Gabriela Böhm

Solo travel will alter your life forever — regardless of your age, circumstances or where on this planet you wish to go.

Last fall, I was invited to show my documentary “Raquel: A Marked Woman” in Eastern Europe, including Poland, Romania and Ukraine. I wondered whether the gap left by the annihilation of local Jewish communities, followed by decades of silence and secrecy behind the Iron Curtain, is the same in each country.

I live in Los Angeles. As metropolitan cities go, it’s a humongous network of neighborhoods, each with its own vibe. This summer, I staycayed for one month at my friend’s Venice Beach pad a block from the Boardwalk. It helps to have friends in cool places.

How did I end up literally in the middle of a lake, in a cabin on stilts, without any other tourists around?  All alone in a country where I don’t speak the language, with no phone or access to one, and the only way back to main land is a wooden boat.