How does part-time vanlife work? - an interview with Antje

The time has finally come: our podcast is about to start! In our podcast, we are looking forward to having exciting conversations with people who live and love van life in a variety of ways.

Our guest on our first podcast episode is Antje. She's 28 years old and bought her camper van four years ago after camping only once before. Why camping has become her favourite form of travelling and what exciting things she experienced on a rally around the Baltic Sea you can find out in this blog article.

After a great camping holiday with her boyfriend at the time, Antje searched the internet for second-hand campers without really knowing anything about them but without any luck. ´Then I met a friend and he said: Antje, don't be so impatient, your bus will find you. And that's how it was`. By chance, Antje finally found a VW T3 Westfalia Camper in top condition. She has been travelling through Europe with her bus "Alfons" for four years now, whenever possible.

Since buying the bus, Antje has only had one major breakdown. The fan belt broke on a trip through France. But even with this breakdown she had good karma thanks to Alfons. A helpful local resident not only repaired the bus in a very short time but also for free. ´I'm sure the bus has good karma` says Antje. While looking for the Alfons she also met friends who could help her with some engine problems. Although Antje repairs some things on her bus herself she doesn't dare tackling the engine. Nevertheless, I always try to keep learning, of course`.

After graduating, Antje travelled through France and Spain to Portugal on herown for 6 weeks. ´It was so cool and I wasn't alone most of the time either to be honest`. Antje gushe over vanlife, the people she met and the great time she had on her trip. She also talks about how unusual it was for her at the beginning to have evenings to herself. ´Above all, you realise that you can easily manage small challenges on the trip on your own. Sometimes you just have to give it a go to know: Hey, I can do it on my own`.

Corona probably changedor even ruined annual planning for many people and especially their holiday planning. Antje tells us about this as well. She and her partner actually wanted to go on a big trip to Greece by camper van. But due to the many borders they would have had to cross during the trip they decided against it. So they tried something different and went on a nice trip to Poland. She also tells us that they went on a camping vacation on a farm with ´Landvergnügen/farm fun` this year. ´I don't know which travel destinations I would not recommend`. ´Sure, the tourist villages of Poland are a matter of taste` but the Baltic Sea is a great recommendation, according to Antje.

The Baltic Sea Circle was one of the most beautiful road trip adventures for Antje. She travelled through Scandinavia, Lapland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany with a group of friends. Quite a stretch for which they only had 16 days. ´That was so amazing`. ´The sense of community and the whole atmosphere was really cool` Antje says. She tells us there were 300 teams at the starting point and also a lot of different people. ´If anyone is thinking about doing this I would really recommend it. It was an experience I'll always remember`.

Who hasn't experienced it? You open Instagram and perfect pictures of perfect people literally jump right at you. It's like that in many areas and of course vanlife is no exception. ´What I absolutely don't question is the nature of travel itself. I just sometimes think about whether it's as good as it sometimes is portrayed on Instagram`. Antje talks about how she sometimes finds it difficult that vanlife is often shown as the ultimate way to live. ´Of course, full-time vanlife isn't for everyone either`. In addition to travelling, which Antje loves, she says she also insanely enjoys coming home to her friends and family. ´Keeping perfect order in such a small space - as some people always seem to do - is just impossible. Sometimes I think to myself there's chaos on my bus right now. If I took a picture of that right now it just wouldn't be pretty`.

Antje works for a medical technology company and travels with her bus Alfons whenever it's possible. ´I try to take weekend trips quite often but sometimes it's just too stressful and it doesn't make sense to go on a bigger trip if you have less than 3 weeks for it. You don't only want to drive, you also want to enjoy it and experience things. Of course, you therefore need to have an employer who says it's no problem to take three weeks off.` Working remotely with the help of the internet and enjoying full-time vanlife - that's the principle of digital nomads. In her job, however, Antje can't imagine that. The workspace in the van is simply too small for that. Besides, she really only wants to travel and spend time in the van on a vacation. We think that's great.

Antje recommends everyone who wants to give van life a go to start with a ´light version`. That means renting a camper, choosing a nice campsite and setting off. ´If it's financially possible I can only recommend buying a camper. But you also have to think about it: Do you really use the camper enough? I also find sharing offers really good`. By the way, Sweden and Norway are on Antje's bucket list of destinations. Antje would also definitely like to drive down Silk Road.

Antje's next road trip with Alfons this year will be to the mountains south of Munich and then her road trip season will be over. If you want to follow her adventures or need some vanlife inspiration just follow her Instagram account a.outandabout. You can listen to the whole interview on Spotify and Apple Podcast.

We want to thank you so much for the nice chat and hope you have a great trip!