Waking up in my own bed

I love the deep, dreamless sleep that takes over after the exhaustion and confusion of a long flight. Jetlag is probably just lurking there ready to hit soon, but for now all I have done since I arrived yesterday is sleeping.

My knees hurt and my head feels light and dizzy, which certainly contributes to the surreal sensation of disbelief that hit me as I woke up in my own bed this morning. “Have I really been gone for a month? Or was all that just a dream?”

What from the outset looked like a very long trip (the longest time I have ever been away from home) has flown by so incredibly quickly. I am happy not only to have been crazy enough to hit the road, but even more to have forced myself to keep this online diary.

30 days, 7000 km travelled across America, 5 transit passes and a pair of worn out shoes, 28 posts, 740 pictures, 3 extra kilos mostly around my belly (it could have been worse 🙂 ).

While the travelling itself might be over, there is still so much brewing in my head and a few good stories left to tell, so you can certainly expect a few more posts to pop up here over the coming days.

Travelling solo for such a long time can feel lonely and hard at times, so the love and support of the many friends following my steps from all over the world meant a lot to me. I am also extremely grateful for all the good friends that took the time to come out and hang out with me along the road, and it was a great privilege to get to share the last hours of this adventure with my good friend Jothan and his beautiful family.

Sitting on the plane taking me back to Europe,  watching the Columbia river flowing through the Rocky Mountains below felt like a majestic send-off, and an open invitation for more great adventures in the not-so-distant future.