New Design

// June 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // blog

Next to setting up my new photo-website, yet another thing on my list since long: to host my blog myself and change how it looks. Finally accomplished. I am happy how it integrates with my photos and also other features, such as the ‘lifestream’ with all sorts of my online activity that are automatically generated and nicely presented in one clean overview.

And after more than a year of css-editing, it took me less than some hours to make this theme ‘mine’. For the most part it also has the same look-and-feel as my photo-site that I worked on a couple of months ago: http://photos.robokow.net

The only challenge was to customize the front-page and change some of the features that came with the default theme Irresistible from WooThemes. For example, inside the customized home-page I had to replace the Flickr-widget with ZenPhotoPress, which turned out to be a lot easier than I thought.

There is still some other things on my list (a good overview of projects I am involved in, for example as in a portfolio) but we are getting closer.

Somewhere in Portugal

// April 23rd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // blog, hitchhiking, travel

Deciding in Berlin for Somewhere in Portugal

Hundred-and-fifty people and amazing fun in Paris two years ago, just over a hundred in Odesa last year (a lot harder to get to, see video) and non-stop hitching adventures. The ones gathered are hitchhikers, first-timers and hardcore travelers. Nice reunions of friends and contacts, of people who share-alike.

Both times I helped (un)organising the events. And this year again I do my part, setting up the website hitchgathering.org and helping out with communications and outreach.

I am not so much of a scouter and both last years the location of where to meet was pretty much left to the last minute, literally. And again for this year, we have no clue yet where to meet, except for “somewhere” in Portugal. Fantastic, and perfectly alligned with a hitchhiking attitude.

It ain’t easy for people to embark on quite a big trip to Portugal if they never hitched before, and especially if people have to hitch through Spain (which can be a bit of an adventure). So there is a challenge for many of us to inspire and motivate them.

Happy Celebrations

// April 14th, 2010 // No Comments » // blog, life

This year I had a really great birthday-celebration. As a surprise I received dozens of e-mails and phone-calls from all sorts of (old) friends and people who stayed over in my house. And quite some people also came over to celebrate my 32th with me.

The day started with a great practical joke: on the casa-site I found myself back in a photo with the Dutch Royal Crown. If that wasn’t enough already, it came with a story “that several royals from across Europe will Hitchhike for the milestone birthday!”

Birthdays for me are always a good moment to reconnect with old friends and lost connections, which this year turned out very well. As another surprise, I even had grandpa coming over. It was great to see my 91-year-old opa here.

It is just wonderful to see how people care for you and what they do to show you their care. I received poetry, a painting, many good wishes and the people who are currently staying with me in the house, took really good care of visitors, a clean casa, and food around the clock.

My birthday this year encompassed a lot more than I expected. Therefore: a Huge Thank You!

Trusting Freely

// February 11th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // blog, life

How one thing leads to another. How one ride goes into the next. Always bringing me further. I surrender to the route that is shaping me.

Grounded on earth, but flying like a bird. How do I decide what is next? I leave it be, I wait for ideas to come, play with them; juggle to see what stays up and which lands in my hands.

Tidal waves come in and splash their drops. There is salt on my body and I allow the rain to wash it off. Naked, I deeply wish to always be.

Roaming freely, looking further, while taking my time to embed my feet… trusting what is underneath.

Home Sweet Roads

// October 12th, 2009 // 8 Comments » // blog, travel

Ever since leaving Amsterdam to the 789 hitchhiking festival in the Ukraine, I didn’t stop traveling and I hitched around 8000 kilometer. I was ready for a new adventure though and wanted to give HitchBiking a try, not with a foldable bike but with the new mountain-bike that I was given in Barcelona.

My goal was to arrive in Antwerpen within 2 days, and after a short stay, to bike the last 160 kilometers to Amsterdam. The first two rides were perfect and I got close to the border with France at around six in the evening, leaving Barcelona at two in the afternoon.

So why not bike across the border, as I was on a not-so-good hitch-spot anyway? I assembled the bike, got the wheels together, the seat back up and my bags on the new bike-rack, that I had bought especially for this purpose. Just 20 meters on the road, the unfortunate happened. I was in shock looking at the front wheel axle split in two.

