new project: VW California.

Imagine the feeling waking up, grabbing your morning coffee and looking out across the lake/mountain/beach/forrest you parked next to the night before.

You take a look at the map, plot a course and make your way to the next destination. In your own time, on your own schedule, in your own home on wheels. This is life when traveling by campervan.

All of that motivated us to buy a van. OMG… we bought a van! To discover places we may have never heard of… leaving holiday (or weekend) planning to the last minute… we could (potentially) work from the road… Yay for dog-friendly holidays… we can park anywhere… watching the stars… grab our stuff and just go… explore more of my home country (hubby’s wish)… freedom… independence… feeling the wind, the nature… leaving daily life behind (even it’s just for a couple of hours)… that’s our wish. That’s the plan. We are so excited! Let’s get the van-life started!

May I introduce our new Compañero.

It all started a couple of weeks ago. Passing by a parked camper van in the fields and watching a couple enjoying their breakfast. Very inspiring (especially in corona times). Thinking of how nice it would be to have a camper van (and use it for early June vacation). Hubby is as happy & excited about the idea. An idea we already had some years ago. Let’s do this! If not now (while being in Germany and in current corona times) when otherwise?

Act1:

We started looking for transporters online. And kept questioning ourselves: do we really want to buy a van? (Yes!). We started watching YouTube videos (a lot of them!): how to build a bed in. How to put a kitchen in. Different vans, different sizes. Kept looking for vans online (do we really want to buy a van? Yes!). First phone calls… not so successful. Changing strategy: need to look for Multi-van, not transporter. Continue watching YouTube videos…

Act2:

Preferred van “Vito” already sold. Test drive VW California (w/o pop up roof). Successful. In love. Deal completed with “corona-friendly“ ellbow-shake. Later that day: still in love (that’s a good sign I guess). Happily dreaming of leaving for our first road trip in a couple of days.

Act3:

Using bank holidays to collect money in cash machines and use time to dream of upcoming van vacations. Friends stories are encouraging. Picking up van and start registration process (always a nightmare. In corona times a double nightmare). The idea of taking the van on its first road trip is not going to happen so soon (I still wonder how the beer gardens are open again but the car registration office cannot work. But that’s a different story). Disappointed but still motivated: a lot to do. So we kept creating ideas (you can imagine… yes, watching more YouTube) on how to put everything together followed by brainstorming over dinner in the Black Forest.

Red number plates made it possible to bring the van to its final destination & new home: our garage (ah, that must be why we needed to rent a house with a huge garage…).

From multi-van to camper-van. The transformation started: cleaning, pulling out seats (our backs are broken since), placing online orders for first interior (IKEA „corona queue“ counted 50 persons…. I bet we would be still queuing by now…). Bed successfully put in.

Act4:

Registration successfully completed (much faster as expected thanks to a friends great idea). Happily screwing on number plates. Meanwhile (and thanks to YouTube) we successfully collected many ideas and got so inspired, time to continue the van transformation (PS: project management with hubby isn’t easy. Lol.). Sawing curtains (I can’t believe I’m doing this. Well kind of a cheating but smart variation of sewing). A former record shelf is being transformed to a van kitchen. Retro transformation touching up the bus with a little color. The ceiling is finished. We are in the creative mood and more & more ideas are coming up while working on it. It’s fun!

Packing utensils: gas cooker, plates, other cooking stuff, fire-extinguisher, solar shower, camping chairs, Charlie bed, our bed…

Act5:

It’s not perfect. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Planning our first weekend trip & ready to go:

Let the maiden voyage begin. Starting the van-life. Yeah!

Future acts:

Continuing building the van to our taste. Painting (English green & cream with a golden line = race colors), new tires, electronics, 2nd battery, box system, solar cells on the roof, rotating seats… lots of ideas and kind of a plan.