So my host in Vechta thought it might be more interesting to take me to his home town, which is Wedel, near Hamburg. So we drove North for 180km.
He told me all about the social club he started to spread parkour to the children and it kind of inspired me to get more active in parkour again as well. We trained in a gym with some locals where he usually teaches. I had a good time yet again I felt like gym trainings aren’t really my thing.
Afterwards we found the biggest crane in town and we climbed it, not minding the snow or the cold. The view was amazing, I managed to take some pictures and we chilled there for a while.
The next day I got up, had something to eat, got a team T-shirt and hit the road. I had a 7 hour drive ahead so I didn’t wait too long to go.
On the way I stopped a few times to have something to eat and to have a swift break. Since I don’t take any highways, I get to see a lot and it gives me opportunity to make stops in beautiful places I didn’t plan on seeing.
For example, I was driving a road somewhere between Hamburg and Dortmund and I was surrounded by a beautiful, snowy forest full of pines. I decided to pull over at the first parking lot I came across. I dressed up warm, put my hiking shoes on and went into the forest. It felt kind of weird since I was the only one there. I saw some deer and heard lots of beautiful noises. Walking down the soft paths underneath the snowy pines is all it takes to find peace within oneself. As a photographer I got some shots ofcourse and I wandered through the woods for a whole while. By tracing my steps I was able to find my car and carry on driving.
My host in Dortmund was waiting for me when I arrived on the evening. I went to bed pretty early since I had had a long drive which made me pretty tired. The next day we had tea and long conversations. He’s a really wise man, with a rather interesting look at things.
Last night we played a game of chess over some tea before going to bed and I really liked it.
Today I went around Dortmund by metro while Jens, my host, had to work. I saw some interesting stuff and had a great, silent, long walk through the Rombergpark, which is huge!
Reading this probably seems great but I must say the trip isn’t nearly going as well as I would’ve wanted. Never had I thought I would miss people at home this much. Multiple hosts keep cancelling on me and I feel worse than before leaving Belgium. In fact many hosts don’t even respond anymore leaving me with barely another month of travel…
It makes me wonder if ‘happiness’ is just a word. Maybe chasing a lost dream won’t get me there. Maybe I found happiness at home but I never gave it a chance, possibly not wanting to see it because I held on to past relationships. However I can already agree to the phrase ‘
Happiness is only real if shared.’
Whatever it is I hope to find and accomplish here, it doesn’t matter if I can’t love.
This does not mean I’m giving up just yet. I have talked to some of my Slovakian hosts who are very eager to meet me. Most of them are girls around my age who also want to travel, which makes me think I could make some close new friends. I definitely want to meet them and learn a bit of Slovakian. I’m hoping my Czech hosts get in touch soon as well.
To be honest I’m getting really discouraged but I’m not about to quit just yet. Many things have been cleared up already, so nothing has been in vain.
Home is behind, the world ahead. 