CriticalBeansIT
Cart
the journal

Postcards
from the road.

More shorts on YouTube @critcof
Day 20Vitterbo

San Pietro of Vitterbo

A 100km and a crisis of faith. I did not even drink any coffee today. The foot is hurting quite a bit, and for my wife both feet as she does not have appropriate footware. Without her I would not have survived this day or reached Vitterb. The family came to pick her up, and I planned to take a break and join them. But then in the therms I recondidered: so close, less than 100km. Finding a place to stay than proved a big challenge in Vitterbo, but finally a pilgrim guide Pietro came to the rescue, driving all the way from Montefiascone to the center of Vitterbo and opening up his home for me. I got to stay in a very nice little studio, right in the center.

18 km today
Day 19Est! Est!! Est!!!

Role reversal

It was a challenging day. I felt something was off with my foot the first step I took. Luckily I had the pleasure of the company of my wife, and even more she took over my backpack to help relax my foot. We reached Montefiascone with some difficulties for both of us, and felt saved when we reached the town's Eurospin to finally enjoy a cold drink: yoghurt! yoghurt!! yoghurt!!! (with strawberries). We had the evening meal together with PapiJac and then had a look around the wine festival, no tasting though. Did get the 100km mark stamp, as recommended by fellow pilgrims as it tends to be closed early in the morning.

17 km today
Day 18Bolsena

Reaching Bolsena lake

I just had the loveliest breakfast at San Lorenzo, a place that also combines music and wine "vino e vinelli". I did not enjoy an alcoholic beverage, or maybe it was the heat from the sun, but I started singing again, an original composition that I had started in Belgium, a night in the tent I was not able to fall asleep. So I started having musical inspirations during the walks. Very enjoyable, at least for me. I do share the fragments in the YouTube shorts, but don't expect it do be perfect ;)

23 km today
Day 17Acquapendente

The music awakens

First day, I really got a nice chat and walk, with an Italian that did not want to walk away, in fact she preferred taking the bus, so I motivated her to not give up and reach Acquapendente on foot. She plays in a cartoon cover band, what a fun background story. I did share I follow singing lessons but of course to embarassed to give a live performance to someone who actually earns a little by singing, from time to time, instead I made her a cold brew as there were no bars or fountains to be found anywhere. In Acquapendente I met up with Marco, who has given my daughter's composition lessons the last couple of summers, and on some occasions I was listening in on the lesson. Today I got a private lesson and we discussed how to properly write songs. In the evening I met PapiJac at the restaurant. A Frenchman of 73 years old walking for his granddaughter's anorexia struggle. Just after the meal I learned that Francesco Guccini passed a way. Dio è morto. RIP.

24 km today
Day 16Radicofani, IT

Having a bath

Today was the longest walk thus far, and writing from future tense I can assert it was the longest of all. It was also the day I got to start interacting with fellow pilgrims, not all were to eager to go directly in philosophy mode, but I did meet, who would turn out later to be the legendary Giovanny, a Roman lawyer that I accidentally met at Bagno Vignoni trying to find a place to have a coffee and breakfast. We were walking in the same directions, which happens a lot on these pilgrim roads, and he said: "è una cosa che devo fare da solo". Which I then tried to respect by allowing him to take a wrong turn, because he was also not of an app using type "non mi piace". A profoundly fun experience. At the end of the day, my family joined me at Radicofani and brought me to the nearby San Felipo therms, which are all to familiar to me. After 34 km having a spa was a brilliant idea!

34 km today
Day 15San Querico, IT

In pursuit of the pilgrims

So far I still have to meet fellow pilgrims. This morning I got up at 6, apparently way too late and as I passed the bar I understood it had opened at 4am, the time most pilgrims get up. I met someone at the hostel, just getting back from getting breakfast and he explained in fact I was the last to leave Ponte D'Arbia. It was quite unlikely I would catch up with the pilgrims, except maybe at the hostel in San Querico. First time staying at a hostel as a pilgrim and there were many, resting, washing clothes. I did not talk really to anyone yet, but I was already happy not being completely by myself any more.

