buttery layers? But instead of scorn, the sweet barista asked me questions about my travel plans and ended up giving me a hand-written list of the coolest cafés and restaurants in Budapest. People are actually lovely! They’re not judging you!FOLLOW YOUR SENSES I saved a heap of places I wanted to visit on Google Maps but wandering off path was so rewarding too. I drifted into a church following the sound of a beautiful orchestra practicing and ended up getting the free concert of my wildest dreams. I bought some mystery pickles I’d never seen before at a market and had a little picnic in the sun in front of a majestic castle after noticing so many people walking up a hill.WANT, NOT SHOULD There’s so many things you feel you should do when travelling, especially solo – tick off the famous spots, make lifelong friends, stay out all night partying! But letting go of these unhelpful expectations and doing what you truly want is liberating. I like being tucked up in bed by 10pm and that doesn’t change when in a different timezone, so I forward-loaded my day with cafés, museums and markets and mostly passed out after dinner. It’s OK to need downtime after long social interactions! It’s OK to prefer foreign supermarkets to bars!

It’s OK to rewrite the script and do things your way – I mean, if there’s ever a time to defy expectations and do exactly what you want to do it’s when you’re all by yourself over the other side of the planet. Be completely yourself! (Or, you know, the updated, more relaxed country-hopping version of yourself!)

MY FAVOURITE THINGSVIENNA

The infinity pool at A By Adina on the Danube was the ultimate way to shake jet lag.

Tian Bistro’s edible vegetarian artworks.

Making pals with another solo diner over large schnitzels and beer at Praterwirt.

Eating local sweets inside the pink wonderland of Kuchenamt, a café that employs and trains disabled locals.GRAZ

Eating the extravagant buffet breakfast in Hotel Gollner’s beautiful flower-studded garden.

Trying pumpkin seed oil ice-cream inventive dairy haven Eis.

How everywhere was decorated with gorgeous, odd-shaped pumpkins!LJUBLJANA

Touring the state-funded makers’ haven Center Rog, a creative’s wildest dream!

Learning how to fix an umbrella at Marija’s Umbrella Workshop (she’s a true legend).

The stunning art gallery Dobravaga nestled inside a former fish market by architectural icon Jože Plečnik.BLED

Staying in a pier tent in the majestic nature paradise of Garden Village Bled.

Hiring a bike and riding around Lake Bled, which is straight out of a fairy tale.

Eating home-smoked meat and home-brewed drinks at the cutest farmhouse, Izletniska Kmetija Dornk.BUDAPEST

The life-affirming poppyseed bread pudding at the coolest café Babka Deli.

Touching the creations of sustainable contemporary makers at Muhelymuzeum in a former grocery store.

The technicolour market of my inner ’90s kid dreams: Lehel market.

NOS is one of the coolest shops I’ve been to in my whole life – colourful, fun stuff by local creatives.SZEGED

Wandered into a fairy’s cave for a cake and coffee at Süti nem süti.

It’s a water tower. But it’s also art! Viztorony is truly beautiful.

Nema Papagaj Lemezbolt is a very cool record shop in a very pink building.

Emily pinches herself every day that she travelled to Europe and around Austria, Slovenia and Hungary via train as a guest of Eurail.