Dejan
@frombalkantoletz.bsky.social
Living in Luxembourg, shaped by Balkan roots. Thinking about Europe, politics, travel, and the signals beneath the noise.
The EU faces one of its most demanding geopolitical moments in decades. Pressure on its borders and divisions inside are real. Yet this stress test is also an opportunity to prove strategic coherence and political strength if it chooses to act collectively rather than cautiously.
January 19, 2026 at 10:25 PM
The EU faces one of its most demanding geopolitical moments in decades. Pressure on its borders and divisions inside are real. Yet this stress test is also an opportunity to prove strategic coherence and political strength if it chooses to act collectively rather than cautiously.
Moldovan leaders say they personally support unification with Romania while acknowledging there is no public mandate and that EU integration remains the priority.
If public opinion is settled who is this message really meant to reach?
If public opinion is settled who is this message really meant to reach?
January 18, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Moldovan leaders say they personally support unification with Romania while acknowledging there is no public mandate and that EU integration remains the priority.
If public opinion is settled who is this message really meant to reach?
If public opinion is settled who is this message really meant to reach?
Saint-Émilion’s Grand Cru Classé isn’t about luxury. It’s about classification and time.
Château Haut-Sarpe 2012 comes from a difficult vintage and a debated ranking and still feels calm structured and firmly traditional.
That kind of consistency matters more to me than fancy tags.
Château Haut-Sarpe 2012 comes from a difficult vintage and a debated ranking and still feels calm structured and firmly traditional.
That kind of consistency matters more to me than fancy tags.
January 17, 2026 at 9:44 AM
Saint-Émilion’s Grand Cru Classé isn’t about luxury. It’s about classification and time.
Château Haut-Sarpe 2012 comes from a difficult vintage and a debated ranking and still feels calm structured and firmly traditional.
That kind of consistency matters more to me than fancy tags.
Château Haut-Sarpe 2012 comes from a difficult vintage and a debated ranking and still feels calm structured and firmly traditional.
That kind of consistency matters more to me than fancy tags.
Luxembourg is not short on money for transport infrastructure.
It is short on courage and long-term vision.
Trams are extended. Rail is upgraded. Cross-border links are discussed. Yet most projects still answer yesterday’s mobility.
In 5-10 years, it might look like a missed opportunity.
It is short on courage and long-term vision.
Trams are extended. Rail is upgraded. Cross-border links are discussed. Yet most projects still answer yesterday’s mobility.
In 5-10 years, it might look like a missed opportunity.
January 15, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Luxembourg is not short on money for transport infrastructure.
It is short on courage and long-term vision.
Trams are extended. Rail is upgraded. Cross-border links are discussed. Yet most projects still answer yesterday’s mobility.
In 5-10 years, it might look like a missed opportunity.
It is short on courage and long-term vision.
Trams are extended. Rail is upgraded. Cross-border links are discussed. Yet most projects still answer yesterday’s mobility.
In 5-10 years, it might look like a missed opportunity.
Europe in 2035 will live in a multipolar world without illusions. Fragmented internally, expanding east and in the Balkans, carrying more risk than confidence.
The real question won’t be survival.
It will be whether Europe still has the power to regenerate leadership, not just manage decline. #2035
The real question won’t be survival.
It will be whether Europe still has the power to regenerate leadership, not just manage decline. #2035
January 14, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Europe in 2035 will live in a multipolar world without illusions. Fragmented internally, expanding east and in the Balkans, carrying more risk than confidence.
The real question won’t be survival.
It will be whether Europe still has the power to regenerate leadership, not just manage decline. #2035
The real question won’t be survival.
It will be whether Europe still has the power to regenerate leadership, not just manage decline. #2035
Tasting Invincible Número Dois in Porto. Old Douro vines, but shaped by a South African winemaking mindset.
The fruit is there, the depth too, but without the usual Douro heaviness.
This isn’t about rewriting the region.
It’s about proving that heritage doesn’t need excess to stay relevant.
The fruit is there, the depth too, but without the usual Douro heaviness.
This isn’t about rewriting the region.
It’s about proving that heritage doesn’t need excess to stay relevant.
January 13, 2026 at 12:31 AM
Tasting Invincible Número Dois in Porto. Old Douro vines, but shaped by a South African winemaking mindset.
The fruit is there, the depth too, but without the usual Douro heaviness.
This isn’t about rewriting the region.
It’s about proving that heritage doesn’t need excess to stay relevant.
