Going through a 1979 ‘LEGO ideas’ book (‘6000’), I noticed a space plane that always caught my attention, so I gave it a try to […]
RDLF 2023: the fall of my health
La Ruta de Las Fortalezas (‘the route of the fortresses’), also known as RDLF among the trail runners, is a yearly recurring event in the […]
Reviving the LEGO 1979 Galaxy Explorer with modern bricks
I can highlight three events that helped setting out a path for me towards becoming an aerospace engineer who now designs satellites:1. The release of […]
A bumpy ride on a hovercraft
I only had four posters of vehicles on my wall as a kid: a Lamborghini Countach, a Vector W8, the SR-71 spy plane, and a […]
Rasmus Klump and the North Pole
The 1951 Danish comic ‘Rasmus Klumb at the North Pole’ explains how the Northern light is created: a seal simply puts snow into a machine, […]
Around the world in one day
Departure from Amsterdam: 00:05. Arrival in Jamaica: 05:35. A bit of tropics never hurts. The ‘pirate’ atmosphere is more evident than ever in a foggy […]
Bungee jumping when you are afraid of heights
My father always said he was ‘drawn to the abyss’. His fear of heights was such that if you let him stand on a ridge […]
Learning to rehearse in China
China certainly isn’t the same anymore as when I visited it in 1996. While most people know how China is becoming market leader in many […]
Breckenridge: the rise and fall of snowboarding
It is winter 1988, and in a skateboard shop in Rotterdam I buy the first edition of ‘Transworld Snowboarding’. I couldn’t believe what I saw. […]
Zermatt and Breithorn – the beauties nearby
With six weeks to go before my Broad Peak attempt, there were still a few gear items untested in snow. A long weekend was coming […]