Getting into an early day rhythm goes naturally here, because I wake up by myself at three AM. I try to fall asleep again, but can’t, so I get up and do some work until eight. After breakfast I go outside and walk to a local coffee place to read a book. Their coffee isn’t really good though and after reading a few pages I decide to go somewhere else. Because it’s Sunday the busses don’t go that often and I try my chances with hitchhiking. A friendly guy stops and as we start talking he tells me that his brother is married to a Dutch girl. What a small world. He also tells me that there are quite a lot of Dutch people in this city. I wonder if I’ll meet some of them. Unfortunately he can’t drive me very far, but he drops me off at a bus stop where more busses depart from. Now it’s only a few minutes waiting before I can travel further.
I spend the afternoon walking through more neighbourhoods of the city. I go to Main Street what was recommended by Lonely Planet as a hipster area, but I find that a bit disappointing. There are coffee places and craft stores, but not more than elsewhere in the city. It’s nice though to see a new neighbourhood. Unlike downtown there are no skyscrapers here, but larger wooden houses with yards. It makes me think of American houses. From Main Street I walk back to downtown in search for a more quiet coffee place to do some writing, but the whole city is crowded. I visit a nice bookstore, but don’t buy a book since I still got two unfinished books with me.
While walking through the city I’m thinking a lot about being here. It’s a nice experience, but I’m not sure if I want to stay three months as planned. Somehow I really miss normal life back home. It’s strange. Often when I’m home I desire to travel and when I’m abroad I miss normal life. I’m texting with a friend about this and he recognises the feeling. “It’s the travelers tragedy”, he writes and I agree with that. I think that I have to either manage to create a normal life here quickly or go back earlier. This confirms what I had expected before. For me it’s just more challenging to stay at one place than to drive around on a road trip as I usually do. I know I have to give it some time, but I’m not sure yet how long.
