{"id":299,"date":"2025-05-13T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T06:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/?p=299"},"modified":"2025-06-11T22:24:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T20:24:09","slug":"pancakes-with-bacon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footstepsoffreedom.nl\/en\/pancakes-with-bacon\/","title":{"rendered":"Pancakes with Bacon"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 13, 2024<\/p>\n

After another freezing night, I wake up with the sun on my tent. For the first time, there\u2019s quite a bit of condensation, but with the sun, my little castle dries in no time. The zipper of my tent gives out\u2014very annoying\u2014but luckily there\u2019s Velcro too, so I can still close it. I sit down at the picnic table to write and start dreaming of this as an office. Wouldn\u2019t it be amazing to work somewhere different every day? Well past eleven, I hit the road again, in good spirits.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s route is pretty boring\u2014long stretches along the E4. There\u2019s not that much traffic, but the trucks that thunder by aren\u2019t exactly pleasant and I forget to refill my water. And wouldn\u2019t you know it, I don\u2019t come across a single source. Luckily, I bought a cucumber earlier, so I munch on that to fight the thirst. It\u2019ll be fine.<\/p>\n

My mind is still very busy. A few days ago I even had a kind of mini-outburst thinking about an email I received during my final days at work\u2014about some policy change. I had raised questions, but the reply clearly came from someone who\u2019s never set foot on the actual work floor. So short-sighted. I was furious. And now I find myself getting worked up about it again. Should I ask the deputy principal, who was CC\u2019d, to respond instead? My God, Marnix\u2014let it go. You\u2019ll figure it out next year\u2026 Even today I notice my thoughts are still spinning. Rationally, I know it\u2019s pointless, but still. What does help is coffee. When I finally find water, I make a cup and am able\u2014just for a moment\u2014to enjoy the flavor, the landscape, and a quiet mind.<\/p>\n

At the ruins of an old church, I spot a campervan. A woman is flipping pancakes and\u2014yes!\u2014a yellow Dutch license plate. I wish them a good meal and we start chatting. Turns out they\u2019re from Hoorn\u2014fellow West Frisians! Instant bond. I meet the whole family: Marissa, Mark, and their enthusiastic boys Stan and Maik. Marissa asks if I want a pancake with bacon. I\u2019m hesitant to say yes, but it sounds delicious. \u201cJust say yes!\u201d she urges\u2014and I do. It\u2019s lovely. The youngest excitedly tells me about their adventures here in Sweden. One of his highlights? A giant tractor drove past on a dusty road, kicking up so much fine dirt they couldn\u2019t see a thing\u2014and it even got in his ears. What a great kid. And such a sweet family. Their first holiday in a borrowed camper, and wild camping is still a bit of a thrill for them. These are the encounters that make the journey. We exchange Instagram handles and I move on.<\/p>\n

But finding a campsite today isn\u2019t easy. There are houses nearby, or the ground is too uneven, or too close to the road. I think I\u2019ve found a good spot\u2014but the \u201cgrass\u201d turns out to be a thin layer over solid rock. No way I\u2019m getting my tent pegs in. With my flatland brain, I didn\u2019t think to check. Lesson learned. I quickly pack up and keep going. Luckily, just under a kilometer later, I find a spot. I pitch my tent in the half-dark. Just in time.<\/p>\n