26 km today
Day 14Ponte D'Arbia

Espresso Academy in Firenze and a new start

I had to go back to the drawing board for my pilgrimage, after the untimely passing of my wife's uncle. I first decided to join her on her trip to Italy and be with my family for a few days. Instead of reaching the Via Francigena at Rheims, I was now looking for an Italian start position. At the same time I looked into the offering of the Espresso Academy, that I learned about back in Namur. I was able to enroll for the green coffee course and obtained my professional certificate, opening up a door to future oportunities in coffee. For the pilgrimage I then decided to start at Firenze's rival Sienna.

27 km today
Day 13Vireux-Molhain

In loving memory to dedja Alyosha

Never give up! Today tragedy struck our family. Despite it being the Belgian national holiday and even as a consequence of it, my wife's uncle was driven over by a drunken driver. I got the news when I was just in the middle of nowhere, and then you feel very lost and helpless. I walked to the nearest station, headed home unsure what the future would bring. I could only take comfort in the idea that dedja Alyosha never gave up, no matter what happened in his life. This is dedicated to his memory.

13 km today
Day 12France

From Belgium to France

Hurray, I arrived in France at my camping site in Givette. I did 20,3 kilometers. It was really fun arriving in France. Very nice visit of the Leffe Museum. And the original abbey was close by, but I did not visit. So I made it to France all the way from Meise Botanic Garden and Brussels to Viva La France. And to wrap up the day, I learned the Leffe blonde actually contains corn. They didn't have that of course in 1240 when the abbey was founded and they started brewing bee, as they had to wait for the Colombian exchange. So, it's just relaxing now, waiting for my dinner and party time and get rested and tomorrow another day of walking.

20 km today
Day 11Dinant, BE

The valley of castles and fortresses

I made it to Dinant today: 17,2 kilometers. This is right in the valley of fortresses and castles. It's a very nice area to walk through. Now I will just rest and watch the world champion final and get back on the trail.

17 km today
Day 10Near Profondeville

The Meuse, my guide to Rheims

Today I walked exactly 15 km from Namur to this camping spot, a very old camping. The owner is 93 already. She's a little bit sick. Otherwise, I would have liked to have made her a coffee. A very nice walk along the Meuse, and learning about the Meuse, or "Maas", as we say actually in Dutch. I visited the strawberry museum For me, this feels like really the beginning of the Via Francigena to Reims. Passing Namur earlier today was also very inspiring. I saw an art exhibition in a refurbished church. And I got to taste coffee from the specialty roastery 2AM, about whom I learned at L'Atelier des Terroirs. Namur is such a lovely city. Definitely a must see. The Sambre comes into the Meuse there and I'll be able to just follow this river to get up to almost 60 km from Reims. So, now my walk is going to be a little bit easier. At least as far as knowing where to walk to.

15 km today
Day 9Namur, BE

Reaching Namur

I arrived at the beautiful station of Namur, right in the heart of the city. Total now reads 106.2 km and a good reminder of how far this pilgrimage has already carried me. What a day. The morning started in Gembloux, slipping first through pockets of nature before being pushed onto a long, loud stretch of highway. Not the most romantic part of the journey, but that contrast makes the quiet moments hit harder. And one of those moments came with a warm lunch, and an unexpected but inspiring conversation about coffee and opportunities with Yonas. Encounters like that feel like part of the pilgrimage itself. From there, just five more kilometers into Namur and enough to feel the weight of the backpack again. Two days of intense walking have made it clear: something needs to go. Today was a lesson in what I can drop, what I truly need, and how every gram matters when you’re carrying your story on your back. Near Gembloux there’s a biodiversity restoration project, a reminder that nature is quietly healing itself while we walk past. I tried to take a detour toward a castle on the hill, but it turned out to be private. So back to the straight line, the old way toward Namur, which honestly felt much better. And then: Namur. A well‑deserved pause. So I treated myself to a Blanche de Namur (only 3.4%) and a panna cotta of asparagus. The coffee here didn’t disappoint either: a chocolatey Ethiopian with citrus and almond notes, which paired beautifully with the panna cotta. Before reaching Namur, I also walked through a forest, or tried to. The path seemed closed, so I had to improvise again. That’s part of the pilgrimage: the road decides as much as you do.

