I know this is a total first world problem, but I'm planning my first solo trip, and I can't decide on a location. My plan is to stay in Europe for two or two-and-a-half weeks in the second half of May (school ends on May 11, so ideally I'd like to jet out of here as soon as I'm done grading finals), but I have no idea what to do with that time.

Right now I'm torn between Paris-Amsterdam-maybe-somewhere-else-too and Prague-Vienna-Salzburg-possibly-Budapest, but I just...don't know. So far, my travels in Europe include Ireland twice and the Greece mainland (just got back last Thursday!) and I loved both of them. I'm admittedly not a nightlife person; when I travel, I like photographing pretty scenery (all the gardens and castles in Ireland amazed me), visiting historic places (I am obsessed with the ancient agora in Athens), and visiting places that have personal significance for me. One of the reasons I was intent on Vienna and Salzburg is because I play the piano and love Mozart; I thought it might be worthwhile to visit his childhood home, the places he played in Vienna, the church where he got married, etc., as well as the graveyard that houses the remains of Beethoven, Strauss, and a few other composers who are escaping me right now.

But then I started getting worried: what if there's nothing in Vienna or Prague that I really want to do? Is it really worth forking over $1,000 for a plane ticket so I can go see some castles and palaces when I've already seen plenty? People are always mentioning the beer, and I don't even drink beer!

So then I started thinking about Paris. Everyone has to go to Paris in their lifetime, presumably, and it certainly holds a lot of fascination for me. I'm particularly interested in seeing the Pere-Lachaise cemetery, mostly so I can just stare at Chopin and Proust's graves for a while. I guess it'd be cool to see the cafes where Hemingway wrote, or the places where Sartre, Camus, and Beauvoir discussed philosophy, but I keep talking myself out of it: Paris will be overrun by tourists, not as pretty as the pictures, and isn't it kind of basic to go to Paris? Why not go somewhere a little less stereotypical...like Prague? And Vienna? But Prague...and so the vicious cycle continues.

So then I started thinking about Amsterdam. I could take lots of nice photos there. They have a Van Gogh museum! And the Anne Frank house! But am I really even a big enough Van Gogh fan to care? Isn't Anne Frank's house always crowded? If I just stick to cities, am I missing out? How can I possibly choose which small towns to visit, and what would I even do there besides wander around thinking, huh, this is cute? Why even travel at all???

I also considered travelling all around the UK, but figured I'd want to visit someplace warmer after this brutal winter we're having in Baltimore. I also wanted to go to Italy (I have a weird fascination with the incorruptible saints), but Delta tickets from the Baltimore/DC area are waaaay too expensive, and I need to fly Delta for the miles (I get 50,000 free the next time I spend $1,000, which would be super helpful for me, since I'm constantly flying back and forth from Baltimore to Atlanta).

Okay, so, as you can see, my fun little you-survived-your-first-year-of-grad-school solo trip has turned into a full-blown existential crisis where I'm questioning whether or not it's even worth it to travel. Which is crazy, of course. I love travelling. I loved being in Greece. Just walking through the tiny, unimpressive village of Kalabaka at the foot of the Meteora monasteries was exciting to me. I know I'll probably enjoy wherever I go, but...I just cannot for the life of me make a decision. Please help.