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This video started with a dashboard warning light and ended in a Michelin-starred restaurant — which is what I was expecting at all when I woke up that morning.

I was heading towards Luxembourg, convinced it was only a couple of hours away, when plans quietly unravelled. Somewhere between Belgium and France, I crossed borders I didn’t intend to cross, started chasing lucky monkeys, found myself wandering through forests wondering if Belgium even has bears, and spent far too long trying to track down something that may or may not exist.

This was one of those days where nothing went to plan — and somehow everything worked out. Fortresses in thunderstorms, random mechanical scares, abandoned railway stations that refused to be found, cows about to give birth, getting lost in the bush, and then stumbling into unexpected kindness when I needed it most.

It’s a video about spontaneity, about trusting that things will sort themselves out, and about why vanlife — even on the messy days — is something I absolutely love.

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🎥 Watch the Video

If you prefer watching rather than reading, the full video is here.

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🗺️ What This Video Covers

• Accidentally crossing into France while heading to Luxembourg
• Chasing lucky monkeys in Mons
• A dashboard warning light and a very kind mechanic
• Exploring a huge historic fort during a thunderstorm
• Getting lost in the woods looking for an abandoned royal train station
• Cows, egg vending machines, and rural Belgium surprises
• An unplanned overnight stay at a Michelin-starred restaurant

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📍 The Story Behind the Scenes

This day really sums up why travelling without a strict plan can lead to the best stories. I thought I was simply passing through Belgium, but a wrong turn had me unexpectedly in France, staying beside a river in a tiny town I’d never heard of. When a warning light popped up on the dashboard, I braced myself — but instead found a local mechanic who calmly checked everything, topped up the brake fluid, and sent me on my way.

From there, things escalated quickly. I climbed around the enormous Fort of Charlemont in the pouring rain, during a thunderstorm, questioning my decision-making as lightning cracked overhead. Wandering through its tunnels and dungeons gave me my first real sense of the scale and terror of a historical siege — the noise, the fear, the chaos — all suddenly very real.

Later, back in Belgium, I decided to hunt down an abandoned railway station built by King Leopold II. Atlas Obscura promised mystery. What I got instead was overgrown tracks, confusing directions, a cut leg, and the growing feeling that I might be starring in a very low-budget horror film. No station. No success. Just mud and mild panic.

Unable to find a place to camp and with my apps refusing to cooperate, I did the only thing that made sense — I looked for a café. That decision led me into a tiny village, a beautifully dressed dining room, and a moment that still makes me laugh: discovering I’d wandered into a Michelin-starred restaurant. Not only did they offer me dinner, they let me stay overnight in the car park, treated me with extraordinary kindness, and the next day even showed me their 13th-century wine cellar.

From lost in the woods to priceless wine collections — vanlife really does deliver plot twists.

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🧠 Things I Learned

• A lack of planning can open doors you didn’t know existed
• Local kindness often shows up exactly when you need it
• Fortresses make thunderstorms feel very dramatic
• Asking for help beats stressing alone every time
• Vanlife flexibility turns problems into stories

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🔗 Related Videos / Posts

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💬 Over to You

Have you ever had a day where everything went wrong — and somehow ended up perfect?
Tell me in the comments. I read every one.

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