{"id":2767,"date":"2026-03-28T18:31:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T08:01:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T06:01:39","slug":"coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Day 7: The Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia<\/h2>\n\n

#flashback September 11, 2025<\/p>\n\n

Rest<\/h2>\n\n

A rest day today!<\/p>\n\n

I booked a room for two days in the town of Smederevo<\/a>, famous for its massive medieval fortress<\/a> and the beautiful Serbian Orthodox church<\/a>. My room, at 20 euros per night, comes with many conveniences, including a television and air conditioning. I don’t use either of them, though; I don’t understand how the remote works and have no desire to figure it out, and cold air is no longer necessary. The temperature has since dropped to 23 degrees. <\/p>\n\n

I sleep in wonderfully late and treat myself to coffee and breakfast in bed. There is no kettle, so I’m very happy with my gas burner, as it still provides for my most basic need… COFFEE! It’s raining outside; I’m enjoying this morning indoors. <\/p>\n\n

Impressive Smederevo<\/h2>\n\n

When it dries up around half past twelve, I walk into town to the fortress and visit the church, which is very impressive. Many believers walk in and out, constantly crossing themselves and often lighting a candle. I sense an intense devotion. <\/p>\n\n

Then I go looking for a restaurant; today I want to treat myself culinarily, and I succeed quite well. I have an excellent meal and recharge my energy. After lunch, I walk around for a bit, but I’m actually just longing for my little apartment. The city is quite noisy and busy. Besides, there’s a fair and a market; I’m happy to skip it all and go cocooning in my room. <\/p>\n\n

Figuring out a new route<\/h2>\n\n

A short afternoon nap does me good. After that, I write a bit and study the route to follow for the coming week. I won’t be able to walk the entire route from Belgrade<\/a> to Sofia<\/a> anyway, so I want to see which less interesting stages I can skip. It’s quite a puzzle; there isn’t convenient public transport everywhere along the route, and it’s also hard to judge what’s best to do. In the meantime, I’ve been in touch with a Dutch team member of the Sultans Trail<\/a>, who is helping me out a lot and giving great tips. Hats off! <\/p>\n\n

