We step again into Europe

We step again into Europe. Arriving in Frankfurt, we feel the land, its history, this mosaic of cultures of the continent. Everything is familiar to us and at the same time foreign. We are welcomed by the "Abendbrot" and the "brotchen", flavors that we rediscover and that revive memories. This past, so present in Europe, we feel its hidden vibration, this line of demarcation that separated the German people, this history that the land and memories have not yet liberated. The underlying energy does not make us forget the main issue. Everything is closing in, society is splitting up. It is painfully divided, in misunderstandings, in judgments, imposed with force. We have the sensation of walking on a thread that could break at any moment. We move forward in an unknown that seems so opaque, in which no vision persists except that of the present moment. And as the earth is the mirror of what we live, we ride in a thick fog that lets us discern nothing. We are facing the handlebars, spending the day in the cold humidity at 2°C. However, the kindness of the German people will offer us a few warm nights to care for our frozen bodies. We ride along the Rhine and then through Strasbourg. A clearing allows us to highlight the charm of Alsace, combined with a French croissant. These typical houses, its small bridges, its atmosphere bring the joy of discovery. Yet the look in this woman's eyes strikes me. The pity in her eyes as she sees our bikes makes me realize how easy it is to impose your truth on the others.  

Arriving at the gates of Switzerland, we are enthusiastically welcomed by Thomas Weiss, who created FollowMe, the system that has allowed us to take Nayla and Fibie on the roads of the world for more than 32'000 km. We are at the border with Switzerland. Fibie has never been there before, and Nayla was just 2 years old the last time we went there. It's the first time in more than 11 years that we're back with our bikes. It's a feeling of coming full circle. We came back to the starting point, as if to give even more dimension to this life we have created and the vast wild spaces we have explored. We cross the Basel bridge. The Aare and then the Broye guided us to Ropraz, where we dared to take that first step, that first pedal stroke and that gigantic plunge into the unknown. Claire-Lise, Xavier's mother, was not aware of our arrival in Switzerland. What an excitement for the girls to organize this surprise! A frantic joy agitates them, and yet Fibie is slightly worried. What kind of welcome will she receive in Switzerland, she who knows nothing about this country and who has only met her grandparents? We walk in the door and it's an explosion of emotions!

Photo Book

Finally, we hold it in our hands, this photo book that took two years to be realized. This nomadic life in which we reinvent ourselves every day allows us to follow our creative impulses. This is how this project took shape. A powerful synchronicity, thanks to a mother bear and her cub, opened the doors to the indigenous community of Haines Junction, in the Yukon. This moment will sow the seed of this photo book, of all those moments of mystery that guide us along the way, sometimes even beyond us.