The fruit is there, the depth too, but without the usual Douro heaviness.
This isn’t about rewriting the region.
It’s about proving that heritage doesn’t need excess to stay relevant.
Short flights under 45 minutes sometimes make sense for connections. But as point-to-point travel, they’re hard to justify.
Door to door, trains are often faster. So why are rail connections at airports still the exception, not the rule?
That feels like a policy gap Europe keeps ignoring.
Door to door, trains are often faster. So why are rail connections at airports still the exception, not the rule?
That feels like a policy gap Europe keeps ignoring.
January 11, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Short flights under 45 minutes sometimes make sense for connections. But as point-to-point travel, they’re hard to justify.
Door to door, trains are often faster. So why are rail connections at airports still the exception, not the rule?
That feels like a policy gap Europe keeps ignoring.
Door to door, trains are often faster. So why are rail connections at airports still the exception, not the rule?
That feels like a policy gap Europe keeps ignoring.
Snow falling in Luxembourg today.
Quiet, slow, unavoidable.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Mercosur agreement resurfaces.
Big words about strategy and openness, still no clear political ownership.
Different speeds. Same hesitation.
Quiet, slow, unavoidable.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Mercosur agreement resurfaces.
Big words about strategy and openness, still no clear political ownership.
Different speeds. Same hesitation.
January 10, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Snow falling in Luxembourg today.
Quiet, slow, unavoidable.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Mercosur agreement resurfaces.
Big words about strategy and openness, still no clear political ownership.
Different speeds. Same hesitation.
Quiet, slow, unavoidable.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Mercosur agreement resurfaces.
Big words about strategy and openness, still no clear political ownership.
Different speeds. Same hesitation.
Back to French wines, this time Saint-Joseph in the northern Rhône.
La Dardouille 2021, Emmanuel Darnaud.
Syrah with line and restraint, very much of its place. No need to chase novelty when regions like this still deliver quietly.
La Dardouille 2021, Emmanuel Darnaud.
Syrah with line and restraint, very much of its place. No need to chase novelty when regions like this still deliver quietly.
January 10, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Back to French wines, this time Saint-Joseph in the northern Rhône.
La Dardouille 2021, Emmanuel Darnaud.
Syrah with line and restraint, very much of its place. No need to chase novelty when regions like this still deliver quietly.
La Dardouille 2021, Emmanuel Darnaud.
Syrah with line and restraint, very much of its place. No need to chase novelty when regions like this still deliver quietly.
The Middle East feels locked in a permanent state of tension.
Gaza, Yemen, southern Lebanon, Syria, growing friction between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
What unsettles me isn’t just the instability itself, but Europe’s response, without a clear direction or strategy. This ambiguity has consequences.
Gaza, Yemen, southern Lebanon, Syria, growing friction between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
What unsettles me isn’t just the instability itself, but Europe’s response, without a clear direction or strategy. This ambiguity has consequences.
January 8, 2026 at 9:07 PM
The Middle East feels locked in a permanent state of tension.
Gaza, Yemen, southern Lebanon, Syria, growing friction between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
What unsettles me isn’t just the instability itself, but Europe’s response, without a clear direction or strategy. This ambiguity has consequences.
Gaza, Yemen, southern Lebanon, Syria, growing friction between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
What unsettles me isn’t just the instability itself, but Europe’s response, without a clear direction or strategy. This ambiguity has consequences.
Luxembourg punches above its weight in air connections. That’s largely thanks to Luxair flying direct to places that bigger airlines ignore.
Luxair Tours helps make it viable, sure. But having those routes as regular or seasonal is a real competitive advantage for the country. #luxair #luxembourg
Luxair Tours helps make it viable, sure. But having those routes as regular or seasonal is a real competitive advantage for the country. #luxair #luxembourg
January 7, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Luxembourg punches above its weight in air connections. That’s largely thanks to Luxair flying direct to places that bigger airlines ignore.
Luxair Tours helps make it viable, sure. But having those routes as regular or seasonal is a real competitive advantage for the country. #luxair #luxembourg
Luxair Tours helps make it viable, sure. But having those routes as regular or seasonal is a real competitive advantage for the country. #luxair #luxembourg
Back from twenty degrees to minus ten. Different rhythm, different constraints.
No big drama, no adjustment period.
You just switch modes and carry on.
It’s more noticeable than people admit. #SeasonShift #BackToReality
#WinterMode
No big drama, no adjustment period.
You just switch modes and carry on.
It’s more noticeable than people admit. #SeasonShift #BackToReality
#WinterMode
January 6, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Back from twenty degrees to minus ten. Different rhythm, different constraints.
No big drama, no adjustment period.
You just switch modes and carry on.
It’s more noticeable than people admit. #SeasonShift #BackToReality
#WinterMode
No big drama, no adjustment period.
You just switch modes and carry on.
It’s more noticeable than people admit. #SeasonShift #BackToReality
#WinterMode
Walked through Marrakech on a rainy Monday. Jemaa el-Fnaa, Koutoubia, streets around the medina.
Some shops open, many missing.
A few cobra entertainers. Fruit and juice stalls. Clean spots, messy ones. Nothing staged.
Tourists and locals mixed, moving calmly.
I got lost. That felt different.
Some shops open, many missing.
A few cobra entertainers. Fruit and juice stalls. Clean spots, messy ones. Nothing staged.
Tourists and locals mixed, moving calmly.
I got lost. That felt different.
January 5, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Walked through Marrakech on a rainy Monday. Jemaa el-Fnaa, Koutoubia, streets around the medina.
Some shops open, many missing.
A few cobra entertainers. Fruit and juice stalls. Clean spots, messy ones. Nothing staged.
Tourists and locals mixed, moving calmly.
I got lost. That felt different.
Some shops open, many missing.
A few cobra entertainers. Fruit and juice stalls. Clean spots, messy ones. Nothing staged.
Tourists and locals mixed, moving calmly.
I got lost. That felt different.
I didn’t learn anything new from a glass of S de Siroua (Syrah).
And that’s probably why it worked.
A Moroccan red that knows its balance, no exaggeration, no performance. Just a solid wine doing what it’s built to do.
Sometimes that’s the whole point.
And that’s probably why it worked.
A Moroccan red that knows its balance, no exaggeration, no performance. Just a solid wine doing what it’s built to do.
Sometimes that’s the whole point.
January 4, 2026 at 9:47 PM
I didn’t learn anything new from a glass of S de Siroua (Syrah).
And that’s probably why it worked.
A Moroccan red that knows its balance, no exaggeration, no performance. Just a solid wine doing what it’s built to do.
Sometimes that’s the whole point.
And that’s probably why it worked.
A Moroccan red that knows its balance, no exaggeration, no performance. Just a solid wine doing what it’s built to do.
Sometimes that’s the whole point.
If I had to pick my Champagne, it’s between Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs and Ruinart Blanc de Blancs.
That’s where my taste sits.
Still, every time a bottle of Veuve Clicquot shows up, I don’t overthink it.
I just pour.
Some preferences are refined. Others are pure instinct.
That’s where my taste sits.
Still, every time a bottle of Veuve Clicquot shows up, I don’t overthink it.
I just pour.
Some preferences are refined. Others are pure instinct.
January 4, 2026 at 11:40 AM
If I had to pick my Champagne, it’s between Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs and Ruinart Blanc de Blancs.
That’s where my taste sits.
Still, every time a bottle of Veuve Clicquot shows up, I don’t overthink it.
I just pour.
Some preferences are refined. Others are pure instinct.
That’s where my taste sits.
Still, every time a bottle of Veuve Clicquot shows up, I don’t overthink it.
I just pour.
Some preferences are refined. Others are pure instinct.
I didn’t expect much, but I tried a Moroccan rosé: Médaillon.
Dry, clean, red fruit, no tricks.
If you’d poured this blind, I would’ve guessed southern Europe.
Which surprised me more than the wine itself.
Not trying to impress.
#médaillon #moroccanrosé #winelover
Dry, clean, red fruit, no tricks.
If you’d poured this blind, I would’ve guessed southern Europe.
Which surprised me more than the wine itself.
Not trying to impress.
#médaillon #moroccanrosé #winelover
January 3, 2026 at 12:07 PM
I didn’t expect much, but I tried a Moroccan rosé: Médaillon.
Dry, clean, red fruit, no tricks.
If you’d poured this blind, I would’ve guessed southern Europe.
Which surprised me more than the wine itself.
Not trying to impress.
#médaillon #moroccanrosé #winelover
Dry, clean, red fruit, no tricks.
If you’d poured this blind, I would’ve guessed southern Europe.
Which surprised me more than the wine itself.
Not trying to impress.
#médaillon #moroccanrosé #winelover
January in Agadir. Mint tea on the beach in the morning.
Souk El Had at noon. Gym before sunset.
