Going to Denmark repeatedly, you find that there are certain differences between the years. Not as much in the house you stay at, not as much with the people you travel with, not as much how many good deals on Blu-rays you find, not as much about the weather and the food and the sweets and the fun and games.

The biggest difference is the situation of oneself, in which you embark on that familiar trip.
I have had some tighter, some looser, some more stressful, some extremely relaxed times in Denmark.
But never like this, being on a work break for as long and having learned so much about myself in such short time. It feels like my life is on a tipping point, and I am not afraid, only excited to find out what future is in store for me and for my loved ones…

New Home

To do what you like, without the usual restrictions, rules, boundaries and routines.
This mostly happens in dreams. But in a dream you rarely come ready to deal with this unexpected freedom and all the opportunities.

My own flat is like a dream.

I left a big frame of my life and stepped into this other, much more customisable one. I can decide over pretty much everything inside my walls, build my own world in ways I could ever only dream about.
This dream doesn’t really end, though. And sometimes it feels more real, sometimes less so. At some points I realise that I am in control, at other points I learn which factors to obey to.

Dreams show you many everyday things that you wouldn’t put into that certain context, so it is a fun way to explore how your own brain works under different conditions.

I just started to get the hang of this dream, I am beginning to like it, to feel at home inside of it.
This is a journey I will be on for a longer time, I feel.

Be welcome, do visit me inside this dream, share it with me, make it more real!

United States of America

Not many shows have caught my fancy the dreamy way Twin Peaks did.

As I found myself in British Columbia, I discovered that the places it was filmed weren’t far. In fact, they were so close I decided to go for one of my most memorable road trips.

The still marvelous rental car carried me all the way over the border, to the Snoqualmie Valley, where major parts of the show were filmed. In my time there, I even drove around the Olympic National Park, which mountain peaks I have peeked on from Canada.

I visited many sights of the show, had A Damn Fine Cup Of Coffee at a real American diner with coffee refills, saw Elk (finally) in multitude, was shown unexpected generosity by my Airbnb hostess, dreamlike hospitality by the Peaker-friendly DirtFish Rally School and enjoyed getting to know the local Sasquatches in that happy place called North Bend.

Where ‚The Great Northern‘ from the Show was filmed, I was lucky to find the place open as well and indulged in its magic and serenity, saw the iconic log, went further up into the Hall of Mosses, which sounds just as spectacular and possibly life-changing as it made a lasting impression on me.

A trip straight out of a dream, that was. A dream I woke up from to spend one last night with my loved ones in Canada, before returning home an enriched man.

New Home

Up to my birthday I had worked on my flat all by myself. I had a wish:
To move on exactly that day, to spend that point in time in the most special way.

Disassembling, carrying and pushing and running is hardly done alone, so it was clear that I would spend my birthday with loved ones.
And the help I got was plenty and sincere! In the end, I said thanks to my parents and all who helped and could sleep in my own bed in another house for the first time.

And that hard but successful day wasn’t all! Some installation, reparation and investigation went all well because of my parents and friends. The next day, an old friend of mine helped me move even more stuff with his truck and about the day of the moving of the washing machine I’d rather not talk about. Only as much: Without the support and love I couldn’t have done any of it.

Up to now, I already had some guests over. Inside my kitchen, inside my several rooms and that is one strange and wonderful new feeling!

Yes, I am living there on my own. But having seen other people enjoy that very home creates a wonderful perspective and makes every effort worth so much more.

Aren’t our lives rooted among the people surrounding us? Some times more, some times less direct, but without the others we wouldn’t do the things we do.
And what about when those other people are, in fact, loved ones?

Canada

If another person simply agrees with you while appreciating a view or an activity, it doubles the whole experience, I learned.
How much more so, if this person is close to you, or even responsible for sharing the occasion?

Having met some lovely people along the way up to my trip to Oliver, including the nicest bird and chipmunk feeders up on Cascade lookout, I set out to meet my friends.

I got to know them as a most lovely couple in Wellington about 8 years ago, we shared quite some remarkable moments together and now I was to meet not only them, but their two little boys and their mom as well.

Surreal and yet real were the first moments of having each other back and seeing the new faces. There were no barriers. We just continued where we left off, as people with a rich past, sharing and caring.

