Tieske's Adventures

Traveling is getting easier again and I decide to join my girlfriend Emilia for a trip to Slovakia. She has a funeral to attend and hasn't seen her family for a while, due to corona's influence on the world. Simultaneously we can take our relationship to the next level, by meeting my new family in law. I'm excited. A little nervous, but mostly excited. To stay flexible we decide to drive instead of fly. We would just have to get a negative corona test, some forms stating we are just in transit and a registration for the Slovakian government. Fully prepared and clueless what to expect, I am surprised to encounter zero border control or checkpoints in Germany, Austria or Slovakia. The thought " Did we really have to spend this money and effort when apparently not everyone seems to care anymore?"  came to mind multiple times. But then again: would you pay for a train ticket if there is a slight chance that someone checks your ticket? I would. Ju...

Last Christmas one of my cousins asked: “ Who is joining our family on a ski trip? ” “ That would be me! ”, I replied. After confirming I wasn’t joking around we made arrangements. “ We always go to Alta Badia, in the northern part of Italy,”  my uncle explained. “ It is a beautiful area and we get along well with the owner of our pension.”  I’ve always said I would go on a ski trip one day, yet it was never a priority for me. Now this opportunity presented itself and I decided to take it.  Our group counts eight people: my uncle and aunt, their three children, two partners and myself. It’s about a ten hour drive from Den Bosch to the town of San Cassiano, the town where we are staying. Anna, Vera (two cousins) and Callum (Vera’s boyfriend) join me in my car. Plenty of time to catch up and to get to know Callum better. A couple of conversations, a podcast, some music and sandwiches later, we arrive at our destination where the rest of our group is awaiting us....