By evening, a storm hits, wind, rough sea. On Agadir beach, people still play football.
Chaos everywhere.
Yet it feels… safe. #agadir #morroco #winterelsewhere
Souk El Had at noon. Gym before sunset.
By evening, a storm hits, wind, rough sea. On Agadir beach, people still play football.
Chaos everywhere.
Yet it feels… safe. #agadir #morroco #winterelsewhere
January 2, 2026 at 6:20 PM
January in Agadir. Mint tea on the beach in the morning.
Souk El Had at noon. Gym before sunset.
By evening, a storm hits, wind, rough sea. On Agadir beach, people still play football.
Chaos everywhere.
Yet it feels… safe. #agadir #morroco #winterelsewhere
Souk El Had at noon. Gym before sunset.
By evening, a storm hits, wind, rough sea. On Agadir beach, people still play football.
Chaos everywhere.
Yet it feels… safe. #agadir #morroco #winterelsewhere
New Year’s Eve street violence wasn’t isolated and it wasn’t just this year.
Paris. Berlin. Amsterdam. Brussels.
Fires, riots and attacks on police.
The worrying part isn’t that it happened but it’s how quickly it was treated as normal. That’s a security problem we’re refusing to face.
Paris. Berlin. Amsterdam. Brussels.
Fires, riots and attacks on police.
The worrying part isn’t that it happened but it’s how quickly it was treated as normal. That’s a security problem we’re refusing to face.
January 1, 2026 at 8:29 PM
New Year’s Eve street violence wasn’t isolated and it wasn’t just this year.
Paris. Berlin. Amsterdam. Brussels.
Fires, riots and attacks on police.
The worrying part isn’t that it happened but it’s how quickly it was treated as normal. That’s a security problem we’re refusing to face.
Paris. Berlin. Amsterdam. Brussels.
Fires, riots and attacks on police.
The worrying part isn’t that it happened but it’s how quickly it was treated as normal. That’s a security problem we’re refusing to face.
January 1, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Lately, I keep thinking that 2026 might be a reset. Not because things will magically get better, but because we’re running out of excuses.
New cycles are coming. Choices too.
Maybe fewer slogans, maybe a bit more honesty.
I’m optimistic, not blindly, but deliberately.
New cycles are coming. Choices too.
Maybe fewer slogans, maybe a bit more honesty.
I’m optimistic, not blindly, but deliberately.
January 1, 2026 at 11:35 AM
Lately, I keep thinking that 2026 might be a reset. Not because things will magically get better, but because we’re running out of excuses.
New cycles are coming. Choices too.
Maybe fewer slogans, maybe a bit more honesty.
I’m optimistic, not blindly, but deliberately.
New cycles are coming. Choices too.
Maybe fewer slogans, maybe a bit more honesty.
I’m optimistic, not blindly, but deliberately.
Every winter in Western Europe, it starts the same way. A grey day, a coffee and suddenly I’m searching for sun.
Nothing dramatic. Just warmth, light, a few days somewhere brighter.
Then back home, recharged.
Very European behaviour, if you think about it. #wintersun #travel
Nothing dramatic. Just warmth, light, a few days somewhere brighter.
Then back home, recharged.
Very European behaviour, if you think about it. #wintersun #travel
December 31, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Every winter in Western Europe, it starts the same way. A grey day, a coffee and suddenly I’m searching for sun.
Nothing dramatic. Just warmth, light, a few days somewhere brighter.
Then back home, recharged.
Very European behaviour, if you think about it. #wintersun #travel
Nothing dramatic. Just warmth, light, a few days somewhere brighter.
Then back home, recharged.
Very European behaviour, if you think about it. #wintersun #travel
I grew up believing in a Europe that was bold and forward-looking. Lately, I feel more unease than optimism. Too often our politics look like risk management, not vision.
That’s not the Europe I dreamed of. And with what may come next in France and Germany, I can’t help but worry.
#FutureOfEurope
That’s not the Europe I dreamed of. And with what may come next in France and Germany, I can’t help but worry.
#FutureOfEurope
December 30, 2025 at 3:16 PM
I grew up believing in a Europe that was bold and forward-looking. Lately, I feel more unease than optimism. Too often our politics look like risk management, not vision.
That’s not the Europe I dreamed of. And with what may come next in France and Germany, I can’t help but worry.
#FutureOfEurope
That’s not the Europe I dreamed of. And with what may come next in France and Germany, I can’t help but worry.
#FutureOfEurope