Semester 17 Chapter XX: Switching Gears

Hello world, it’s that time of the week again. This time a bit earlier, actually... The thing is, after many many years, I’m fortunate enough to get back to the majestic continent of Africa. Back before I started with this blog, I used to work for a university in The Czech Republic (yes, I did have a 9 to 5 office job at some point) and since I worked on some projects with different African countries, I had a chance to visit some of them. It feels like forever ago. I’d been pretty sure that time would come for me to explore a bit more over there, and last year an opportunity presented itself. Stars aligned and a plan to visit Mauritania and Senegal got set to motion. So here we are now. Sitting at the Amsterdam airport, ready to board a flight to Nouakchott, a place of whose existence I had no idea not so long ago.

To the last week tho. It was not extremely eventful but it was mostly pleasant. I really feel like this whole Hague experience has turned into some sort of a yoga retreat. I do this daily, I’m still happy about it and it’s a major part of my life here. So yeah, a lot of that. I’ve also taken up some new students. Happy things still kinda go.

On Friday, I ended up going for a dinner to this Ethica join. It was chosen mostly because of my vegan ass. Little did we know what Ethica really is. See, it’s a fine dining joint so there’s a lot of talk around everything. Before you even get to the menu, they tell you all about their history, who founded it and what their concept is. They claim that they try to be as ethical as possible by bringing in game meat and processing the whole animals. Which is really cool but when you’re vegan, it doesn’t really meet your standards. And it is cool doing fine dining here and there but I always feel a bit out of place. Unless it’s really a veggie joint. Portions are super small, things are super expensive and everytime they just “veganize” stuff that originally isn’t vegan, you usually get some half-assed something. I mean, not terrible... But also not a place I’m dying to get back to.

Other than that, mostly business as usual. Weather has been getting nicer and I’ve really been enjoying my runs and all. And there’s whole lot of exciting shit coming up. Hope all of you are safe and sound. Keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let anybody fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Running.
• Yoga.
• Quench. Gotta shout out that café once more. Their sweets are beautiful.

Semester 17 Chapter XIX: More Yoga

Hello world, it’s that time again. Writing from the laptop that I’d managed to spill some water on. Motherfucker dried up and works like a charm. Happy about that. I got this one shortly before moving to Shanghai and it’s actually pretty impressive that it’s still around and perfectly intact. Anyways, all is good over here, it’s Sunday evening and we’re bout to dive into this one.

So last week I got back to my yoga rhythm and let me tell you this… The level of yoga here is so much higher than whatever I’d experienced in back in The Czech Republic. Now when I have a grip on some basics, the Czech thing worked too. They are not necessarily bad and it does the job but it is also not exciting, it doesn’t flow very well and it’s simply not as fun. I did have some pretty good teachers in Brno but I’m pretty sure that had I experienced this shit for the first time over there, I would have never fallen in love with it. Maybe it’s just luck here or bad luck there but having classes with my favs in The Hague is really something else. And again, nothing against the Czech people. It kinda goes. But major shout out to everybody over here. These guys knock it out of the park. I’m still new to this whole thing and I have very little to compare things with, but the difference is massive.

My workout routine has adjusted a bit, too. See, in Brno I have a pull-up bar at my dad’s spot so I do a lot of that. Here, it’s more pull-ups, more yoga and I even got my ass out for some runs couple of times. Change feels good, tho. On Wednesday, we tried this Indonesian joint called De Vegetarische Toko. They got plenty of dishes ready behind the counter, you do your mix, it’s all very tasty and not too expensive on local standards.

Saturday was fun. It’s pretty fucking cool that magic mushrooms are legal here. They come with a bar code, you pay with a card and you get a thorough info on everything that might interest you. They even sell some shit that can tone down the experience if it gets too overwhelming. Not that I’m really interested in that. Anyways, it’s really cool living in a reality where, apart from alcohol (which is one of the most dangerous substances and globally by far the most destructive one), you can get your hands on much safer and way more interesting shit like weed or shrooms legally. Honestly, being able to buy unlimited amount of vodka in every other store legally while some dudes go to jail with murderers for growing weed for their own purposes or to make some cream for their sick grandmas is nuts (hello, Czech Republic!) And don’t let me start about all the therapeutic potential of psilocibyn and psychedelics in general. There’s mountains of research and practice backing that up. So yeah… Really cool Saturday.

On Sunday, I got into experimenting with food. Got my hands on this vegan cookbook The Happy Pear by David & Stephen Flynn. I really like that people do that. That they make some shit like this, make it all nice, simple and sexy. I decided not to be too preachy about this a shit a long time ago but I truly and deeply believe that there is no justification for animal products consumption among privileged people in The West. I can be wrong, I’m not pushing this as an objective truth but I also genuinely feel like that. And seeing projects like that makes me happy. Step by step. Hope dies last. Anyway, the outcome of today’s efforts was some pasta with creamy garlic sauce and some raw chocolate cake. Both fucking spot on. So shout out to the Flynn bros!

And that’s about that. Gonna park it to the bed soon, excited about what the upcoming week brings. Things have been well. Hope you guys are doing great as well… Shout out to everyone reading and don’t let anybody fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Yoga.
• Vegan food.
• Lord Of The Rings. Managed to finish the extended edition of the first movie. My god that shit is long.

