Switzerland - What home can do

Sometimes you have to think out loud. Or think aloud. Think about how life should be and how it is. What the expectations were, what they are and whether they can be fulfilled.

Our Travel diary On the one hand, this is to take you with us on our journey. On the other hand, however, and this is no less important, to record our experiences and in a certain way also to conclude them.

For those who, like us, experience so much, have hardly any experience routines, are constantly full of impressions. At some point, the most beautiful sunset is just another sunset. The small, playful, rippling waterfall is also just another waterfall. And the historically significant excavation site just "old stones again".

So needs every long-term traveller needs a break at some point. Some people talk about travel fatigue, we would rather call it absorption capacity overload (what a cool word). We are not travel weary, not at all. Our minds and memories are simply full and need rest. To process what we have experienced. Sorting. And then new travel desires, new life strategies form from that.

So we talk a lot to each other, even about seemingly trivial things. And only when we really take a lot of time for each other, listen to each other for a long time and finish our thoughts, do we notice that we feel pleasantly liberated, not rushed and calm deep inside.

Kate Murphy writes a wonderful quote in one of her books: "A happy marriage is a long conversation that always feels too short." And yes, that's how we feel sometimes, and we're always surprised at how much joy it gives us to be together 24/7. Neither of us needs to be short, neither wants to cut thoughts short or tweak ideas. And the best thing is that at some point silence sets in. The thoughts circle. Hours or days later, we pick up the thread again, continue thinking about certain topics and thus develop our minds and interests.

A special kind of this circling of thoughts (for me, Heike) is writing. Somewhere I read that it Talking thinkers, silent thinkers and writing thinkers there. While the words flow (I would love to write from pen and paper, instead I have to report from keyboard and laptop, well...), I close experiences, knowing that I have packed them into a box. At any time I can dive into the past feelings, look at pictures, remember. It's a wonderful way to process the experience. And since I am writing in a time-delayed manner, I bring out the emotions and facts again, relive them and feel which parts I particularly like, which less and which I would like to deepen or repeat.

But what was it like when we decided on the home leave or home stay? Gerd wanted to spend a few months on site at the company, I was a bit worried that we would get stuck here. Now, after almost two months, I realise how good this time out is for us.

We visit friends and family, live much more quietly and less hectically, have time for things that otherwise literally fall by the wayside. While Gerd is on site at the shop, I go to the Aare with our Felix, stand there in peace and quiet and go about my own business. There is time for encounters in quiet places, we are invited to a barbecue(ier) and I take a week off from the travelling life to go to the Baltic Sea with our daughter.

The last two months have not been boring, not at all. They were different, precisely because many things are familiar. The language, the currency, the area, the people, the rules. That makes it quieter sometimes. You can perceive other things, you don't have to concentrate on so many new things, you can more in depth go.

However, we also notice - and this was my greatest concern - that in Switzerland and Germany a clearly faster life cycle prevails. Everything has to be done efficiently, quickly and in a hurry. You always have to get to the point immediately. Everything has to be on time and accurate.

Here we notice that many of these values no longer belong to us. Not because we think punctual buses and trains are stupid. No, because we sense the price that society as a whole is paying for this ever faster, higher, further and above all better. Never before have we heard so often in conversation: "I don't have time for that", "After the holiday, my email inbox is overflowing" or "I have to do some quick shopping during the lunch break". When trying to arrange a date with friends, they scroll through the future for weeks to find a free evening in their calendars for us.

And we ask ourselves: is it worth it? Is it worth the price to always have everything right and better, cheaper and faster? Is the price paid by society, by all of us - sometimes more, sometimes less - worth it?

Do not misunderstand us, dear friends, we do not want to blame you. We ourselves are part of the misery. No sooner have we landed in Switzerland than we are back in the thick of it. Immediately our diaries fill up, immediately we postpone appointments until next week or the week after.

Let us openly ask ourselves the question: What is a healthy, satisfied life worth to us? Probably something different for everyone. Some enjoy rallies, races, sporting or other comparisons. Others enjoy cosy barbecues, hikes through nature parks or endless evenings of knitting.

Perhaps a final thought: It doesn't matter what who thinks is important and right. Only when I finally know what is important to me do I do everything, or at least a lot, to achieve exactly that. For my salvation, for my joy. Only then do I somehow manage to be in balance. And only then am I a contented part of society.

And now to the conclusion of our last two months: Instead of fulfilling unfounded worries, we ourselves are very fulfilled. We are able to shape our own lives as far as possible. We have the opportunity to do one or the other in our free time. Whatever feels better, whatever is good for us, whatever seems healthy to us.

What do you think? Are we too privileged for such thoughts? Are we already too much in long-term travel mode and too far away? Or would it be worthwhile for one or the other to think about it? Let's talk about it!

Photo: Edgar von https://www.distant-horizons.de/

---

Merci for "travelling with us

Here you can find our future lectures:

Date: 24 November 2024 4 pm (doors open at 3 pm)
Location: Germany, Landgasthof zum Mühlenteich 15345 Eggersdorf near Berlin
Registration: https://forms.gle/5XFgSz31NKzmCzmT8

---

Do you think our travel experiences might be of interest to others? Then you can share the Share post quietly. By e-mail or however you want to do it.

In addition, if you haven't already done so, you can use our Newsletter subscribe. Here you will receive all our experiences in your mailbox whenever we publish something new or once a week on Fridays: live-pur.ch/newsletter

We are also very happy to hear your views, your tips or your questions. Just comment on the post!