Michelle and Shaun with the kids provided so much quality time, I left with a heart heavy with love and and inspiration and lasting impressions. It is a majestic thing, to witness friends you already look up to having just adorable children, one cuter than the other and all fit for the world.
Just as way back when, we sat and exchanged our current thoughts and ideas. It felt natural, felt good, felt right.

Their mom proved to be the greatest host ever, the fun we had, the stores we visited (as fleshed out second hand shoppers), the corners we discovered! Not only spectacular, but also worth twice as much, because they were being shared. Grateful is but a weak word for it.

As I shared my previous travel stories with my friends, those wild experiences felt much more real as I could put them into valued perspective of my friends. And nothing beats getting to know a country by being with its people, telling you how lucky you are seeing it in all its glory.

Oh, I am lucky to have had this time and a blast in lovely company!

New Home

For whom do I buy things, clean things, rearrange things, make decisions?

Ever since I detached from the former style of living and moved, the answer has been more than clear and very pure: For myself. I am the one who benefits.

The new flat is for me, affecting my own life first and is a vast canvas for my personal world building.

For a long time my room has been some kind of central chamber my life would spin around.
Now, I have expanded those chambers not only in number, but also in function: My very own bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom and inbetween room (I call that one studio, fashionably).

I had some time to think about the new way of living and was sure from the beginning: These rooms will represent myself. So I painted a wall red. Another one dark green, for contrast. Two natures and such.
The kitchen was red in the first place, the disco ball went into the bathroom and I have a fresh red toolbox for cutlery storage. There is music already and food and my carefully picked dishes, which have excellent haptic qualities. A Gluggle Jug makes pouring water a joy and coffee aplenty from my red coffee maker keeps all senses sharp.

Further plans I do have many, for when I arrive at the later stages of home decoration, but they shall altogether make the inside of those walls but one thing: Mine.

So that every guest and after all I myself can see who lives in there…

Canada

My Journey On led me to the next stop. Only one night I planned on spending there, which is a short stay, I know.
For the next day I would already go back towards the Fraser Valley to meet my friends after 8 years. So this one day had to suffice.

The reason why I chose a random spot for a single night a few hours into the country(side) was of rather personal nature and nurture: It is called Oliver, naturally.

My expectations of some rougher landscape and a little quiet me time after yet another long road trip were quickly surpassed by the absolutely positively gorgeous views and vibes up on the hill with the cabin and the lovely company of a truly Canadian couple staying next door, plus the overly attached dog I named Caretaker for obvious reasons.

As it was the basic gist of this destination, I indulged in taking pictures of all the depictions of my name, collected some broad smiles when I told people my name, ate pizza with literally Everything on it. I had the chance to share my personal journey of late and to connect with other people, which does make the own life all the more tangible.

This little part of the trip was just for me, and I think that was okay:

New Home

There is no reason not to do all the things at hand. You do have a plan, a vision, a place to claim.

Within my flat, many things needed to get done from the beginning. Usually I am not an enthusiast for renovations, cleaning and tidying, but this was all different: I knew exactly why I was doing it!

And there was no stopping as long as the day would kindly last. Under purpose you move fast and with ease.
The latter only until your strength fades. And that happens more slowly when something makes you happy, but still exhausts you on a long run.

I knew all the things I wanted to get done, up to moving in and after that to make my new home nice and mine.
Deep cleaning window frame after window frame, removing spot after spot, installing appliance after appliance, unpacking box after box, choosing and buying item after item, constantly planning step after step.

But there was one thing I needed to be reminded of by the one suffering the most under it: My body was running low on energy.
Not that all successes weren’t satisfying, but at several points I needed to regain some of that through most basic me time.

Sometimes I tend to forget that the one who does the things I do, might deserve some rest, too.

Canada

I got my means of transportation from turo.com: It is just like Airbnb, but for cars.
The car proved to be perfect for the whole time: Comfortable, reliable and very much fuel-efficient!

So I set out to explore Vancouver Island. I knew there would be rain forests, coastline, many animals and some remote, beautiful and stunning places. I had a plan: To see it all.