I have nothing more to report, other than that I’m also thoroughly enjoying a day like this. I never get bored anyway, and I’m very good at idling and dawdling without any guilt. More people should do that! <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 7: The Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia #flashback September 11, 2025 Rest A rest day today! I booked a room for two days in the town of Smederevo, famous for its massive medieval… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[236,235,234],"class_list":["post-2767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs-en","tag-long-distance-hike","tag-serbia","tag-sultanstrail"],"yoast_head":"\nCoffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo - FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From breakfast in bed with a gas burner to the impressive devotion in Smederevo. Read how a rainy rest day on the Sultans Trail offers the perfect opportunity for the art of idling.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo - FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From breakfast in bed with a gas burner to the impressive devotion in Smederevo. Read how a rainy rest day on the Sultans Trail offers the perfect opportunity for the art of idling.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-28T17:31:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-18T06:01:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marnix van der Lijn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marnix van der Lijn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marnix van der Lijn\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3378b8c210d8e714eabad2dc1764e0db\"},\"headline\":\"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-28T17:31:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-18T06:01:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":420,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3378b8c210d8e714eabad2dc1764e0db\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"long-distance hike\",\"Serbia\",\"SultansTrail\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blogs ENG\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/\",\"name\":\"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo - FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-28T17:31:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-18T06:01:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"From breakfast in bed with a gas burner to the impressive devotion in Smederevo. Read how a rainy rest day on the Sultans Trail offers the perfect opportunity for the art of idling.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1600,\"caption\":\"Sultans Trail Smederevo Saint John Church\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM\",\"description\":\"Hiking & writing\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3378b8c210d8e714eabad2dc1764e0db\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3378b8c210d8e714eabad2dc1764e0db\",\"name\":\"Marnix van der Lijn\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/logo_fof.svg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/logo_fof.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/logo_fof.svg\",\"width\":1160,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"Marnix van der Lijn\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/logo_fof.svg\"},\"description\":\"Ik ben Marnix (1964), schrijver, langeafstandswandelaar en minimalist in hart en nieren. Na een loopbaan in de commerci\u00eble wereld, coaching en training, en jarenlange inzet in de vluchtelingenopvang, koos ik op mijn zestigste voor een radicale wending: ik gaf mezelf een sabbatical en trok de wereld in \u2013 te voet. Wat begon als een plan om 10.000 kilometer door Europa te wandelen, groeide uit tot iets veel groters: een nieuwe manier van leven. In negen maanden legde ik meer dan 5.500 kilometer af, met alleen mijn tent, schrijfboek, wandelkar (die ik liefdevol \u2018Wheelie\u2019 noem) en mijn barefoot schoenen. Al lopend ontdekte ik dat dit mijn pad is: een nomadisch bestaan, schrijvend onderweg. Ik geloof in het ritme van de voeten, in eenvoud, traagheid en aanwezigheid. Reizen zonder haast, leven met weinig, en onderweg de verhalen vangen die zich aandienen. Mijn missie? De schoonheid van vertraging, vrijheid en verbondenheid tastbaar maken in woorden. Ik b\u00e9n onderweg. En daar voel ik me thuis.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/marnix_footsteps_of_freedom\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\\\/en\\\/author\\\/cheersmarnix\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo - FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM","description":"From breakfast in bed with a gas burner to the impressive devotion in Smederevo. Read how a rainy rest day on the Sultans Trail offers the perfect opportunity for the art of idling.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo - FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM","og_description":"From breakfast in bed with a gas burner to the impressive devotion in Smederevo. Read how a rainy rest day on the Sultans Trail offers the perfect opportunity for the art of idling.","og_url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/","og_site_name":"FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM","article_published_time":"2026-03-28T17:31:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-18T06:01:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1600,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Marnix van der Lijn","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marnix van der Lijn","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/"},"author":{"name":"Marnix van der Lijn","@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3378b8c210d8e714eabad2dc1764e0db"},"headline":"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo","datePublished":"2026-03-28T17:31:50+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-18T06:01:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/"},"wordCount":420,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3378b8c210d8e714eabad2dc1764e0db"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg","keywords":["long-distance hike","Serbia","SultansTrail"],"articleSection":["Blogs ENG"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/","url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/","name":"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo - FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-03-28T17:31:50+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-18T06:01:39+00:00","description":"From breakfast in bed with a gas burner to the impressive devotion in Smederevo. Read how a rainy rest day on the Sultans Trail offers the perfect opportunity for the art of idling.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg","width":1200,"height":1600,"caption":"Sultans Trail Smederevo Saint John Church"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/coffee-church-and-cocooning-the-art-of-idling-in-smederevo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Coffee, church, and cocooning: the art of idling in Smederevo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/","name":"FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM","description":"Hiking & writing","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3378b8c210d8e714eabad2dc1764e0db"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3378b8c210d8e714eabad2dc1764e0db","name":"Marnix van der Lijn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/logo_fof.svg","url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/logo_fof.