A First-Time Chinese-Only Traveler Solo in Europe: 11 Days Free and Easy in Spain!

I once saw a line from the drama iPartment:

"Three years from now, I might be in Barcelona, or maybe Madrid...

But that life should be free, with new scenery and adventures every day."

Little did I expect that years later, those words would become my reason to set off.

Hurriedly preparing my visa, writing an explanation letter, going through a phone interview...

Lucky to get a six-month multi-entry Schengen visa on a fresh passport.

On October 29, I flew direct from Hangzhou to Madrid. The moment I landed, it was a new world.

Madrid was more dignified and brighter than I had imagined.

I was like an "infantry soldier", hitting all the classic spots:

✅ Royal Palace of Madrid: majestic and luxurious

✅ Puerta del Sol: the heart of the city

✅ Retiro Park: soft sunlight and lake water

✅ Prado Museum, Reina Sofía Museum, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

✅ San Miguel Market

✅ Spanish ham, churros with chocolate, paella

Every day I walked, every day I went "wow".

That beauty is a shock you only get when you see it with your own eyes for the first time.

Barcelona felt like a different soul: more relaxed, more romantic, more colorful.

✅ Gaudi's Big Three: Sagrada Familia, Casa Milà, Casa Batlló

✅ Gothic Quarter: every alley tells a story

✅ Picasso Museum

✅ Tibidabo Mountain: overlooking all of Barcelona with freedom

✅ The sea breeze

✅ Spain's high-speed train!

Every day in Barcelona, I could feel how "European romance" is a kind of ease and vitality.

To be honest—the biggest challenge was communication. Although there are many Chinese-run supermarkets and restaurants in Spain,

checking into hotels, ordering food, asking for directions, taking the subway...

every step required communication, and I:

❌ couldn't speak English fluently

❌ had zero Spanish

❌ got so nervous in front of foreigners my mind went blank

Finally, I saw online that many people use translation apps to solve this problem.

I tried over a dozen translation apps, and in the end, TransNow accompanied me through the whole trip.

It performed far beyond my expectations:

✔️ Very fast translation

✔️ High accuracy

✔️ Works in noisy environments

✔️ Supports multiple languages (I can use it in other countries too)

Most amazingly, it gave me the ability to communicate in a foreign land.

TransNow could translate what I said into Spanish and play it aloud.

I just pressed play, and naturally had a "conversation"!

Passport, visa, pickpocketing, language anxiety...

I experienced all those worries, yet still embarked on the journey.

When I was strolling in the Madrid sunshine or zoning out in the Barcelona sea breeze, I suddenly understood:

Freedom is not about how many languages you speak,

but about whether you are willing to take that first step.

Table of Contents

1. 🌍 A journey that began with a line

2. 🛫 14 hours from Hangzhou, landing in Madrid

3. ☀️ Madrid: city of museums and sunshine

5. 🌊 Barcelona: art, sea breeze, and freedom

6. 🌐 How did I, knowing only Chinese, survive 11 days alone?

7. What travel taught me: freedom is just one step away

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