Brussels. Belgium

Stars aligned, EDM gods got ready to unite in the Mecca of their craft. The annual purge of negativity, the most magical event in the world, it was the time for Tomorrowland.

Disembarking from a global journey across the seven seas, Captain and Admiral unloaded their luggage, at their quaint hotel accommodation in the beautiful city of Brussels. It had been a mere 27 hours after they departed as they finally got a chance to see the sun and breathe fresh air. The grueling hours of flying had taken a toll on them but there was no time to waste, they were here on a mission, a pilgrimage, a search for happiness. They had arrived with one thing on their mind, they had arrived in the city with a dream, and their dream was about to begin 42 kilometers away from the steps at what they stood, in a measly 4 hours. Time had begun ticking.

There was a lot to do, time was not on the Captain’s side, and to add to that, there was a public holiday causing all kinds of delays. Seems like the city was also lost in a celebration, celebrating their republic day milestone. The first order of business was to get a communication channel open between the travelling duo and the home base. Searching for a SIM card was proving difficult as the time crept closer, the bass was not going to wait.

The first objective was reached, but with time inching closer it only meant that the admiral and Captain had minimal time to freshen up. Down time was not on the agenda, the dream was starting, shuffling onto an uber the Captain and Admiral had now travelled by flight, train and car and were finally on the footsteps of greatness.

The nerves of the Admiral had reached peak point, as they joined the hundreds of people heading to the grand entrance of Tomorrowland. Her concerns and fears stemming from uncertainty and assumptions built up from the past year. The Captain had not stopped talking or mentioning his experience from the previous years, and the Admiral had constructed a terrifyingly chaotic landscape that plagued her mind.

The beating of the drums synchronized with the heart beats, meaning that they had crossed the checkpoints and had only to retrieve their magical Tomorrowland bands before they could step foot in the holy grounds. Here in the burning sun the Admiral and Captain stood, withstanding the heat, amongst of the hundreds of people waiting, claustrophobia hitting the Captain, time ticked, sweat dripped but after an hour in the sun, wrapped around their wrists was the key to happiness. They had entered. Walking toward the locker bay the horizon was shining with the lights of the mainstage, they kept away the precious belongings, as they now had no use for them anymore, they had entered a land where there was no use for these things. The Admiral’s nerves elevated as the beauty of the landscape started to reveal itself, into view came the pirate ship rotating above the information booth, soon her ears filled with the harmonies of the multiple stages that she was seeing in front of her, her angst turned to bewilderment.

Alice had just fallen down the Rabbit hole, a new world, a magical, beautiful world. Melodies in sighting feelings of joy and visual aesthetics like the admiral had never seen before. Following the thousands of people across the bridges, hills and walkways they finally arrived at the Tomorrowland Main Stage.

The Mainstage. A feat of human ingenuity. The theme this year was Amicorum Spectaculum, bringing back the olden day Circus. The stage had  placed the Captain and Admiral in a time capsule and sent them back. Words cannot possibly describe the magnificence of the main stage, the lighting, the displays, the performers. They say photos say a thousand words, the Captain could write sagas on the beauty of the stage and the photos cannot even do justice

The Captain and Admiral stayed on the hill, soon they were joined by other friends who had travelled the seas to be there at to pay homage to the gospel of EDM. Together they sat and marveled at the likes of Tiesto, Angello, Ingrosso and Axwell, intoxicated by the music, amongst other things, dancing till their toes felt like they would fall off. As Aoki lit up the sky, the Captain and Admiral made a shuffle for the exit. It had been over 48 hours since they had had a proper sleep, it was time to head back to Brussels. Making friends as they walked across the grounds to the shuttle bus that led them back home. Within an hour, they found themselves force feeding a small box of noodles, as they knew they needed the fuel in the tank for day 2.

Sleep had finally hit, waking up 12 hours later, it felt like the Captain had been in a washing machine which was stuck on the spin cycle.  Exhausted, almost broken, they oriented themselves and headed into the city central, they needed sustenance if they were to survive day 2 of the festival. They headed to the Grand Palace Square, an absolutely stunning city square which was surrounded by the most picturesque Belgian architected buildings. Marveling at the buildings the Captain fell once again deeply in love with the city, with the shimmering gold on the tops of the palace mirroring the shimmer of love in his heart.
Feeling better, they had a \quick meal at Pizza hut and headed to the pharmacy to pick up some supplies such as chap sticks, gum etc, the Captain called for an Uber, it was time to head back to the land of Tomorrow, and re-enter the dream. The rain started to pour as they returned, however this was not going to impact them as they entered the grounds. Once again there is no point in re-iterating the phenomenal beauty this place holds.

