Belgium
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1–2 minutes
Ypres, Kemmel, Leuven & Ghent
In October, Kim had to present the first stage of her doctoral research at the KU Leuven. We all joined on the trip so we could spend some time with my family. The highlight was definitely our family weekend away in Kemmel, the place where I grew up as a kindergartner. I also ran up…
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3–5 minutes
2024 Running goals
In my 2023 running recap, I hinted at doing my first marathon. Our son had just been born, and I had no clue what was going to be possible, so I didn’t want to commit to anything just yet. My first marathon At the beginning of this year, I decided to enter the Sanlam Cape…
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Ypres
From about 6 years of age, I’ve lived in and around Ypres, a small city in Belgium that was important in the Middle Ages due to its cloth industry. This is evidenced in having a cathedral—a church that hosts a bishop—and its massive town square, the Cloth Halls, belfry, and city hall. During the First…
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1–2 minutes
Leuven and Brussels
We’ve just come back from several weeks in Europe. Mila’s godmother and her partner came down to Leuven for the weekend, and we spent some time in the city where Kim and I met. Next to that, we also sneaked in a quick trip to Brussels. Here are some pics of those trips. In Leuven,…
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Antwerp
Between May and August, we spent about 3-4 weeks in Antwerp, but only on the very last Sunday, we took time for a tourist stroll as a family. We had been to Antwerp in previous years, so wanted to explore some newer parts which we found in Linkeroever. On the way over, we used the…
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1–2 minutes
Leuven and Bruges
Kim and I have our birthdays only four days apart, and we normally go away for a weekend to celebrate around that time. This year we combined a trip to Leuven, where Kim had to be for her research, and Bruges, where we’d not been together yet. Here are some pics of that trip.
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2–3 minutes
Sabbatical
Today my sabbatical starts. Three months of fully paid leave, a perk every employee at Automattic gets every five years. A few months ago, I was brainstorming with Kim when I last had been on a three-month holiday without any obligations. Given the length of school holidays, I know that it must have been before…
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1–2 minutes
Belgium, France and England
One of the big advantages of both Kim and me working remotely is that we aren’t tied to a single location. A few months ago, that meant that we were able to spend almost seven weeks in Europe without taking much leave. Itinerary I love living in South Africa, but at the same time, I do…
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1–2 minutes
Lotte, Hamed, Sina & TBA
Kim and I just got back from 6+ weeks in Europe. We got to spend a lot of time with family, which was great, and that time included quality moments with my sister, Lotte, and her family. Lotte is pregnant with their second child and we went to a park close to their house in…
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2–3 minutes
Belgian bands growing up
When you listen to music, you get influenced by a lot of other musicians, but I doubt anyone has as much influence as your local bands. Especially in Belgium, where everything is only a short train ride away, I’ve looked up to several bands. I still listen to some of those musicians regularly. So which…
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2–4 minutes
Zwarte Piet and My Own Racist Blind Spots
In 2011, I met my South African wife in Belgium. Her friend Crystal was visiting the town where we both lived in late November that year. Both of them were absolutely shocked when they saw Zwarte Piet (or Black Pete). Blind spots Up until that point, I had never ever considered the racist implications of…
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6–9 minutes
Haters Gonna Hate: From Brussels with Love?
When Taylor Swift is singing her “Shake It Off” song, she’s not focusing on very deep aspects of life. Granted, while the message to not care too much about what other people say is valid, she is still only singing about dating and dance moves. There are deeper sides to life. Worse haters that…
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4–6 minutes
“So How Long Will You Stay in South Africa?” On Answering the Underlying Question
Even though I have definitely picked up some South African lingo, most locals still hear straight away that I’m not a national (yet). Once that is clear and they understand that I’m not Dutch or German, but Belgian, they ask me how long I’ve been in South Africa (since August 2013). The follow-up question to that…
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4–5 minutes
Anti-Flag’s Underground Network: Choose Your Covers Wisely
Around Easter in my second year of high school, I bought a guitar. My two best friends already had their instruments: a bass and drums. So the guitar was the only instrument that we still needed; we were going to play punk rock after all. We played for a while as My Mistake, but for most of our…
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1–2 minutes
Austria, Slovakia, Belgium, Germany & Portugal
In May and June, we went to Europe, originally for just the WordCamp in Cologne, but we combined it with Kim doing research in Vienna, a short trip to Bratislava, visits to friends and family in Belgium, and a holiday in Estoril and Lisbon to celebrate our birthdays.
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1–2 minutes
Evangelische Theologische Faculteit (Leuven)
From 2007-2013 I studied at the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit in Leuven (BE). A lot of amazing opportunities to try event photography.
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1–2 minutes
Maaike & Stefan
The wedding of Maaike & Stefan was the first wedding I did as a second photographer (with 3GUNNA being the first photographer). It was fun not having too much responsibility, but at the same time being able to tag along for all the parts of their special day.
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1–2 minutes
Ichtus Vlaanderen
From 2009-2013 I worked for the student organisation Ichtus. During the many events, I was able to take a lot of pics.
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1–2 minutes
Snapshots (Leuven, Brussels & Antwerp)
I’m someone who rarely takes snapshots with my camera – I mostly carry it to events. Here are a few of my rare snapshots.
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1–2 minutes
Life Group Fun (Leuven)
I’ve been fortunate to share my life with a group of awesome people and their families at my home church in Leuven.