Content creator Niklāvs Mičulis shares his solo trip to Italy's Dolomites

Content creator Niklāvs Mičulis spent a week in Italy's Dolomites on his first-ever solo trip, aiming to find new ideas and broaden his horizons for his work and hobby of content creation.

A storm on the highway

Just before his trip, Italy had recorded its all-time highest temperature, and yellow and orange weather warnings for storms, rain and thunder were in effect across much of Europe. While driving on the highway at 140 kilometers per hour, Mičulis suddenly had to slow down to a complete stop within seconds, as visibility vanished due to the storm. Because of the warnings, he arrived in the Dolomites a day later than planned, though afterwards he was treated to typical sunny Italian summer weather.

Finding a shower as the real challenge

Mičulis says the bigger challenge was not the storm but the daily search for a shower. In Cortina d'Ampezzo, showers are usually found at highway gas stations or at rest areas maintained by the road administration, so he had to move from place to place to find somewhere to wash up.

He admits that during these moments, everyday concerns like phone models, shoe brands or car luxury lost all importance — the only thing that mattered was being able to shower, brush his teeth and eat. He describes the experience as deeply grounding.

Takeaways from the trip

Mičulis says that after returning home, he no longer understands why he was previously so afraid of doing something alone. The trip gave him new energy, and he came back ready to dive into new projects.