This ugly communist block of flats in the photograph is where I grew up.
Karviná 8, northeast Czech Republic.
I lived there for almost 22 years.
Looking at it now, I completely understand why someone might see rows of these Russian-style apartment blocks and think…
Jesus Christ.
But as a kid?
This place was fucking brilliant.
Just behind the parking lot on the right was a huge sports complex belonging to my school. There was a football pitch where we used to hang out… a swimming pool where you could climb onto the roof and watch girls changing clothes. There were big open spaces for hide-and-seek and whatever games we happened to invent.
And the best thing?
No rules.
The place was open all the time. If you wanted to play hide-and-seek at eleven at night, nobody gave a shit. Once it got dark, that whole place turned into the best hide-and-seek arena imaginable.
I never thought much about any of this at the time.
It was just normal.
I only understood how awesome it was after I left the Czech Republic.
Now, after almost 20 years of living in different countries around the world, I think growing up in Karviná was easy.
We had everything.
Our parents provided all the comfort in the world. Everything was served on a silver platter. And as kids, we barely worried about anything. We could disappear outside for hours, walk around everywhere, come home late and nobody was worried that something was going to happen to us.
Life just felt simple.
If it wasn’t for the air pollution, which sometimes exceeded the limits by as much as 20 times… the high unemployment, the long and depressing winters, and a few communists who thought they were the chosen ones or something…
The place would be pretty damn close to perfect.
Mountains nearby. Lakes and rivers about a 20-minute drive away.
The city is surrounded by all these cool places that, whenever I’m back visiting my family, make me think…
Why don’t I move back here?
Buy a piece of land like my dad did back in the day and build a tiny house somewhere near the mountains… or something like that.
Instead, I’m rooted here in the Netherlands.
We’ll see what the future brings…
For now, I’m happy where I am.