Ah, the good old days of pre-COVID commutes—when “working from home” was just a wistful fantasy, and the daily grind came with some side benefits, like catching stunning sunrises. You know, before we all became home-office hobbits who lost track of what day it was. And yes, those annoying smartphone notifications are usually just more noise in the symphony of chaos we call modern life, but every once in a while, they hit you with a gem—like a time capsule from the good old days.
This morning, I got one of those “Remember this day six years ago?” alerts on my iPhone. Normally, I’d dismiss it faster than a spam call, but today, curiosity got the better of me. As I scrolled through those memories, a wave of nostalgia hit—back when my daily commute to Brussels was more than just a soul-sucking routine. It was a chance to witness some pretty spectacular scenes, all captured with the trusty iPhone of that era (probably an iPhone X or 11, though who can keep track of all the models they crank out?).
So, here are some photos from six years ago, a time when masks were only for Halloween, “social distancing” wasn’t a thing, and the biggest concern of the day was whether you’d get a seat on the train. These snapshots were taken during my early morning trek to the office, where I had the luxury of witnessing the sun paint the sky with colors that seemed too vivid to be real.
Looking at these pictures, I realize that while I don’t miss the sardine-can train rides or the pre-5 AM alarms, I do miss those moments of unexpected beauty. They were a reminder that, sometimes, the journey itself can be just as rewarding as the destination. And in this case, the journey came with some killer photo ops.
So here they are—a few glimpses into the calm before the storm, courtesy of my iPhone and a Brussels-bound train schedule. Hope you enjoy the view as much as I did back then.
Shot with iPhone something , edit with Adobe LR using my own presets (you can get them too soon!).
All photos are taken by me. If you want to know more, head to beheydt.be/en/photography or shor.by/BjB for more info.
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