July 6, 2007 - Field Hockey

Read All About Emily Smithson's Europe Trek

With little more than a few changes of clothes and the bare essentials, St. Mary's (Md.) College field hockey player Emily Smithson donned her backpack and set out for a three-week trek across Europe for a true summer adventure. The junior from Midlothian, Va., was accompanied by one of her best friends from high school during the journey, fulfilling a dream they had talked about when they were younger. "It's something we always talked about doing in high school, but it's the type of thing you always talk about doing and a lot of times people never get around to doing," said Smithson. Smithson's five-country tour began in Rome, Italy, and then visited Switzerland, Germany and France. She concluded the trip in northern England where her father's family lives. "It was neat to look on the map and see how far we had actually gone," said Smithson.

Using her Eurorail pass, Smithson hopped on trains to get from country to country and city to city. "It works really well," said Smithson. "The day before we wanted to go somewhere, we would just go to the train station and look up departure times, and then hop on the train and go. The system there works really well, so it's easy to do." Other than taking the Eurorail for long distances, Smithson used her feet to explore some more obscure sites and the different cultures of the various countries. "We walked everywhere," said Smithson. "We would get up early in the morning and walk for eight hours. I think that was neat because we got to experience the actual culture on the street instead of taking public transportation from tourist site to tourist site. Sometimes, we'd be in places where we were the only tourists."

Smithson and her friend stayed in youth hostels and bought food at grocery stores instead of eating at restaurants to keep their costs down -- eating only tuna sandwiches while in Switzerland -- and focused on soaking up the atmosphere. "We covered a lot of ground and stayed about two days for every city we were in," said Smithson. "We would get somewhere, learn our way around, and then we were gone. I like to move around a lot and see new things." Although she had traveled to Europe several times previously, Smithson still found lots to see for the first time or experience differently. She had never been to Germany, but said Munich was her favorite city on the trip, and she was in awe of the beauty in the Swiss Alps. "We took a train to the top of Jungfrau," said Smithson. "There are glaciers and it's almost like you're on another planet. We were just speechless about how pretty it was." Most of all, Smithson gained a sense of independence, and a deep appreciation of her opportunities to see the world. "I've traveled a lot in Europe, but it's totally different traveling with your family than traveling by yourself with a friend," said Smithson. "I have such a greater appreciation for the expense and the sites that I saw and how much planning it takes to travel. I think I took the opportunities I've had in the past for granted." Smithson, a two-year starter on the Seahawks' field hockey squad, was selected NFHCA All-South Region Second-Team and All-Capital Athletic Conference Second-Team as a sophomore in 2006. July 6, 2007 Feature: True summer adventure By Amy Farnum NCAASports.com Staff Writer