Lonesome
It’s been eight weeks since I boarded my last plane from Buenos Aires. All in all, the return has been smooth, and everything went as planned, as far as the organization of it all is concerned. It could not have been smoother. Friends, colleagues and strangers ask how it is to be back, and if I […] Read More
Meet the world
I can retrace my journey on every map, or in my mind. But I can also retrace it with the people I have met along the way, the friends I have made. It is amazing to see how many people I have met, and how much they contributed to shape this journey. In the end, it […] Read More
Belgian discoveries
I thought: when I come back, I have to start rediscovering Brussels and Belgium again, with new eyes, just as if it would be another stop on my journey. And continue to Read More
Brussels street art
People don’t really know much about Belgium. At best, it boils down to this: Atomium, Manneken Pis, chocolate, French (!) fries… and comics! Belgium has such a rich tradition of comics – its best known export would definitely be ‘The adventures of Tintin‘ by Hergé. However, there are numerous others like Lucky Luke, Gaston or […] Read More
The men in grey
I am back at work. I usually go very casual. Some proper pants, maybe a jeans, then a shirt and some moderately colorful pullover over it. Banana Republic style. It usually works. Occasionally though I have to go in full fledged uniform. ‘Costume/cravatte’, as we say in French. The sight has become so rare that […] Read More
Encounters
…and just when I was hitting a bit of a low point, and thought I’d spend another evening locked in, despite the sunshine, I got a message… Georgios from Chicago, whom I had met a few times in Hong Kong over beers, texted me that he was in town. He was heading to Paris, to […] Read More
Processing
Three weeks ago my plane took off from Buenos Aires, and I was on my way back to Europe, back to my old life, a new apartment, old friends, a (nearly) new job… I was functioning pretty much on autopilot, without thinking too much, without even being too melancholic. Last week was my first nearly […] Read More
Travel bug
This video surfaced in 2011 around the time when I started to think seriously about making this journey. It fascinated, moved and inspired me. Weirdly, I didn’t have it on my laptop when I left. Today, I watched it again. And again. And again. And again. And I cried. Read More
Baby steps
It has been a couple of days that I am back home. I haven’t found anything like stability so far, but I didn’t expect to find it so soon. Of course the first few days were spent unpacking, then I went to London for the weekend, and had one final day in Brussels before going […] Read More
Epilogue
Back in Brussels, I have spent the first few days carrying boxes around. Bringing stuff up from the basement, bringing stuff down to the basement, going through all boxes, checking what I would need and what could potentially stay in the basement for another couple of months…. Brussels weather was at it’s best for such […] Read More