23.1 km today
Day 8Gembloux, BE

From Ottignies to Gembloux

Today I walked 18.3 kilometer for my coffee pilgrimage. I'm here in someone's garden. Shout out to Stéphane for hosting me here. I found this place over Welcome to my garden. That's really a very nice app and just shows you people that are sharing their garden when you're doing a hike like this. It was the first time that I really was with my big backpack and some things were not as useful as some other things. For example, I had Schopenauer's World as Will and Representation and I can tell you it's a very heavy representation. It was really pressing me down. I prepared the Yangambi coffee. to thank my host for welcoming me to his garden.

18.3 km today
Day 7Ottignies, BE

Enjoying nature

We enjoyed a lot of beautiful nature and biodiversity today. Also shocking and a great pity seeing trash in a few places. I mean who does this really?

16.5 km today
Day 6Hulpe, BE

From Brussels over Flanders to Wallonia

Crossing from Brussels region into the Flanders region. And then we just had a few miles to walk before we were in Wallonia in one day and about 20 kilometers. Happy that we succeeded in the goal and then got to enjoy some wellness and wellbeing.

20.9 km today
Day 5Boo Coffee Roasters, Brussels

Tasting the Congolese Yangambi coffee with the 2026 roasting World Champion

What a day. 9.77 kilometer for my pilgrimage of which 5.1 kilometer in the royal palace but then also walking all the way over to the world champion coffee roasting Benjamin Brassart from Boo Coffee Roasters. Had a very fun experience. A video will be coming out tasting the Congolese Yangambi coffee. Now I'm really set to start the pilgrimage. The next steps should be around 20 km a day.

9.8 km today
Day 4Royal Palace Brussels

Presenting the Yangambi coffee at the palace

I made it all the way to the Royal Palace in Brussels with my letter from His Majesty the King of Belgium and the "Sacked in Meise, Bagged in Bruges" Congolese Yangambi coffee, to present it to the king. Turns out that it's closed on Monday.

4.1 km today
Day 3Brussels

Checking out the queens

Today I arrived in the center of Brussels, but I took an off-trail detour to visit the insect hotels from Betterfly. I might be giving courses on biodiversity and sustainibility in the future, with or without coffee. If you would like updates on this, subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you have job offers in this area, feel free to reach out to me.

5.9 km today
Day 2Bruges

Considering the diet

Just one day in the walk and I already needed a break to recover. I used the time well to consider my diet and breakfast options on the trip. Ideally I will try getting up early, already get the milage running and then find a nice brunch option.

Day 1Atomium

First steps on the pilgrimage

I reached my day goal up to the Atomium up to where we had world of coffee last week and what a day it was for me. First I analyzed the world of coffee championship coffees that were in the blend. I got their mineral profiles now. I can do a tracing analysis on them. Are they really from Tanzania etc. as the world of coffee of course uh claims and you know no reason to doubt that was first thing. Then I had a concert. The concerts to sing a dear to my colleagues. I was singing my wild Irish rose Aura Lee and also Aupres de ma blonde especially for my French-speaking colleagues. And then I started my coffee pilgrimage and reaching my day one goal just coming here at the atomium that actually represents an iron crystal molecule kind of just as a side note. So, tomorrow I'm walking or the day after. Still have to see from here to the palace to have a coffee with the king or not. Of course, if you want to find out, like and subscribe and put your notifications on. Thanks for following my coffee pilgrimage

7.6 km today