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/logo_fof.svg","width":1160,"height":250,"caption":"Marnix van der Lijn"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/logo_fof.svg"},"description":"Ik ben Marnix (1964), schrijver, langeafstandswandelaar en minimalist in hart en nieren. Na een loopbaan in de commerci\u00eble wereld, coaching en training, en jarenlange inzet in de vluchtelingenopvang, koos ik op mijn zestigste voor een radicale wending: ik gaf mezelf een sabbatical en trok de wereld in \u2013 te voet. Wat begon als een plan om 10.000 kilometer door Europa te wandelen, groeide uit tot iets veel groters: een nieuwe manier van leven. In negen maanden legde ik meer dan 5.500 kilometer af, met alleen mijn tent, schrijfboek, wandelkar (die ik liefdevol \u2018Wheelie\u2019 noem) en mijn barefoot schoenen. Al lopend ontdekte ik dat dit mijn pad is: een nomadisch bestaan, schrijvend onderweg. Ik geloof in het ritme van de voeten, in eenvoud, traagheid en aanwezigheid. Reizen zonder haast, leven met weinig, en onderweg de verhalen vangen die zich aandienen. Mijn missie? De schoonheid van vertraging, vrijheid en verbondenheid tastbaar maken in woorden. Ik b\u00e9n onderweg. En daar voel ik me thuis.","sameAs":["https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/marnix_footsteps_of_freedom\/"],"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/author\/cheersmarnix\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-28-at-17.49.55.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":279,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/mandatory-rest\/","url_meta":{"origin":2767,"position":0},"title":"Mandatory rest","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"10 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"May 10, 2024 My knee\u2019s not doing great. It\u2019s swollen and sore. It feels like I\u2019ve lost control over the muscles, like my leg might just give out underneath me. Very wobbly. Hmm\u2026 not good. It doesn\u2019t seem serious, but pushing on right now wouldn\u2019t be smart. I weigh my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-10-hotel-buiten.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-10-hotel-buiten.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-10-hotel-buiten.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-10-hotel-buiten.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-10-hotel-buiten.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-10-hotel-buiten.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2643,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/a-little-gift-in-dimitrovgrad-rest-in-a-cool-cocoon\/","url_meta":{"origin":2767,"position":1},"title":"A little gift in Dimitrovgrad: rest in a cool cocoon","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"13 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Day 17: the Sultans Trail from Belgrade to Sofia #throwback September 21, 2026 Sleeping in the last century I arrived at the guesthouse in the pitch dark yesterday. For a moment, I thought I\u2019d found the male version of landlady Sanja, but luckily that wasn't the case; we could communicate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-13-at-20.30.28.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-13-at-20.30.28.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-13-at-20.30.28.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-13-at-20.30.28.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-13-at-20.30.28.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1797,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/lookingback-may-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":2767,"position":2},"title":"Looking back – May 2024","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"11 June 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"#throwback - May 2024 ROUTE Amsterdam \u2013 Copenhagen \u2013 Malm\u00f6 \u2013 Borensberg From Amsterdam to Copenhagen by Flixbus From Copenhagen to Malm\u00f6 by train From Malm\u00f6 to Borensberg on foot. This stretch covers a large part of the Swedish pilgrimage route: the St. Birgitta Ways NUMBER OF KILOMETERS WALKED IN\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-31-Samenvatting-mei.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-31-Samenvatting-mei.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-31-Samenvatting-mei.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-31-Samenvatting-mei.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-31-Samenvatting-mei.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/frequent-visitors\/","url_meta":{"origin":2767,"position":3},"title":"Frequent Visitors","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"21 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"May 21, 2024 I\u2019m still happily lounging in my tent when I hear voices. Two girls are holding a piece of paper and place it on a post in front of my tent, using some kind of stapler without staples. I had noticed the post yesterday but had no idea\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-21-speurtocht-leerlingen.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-21-speurtocht-leerlingen.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-21-speurtocht-leerlingen.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-21-speurtocht-leerlingen.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-21-speurtocht-leerlingen.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1918,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/lost-my-trekking-poles\/","url_meta":{"origin":2767,"position":4},"title":"Lost my trekking poles","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"16 June 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"#throwback - June 6, 2024 All my electronics are charged again, my clothes are clean\u2014I\u2019m ready to hit the road and get out of this hotel as fast as I can. The room price includes breakfast. As I\u2019ve mentioned before, I\u2019ve let go of fixed mealtimes\u2014and wouldn\u2019t you know it,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-37-zwanenmeer.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-37-zwanenmeer.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-37-zwanenmeer.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-37-zwanenmeer.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-37-zwanenmeer.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dag-37-zwanenmeer.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":332,"url":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/and-now-vacation\/","url_meta":{"origin":2767,"position":5},"title":"And now\u2026 vacation!","author":"Marnix van der Lijn","date":"18 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"May 18, 2024 I enjoy the morning sun and get up feeling relaxed and calm. I decide to take a sort of rest day today to write\u2014suddenly I feel the need. I also really need to do some laundry, so I go looking for a nice spot where I can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs ENG"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs ENG","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/category\/blogs-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-18-klooster-2.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-18-klooster-2.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-18-klooster-2.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-18-klooster-2.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-18-klooster-2.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dag-18-klooster-2.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2767"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2769,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767\/revisions\/2769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}