Finistère (Bretagne, France) I settle into speechlessness, a blanket with holes under which there is never enough warmth. The warmth of familiarity remains outside. It remains an unknown warmth. And since there is little inside, the soul looks for what it needs on the outside. But the outside is gray and wet. The gray changes, but it d...

Finistère (Bretagne, France) When something changes from new to familiar, how this changes the way we see things. There is an expansion of the self. Then the lingering becomes the new. I often think about what would happen if I had to go back to one of my old lives. The answer is clear and unambiguous, there is no going back to any old...

Finistère (Bretagne, France) It rains a lot. A lot. How much gray can I take? The sun hasn't shown itself once all week. The gray is joined by a fine drizzle, on and off. The wind whips it across the fields from the west. Not going mad during this time is a challenge. No outside actions during the week, all I am left are intimate momen...

Finistère (Bretagne, France) Four weeks have passed. We are in a new place, in a new region, in new accommodation. It starts all over again. Four weeks is not a long time, but it is enough to get a feel for the rhythm of a region. So we will stay in this rhythm for the next few month. This is our third stop on this trip, with two more ...

I don't read books anymore. I don't know when I stopped. As is so often the case, it has crept into my life. And before you consciously realize it, it has already become a certainty. I love books, but I don't currently miss reading them. It's the same with podcasts. I've listened to one or two, but I haven't finished any of them. Basic...

Ille-et-Vilaine (Bretagne, France) “A good sense of one's own boundaries enables a healthy self-demarcation and at the same time a certain flexibility in adapting to others. ” I ran from something I couldn’t name. I felt it was about me, it was my fault. And therefor I was wrong. All my life it was like this. I wanted to run because I ...

Ille-et-Vilaine (Bretagne, France) Leaving means letting go. But letting go does not happen immediately and especially not when you leave something you have grown fond of. Even if you‘ve been there only for a short time. Moving on does not mean leaving it behind. Every parting happens in waves and this waves flatten over time until at ...

Côtes-d'Armor (Bretagne, France) I still want to discover so much, see so much, experience so much and take so much with me, but I have no choice but to surrender to the forces of the world. Wind and rain, sometimes light and then stormy. And that for days. Days that pass by. Days on which I can do nothing but dream. Days in which I ha...

Côtes-d'Armor (Bretagne, France) I can't help but think about saying goodbye now. And I'm building up a list of things I'm going to miss. But we're still here, we still have a few days left. And each of these days is precious. In every farewell there is always a new beginning. But I'm not longing for that. Not like in other places. Bec...

Côtes-d'Armor (Bretagne, France) In front of me in the distance is the horizon, where I can't make out where the sea ends and the cloud-covered sky begins. A strong wind whistles around my ears, I pull up the hood of my outdoor jacket and it immediately becomes noticeably quieter. The whistling is replaced by a humming sound that comes...

Côtes-d'Armor (Bretagne, France) “Collect moments, not things.” I remember when I first saw this quote. It was back in 2014, when we where on our first long trip together in South East Asia. We arrived in the middle of the day in a hostel in Bangkok and checked into our room. Tired of a long flight, hungry and overheated. Exhausted by ...

Côtes-d'Armor (Bretagne, France) “„Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.“ — Henry David Thoreau” “„It is about here, about timeless presence, about the depth of the night, about the sacred secret that hides in boredom in silent ecstasy, about sound of nature.“ — Unknown” It's wonderfu...

Leaving Berlin means leaving the bad feelings and thoughts behind me. That's true for the moment. But I know that I can't escape what's inside me. The damage that has been done and the darkness that comes with it will haunt me for the rest of my life. So here we are, in a small town in the far northwest of Germany, in Ostfriesland. In ...

“I don't know what I'm more afraid of, people's hatred or their ignorance. ” Our time here has come to an end and I'm glad about that. Even in this last week, I've been counting the days until we can move on. There are a thousand reasons why I don't feel comfortable here. Sometimes it's just good to move on and leave something behind w...

“My whole life, I've felt like I'm watching the world from the other side of a window, and I just don't know how to pass through to the other side, where everything is effortless. … How do you know if it's too late to change? How can you tell if it's still possible to begin again? Ted Kaczynski‘s letter to his brother from Manhunt S1.E...

