A bumpy start

Yes, I am on the road again…
And what a start.

My first journey started perfect, the second already has unexpected twists.
It reminds me, there is never a dull moment in my life!

Cologne
I drove to Cologne on Tuesday, a smooth road until my first stop.
I met an amazing inspiring woman (and her place is just as awesome as she is) who treated me for a nice lunch but mainly for a beautiful conversation. We never met before, but we had an emotional conversation about our lives and of course about Miek, our common friend that we lost.
Finishing the lunch with a dive in the pool and I was ready for the next stop, the other side of Cologne to visit Hector.
As charming as Hector is he picked me up and we looked for the right spot to park my camper in a safe place.

Sleeping the first night in my camper was a bit strange (it was warm!) but also nice to be back in my home.

Podcast
And yes of course I am working during my journey. As still many of you think I’m just on a holiday… not!
Working from Hectors home, I recorded a podcast together with Courtney.
Courtney lives in the US and due our common friend Eric, we got in touch again. Both a background in events, she asked me to be part of her podcast (dare to interrupt, a theme to my heart) and supports women. A powerful and inspiring lady to follow.
We spoke about my journey and recorded a nice conversation, another step in the right direction. Once you speak out, things will happen (manifest, yes Marianne!).

What happens in Cologne…
When I arrived at my camper in the evening, I noticed something strange and my heartbeat went up immediately! I saw the door was not closed properly, something I would never do.
Then I saw the window was open and directly I l knew what happened and feared for the most. Opening the door I entered a complete mess, my stuff everywhere… and the first thing I did was look for the most precious item I have, my cat. She was hiding under the blankets and it looked like a bomb exploded next to her, completely in shock. If only cats could speak…. quickly checked what was missing and the only thing that I could identify was the Iphone of Christophe. I was not using it very often, just cherishing the memories, his messages, pictures and more. It’s gone and nothing in the world would appreciate the value more than I do. I have the memories in my heart but still, and the one who took it has no clue.
I called Hector who arrived immediately and picked me up and decided to spend the night at his place, with Loekie. No I didn’t call the police because they will not come and when I say that an Iphone was stolen and the window of my camper is broken, well…

Yes I know it could have been worse. It’s not the first time this happened, the first was when I was a student and caught the burglars when they were still in my house! But the emotional damage is there, and I didn’t thought it would have had so much of an impact. Or perhaps it reminded me of my previous experience.

The next day I cleared the mess and decided to stay for another night in Cologne. This was also due for another nice reason.

Pizza and beer
If you’re spending the night at a mens ‘only’ place, football, pizza and beer is must to have ;-). Watching football with Hector and his two sons. Especially when the local team of Cologne is playing (I am at a total loss in this field). It’s nice to see the local cultures, unfortunately the team lost. I will have to come back for a winning match!

Surprise
It’s not all bad news! After 2 hours on the road on my first day I received a message from Nyomi that she will join me again, yes. Toppie! She drove with me from Krakow to Frankfurt and since then many things happened. She predicted that I would support entrepreneurs who are going through a similar process like I am going through. If I think about this, it makes me happy and I want to cry. I should ask if she’s helderziend?
Despite that I lost so many loved ones, if you open your heart and can see the beauty of life again, it’s surprising what all can happen in such a short period of time.
I am forever grateful that this young (and crazy!) lady who decided to join my first trip and now my second trip.
On Wednesday we will be together on stage during the Future Leaders Forum and do an interview together about our journey to inspire students and other young professionals to stay in our industry, and that different lifestyles are possible.
Traveling together to Ljubljana is like a dream come true and getting closer to my mission (the ted talk) and to create a new company to support entrepreneurs.

Life in a camper
The weather changed completely. On my way from Cologne to Munich it started to rain sometimes so heavily that the average speed was 50 km on the highway.
I arrived at my camping… well I decided to choose a quiet place and spend the night at a guest house near the airport at the countryside. They have the capacity for a few campers. It’s the most expensive camping I have ever had!
Anyway it was quiet and started to rain at 9 pm and I forgot to close the window above my bed… yes my blanket was wet! And I thought that I would have a peaceful night, not!
It’s not only fun as a digital nomad. It’s the first time since my journey it rained so much. I’m relieved for the nature and that Ihave to prepare for different types of weather as my plan is to come back just mid December.

Now on the way to Ljubljana together with Nyomi, Slovenia here we come!

Curious what will come next…

The only way is up!