first solo trip

writing this from uncle peter’s couch in antwerp. first time traveling alone. first time outside turkey by myself.

peter is a guy i found on couchsurfing. i met him yesterday. now he’s making me coffee and talking about belgian beer like we’re old friends. that’s couchsurfing. you come as a stranger, you leave as a friend. sounds cheesy but it’s true.

flew into charleroi. worst airport i’ve seen. it’s like an hour from brussels and there’s no good way to get there. i hitchhiked from the q8 gas station near the airport exit. good spot if you ever need it.

brussels was ok. too chaotic. felt like a city that doesn’t know what it is.

ghent and bruges though? amazing. they both look exactly like medieval towns, they are actually. i walked around the same places where they filmed “in bruges” (2008, martin mcdonagh). that was cool. ghent is like bruges but more alive. i walked into the red light district by accident. first time seeing something like that. just windows with people in them. very normal, very weird.

anyway. i’m tired. sleeping on a stranger’s couch in a country i didn’t know two days ago.

life is weird. good weird.