Tieske's Adventures

In June of 2018 I quit my non-stop travel and moved to ’s-Hertogenbosch. I decided to create little adventures aiming to make a difference, to get outside my comfort zone and to get to know my new city and its people. I started with a 'FREE HUGS'-sign to share love and be kind to my new neighbours. What I wasn’t prepared for was the reaction from an older woman: “ My husband recently passed away, I don’t get to hug that often anymore. Do you have any idea what your offer means to me? ” Holy cow, I didn’t see that coming! When I had a similar experience the week after, I decided to made it a weekly activity, until I would get the feeling that it wasn't needed anymore. For over a year now, every single week (without exception), there is someone that tells me: “ I am so glad you’re here. I really need a hug. ” A lady told me two weeks ago that she hadn't had a proper hug in six(!) years. Thanks to this activity I’ve met so many wonderful people. There is now a whole grou...

"I’ll pick you up at the airport. Hopefully the traffic jam won’t be too bad this afternoon!", my cousin Bart texts me, as I'm on my way to Schiphol Airport. Bart moved to Dublin in January, to live together with his Irish girlfriend Susie and  start a new chapter together . I'm excited to see them.  The last five months have unexpectedly been quite unsettling. After my relationship ended, I had to find a new place to live. I could have picked up my previous lifestyle - that of a digital nomad - and stay at AirBnB’s the whole time, but I’ve come to value staying at one place.  Besides, one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned during traveling is that it doesn’t matter where you are: you are the one that is going to make it a joyful experience or not.  So when I found a new apartment in Den Bosch, travel was the very last thing on my mind. I just wanted to be at home and make it my new happy place.  However, during a recent weekend trip to Por...

If you could pick any place on earth to work remote, where would you go? To me, it would be a place where I'd be working, while looking at white sandy beaches filled with palm trees and where crystal-clear ocean water is shining in the bright rays of the sun. This January I opened my laptop on three Caribbean islands.  St. Maarten/St. Martin - The Friendly Island About ten years ago my cousin Bas moved to St. Maarten, met his wife Orianda and bought a house. I hadn't seen him for years and had never even met Orianda. They had prepared a guestroom and welcomed me into their home. During the day we were all working (I didn't mind their porch overlooking the ocean at all!), and during the evening we had a chance to have dinner together, catch up and get to know each other better. How well do you know people, if you haven't seen or talked to them for many years? Bas let me borrow his car, so I could tour the island after I completed my work for the day. I co...

We end our trip where we entered the country two weeks ago. We are in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital city with a population of 8 million people. We didn’t spend much time here as we were more interested in other parts of the country. Yet, we still had enough time to wander around, try restaurants, do some bar-hopping and take a little train high up the mountain to visit Cerro de Monserrate, which offers a great view of Bogotá at a height of 3126 meters.  Lars, Wim and I enjoyed each other’s company during a trip to Thailand last year and decided to book another trip this year to a different continent. Wim suggested Colombia and after doing some research we decided to book our flights. Shortly thereafter Koen wanted to join and our group was complete.  Colombia was never on top of my list with travel destinations, but I’ve had a great time! The country has a great variety of things to do, as well as beautiful places and nature to see. We tried to get a ...

The sun is high in the sky and there is no cloud to be found. A pleasant breeze is keeping us cool, Latin-American music is playing through the speakers and two sweet ladies are preparing lunch for us. Another staff member just pulled the Christmas decorations from the attic to start decorating the place. The parrot, who is sitting on top of his cage, doesn’t seem to care much. Wim is reading a book, Lars and Koen just jumped in the pool and I’m writing this story. Huge green mountains are to my left, the Caribbean Sea to my right. The hotel is built against the side of a mountain, which creates a surprisingly cozy atmosphere and a great view of the shore line. Two dogs and two cats are chilling out and the guy at the reception is browsing the internet. We are the only guests in this hotel. There are six staff members to keep the four of us happy. There is nothing we have to do, nothing we have to see.  We are staying in the Bunsizanisi hotel in Gaira,...