On the road again

Einstein, Loekie and Mariska

Yes, I am back on the road, and it feels so good. The vibes, the freedom and driving my camper Einstein I have really missed it the past months.

First stop

My first stop was in Hengelo, the Netherlands having conversation and site inspection together with Fons and Miriam, the founders of the association Zindividu (they support people and their loved ones who have a brain tumor) to discuss our first big event in November. Excited to be part of the creation of this event and to be part of the board.

Lovely friend

After dinner I drove to Germany spending the first days with my lovely friend Sandra. Fantastic to have crazy friends like her who get me through my grieving process and are taking care of me. Drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, laughing, dancing and crying! And having a face mask together why not? And as always, I got a big bag with food including homemade bread, coffee, croissant and much more on the road to my next destination.

Having a facemask with my lovely friend Sandra

Grieving walk goes to Cannes….

And the creation of the first international grieving walk in Canne is finished. After 7 grievingg walks in the Netherlands I will launch this project in France, in fabulous Cannes, on the beautiful island of St. Honorat. So proud about all these exciting projects. In case you’re in Cannes, the 4th of April is the first walk and second one on Saturday 15th of April. Spread the word :-)

New project in the pipeline

Finalized the details of my first grieving cruise in Turkey I’m over the moon that I found the right people to work on this special project. Not just a retreat or holiday but we (not just me indeed) taking people on a journey where they receive support before, during and after the cruise And to be with similar people.

Exciting to evolve and explore new areas as an entrepreneur. Thank you very much Sandra for your advice and suggestions. And Lia, great to have you as my support to complement the journey with your skills and experience in trauma, grief and yoga.

The first days on the road

I thought that I had packed everything… but you always miss something! Salt, not the most important element, cutting board, also not really important but the cable to charge my battery. So I can put on the electric heater… Ai, when it’s freezing outside and the camper shop is closed on Sunday, including the reception of the camping. Nothing to do then to put all my warm clothes on (yes, thermo underwear, I am prepared for all weather types) and blankets. And the day after to go to the camper store in the area (this sounds way more easy than it is!!!).

On top of that Loekie was carsick, she had to get used to living in the camper again I suppose… she threw up on my clean bed as soon as we arrived…. Perfect start! The only way is up right?

Wine Tasting with Love

At the second camping in Luxemburg, chosen to be close to Bad mondorf to visit my friend Attila and incoming president of MPI Belgium and Luxembourg. After having a delicious lunch and he gave me access to spend the afternoon in the wellness (which I grateful accepted the invitation) I drove to the winery where they had a few spots for campers available. The owner helped me to park and asked if I wanted to taste some wines. What a question! Of course. I returned at 6 pm as discussed and his father, 84 years young, explained his passion about wines. He wondered why I was alone, we were just the two of us, and I told him that my husband died. He told me that he lost his daughter at the age of 26 years in a car accident. It’s so extraordinary that people are so open about death. He said, we should change the subject and talk about more positive elements in life during the wine tasting, which I agreed to. At the end of the wine tasting (he kept opening different bottles and the topics changed rapidly from death to wine to religion to women…) 1,5 hours later… he guided me to the door and gave me a big hug. He asked for a kiss but I kindly refused (he didn’t accept the first no… ) I couldn’t stop laughing when I entered my camper. Why is it always me who has such strange adventures? Never thought that I would attract men of 84 years old… If he would have been 30 years younger it would be slightly different. Anyway, when I will drink some of his wines in the next days or weeks, I have an unique story to tell.

The next morning I had to pay my bill to his wife… wondering why the owner himself didn’t show up…???

Vanlife

Like discovering that you can’t put the heater, fridge and water cooker at the same time… important if you want to work a day from your camper. It’s not freezing cold, but still you need to heat. The cause : the voltage at the camping site is too low. Then you have to think strategically and creatively, how can I solve this challenge? Moreover, what is my priority? After a few hours in my camper, just sitting (working yes) it’s definitely the heater. Put another cable in the electricity box and connect it directly with the heater inside. Meanwhile you discover that the email server is out today… and can’t access my inbox. Well, I have to take the day as it comes… learning to be patient.

In case you have sent me an email and I haven’t replied, sorry. I hope this problem will be solved very soon.

And the water tank is leaking, so I need to figure what’s the source and how to solve this in the next few days.

For those who are considering living and working from a camper, be prepared. It looks like a dream life and it definitely is just take the challenges on top as an ‘interesting’ learning curve (on all levels…). Carpe diem.

Now heading toward the south of France where the sun is shining….

Cote d’Azur here I come!

#mariskajourney