The real start, after a year and a half of preparation and postponements. First clubs, first hosts — and the first country of the 197.

Two sleepless nights, a wallet forgotten on a FlixBus heading to Zurich, a car chase to get it back — and some judo in between.

Amsterdam on a tight budget, a club welcoming judokas with disabilities, judo and sambo, and a reunion with a friend lost for ten years.

First hitchhike of the trip, then a knee injury in Hamburg. The local judo community took over: a doctor from the national team, a month of hosting, and a seat at the German Championships with club ETV.

Copenhagen, training with the national team, and an empty flat lent by a judoka host — the network was starting to build itself.

Oslo on the world’s toughest budget, hosted by a French expat family, plus the Flåm–Myrdal railway.

Phone plans blocked, SIM cards that wouldn’t work, Covid rules shifting the route — and judo anyway.

A night ferry from Stockholm, a family sauna and a 4°C plunge, a school visit and an invitation to the Pajulahti Olympic centre.

A seminar alongside Rok Drakšič, bog walks, and a knee that still needed rest.

Riga under a snowstorm — the last stop of the year before heading home for the winter.