F***

(more…)

Magic happens when you allow it

// September 19th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // blog, travel

It has been 7 weeks since I left Amsterdam. I was planning to be on the road for some weeks only, but events led me to keep on going. And now I am back (again) in my old home-town: Barcelona.

I keep saying it, but it keeps amazing me how wonderful it is to hitch through Europe. This time things were a bit tougher than usual, I have been hitching through the night, had to sleep outside several times in parks and petrolstations, but every time there was a beautiful spot or people to help me out. And one night I even had a cat to accompany me.

Also, arriving at your next destination is even more wonderful when it takes you 3 or even 5 days to get there. From East Italy to Barcelona, with a stop-over in Avignon (France) to pick up a friend, took me that long. But somehow the rides and drivers, and how fluidly it moves into each other is simply beyond imagination… when you allow it to happen

Roaming freely

// August 26th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // blog, hospitality, travel

Feeling the road

For more than a year I was looking forward to this month. The 7th of August 2009 was going to be the best hitchhiking day this year, I had this feeling in advance, but in reality it turned even better than expected.

First of all, I picked up a fellow traveler from a petrolstation rigth behind Krakow in Poland, 24 hours after a non-stop travel from Amsterdam. Being completely tired, only two rides further we were invited by a Polish family for bed and dinner. Some days later and many rides and crazy adventures including a round trip through some Ukrainan mountains to get to the rainbow festval, we arrived for the 789 festival in Odesa just in time (3 at night), thanks to numerous people, including a zen driver and two angels.

Things didn’t stop amazing me during this trip. I did not have any real plans, and so a week later I found myself back in Berlin, at a house that resembles the casa in Amsterdam very much. After having spend 10 days here, making new connections and helping to sustain the community, I now plan to go south again by tomorrow, heading to Italy. And who knows what is next. Life really is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

hitchhiking works

// June 10th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // blog, travel, work

Jobs and me don’t go well together and the only reason why I liked my last job so much was because of the hitchhiking. I did it twice a week, up and down to Den Haag without much troubles. I had great rides, received fantastic stories and shared many things with the more than 50 drivers within 6 weeks of working and hitching. I even started writing about it in Dutch on a new webpage that I called “hitching works“!

And as if it was bound to happen: the day I had quit my job again, the day I was on my last day of hitching to work, I got offered new work by one of my drivers. I could not have been two seconds later at my usual spot as I was instantly picked up by her. Barely 15 minutes later she offered me to work for her, by making a television show about sustainability…

The show is already made and even broadcasted. It was a great success. The presentors and other members of the team were very happy with the work done and there is even the possibility to make more shows for them after the summer. And in addition, during this last day of hitching to and from work, I even got offered a bottle of wine by my final driver who dropped me off at my house.

Hitchhiking definitely works

Trusting Experiences

// March 19th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // blog, dumpster diving, life, travel

Living in the house where I have been since I got back to Amsterdam has been truly amazing. Somehow I got to meet so many great people over the past year, that I cannot believe it myself all the time. So-called randomness has become a core of life. Through friends, friends through friends, those tagging along or sent by a letter, or through the ones we somehow found, it seems even more present than for example, while traveling.

There are many people who would appear here if I would list them. And way too many stories for a simple overview. Things have been really great, and there are numerous different accounts you can get your stories from. But one of the core values of these events though, might be the praxis of creation through the tasting of life and trusting.

[vimeo 3514257]

I am sure you will enjoy the video “Skipping Waste. Free (the) Food“, by Lily Barlow. While traveling and staying over at the casa, she made an awesome production about rescuing food from thrown away, and how to see waste as beauty. It documents six stories from three cities about dumpster divers, people who treasure and recreate trash.

Hitching To Work

// February 12th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // blog, travel

The roads are calling, the time is revealing. I have been on a trip here and there but traveling has rather been on a standstill. Let’s have that changed. Now.

So today I am hitching to work, to sign my contract and meet my new collegues. The office is in Den Haag, a 45 minute ride away and I can’t be bothered taking the train. Evenmore, I plan to do this on a weekly basis, as my new part-time job requires me to be in their office just once a week.

Before starting in this new position though, I will first hitch to Munich, further on to Slovenia and possibly even visiting other places in the coming two weeks. Can’t wait to be on the wider roads again, to be in other places and meet wonderful people while traveling myself.