We rented a car to get ourselves and all our stuff to the airport. That was cheaper than taking a taxi or airport shuttle and easier than taking the train. We had a huge car, a Ford Explorer with 2 back seats.

With the seats down, we had plenty of space to fit the 2 bike boxes and the rest of our stuff. It fit easily. No worries about trying to fit everything. We drove to the airport and checking everything in was no problem either. Then we were ready to go home!

The flight went smoothly, we flew in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a very modern plane with personal entertainment systems on touchscreens and even manually adjustible sunscreens on the windows instead of shutters. After about 9 hours of flight, we arrived in Oslo where we had to wait a few hours. Fortunately there was free wifi at the airport… Looking out the window didn’t really cheer us up; it was 5 degrees C (about 40 F) and it was raining.

The last stretch to Amsterdam was a short one and around 9:00 pm we walked through the gate. There’s always some anxiousness while waiting for your luggage, especially when you have odd sized luggage like bikes. Will everthing be there? Yes, everything was there, the bikes to, so we could take everything home. The welcoming committee existed of family with flowers and balloons.

The house was decorated by family, friends and neighbors. Flags, balloons and welcome home decoration were everywhere. Inside, there were flowers and other presents on the table. They didn’t forget us! Very nice to come home like that.

After a good night of sleep, many followed which were not so good. And it was weird having so many things around us, especially in the kitchen. We lived on no more than 40 kg (about 90 lbs) for 2 years, tent, sleepinggear and cooking gear included. Now we have so much more.

Nothing really changed in those 2 years we were away. When we look around us, we still see the same things as before we left. It’s like life has stood still over here or like somebody pressed the pause button till we came back. It’s not very different as coming back from vacation. But still, it’s different. In an article in a magazine for cyclists somebody described coming home very well (I tried to translate as accurate as possible):

“The past couple of days have been like every time we were in a new country and trying to get to know it, but now in our own city. On day 1 I go through my clothes and are so happy with that red hat I forgot I had. I go through my things and remember a past life. On day 2 I cycle through the streets, with no goal, and look, smell, study… I check how people react to my bike, we always did that when we were on the road. But they don’t respond at all. In the store, I tend to talk to the clerk in English. And when a Marokkan lady asks me something, I answer with many handgestures only to realize that I don’t need those anymore to get people to understand me. On day 3 I buy an agenda. Slowly, I start realizing that everybody in this country has lived in the year 2014 for a few months already. Me, I come from a timezone where there was no date. It just was daytime when the sun came up and nighttime when it got dark.

I experience the first days at home as in a fog. I don’t know how to be Belgian (Dutch) anymore. I hardly do anything, yet the days are exhausting. And because we never stayed in the same place long this past year, now also the feeling of visiting and leaving (continuing travelling) again in a few days rises.

With the passing of the days, a new realization hits. With my first steps on Belgian (Dutch) soil, I didn’t return to my old story. No, I landed in a complete new story. Because I look at new scenes in a new/different way. This Belgian (Dutch) life all of a sudden is lead with the experiences of the past year as a guide, the multiculturality on the road, the political influences, the worldwide international relations, the memories and the overwhelming beauty of nature. I will never be able to cycle through Belgium (Netherlands) the same way after this trip. Because, as a friend wrote to me once: what you experienced, you can’t not-experience anymore.”

Of course we went cycling already. The weather was beautiful, so what else to do than going cycling? The scenery was familiar; flat, but beautiful in its own way.