September 25, 2017
On the road again
As Jeroen waves me off on Monday, Spotify chooses to play the song ‘Miss Independent’ by Moombahteam, which is totally unknown to me. The camper woman who is also leaving right in front of me waves at me. This synchronicity creates an emotional whirlwind in me that grips my throat. Anxiousness about travelling alone. The unknown. Letting go of what you love so much. Pleasure. Pride. Together, they produce a shiny, lively tear.
Farewell round
After the farewell rounds with my family and five hours of nervous driving, I arrive at Harburger Berge Nature Campsite to find ‘nur gemütlichkeit’. Like a rain drop flowing into the river, on my evening walk, I am immediately taken into the talking circle of the locals with their dogs. The conversation is about, of course, all of our experienced or still desired trips. With a laugh, it is made known to me that it is a shame I have never been to the city of Hamburg.
You can’t overcome all obstacles at once
The next day. At the start of a 23 kilometre long, hilly hike, I drink a coffee poured from a pot held warm by a hotplate at a rastätte. A bunch of big-bellied men with balding heads sit at the bar by the window with the same coffee. All of those decorated city coffees are alien here. The photographer/writer in me wants nothing more than to shoot an image and have a chat. However, being the only woman in this testosterone gathering slows me down. With fantasies about the moment I will dare to take stage, I leave with a silent drum this time.
Daydreaming
During the walk, I daydream and look back on the first nine months of travel, which were all about creating a new, solid foundation for our relationship. Once poured in concrete, it appears we wanted to build a boundless two-piece on our foundation. The journey within our relationship is now about how we make our individual dreams come true. Taking the liberty for our own architectural wishes without affecting the foundation.
New nomads
The trip has turned our view on life around by 180 degrees. We want to keep going through life as ‘new nomads’. A couple of months in the camper. At our home base in Amsterdam. Or house exchange. We curiously look around us to find all the options. How we can combine this with our work not only keeps us busy, but our environment as well. Especially I, Sandra, want to travel as I write, take photos, and meet people. Jeroen wants fifty-fifty. Providing travel and leadership training. Allowing our joint and individual journeys of discovery to unfold naturally, in confidence, is our refreshing challenge.
Image of the day
With all this daydreaming, I almost forget to enjoy the summer-fresh nature all around me. Let me find an image that fits our relationship. Soon after, I see two trees whose roots are deeply intertwined. Above ground, close together, they find their own way. I squat down to take a photo. ‘Wait a minute’, says Floyd. You have forgotten me entirely in all of your daydreaming! Am I not a part of BUNDL too? He sits in a pose in front of the tree. Just like that, I have my image of the day.
Comment