Timmy Trumpet, played his trumpet, and like the pied piper everyone followed, a remarkable set, lifting the energy levels through the roof, even the sun decided to come out. A feeling of ecstasy as the Captain and admiral met up with friends and soon after were joined by Lieutenant Leigh from home base, he was on the pilgrimage with some of the lads.The Captain and Admiral joined forces for a while and then headed off, on their own ‘trip’, as they explored and were astonished by the other stages. At this point the Admiral’s fears and concerns dissolved and dripped away, like the face paint of party goers in the summer rain. She was not only converted but saw and started to believe in the magic that was happening around her. Each stage mystifying and astonishing, the surreal landscape, the visual masterpieces.  Minds blown by the beauty and camera filled with photos, exhausted they returned to the Main stage to watch Armin and Alesso close out the day. The day was at an end, and once again they walked back to the shuttle to head back to Brussels, however this time the adrenaline was still pumping through the Captain and Admiral’s veins. The ecstasy of the event still alive their minds, the Captain pulled an executive order and they found themselves, sitting at Delirium Bar at 3 AM having pints of beer, large vodka lemonades and Macadamia Vodka shots. It was not until the person sitting next to them collapsed on the floor did they realize that they too now were feeling that they were in that state. The Captain leaped over the strangers vomit patch, and the Admiral too intoxicated stepped in it as they walked out of the bar and scurried, dirty kabab in hand, to fight sunrise back home.

The Third day came around and it felt like everything had caught up with the Captain, he arose 3 hours after they had slept to see the Admiral up and about, she could not sleep. The intoxication had driven her to Delirium. With great convincing the Captain had to explain that she had only slept a few hours and she needed rest and within a few minutes they once again slept for another measly hour, awakening to the realisation that today will be the last day of Tomorrowland.

Feeling extremely rough and the Captain could sense a dire sickness brew in his throat, he croaked in pain to the Admiral but in his mind he knew he had to pull together and get through this mission.  Before embarking on their journey, they made a quick pit stop and headed to one of the highest rated Fritz places (chips) – Fritesland. The Captain consumed enough oil to cause tensions in the US.  Getting the strength up, It was not long before, for the third and final time they embarked on their journey back to the city of Boom for the festival.

The final day of the festival was spent reminiscing and soaking up the atmosphere as the Captain’s shoes soaked up the rain water from the storm that passed over earlier. The day spent walking from hanging with Lieutenant Leigh on Mainstage to having the chance to see the Captains favorite DJ – Kshmr, blow off the roof in the freedom stage. The end was neigh. The nerves of saying goodbye to such an adventure was building up in both the Admiral and Captain. They watched phenomenal sets by W&W and Adam Lambert, and in what felt like a blink of an eye, it was time to watch the closing sets, Angello with his visual prowess and pyrotechnic support and finally the most elegant, classy and emotionally invoking musical composition ever experienced by the Captain – Martin Garrix. Within what felt like seconds, one of the greatest sets the Captain has ever seen was over, and he stood there in a puddle of what he thought was rain but could have just as likely been his tears.

Just like that it was time to finally leave the grounds, farewell the friends and head home, taking memories and leaving behind a piece of themselves. They looked back and tried their best to keep emotions hidden. They boarded the shuttle and it is then when it hit. The dream was over. The mission, the goal, the pilgrimage was complete.  One of the most magical moments in their lives had just passed. There was no beers or Macadamia vodkas to celebrate, just some McDonalds and a somber, sad sleep.

Awaking after a night of silence, the withdrawals filled the Captain and Admiral, once again conversation was kept to a bare minimum as they both knew they needed some time to fully process the previous few days. Quietly the Captain and Admiral stowed away the belongings and checked out of the hotel, heading to the laundromat and restarting the journey. They walked back to the palace and explored the city, but the joy had left them, they felt the emptiness that Tomorrowland had created in them. To distract the Admiral, the Captain took her to the mighty Atomium, an architectural marvel and a symbol of the modern multi culture that Belgium has to offer, they walked around exhausted. This was followed by mini Europe where they posed in front of miniature monuments from across the continent, however even upon return to the city the emptiness was felt.  At long last emotional and exhausted ( the Admiral shedding a tear or two), they found a spot to eat the only food capable of cheering a person up – Tacos! It was here that our friend and fellow Tomorrowland goer Alwyn joined us. We shared some loving stories of our experiences and felt a sigh of relief, as he felt the same emptiness. We sat, eating Belgian waffles in the beauty of the Grand Palace Square and like the shimmering gold in the buildings, once again the love started to grow as we spoke more of the love that we shared over the past few days. Our Pilgrimage was over but a new kind of love had been ignited in our hearts, and taking that with us we bid farewell to Alwyn and the beautiful City of Brussels, a city that had given us Tomorrowland. A city we would return to.