It's not always easy to remember. Especially not the nice experiences. But I try. I would probably be more successful if I were happy today, if I had the feeling that I had arrived in life. But that's not the case. Basically, I'm still looking for the good life, which must be somewhere. This is nothing new for me, I've always been sear...

So now we're in Berlin. Not where we used to be, in Neukölln. We are in a "better" area, in Zehlendorf. The accommodation is on the first floor of an Art Nouveau villa that is over 100 years old. The house in Jablonec was also built in Art Nouveau style. So we have somehow remained true to ourselves. But this time we will stay shorter....

11th week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). The approaching departure spreads great joy in me. Even if it is only the joy in the thought that we are again heading for something that we don't know yet completely, but already love. Brittany is the place of our longing. I can hardly wait to arrive. But until then, there is still a t...

10th week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). “A little piece of happiness. Whatever that means, I want a piece of it. Wherever it is, I want it.” We leave our familiar surroundings and go to Prague for half a day. How little time that is, I notice very quickly. A short walk in the park near Strahov Monastery, where we park the car...

9th week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). I do not have empty time. My time has a beginning, a flow, a defined end. I bury my head behind a screen that takes me to another world day after day. I define the beginning, the in-between, and the end. At each of these ends, I close my computer and put it away in the corner, where I do...

8th week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). It's a wonderful feeling to be on the move, whether actually on a road or on the great journey of life. I am happiest when I am on the move. But I feel that less and less. I don't cope well with being somewhere permanently. This can be a place, an inner state or a thought. To be in motio...

7th week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). Autumn is coming in quick steps. It is cold in the apartment, even during the day, although it is warm outside and the sun is shining. The heating is not working yet and we have to help ourselves out with blankets, hot drinks and a hot water bottle. We have crossed the mountain, we have ...

6th week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). “Slow down, we all move too fast. ” “If your childhood is broken, you will be broken. ” I am back from a short but intense visit to Croatia. Shortly after my arrival, it is as if I had never been away. I'm back in my routine pretty quickly. But I'm missing energy. And there's something e...

One week in Kutina (Croatia). I am in the car all day, tired and tense. The entire drive from Jablonec to Kutina the radio remained silent, but not my thoughts. They jumped in every conceivable direction, bringing out a range of emotions. From happiness to anger. From fear to joy. From doubt to euphoria. Everything was there. But all w...

4th week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). ““it seems we may best be able to inhabit a place when we are not faced with the additional challenge of having to be there.” Alain De Botton from The Art of Travel” Next week I am going to Croatia and I am not sure if I should. This upcoming trip triggers strong feelings in me. It's not...

3rd week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). Walking in Jablonec When the rain stops, I go outside. It feels good to be out in the fresh air and to be on the move. But what I need even more is to be in nature. Forest. Stones. Fields. Mountains. The singing of birds. A babbling brook. I need that. Despite of missing those at my pres...

2nd week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). Our host invited us for a walk in Liberec, the next bigger city nearby Jablonec. We met in the old town in front of the beautiful town hall. The quarter is known for it's few Art Nouveau buildings. We walked a lot through the old town and another neighborhood where several museums were l...

A week in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic). The first of many to come. So, here we are again in a foreign country with a foreign language. Although I can derive some words and although some of the locals know very good English, I feel insecure outside. I don‘t want to get in contact with people, because I am scared of not being unde...

Week 32, 2023 A week in Berlin (Germany). Podcasts I've listened • Episode 67 - Be Careful Who You Listen To from The Rework Podcast • Episode 68 - The Google Graveyard from The Rework Podcast • Episode 69 - Rescuing A Project In Progress from The Rework Podcast • Episode 70 - Software Has Bugs from The Rework Podcast Documentaries I'v...

Week 31, 2023 A week in Berlin (Germany). Design Matters Podcast In one of the rare new podcast episodes Debbie Millman talks with Alan Dye, the Vice-President of Human Interface Design at Apple. This is also are rare interview with Alan. I love Apple, this is no secret. And I also love to discover how the processes are and how they ar...