Dries Buytaert

Miscellaneous 2025

A group of friends and family smiling around a candlelit dinner table, celebrating New Year's Eve in a warm, cozy setting.
Ringing in the New Year surrounded by warmth, laughter, friendship, and family. Here is to more moments like these in 2025!
Lobsters are grilling on a round steel plate above an open flame, with a person flipping them using tongs.
We kicked off the new year by hosting our family and grilling lobsters on an Ofyr fire pit.
Lobsters grilling over open flames as someone applies metled butter using a bundle of herbs.
Winter lobster grill.
A woman in Amsterdam, seen through a shop window, looking at stone statues of Dutch houses.
Our flight to Boston was canceled, so we spent the day exploring Amsterdam. This photo shows Vanessa on a street corner, seen through a shop window.
Two people in winter gear with a small dog sitting in the snow, set against a snowy forest.
My first ski trip to Saddleback Mountain, Maine. I enjoyed skiing, hiking, good food, board games, and quality time with friends. It quickly became one of my favorite mountains on the East Coast!
A woman using steam to soften and shape a custom hat.
A hatmaker in Austin, Texas, shaping a custom hat using steam.
Handwritten barbecue menu on butcher paper hanging on a wall. It lists meats and sides with prices per pound, including brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork, turkey, sausage, and jalapeño cheddar sausage.
I finally ate at Franklin Barbecue in Austin — the undisputed king of Texas brisket and one of the most famous BBQ places in the United States. Pitmaster Aaron Franklin has a James Beard Award, a Netflix feature, a 10-episode PBS series, and a daily line around the block. Some people even bring camp chairs for the wait. We got there at 10:20am to beat the rush but still had to wait in line for two hours. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
A basketball player in a green jersey jumps for a layup while a defender in blue attempts to block his shot.
A fast break, a defender closing in, and a chance to put two points on the board. The shot went up and in.
A basketball player in a green jersey jumps to take a shot while a defender in blue attempts to block his shot.
The game was tied and every play mattered. As one player rose for the shot, the defense jumped with him. The crowd was on the edge of their seats. For a moment, everything hung in the air.
Amsterdam canal with houseboats, calm water reflections, and the Rijksmuseum in the distance under an overcast sky.
Our second visit to Amsterdam this year, and it's only February. A final stroll along the canals before our flight back to Boston.
A steaming kettle on a gas stove, with coffee mugs and pancake mix in the background.
It's 7:32 AM. The kettle whistled and I poured hot water into our cups. Coffee first, then pancakes. A quiet morning before a day on the slopes.
The Krog Street Tunnel is a narrow, dim tunnel in Atlanta, covered in colorful graffiti on every wall and pillar.
Arrived in Atlanta for DrupalCon! As tradition goes, we kick things off with a two-day Drupal Association board meeting over the weekend. At the end of day one, we walked through the Krog Street Tunnel and checked out nearby murals.
Two men laughing in the sun with arms around each other, both wearing sunglasses.
First real taste of spring: sunshine, laughs, and cold drinks with Jonas and Nico at Beach Bar Le Zoute in Knokke, Belgium.
Three women smiling in the sun, wearing sunglasses, with one holding a wine glass
Debbie, Eline, and Vanessa soaking up the sun and each other's good energy on the Belgian coast.
A nighttime view of a bar with "Commerce" printed on its windows, people drinking at outdoor tables, and a person entering the doorway.
I spent a couple of days in Leuven, Belgium for Drupal Dev Days. One of the stops on the official pub crawl was Café Commerce. It was a great place to talk Drupal over a good Belgian beer and meet others in the community.
A man holds up a brightly colored Easter egg with a quiet smile, ready to tap it against another.
At Easter brunch we played an egg tapping game, where everyone takes turns tapping eggs until only one stays uncracked. My dad won, calmly eliminating ten others with his steady hand and quiet smile.