Semester 17 Chapter XVIII: Back To The Hague

Okay, here we go again. This time from the majestic fucking city of The Hague. I arrived here Sunday around lunch and since then it’s been slowly back to my normal routine here. Work, yoga, sauna, visit to my favorite café, all the good stuff. First things first tho…

 

Last week was cool. Monday, I went to my dad’s pub for a trivia night which we ended up winning. Which meant some pretty cool vouchers for a swimming pool and wellness. By far the best thing I’d ever taken home from that motherfucker. Tuesday, me and dad did a bit of a road trip. Some shit needed to be picked up and transported from their cottage which gave me an opportunity to a) spend some quality time with dad and b) do some driving. After like forever. We did about 200km, we listened to some Stones and Doors and I reminded myself of the fact that even though I pretty much don’t drive anymore, I still fucking love it. Cool afternoon.

 

Wednesday, me and one of my friends took it to the Lužánky swimming pool to take advantage of some of those vouchers. Now, the pool I usually go to is still my favorite. Mostly because it’s really nice. It’s a modern concrete building with glass walls overlooking the city. You can’t really compete with that. The one we went to tho, is the only 50m indoor pool in town and I found out I really prefer that to the usual 25m. You hit your tempo and you keep it for much longer. So yeah, might pop in here and there in the future. Plus they have this whirpool and a steam room, too. Works out just fine.

 

Thursday, I did my usual sauna which was great as expected and Friday, I took up the responsibility of picking up my nephew from his theater group. See, this shit is a bit crazy. My dad used to go there, me and my sis used to there and now the nephew. Some of my closest people used to go there and now they have kids and they go there, too. It’s almost like sect at this point. Anyways, since the place is pretty far from the center and I have literally zero reasons going there, it marked my first time visiting in about 18 years. And that brought back loads of memories. It all felt very sentimental. After that, I took the kiddo to ride a carousel downtown and we spend the rest of the day building models, messing around, dancing and watching some trains on TV.

 

Saturday morning, I hopped on a bus to Prague to spend the whole day with some of my closest people. Perfect way to conclude my Czech trip. By 11pm, I was on the bus to the Hague and it has been nothing but pleasant since. It’s still not a city I’d pick for myself but I have found my little rhythm here. So yeah, all good over here, hope everybody’s okay and your year has started just the way you wanted. Sending some love to everybody out there. One!

Highlights:

• Managed to pour some water on one of my laptops. Guess it had to happen at some point. It’s drying now and I hope it’s gonna be okay.
• The whole Czech experience. Feels good to have such a solid base. Not taking this for granted.
• Jesus Christ Superstar In Concert from 2018. Stumbled upon it and man... What a show.
  

Semester 17 Chapter XVII: Starting Fresh

What’s up everybody. The first one of 2025 is here. Sunday afternoon, some Labirinth in my headphones, it’s snowing out there, and yet again, all is well. In the morning, I went to a hot yoga class with my sister which was great, then we had some lunch in the family circle and in an hour or so, I’m gonna take the doggo out there so he can run around in all the fresh snow.

 

Last week was still pretty chilled. I worked a bit but it wasn’t anywhere close to my regular schedule. Did some yoga Monday and Tuesday which concluded my 1-week pass. On the 31^st, it was a 2-hour class which would have been great if the teacher hadn’t completely lost her voice. The class was still good but being there listening to the poor lady brutalizing whatever was left of her vocal chords felt a bit unnecessary. I kept thinking she should have stayed home drinking tea and recovering. She managed tho so shout out to her!

 

To the very last moment, I had no idea what to do with the New Year’s Eve. Honestly, I felt like staying in, not doing anything at all. Eventually, I decided to at least pay a visit to my dad’s pub for a midnight toast. It was cool and it was also the first time starting a new year off with pops since ages ago. I didn’t stay long tho and shortly after midnight, I took the dog and went for a long walk. Was in the bed around 1am which secured quite a lot of energy for the 1^st day of this year. Kicked the whole shit off with a workout, went for a 12km run… I’m sure I’m gonna get back to clubs and partying on some of the following NYE nights but I’m happy I took it nice and easy this time around.

 

Starting Thursday, it was slowly back to normal. Some classes, some e-mails, the regular. In the evening, I went to the sauna at Kraví Hora and since it was a bit snowy, the experience was really picturesque. Watching the city out the windows, chilling in the outdoor jacuzzi, very lovely 2 hours.

 

Friday Evening, I was on a way to a friend of mine outside of Brno. We did the usual. Lovely chat with him and his wife till late hours, waking up early in the morning and going to a run. It was chilly but also very sunny. Fresh air, fields, trees… What a way to start a day. Did around 10km, we were pushing the tempo a bit, everything went smooth. I stayed there for lunch and in the afternoon, I was on my way back to Brno. In the evening, we had a delayed bday party for my sis with my dad and his partner. Some gifts, lotta food, desk games…

 

And that’s that. Got one more week in the Czech Republic and I’m really happy about the whole thing. The last three weeks have been awesome and I got some more cool shit mapped out for the next couple of days. Hope you guys are doing well and that your year has started just the way you wanted. Sending love to everybody reading and don’t let anybody fuck with your inner light. Ever. One!

 

Highlights:

• Runs. 
• Yoga.
• Hangouts.