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U is Dutch, or so says the pin on his backpack, a blue-red-and-white De 4Daagse sticker. We don’t really interact much, and yet, since both of us are on the second-longest H trail of the park (and only because the K trail is allegedly flooded), we become each other’s unofficial pacemakers. We meet for the…
Extend them, says O and grabs the palms of my hands. His fingers are warm and sturdy, the kind that I would somehow expect from a marine engineer born in West Africa. O’s way with words is frugal, but never without a hint of hope; his version of Christianity remains much more personal than the…
Ljubljana is welcoming me with open arms, and this time, my first time as a tourist, I cannot escape her charms. She is calling me once more for a proper farewell, not like the previous time when I knew I would not return to the office in the Črnuče district. Back in 2023, it went…
Klimt’s Kiss is a bit of a letdown, but at least it’s bigger than I thought. Unlike its many prints that follow an elongated, rectangular shape, it actually has a square base of about 1.8 metres by 1.8 metres. The painting is constantly surrounded by a throng of museum visitors; half of them are rich…
I am standing in front of the Banco Casino in Bratislava and the blood is rushing to my head. There was a time, not so long ago, when I believed my destiny was in the cards. It’s not that my future could be deduced from reading them, I was not the despondent Robert Ford trying…
“My colleague is trying to tell you that you validated your ticket slip from the wrong side,” a controller says sternly while I am already calculating how much a fine will set me back. “But you are ok,” he finishes, so what? All I can see is my tram disappearing behind the corner, never to…
The stag trophies are looking at me with silent outrage; they didn’t choose to be here, unlike me. I would have probably picked a different place if I had known that I was not their target audience. The vintage machismo decor, the motorcycles behind a glass panel, stuffed animal heads hanging from the walls, an…
Myslovitz, a veteran rock band from the city of Myslowice, recorded Krakow back in 1999. Four years later, when the legendary Marek Grechuta was nearing the end of his earthly road, he joined the band in rerecording the song. I’ve always adored that collaboration. The context is important here – Grechuta was on his last…
Amber Volakis is dying on-screen to the tune of Bon Iver, re: stacks, and I fixate on one thing she says before being disconnected from her life support equipment. “We’re always gonna want just a little longer.” After several delays, I’m finally starting the long-awaited trip. From a velleity to a hankering, from hesitation to…
“Why are you up already?” I am looking at my sister’s message. It is quarter past nine, and Vanløse, Copenhagen is welcoming with an unusually balmy day. Apart from work-related travelling and home visits, it is my first trip abroad since pre-pandemic times. “Already? I’ve slept almost nine hours, and it was an excellent night.” The…
Luke, around the world. 