My base of operations was near Victoria, so I made good use of the vehicle, driving a lot around the whole island, after having some walks in the area as well.

Only later I was told that the lengths I travelled bordered on the extreme, having seen Sooke, Lake Cowichan, Tofino and Port Hardy in six days, among other places…

But there was no reason not to go everywhere, given the purpose of my visit and the nature of my travel. I just wanted to see it all, as I was there all for it.
Not at first, but soon I noticed that my energy reserve did not quite match up with the plan I thought up. My body just wasn’t having constant travel and euphoria and the masses of things you deem joyful and desirable.

I learned that some blatant rest and rather seflish me time is just as important than hitting the road hard and long. After all it is my very own journey and joy should be enjoyed.

And those lessons make me look back in ever so much gratefulness for the time spent on the road and also by myself:

I will tell 2 stories that don’t belong together, but they do.

One is about a journey to another continent, one is the story about me moving into my own place.
One will have beautiful pictures, the other will be of more personal, yet subtantial and practical nature.
One has an end, the other goes on.

Both, though, are unique and filled with wonder and with awe.
Both began with thoughts, wishes and heaps of courage.
Both are so close to each other that I would like to tell them as close as this.

New Home

Finding this flat was a chance encounter. What I liked most out of the many impressions were the vibes and the air the place had. It went all so well, so that I secured the lease before heading out to Canada and I could begin occupying the place right after my return.

Thus, after I returned to Germany, for the first time I didn’t really arrive back in my old room, but stayed on the journey, not settling in to the old life after the trip as always.

Even after unpacking the suitcase I would already think about packing again. I went and got the keys to my new doors right away and knew what needed to be done: Preparing the rooms for painting, painting, cleaning the rooms from any excess paint, removing leftover paint from previous paintjobs, cleaning every corner in an initial manner and after the work would have been done, I could move in with my stuff.

White paint I received as leftover gifts, which was enough to paint 6 walls and two ceilings. Buying colorful paint for the other two walls was an emotional process and those emotions paid off very much while painting already!

Half of a paintjob is the preparation itself, so I spent two days on it all: One day essentially preparing and the other painting. Covered in a mixture of sweat and paint, I was done with the first acts of conquering my new world!

Cleaning is just as conquerous, which took many afternoons after work and ever so much sweat in the hot days of June, but here I always knew why I did it all and whom for. Those were hard days, but ever so rewarding with each other step taken!

Canada

The trip started with a successful nightdrive to the airport, only to discover that my flight had been delayed several hours. But I was lucky enough to go through a waiting list for the other overbooked flight and got in!

The reason to be happy about that not only is the blessing of having gotten in, but the nonstop nature of the offered flight. I certainly would have missed the connecting flight in Toronto as well, but now I could fly directly into Vancouver and arrived even earlier than expected.
If that is not a bumpy, but phenomenal start, I don’t know what is.

After being impressed by first impressions at the Vancouver Airport, I got into the city hassle free and had a pleasant check-in at the Airbnb, which was located in a convenient spot and was a safe haven for the first days.

Before I would go to Vancouver Island, I had some days of settling in here in Downtown Vancouver. I got to check off some essentials (getting a SIM card, realising that I had packed too many warm clothes) and explore and see what Vancouver is all about.

It is a bustling city, but with many faces. Of which some belong to humans in a broken state, which was hard to witness and to put into perspective.

As of the the rumors of Vancouver being rainy: I haven’t seen any of that, actually on the whole trip I got more sun than I would ever have thought of, and that was only one of many special aspects of the time there.

In all, I had some nice interactions and tastes and impressions, rented a bike for more swift and flexible transportation for a day, tested the limits of my feet once more and captured many of the sights in Vancouver:

To be familiar with a great place on earth is a privilege. But coming back to it after several years is a whole other experience.
My last visit to South-East-Asia has been a rush, but I enjoyed my time in Malaysia the most, so it would be only fitting to come back to the very same country. (plus a very brief stay in Singapore before the flight back)

But I might have waited longer, wouldn’t there be someone waiting as one of the main reasons for the visit…
You might remember the mention of a new friend in the article about my first visit to Malaysia. This old man, who I have met for such short time back then, has become a real friend over the years of exchanging letters. So one part of this trip would be very special.

