To the Mountains!

Barely having settled in my new residence a week, I’m already packing up to leave; be it only for a short while though. Today I’m going abroad on a little trip; my first little getaway since flying back from Washington. More on that in a bit.

It’s been a fun, but hectic three months to say the least; hauling as little belongings to keep me afloat back and forth between friends and family, working irregular hours, and all the while constantly keeping an eye out for a possible new place, put me in overdrive. Upon learning several weeks back that I would be able to move into a new home, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. A not so insignificant bonus, is that said place is in a wonderful street, smack-dab in the middle of the city centre of Utrecht, the city I’ve called home for almost 9 years. Even though I’m fond of travelling, there’s a limit to the amount of logistics I’m able to cramp in my busy mind. I’d like to take a small moment and pause to re-iterate the fun I did have the passing weeks though, taken in as family by friends, was amazing. A shout-out to (in no particular order): Stino & Jan, Pauline & Dirk, Peet & Nik, Stan & Tessa, Max & Myrt!

Your kindness and generosity is so deeply appreciated, and I’m certain that thinking back on those days, bumming around with all of you, will put smiles on my face for a long time to come! Thanks again.

On February first my brother and I gathered everything I own from 3 different locations and the past week I’ve kept myself busy with unpacking, and mostly; getting rid of anything redundant. After hiking the PCT I’ve never been more convinced that a minimalistic approach in terms of belongings is the way to go for me. In the weeks leading up to the move I kept on rambling to my family, a dreamy look in my eyes, about how excited I was to throw stuff out. And now that I had finally had the chance, it was time to put my money where my mouth was.
Which I did.

I feel that I’ve done a good job keeping only the essentials. Getting rid of a lot of stuff, relieved me of an big chunk of mental clutter in my mind. Creating space through creating space. A breath of fresh air.
Ooh the warm embrace of simplicity…

This morning I planned on packing for my trip. As I have an afternoon flight, I had only one hour and a half scheduled to get everything ready.

Packing my bag took me 6 minutes.

I guess I could use the spare eighty-four minutes to walk over to the shop and grab a nice breakfast..

And then, basking in the waves of a beautiful morning sun, I shut the door behind me and started pacing to the bus-stop. You see, I’m going to visit my friends today.

In France!

Gino, Thijs and I have been friends for over a decade now, getting formerly acquainted during our introduction period in Earth Sciences. As luck would have it, we were anointed to the same group for orientation, based on the first letter of our last names. During that week we quickly found like-minded spirits in one another and have been close friends ever since. Both of them easily qualify to fit the category of easiest-going people I know.
Meeting up with them always feels like coming home.

Gino is wicked smart, empathic and in the ten years I’ve known him, I have yet to catch him in a bad mood. The guy is so cheerful, it’s contagious. We’ve worked together on multiple field-exploits in the sizzling hot Southern Spain mountains. And while we we’re oftentimes wasting away in the burning sun, covered in dust and sweat, with no energy to take any more measurements, he was always the one to hit a positive note and keep things going. Also, he just has a great mind for geology. I’ve always been impressed with his mind and his ability to reconstruct our surrounding landscape into scientifically sound story.

Thijs is crazy creative, with a love and knack for puns and (like me) a borderline-autistic sense of perfectionism, when it comes to his own art. He makes the most unbelievable drawings, and works magic with creative software. When fully engaged into his work, zoned-in, he transforms into a wizard, and loves to geek out about that too. A great sparring partner for tons of idea’s about story-lines, visual representations and exploring possibilities of creativity.

Both of them moved to Paris to enroll in a PhD-program after obtaining their Masters degree in Utrecht. Gino has successfully been awarded the title of Doctor not too long ago. He’s since left the city of love, residing in France still, but closer to the mountains, in Grenoble. Thijs lives in Paris still.

The plan to set up another meet started to take shape, and so I find myself on a plane, and Thijs himself on the night-bus to visit Gino and spend some time together. Anticipation rose high the last days, and texts back and forth were lined with excitement.

Alright, back to my short haul abroad.
Travels to Utrecht Central station went smooth, passing the streets and buildings all too familiar from my turbulent times spend as an exploring student. I admired the mechanical marvel of glass and metal that is the shiny new train-terminal before I boarded a train to Rotterdam-The Hague airport.

I dug up my wire-less keyboard and was pleasantly surprised by its familiar touch, which I hadn’t felt since writing up the final posts of the PCT in Winthrop Washington. I jotted down a couple lines, hopped on the metro, chowed down some sandwiches and before I knew it, made my way to the airport terminal. A brief glance at the check-in lines and baggage check, made me realise it would be an easy, comfy flight. There were not many people about. I enjoyed the brief walk in the morning sun from the hangar to the plane, and settled comfy in my seat as the other passengers trickled into the small crate.

The female captain was in a jolly mood and made some jabs before the plane slowly rolled towards the runway. Not before reminding us that until having fully taken off, everybody should remain seated, exactly in the seat they were assigned too. It having to do with the plane being so empty (less than half of the seats were filled), everybody had been given seats as to align best with the planes center of gravity. Of course I found myself stuck between 2 mothers and their crying babies. I jammed my headphones in, endured the 10 minute turbulent take-off and with a sigh of relief found myself an empty row to myself in the plane.

The flight was uneventful, but my heart leapt soon before landing. Glancing out the window, I could already make out the first snow-capped peaks at the fringe of the Alps. When debarking the plane, I breathed in the fresh air and found myself surrounded with jagged grey-white ridges stretching out in all directions. A smile spread across my face.

After a 45 minute bus ride, I arrived in the capital of the Alps – and checked my phone. An information text let me know that on my phone-plan allowed me to pay the same fees for all services as back home. My tech-savvy friends shared their location, and within 5 minutes I caught up with Gino and Thijs, who were leisurely enjoying their afternoon beers on the terrace of a local pub. It was good to see them again.

Gino left, Thijs right.

We ditched my bags, and Gino suggested to hike up the fort of Bastille, to enjoy some of the views before sundown. An excellent idea to get moving straight away! The carved out trails lead through small but beautifully maintained botanical gardens, and we climbed the steps at a steady pace. Soon I was sweating in my puffy, and we stopped several times to catch our breaths. The views were spectacular, and I felt another wave of excitement hitting me, realising the endless out-door possibilities that now lie at Gino’s doorstep. I made a mental note to come visit here often.

We chatted about our lives, and revved each other up about the day ahead; tomorrow we will take a bus to do some hiking! On our way down, we got lucky and caught the golden hour cast its rays on the surrounding ridges. We watched the city falling into the slumber of dusk, the tranquil centre stage beneath a fabulous curtain of pink light.

The guys had prepared a wonderful dinner of marinated salmon with rice, fresh veggies, soy sauce and crispy fried garlic (which in hipster-world goes by the name of Poke-bowl). We talked on travel and pinpointed the countries we’ve traveled on an online map, igniting my wanderlust even more (and quite possibly theirs too).
Tomorrow’s an early rise.
Let’s do some hiking!

I see boxes
Fills up a room,
All the things I never told you still glooming
And I try though, I try though
Talking never seems to do it

I miss the taste of you, red hearts and the dust of June
Oh I miss the taste of you
The night now, its as dark as the crows,
That call me in the discernment above
Still they won’t let me be
Two hearts gone black and blue
Oh they wont let me be closer to you

Black & Blue – Gregory Alan Isakov