Chasing Light in Les Hautes Fagnes: A Drone’s Eye View of Belgium’s Beauty

Another day, another road trip to Luxembourg. It's our usual drive, the kind of trip that should feel routine by now—but thanks to Les Hautes Fagnes, Belgium’s answer to “Hold my beer” when it comes to natural beauty, it never does. This place never fails to remind me why people romanticize the "great outdoors." And by "romanticize," I mean, "make you question why you ever thought being inside was a good idea."

So there we were, cruising through the usual gray Belgian skies that seem to come as standard equipment in this part of the world. For most of the day, the weather had all the personality of a wet sock. But then—cue dramatic music—the sun started trying to break through the clouds. Not all at once, of course. No, this was the sun playing hard-to-get, teasing us with rays of light here and there like some celestial influencer knowing just how to keep us hooked.

At this point, I’m already gearing up for our regular pit stop—otherwise known as my "Let me throw the drone up" spot. Flying the DJI Air 2S has become my not-so-secret guilty pleasure, a mix of tech geekery and artistic therapy that just never gets old.

By the time we reached Les Hautes Fagnes, though, the sun had pulled its usual disappearing act. Low in the sky, tucked behind trees like an introvert at a party. The gray skies had reclaimed their throne. Cue dramatic disappointment. But then I remembered: I have the cheat code. That’s right, the DJI Air 2S—aka my flying time machine to sunsets and stolen moments.

I threw the drone into the air like Simba in The Lion King (okay, maybe not exactly like that, but you get the idea). And BOOM—there it was: the sun peeking over the horizon, doing its best impression of an influencer who just woke up perfect. The trees? Powerless. The clouds? Defeated (momentarily). It was one of those moments that justifies every hour spent charging batteries and updating firmware.

And let’s talk about timing, shall we? Ten minutes later, that sun was gone, swallowed back into the cloud abyss. I’m talking, poof. And if I hadn’t been quick on the sticks, I’d have nothing but boring gray sky footage to show for it. As they say, timing is everything. Or maybe they don’t say that, and I just made it up—but hey, it works here.

So what’s the takeaway? Sometimes life feels like gray skies and no sunlight, but that’s the moment to throw the drone up (metaphorically or literally, your call). You might just catch that fleeting glimpse of beauty that makes the whole day worthwhile.

And if you don’t? At least you got out of the car for a bit.