In the following, I would like to lay out some of the elements that made this trip so unbelievably wonderful and shockingly perfect:

Travel Companion

Many of my travels I did in solitude (though ending up in marvellous company anyway), but not this one.
In order to have a great time, your travel companion should be an angel: Never in a bad mood, constantly appreciating the good things that happen around us, taking on at least half the organisatory tasks, being supportive when it takes me ages to choose, doing her own thing now and then, being brave when it comes to tasting gifted dried fish, not letting a foul word leave her mouth and never wasting energy to complain.
I don’t know where such people come from, but if you find someone who likes to see the good in the world as much as you: Go travel with them, once in a while!

Plan B

I like to plan things. And if I were planning my trip on my own, I would have booked it all in advance.
Luckily, we decided to leave as much as we could to be booked on the way, so that we had only very few things we were fixed on seeing. This is ‘Plan A’: The things that you set your heart on.
A careful evaluation of how that affects the travel plans made our list punchy, but short. Also, the very location of where our trip lead us was insurance enough for the experience we wanted.
What was more important for the feeling of child-like safety (one of the most craved goods in the adult life), was ‘Plan B’.
Plan B is constantly evolving and adapting towards Plan A, making sure everything is going well if something out of your control were to happen. It includes the secondary things like transportation, accommodation and the necessary list of priorities.
I discovered that it is far more useful to care about Plan B, as Plan B knows all the weaknesses of Plan A, makes sure that it doesn’t break apart and also leaves Plan A far more flexible for remodelling on the way.

So in the end, we ate all the nice things, saw all the nice places, visited my dear old friend in Penang, saw the beach, encountered more funky animal than we had anticipated, found some cool souvenirs and finally had some sugar cane juice!
Plan B helped us not worrying and making sure that we would achieve all those points.
This left room for so so many moments of mild freedom, where we were just living in the moment, absolutely sure we were well-tended.

Listen to recommendations

Luckily my intentions of booking all in advance were altered into the flexible approach, as that let us listen to local recommendations.
And following them, easy: If two different parties tell you not to go to the Cameron Highlands, you might want to take it as a sign and travel to Pangkor Island instead. If you don’t get encouraged to go to the East coast of West Malaysia because of the rain season, don’t be sad and don’t go. If someone tells you to try out this restaurant, you better go there. If another traveller writes you notes on scraps of paper of how to take a ferry to the mainland, you go take that ferry! If some people tell you about a temple lit up in all the colours, you surely should check it out. If you book an Airbnb and receive a personal tour guide with it, you are well off following his directions to irreplaceable memories.

Level 2

There are 3 types of activities in a country, also applies to food:

1. Those made for tourists
2. Those made for locals
3. Those only locals know about

A Level 1 vacation would be in a closed resort, with transport to and from the airport and food from the daily buffets.
A Level 2 vacation fears all Level 1 activites and looks for the authentic experience in the streets.
A Level 3 vacation is impossible without consulting locals and having a guide throughout the trip.

We were on the same page, luckily, and went for Level 2 as much as we could. Most of the time, we found ourselves out of sight of any other European, sitting, walking and eating with the locals as if it were natural.
Also we were so so lucky to have made connections with local people and even made some friends on the way, that we accessed some Level 3 on the way.
And who could say they ordered something not written on the menu in Malaysia?

Don’t fear the rain

It is all wet. The air, the toilets, the sweat, the rain. It would be the greatest challenge to flee all that.
We didn’t bother with this challenge. Because we would have missed so many encounters, weather moods, funny places and time outside. So pack your umbrella or your waterproof jacket, next time you go and experience more!

Rewards

When your trip looks something like this, you have done it right:

Of all the unexpected things this year, some occasions stood out. For there were many of them and I knew of little in the beginning.

Since 2019, I also do wedding photography. And while the recent years certainly haven’t helped couples and photographers alike, this year allowed us to create something together again. Something I’d like to sum up as: Magic.

I am sure of one thing: 2023 will be about evolving. (Though, isn’t every year?)

What awaits, we don’t know. But I am looking forward to it!

See you there 😉

Once again we visited Denmark and once again the images shall speak for themselves 🙂