Amsterdam in April

I love bridges. Amsterdam is full of them=
the city is beautiful.

I went to Amsterdam to see my German friend, Hanna.
We worked together in Hamburg in spring last year.
I think our next meeting point will be Portland.

Amsterdam is full of bikes. The bike riders in Amsterdam
are quite aggressive, I think. They seem even more aggressive
than the bike riders in Copenhagen.
Maybe the Copenhagen
bike riders seem less scary to me because
I know all the biking rules;
both the formal and the informal? 

Good times!

A couple of reasons why I hate and love travelling

Why I hate travelling:

1.       Packing is a nightmare! I went to Honduras on a short trip in February, and my luggage never arrived to the destination. I picked it up in Heathrow on the way home. I thought to myself, maybe I should spare myself of the hassle of packing next time and just bring a small hand luggage with the most important items.

2.       When I travel, I become a spectator to a greater or lesser extent. I watch new places and people. Having the role of a spectator for too long, I find tiring. The spectator does not play an active role and observes other people playing their roles in life. When I studied 2 semesters in Spain, I didn’t have any responsibilities besides passing my classes. At the end of my time in Spain, I really started missing having responsibilities (and commitments!) and having an active, long term, role to play in the lives of my friends, family and projects I’m part of at home.

3.       Small talking with strangers is a central part of travelling. I sometimes hate it. I get fed up of telling people my name, my country of origin, what I do, etc., and I start longing for a deep conversation with a good friend. A conversation with a person, I already share history with.  

Why I love travelling:

1.       I love the simplicity. I can only wear what I brought in my suitcase. This sometimes means I just wear what I wore yesterday; it’s relieving to have limited choices. Besides clothes, I only bring a few other items, which means I spend very little time on “moving stuff around” (sorting out my room).     

2.       It’s great to be a spectator for a while. When I go travelling I can (often) leave my responsibilities at home, my calendar is empty and I can just live and enjoy life. This opens up a space inside me where I can start looking at my life with new eyes.  

3.       Small talking with strangers on journeys can be rather enriching. Small talks can turn into interesting and meaningful conversations which gives me insights into lives of people who are very different from me and their life stories and worldviews challenge my view on myself, God and the world.