perigraphika

I’m just back from a couple of weeks in Brussels, house-/cat-sitting for a friend in a lovely townhouse in the Ixelles area of the city, kept company by two friendly but undemanding cats, Ginger and Oreo. It wasn’t really a holiday per se, more of a break and a change of scene. I took my laptop, spent a bit of time working, some time exploring and some time just hanging out. The house very much reminded me of the house I lived in while au-pairing in Switzerland back when I finished university and exploring a European city on my own also reminded me of that time. That got me reflecting on what a different experience it is now. Instead of relying on my dog-eared copy of Let’s Go Europe 1990 and paper maps picked up from Tourist Offices, this trip was incredibly phone-dependent! Google maps got me everywhere, just finding my way around the streets of the city or checking the times of trains or buses to get out of town. The house was 5 minutes from a large park which gave way to an enorm...