After several weeks in Berlin, I decided I needed to head back to Lisbon. Although it had been a really good stay in Berlin, I had performed at many comedy shows and met many friends – it was time to leave. Furthermore, I needed to be back in Lisbon to apply for my PR in Portugal. Come April, the temperature had dropped again to 1 degree and it had started snowing once more. I guess that’s “spring” in Berlin.
I always get stuck in Berlin. Whenever I go to Berlin I end up staying far longer than intended and this stay was no exception. With it’s incredible comedy scene, specialty coffee, and more – it’s very easy for me to integrate into life in Berlin. So I decided one fine day, that I had to leave. And thus, I told my friend “I’m going to go”, he asked “When?”, I replied “Today, after lunch”. That’s how it had to be. Rip the band-aid off, leave Berlin and start heading back to Lisbon. I started driving back on a cold April day – at 2pm.
Of course, I couldn’t get very far. By late evening, I made it to Cologne and decided to spend the night there. On the way there I encountered a winter snow-storm while driving on the highway. It was a mix of snow and rain – is it called sleet? In an interesting twist, the Tesla software had updated that day and the user interface had changed completely. So I couldn’t turn on the windshield wipers for a while as I was driving on the highway with zero visibility and couldn’t navigate the touchscreen menu while having to focus on the road. This is definitely one of the downsides of touchscreen interfaces, especially when they change suddenly and you find yourself in a situation where you can’t focus on learning the new interface while in a hazardous scenario. However, I made it to Cologne safely and checked into the hotel.
With support from modern capitalism – *ahem* Uber Eats – I ordered a delicious Bimbimbap bowl to my hotel room and then Leila and I went out for a midnight walk. We barked at all the dogs in Cologne, well, she did – and then we came back to snooze.
L-R: A sunny day in Paris, Leila looking at locks in Cologne, Dog on a hotel bed, Leila checking out the Eiffel tower
In the morning I decided to explore the city center and grab some good coffee in the area. Thereafter, we drove to Paris. My friend had come back once more to spend a few days in Paris so we camped out in his house and acted like fools once more. Leila ate some more of his wife’s shoes and it was a total blast.
Eventually I decided I should start heading south towards Bordeaux. I had never been there and was looking forward to exploring the wine capital of France. I’m not really into wine but the thought of Bordeaux was pretty exciting. Driving through the yellow rapeseed and mustard fields in central France was a lovely experience. We got to Bordeaux pretty early in the day and I settled into the hotel. The hotel was at the waterfront and the newly developed waterfront was pretty spectacular. Leila and I went out for some dinner and a late evening walk. On the way back we came across a concert happening near the hotel. I didn’t take Leila inside because it wouldn’t be good for her ears. But we sat outside by the water and listened to the music. That’s how I discovered this very cool band called Los Bitchos. Just listening to them outside their concert on the Bordeaux boardwalk.
The rest of the trip was pretty quick. On the way south to San Sebastian we went to Plum Village. This is a Buddhist monastery that was the home of the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. Unfortunately he passed away in early 2022. He was known as the father of mindfulness and wrote many books on the subject. I’ve personally read Healing your Inner Child – a very good book. Recently I’ve been reading How to Love – which is another great book by him.
Plum Village hosts a number of retreats throughout the year and it’s a good way to re-center yourself. Since I don’t really believe in retreats and that kind of stuff, I don’t have much to say about this. Check their website if you’re keen to go for something like that. They’re usually week-long retreats and include meditation, mindfulness, clean eating, time in nature, and lots of social time.
San Sebastian was a two day stay and I enjoyed my first time in this city. We discovered some interesting pinxtos all over town.
L-R: Tapas in San Sebastian, Views over the city, Salamanca center on Easter
Finally, it was time to head back to Portugal. The drive was long and we stopped for a little while at Salamanca. It got so late on the way back that we ended up staying in Guarda for the night. It was an interesting experience to be back in Portugal. Surrounded by greenery, sunshine, and mountains everywhere – Portugal felt like a unique landscape compared to all the winter we had just experienced.
The next day we drove back to Lisbon, it was a quick 3 hour drive and finally we were home again, at last. Approximately 7000kms over 5 weeks and through rain, hail, snow, and desert our electric roadtrip adventure was finally done.
Until the next one!
