In December, I used Christmas break to figure out what I was going to do with my summer. In the back of my mind I’d assumed I’d try to find an internship and maybe even get paid to get coffee for someone. My parents encouraged me to look into study abroad opportunities for the Summer, andi managed to find one that fit my major and interests so perfectly that the idea of doing anything else seemed ridiculous.

So I’ll be spending my summer months in Maastricht, in the southern part of the Netherlands. My program features a study tour — 10 days traveling to political spots around Western Europe. After that’s over I’ll be taking a course on the Politics of the European Integration, or how the EU came to be.

Before I came to Maastricht, my parents took advantage of my need to be on the other side of the pond and planned a Scottish vacation. We hiked the West Highland Way, which is a 96 mile trail from Glasgow to Fort William through what I would argue is the most beautiful wild land left in the world.

Scotland has prioritized the conservation value of their land. The path makes use of old military roads to weave through farm land and forests, even winding around the perimeter of Loch Lomond. The Scottish highlands are still wild; developing the mountain land isn’t allowed, so only a few old towns spot the valleys. Comparative natural areas in the USA have been turned into ski-resorts and vacation destinations, and while they are still natural areas, they lack the feel of preserved isolation found in the Scottish Highlands.

Unlike American backpacking, wearing a thirty pound pack, eating macaroni and cheese every night, and sleeping in a tent that you carried and pitched yourself, the Scottish people have figured out how to make backpacking a little more fun. We would hike between 6 and 16 miles on a given day, normally stopping for lunch at a restaurant along the way. When we arrived at a predetermined bed and breakfast each night, we would find restaurants and pubs nearby to eat at. And each night we got beds and showers, so the overall experience was less “roughing it” and more “walking from one fluffy guesthouse to the next.”

As we made our way through the highlands, a hot topic for the locals was the upcoming vote on Scottish independence. In 2014, Scottish people will vote on whether to remain a part of the United Kingdom or to become an independent country. We heard both sides of the opinion from locals, but my guess is that they will vote for independence. Everyone said that the young vote was definite in favor of drastic action, and the older people were moderate at best, mostly saying they weren’t quite sure how they’d vote yet.

As a political junkie, the conversations were some of the most interesting we had. We are watching a centuries old disagreement over who should rule the land be carried out through a vote, rather than the usual revolution, deaths all around, and the banning of Scottish tartan for a decade or two. Apparently Scottish people think that they’d be better off if they were allowed to make decisions for themselves (what a concept!). If Scotland had to start running itself independently, a number of country-managing jobs would open in the regulation and governing industry. 

To hear the Scottish people we spoke with discus their relations with the UK government, I was ready to throw an “Occupy Scotland” and get out on the streets. Most of Scottish industry has been moved by Parliamentary decisions elsewhere, leaving a growing number of skilled laborers unemployed, especially in the under 30 bracket. The people we talked to were suspicious of the UK government, who on one hand complain about subsidizing the Scottish people with English taxes, but it also reluctant to give up control over the Scottish government. 

I’m going to be following this issue of independence closely as the vote approaches, and I won’t hide the fact that I’ve become biased in favor of the Scots. Political issues around the European Union are heating up as well, with Germany set to decide on their role in the union and if it’s even constitutional. I’ve picked a good time to come to Europe, and I’m already looking forward to the next part of my journey in Maastricht!

Before I end this first blog, I have to mention one particularly exciting anecdote. I’m a huge Harry Potter nerd to say the least. At the end of the trail, Fort William, there is a train company that runs a line called “The Jacobite” which is an old fashioned steam engine. It happens to be the route and train that was used to film the Hogwarts Express! We rode the train and got some iconic views, and all the while I was excited to be riding on a train that had been so much a part of my childhood!