Wrapping up our old life and starting the adventure....

Last week was all about wrapping up our settled life. On Friday, Anne had her last day at work. She’s leaving her office job completely, so it was nice to say goodbye to her colleagues in a meaningful way.

On Saturday, we had a farewell party with our closest friends. It was an incredibly fun evening! Our friends finally got to see our camper now that it’s almost ready. We shared our plans—or the lack thereof—in detail. We laughed, hugged, and promised to stay in touch. It was a beautiful way to say goodbye, even though we’re not leaving forever and we’ll definitely see each other again in the future.

The following week was all about clearing out our house. When you cancel the lease on your rental home to travel for an extended
period in a camper, a lot of stuff has to go! We had come up with a whole plan to tackle this, and with some help from family, things moved along pretty quickly. Unfortunately, we soon realized we had way more to do than we initially thought... and the stress levels started to rise.


Wednesday was Lennard’s last day at the office.
Even though he’ll keep working while we travel—maybe just a
few hours less—it was still time to say goodbye to his colleagues.
He’ll stay in touch with them, of course, but he won’t be seeing
them for a while.

On Thursday, we had set aside a full day to say goodbye to our
families. We would still see them briefly after this, but this day
was dedicated to spending extra quality time together—talking,
crying, and laughing. Our families surprised us with a beautiful, thoughtful book filled with messages and memories to comfort us when we miss them on the road. It was such a special day—emotional, but so full of love. We’re incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful family.

And then came the final days of preparation. Our bed was picked up on Thursday, so we were already sleeping in the camper. But the house still had to be emptied and cleaned before handing over the keys on Saturday. We worked like crazy, but honestly, it was tougher than we expected! We seriously underestimated how much stuff we had. Every drawer seemed to be hiding more and more. On Friday, we worked late into the night to get everything cleared out, and by 6:30 AM on Saturday, we were already scrubbing away. Thankfully, we managed to finish just in time—but in true “us” fashion, it was a last-minute rush. Will we ever learn? Who knows!

On Saturday evening, we spent one last night in Bergen op Zoom. We parked the camper at ‘De Plaat’ and had a romantic dinner as the sun set. And then it was Sunday—the day we’d been looking forward to for so long. Our family came to wave us off, so we started the day early at Imke’s (Anne’s sister’s) place. Anne’s parents and brother-in-law were also there. With lots of smiles—and many tears—we said our goodbyes.

Next, we drove to Zevenbergen, where Lennard’s parents and grandparents were waiting with coffee, spekkoek and worstenbrood. After another round of hugs and tears, we were waved off once again. Our last stop was Eindhoven, where Lennard’s sister, brother-in-law, and niece live. They welcomed us with iced coffee and croissants. After one final round of goodbyes, it was time—the journey could finally begin.

Curious where we’ll go?
What amazing places we’ll discover?
What ups and downs we’ll experience?

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Got tips for fun, beautiful places to visit in Europe? Let us know!
See you out there!

— Mariposa Mundial | Anne & Lennard