Life in a roundabout way: Six months by van through Europe
When I tell people that I'm out and about with my van for six months a year, that reaction usually comes: how cool, I would love to do that! I understand that, because I love being on the move. But if life in the van, driving a car, being alone really fits you, you will not know it until you have tried it. Just one example: It can be very scary to spend the night alone somewhere in the Pampa and it's so dark you can barely see your hand in front of your eyes.
The people at home often think that it is picturesque every day and beautiful, that there are only wonderful sunsets and I am always dazzling. But I do not upload any photos on Instagram, if I did not wash my hair for days because I wanted to save water or thought, nobody sees me anyway. Or if I crawl into my bus with a heavy cold. Once someone broke into my van and stole camera and laptop, that was a real nadir.
"Since I can think, I wanted to discover every corner of the world"
Nevertheless, I am not turned around. I like living in the bus. I like to drink my first coffee in the opened side door in the morning. The free camping in the middle of nature. I also like driving myself? But it must be synonymous, after all, I have a rough goal and will eventually arrive there. That means: make a route. I run audiobooks, look at the area. In southern Europe, I notice the old people sitting in their villages in front of the house. They seem a bit like the opposite of me, firmly rooted in one place. I want to travel the world from spring to fall every year. Somehow I always was like that. Since I can think, I wanted to discover every corner of the world. As a little girl in Kiel I sent my stuffed animals on a big journey. After training as a hotel manager, I immediately packed my backpack and flew alone to Hawaii, open return ticket, 1000 marks in the bag. Everyone thought that will come back after a few weeks anyway, but I stayed one and a half years. From then on, I was really addicted to travel, the next ten years almost only on the road, as a surf instructor in the Maldives, then a long time in Australia. Probably I inherited a portion of restlessness from my Caribbean father, he was also such a tramp. In Australia, I bought the first bus with my then boyfriend? and realized that for me it is the best way to discover a continent.
"The impulse was the death of my mother"
The impulse to start again was given by the death of my mother. She died of cancer shortly after she retired. As a senior teacher, she actually lived only for her work, and when she finally wanted to do all the things she had dreamed of, her life was over. It gave me such a very intense feeling that I could feel the same way. Then I bought the van, which I always had in mind, painted everything white, sewed curtains, handing over my apartment key to a friend? and off we went. This year, for the second time, I drove to Portugal and back, almost 10 000 kilometers. Next year maybe I want to go to Scandinavia or Croatia.
On the way, I encounter a bunch of people traveling the same way as me. Most are ten, some 25 years younger, need a break from work or want to see something of the world before they start studying or working. Sometimes I think: Would not I want to arrive somewhere with my 45 years old? But why? Just because everyone else does it that way? For me life in the van has nothing to do with adventure, it's just a different way of life. In contrast to many of my travel companions, I have to work on the way. I'm self-employed and market influencers, so brokers Instagrammer, Blogger and Youtuber for advertising campaigns. This is also good from Portugal? In any case, if someone does not keep knocking on my door and wants to go to the beach with me. Some people are more likely to spend so much free time, but when traveling, I often have a lot of job stress.
"The farewell I find sad"
Even though we are stuck in different phases of life: Through the intense time that one shares, a great closeness arises between people who were just alien to one another while traveling. If there is something to celebrate, cook together, and since no one has a big cooker, we divide: her the fish, you the sauce, I the vegetables. And when eating out in the open air, somebody is talking about things that no one knows about them yet. Maybe this openness comes from knowing that you probably never meet again. The farewell, therefore, I find the sadder.
And lonely it can be on the way too.On my last tour, I met almost nobody for one and a half months. You're pretty much thrown back on yourself. I miss my friends at home. To some, unfortunately, creates a distance when I am so long gone.
I also lived differently: After my time in Australia, I really packed my bags in Hamburg and set myself up for ten years. A good time, but with a lot of routine and too little space to let life happen.
I never dreamed of a conventional life. However, I did not get to know the model of an excellent extended family even as a child. My mother was a single parent and had no partner, I grew up without siblings. You might think I was looking for the opposite, but for me the idea of marriage and children was always pretty far away. If I spend a lot of time with couples on the go, it makes me think, but the Zoff, the many in such a small space with each other, I do not need. Let's put it this way: There have been long relationships in my life and also long single phases. I do not feel incomplete when I have no one by my side.
"Back in my apartment I miss nature"
Even when traveling, I am one of the first to become restless, after a few days in one place the curiosity for what comes after the next stage grows again. Being free to decide whether to move on or stay is a luxury? though pretty much the only one on the road. I do not need much, but often have very real dreams of my bathtub in Hamburg. Especially when I'm standing outside under my pump shower and hope that no one comes by. If it gets so cold even in southern Europe that I get frosty toes despite the auxiliary heater and hot water bottle, it pulls me home. I have to be back by Christmas at the latest because I do not want to leave my grandma alone.
Coming back to my apartment after such a long time is strange, then I feel strange, everything smells different, I miss life in nature. Nevertheless, such a base is important, not to blunt. When you're on the move for a long time, you lose sight of something special. I do not freak out on every beautiful beach, which is a pity. However, I will never get used to the moment after waking up in the bus, when I push the curtains aside and look directly at the sea. There is nothing better in the world.
