Before we set off I watched a travel documentary about a couple who toured Canada in their van…it was a dream trip…but they got tired of always being on the go. That seemed absurd to me, especially when we first set off. True to form, I was always thinking about the next place and in just over 4 months we have been to 16 countries and driven 12,500 miles. Now my mind is staying stop…settle…what else do you want to do on this trip?
It’s a good question – with time and flexibility, this is a great opportunity to learn, self develop and explore myself as well as the new surroundings.
Two months ago I made a huge investment in myself, getting a nutrition/fitness coach. It’s not something I would have done while working, as I didn’t value my health or time in that way…my focus was always on my business. And though I’m hugely proud of it, and it’s bought our campervan, I now realise that my work:life balance was way of kilter and was having negative impacts on other areas of my life.
It’s taken me over 4 months to sit back and reflect…to step off the treadmill…to question what the purpose of this adventure is. In so many ways I am trying to better myself…to be the best version of me. It’s a neverending journey, but one I’m enjoying. A new habit I’ve adopted is to read the Daily Stoic and a passage hit home with me:
Obviously I’ve not retired but I was so fortunate in that I believe dog grooming was my calling. However if we want to keep traveling, and face realities about my back and hands which had begun to suffer, then I need to take this time to explore other interests, try new things (not just the food – though I’m expert at that 😂) and broaden my mind.
And so today I woke really early with a mind full of options and eager to learn. Rather than dash into something like I usually do I’m giving myself time for things to muse and settle. We are in no hurry to do much or go far. Having previously thought we had ‘done’ Bratislava, we walked three new areas today…the longer you stay the more a place reveals itself.
The reason behind most of our walking is typically coffee related and so the first cafe was Sweet Beans Coffee Roastery, which had very nice coffee, modern decor, good atmosphere and nice cake. But there was no vegan option for me so we ‘had’ to go to La Donuteria which had a delicious selection of flavoured vegan ring doughnuts…though fussy me has now decided I prefer filled 🙄.
As well as more street art and sculpture, I found a boardgame shop so got lost for a while and bought a cute ghost game called Duch! that I’ve seen in three other countries. The shop owner explained the instructions as they are only in Czech, fingers crossed I remember!
I made spicy tomato soup for lunch before walking the pups along the river and ultimately to another cafe called Coffeein, which was dog friendly and served a range of roasts and coffee makers (could have bought a cafetier from here instead of IKEA!). Despite Mark saying no, we played Scrabble and drank iced coffee. A lovely relaxing afternoon…and I didn’t take too long coming up with words (Mark might disagree 😂). Playing with a Czech copy certainly made the scoring fun as they had different letters and values.
This evening we have ventured out food shopping, I tried a new coconut curry recipe and we finally bought an adapter plug. My bedtime routine will soon begin and I’ll be snoring alongside Ernest in no time.
SofaWolves 