Life on the road is often seen as the ultimate freedom. No lock-in contracts, no fixed abode, nothing holding you back from the adventure of a lifetime. It’s all true. Everything you have heard is true. However, at what cost does that freedom come?
The cost is generally on your diet, health, sleep, comfort, practicality and cleanliness. Most of those factors keep the majority of us, neatly packed away in the suburbs. Ain’t nothing wrong with being a tightly packed-in suburb sardine living your best life from your pad. In fact, that’s what I’m about to discuss a little in this blog post. As an ‘avid adventurer’, I’ve set myself up as a suburb sardine, packed into a little apartment in Fribourg for the next fortnight. I’ll be sweeping the floors, emptying the trash, feeding a cat and I might even cook some cereal or toast. It’s time to get domesticated.
Don’t sound the alarm bells yet. It isn’t as drastic as it seems. Let me explain.
Josh and I tapped into an awesome little opportunity in big ol’ expensive Switzerland. One of the lads from the media team at Skyrunning (Josh’s next running event) offered to rent us his apartment and car in Fribourg for 15 days. Normally we would balk at that offer but in Switzerland, it was pretty much a car rental with a free apartment. By domesticating our lifestyle, we would actually increase the amount of adventure we could get up to just out of practicality and accessibility.
Having a home base is bloody nice! I don’t really have the urge to find one for a long period of time. No, I’m not drawn to live in Fribourg forever. But for two weeks or a month in a new location, it really is a lifestyle I enjoy. Being able to buy groceries, set up your computer on a desk and hang your towel on a rack actually makes a big difference. I can focus all of my energy on adventuring to a new spot each day, documenting it on the blog each night and not worrying about how to line up all the logistics of accommodation, food, washing and the other crap that crams our lives.
Yes… I now have the responsibility of feeding a cat once a day, watering some plants and making sure this little apartment stays clean but it has freed up a lot of time and allowed Josh and I to make the most of our time in Switzerland. Having a base is directly correlated with a healthier lifestyle making it much easier to cook clean, healthy food and get your workouts in at the local outdoor gym.
So, with that little discussion about my home base and new pet cat out of the way, you might be wondering what adventures went down over the last week. We sent a few hikes in the Fribourg region, which were just beautiful as seems to always be the case in Switzerland.
Conclusion: Being a ‘Suburb Sardine’ actually means having the potential to be an ‘Avid Adventurer’.
I’ll post my favorite photos from the week below:
