Traveling Van
Guest Blog by @Newbiesvanlife
We are Hanne and Janne, a couple from Belgium. As we both graduated university in June and didn’t know what to do next with our life, we decided not to do the obvious thing; finding a job, instead we bought a van and went on an adventure.
Looks cozy and inviting!
We decorated our van as cozy as possible and started traveling in August 2019 with not more of a plan than going to Sweden and Norway to go explore the amazing nature. We had both never traveled in a van before and we didn’t have the time to take a test-ride. Thus we started our journey unprepared but with a lot of courage.
We soon realized the importance of preparation since we had no idea how to make our fridge work, how to put on the hot water and which way we had to turn the knob to turn on the LPG. After hours of reading the instruction manuals and watching videos on Youtube we managed to make everything work.
It took a little while to get used to it, but after a few weeks it became a routine and we started to really love it. It is such a nice way to travel around the world. You always have a place to sleep, eat, cook, sit, take a hot shower, relax, go to the toilet, brush your teeth and much more. The greatest benefit from living in a van is that you can stay wherever you want, for how long you want. If a place is not what you expect it to be, you can just drive on.
We feel really free, living in the van. It feels like the world is ours and we can go anywhere we want. We especially love it when we can put the van somewhere in the woods, near the river, and make a little campfire. It’s so relaxing to be only surrounded by woods and water but still have the luxury of a bed, cooking place and a shower.
The hardest thing to find is the right parking spot. The app, Park4night helped a lot to find nice places. You have to be realistic though and know that you can’t park on an idealistic spot in the woods with a river close by every night. Sometimes a spot next to the road will have to do.
We also liked to make long hikes, especially when we were in the Lofoten in Norway. It rains a lot in Norway and at the top of the mountains it can be really cold. So it was always comforting to come back to the van after a long walk and be able to sit warm and dry.
What a view!
If you’re adventurous we would definitely recommend you to travel in a van. You can bring all the necessities. You always have a place to come home to after a long walk and a safe and warm place to stay overnight. Once you have traveled in a van, you will realize that life can be quite simple, and that the reward of living closer to nature is immeasurable.
