TRAVEL SERIES
Traveling On Crutches
Overcome your inner fear

Life is not always exciting. Occasionally letting yourself be capricious, might be an adventure but could also be a reward.
Once a friend from Hongkong went to the Netherlands on a business trip. He didn’t have much time, so he asked my husband and me to meet him in the border city -Venlo- between Germany and the Netherlands.
Venlo is about 150 km away from the city we lived in.
We both got excited to visit an old friend, besides we haven’t been to Venlo yet.
Unfortunately, just a few days ago, I fell on the stairs. Although no bones were broken, this accident caused torn tendon on one of the ankles so that my right foot had been put in a plaster cast, which made it difficult for me to move around, not to mention traveling.
At that time we had just moved to a new town in Germany and we didn’t have many friends but colleagues. Life was a rush between two points — home and company.
We were looking forward to changing. Nothing was better than a short trip.
Everyone should take a trip whenever they want.
— by Unknown
Sounds cool! So, why not?
On the weekend morning, the sun was shining brightly, which seemed to invite us to go out. We set off excitedly. In less than two hours, we already arrived in Venlo.
It was a long distance from the parking lot to the appointed restaurant in the pedestrian zone in the city. Well, this means that I had to walk on crutches there.
On such a sunny day, it’s no wonder that the streets in Venlo were crowded, as if that everyone come out to bask in the sun.
Among lots of people, I suddenly felt very embarrassed, seemed that they all stared at me, wondering why a girl with a broken foot was walking down the street.
A man in a wheelchair slid past me. He operated the chair with ease, and he came and went so freely, you couldn’t see any embarrassment on his face.
I looked around and noticed that no one was staring at him or me. People walked leisurely on the street, their eyes were attracted by the fancy models in the window, or by the children in the stroller or something else……
Then I felt relaxed. Finally, I got used to being on the crutches and started to enjoy the small city in the Netherlands.
Like the old town in Germany, the streets in Venlo are also paved with slate, and the architectural styles on both sides are very similar to those of Germany, even the words are a bit close.
At first glance, the signs on the street seem to be in German, but if you look closely, you will find that they either miss one or have one more letter.
In the restaurant, we met a friend and had lunch together. It was a nice day, we had a great time.
This impromptu tour ended up happily, which also helped me realize that my inner fears often come from a wild guess about how others think of me. In fact, we have no way of knowing others’ minds, let alone change them.
So instead of torturing yourself by caring about too much how others think of you, do what you want to do and do it as well as you can, only in this way you can enjoy every moment in your life.
Thank you for reading! This story was inspired by Adrienne Beaumont. Please read her story below! You will find what kind of adventure she did go through.
Before you leave, please allow me to introduce the new writer Diana Meresc and her insightful story below. In this story, the author gave us useful tips on how to overcome our inner fear.
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