Before boarding our final flight to Panama, another journey awaited us moving Maja into her new home in The Hague, where she would spend the next three years. On Thursday, 21st of August, we packed up our life in Eysins, loading box after box into a VW Crafter hired through a Polish bus company. By the time we were done, the van, officially registered for nine passengers, looked more like a cargo hold. Suitcases, bags, and Maja’s bike filled every inch of space until the vehicle felt ready to burst.
The drive stretched across eleven hours of Europe fields and highways unrolling before us, the road carrying us from the quiet rhythm of Switzerland to the flat landscapes of Holland. It wasn’t just a trip; it felt like the first crossing into a new chapter, heavy with belongings but also with the unspoken sense that our lives were shifting north, and soon, far west.
The next few days in The Hague turned into a blur of errands and discoveries. From the endless aisles of Ikea to the quirky corners of the Do It Yourself store, we scoured for pieces that would make Maja’s new home her own. Bit by bit the transformation took shape: the ugly wall carpet ripped away, cold fluorescent light replaced with a warm glow, and a few carefully chosen details that gave her room the sense of comfort she needed. By the end, it felt lived-in, personal, almost as if she had been there for months already.
Monday, 24th of August, brought a different milestone Victor’s first day at his new school. Our Airbnb was modest, just two bedrooms and a single small desk, but it was enough. At 4 p.m. sharp he perched at the desk, opened his laptop, and joined his new class on Zoom, stepping into this next chapter of his life from a commons space of ours.
Between Victor’s lessons and our work on Maja’s space, time to actually explore The Hague was scarce. Most days our only glimpse of the city came from crossing the old town on the way to her apartment, the cobbled streets and gabled façades becoming a familiar backdrop.
But on our final day, we carved out a moment for ourselves and escaped to the seaside. The horizon opened wide, the wind carried the scent of salt and seaweed, and for the first time in days we simply breathed, letting the North Sea remind us why journeys matter as much as destinations.
A week after we reached The Hague, the moment came to say our goodbyes to Maja. Ahead of us lay Istanbul our final stop in Europe, where a few last formalities stood between us and the leap to Central America.
An Uber Van pulled up at our door, and even that felt too small. Suitcases, backpacks, and loose bags piled higher and higher until every corner of the van was claimed. We squeezed the doors shut, half laughing, half exasperated, as if the weight of our entire transition had to be compressed into that one ride to the airport.