Life on four wheels is exciting, as evidenced by three nice Slovenian women who you can follow on Instagram. Some have moved into their comfortably built vans or motorhomes for a while, while others only use them for longer trips and excursions. What they all have in common is that they enjoy it immensely.
Alja N. Skrt
Lover of active pastime, Alja N. Skrt is currently on a European odyssey, as she and her boyfriend recently traveled through Italy and France to Spain. We also caught her there, but it quickly became clear to us that this was far from the end of their adventure. The couple has always loved the way of traveling on four wheels, so buying a van has been a long-standing wish.
“Both my boyfriend and I wanted this for a really long time. I have for as long as I can remember. Mih and I have been traveling for several years by sleeping in the trunk, on collapsed seats, in the wild, in nature. Most of the time with heavenly views, but every now and then also in a parking lot, if it's that bad. This way of traveling is really close to us. To wake up, you are at the starting point of a cycling or walking route and you just go. You make coffee, prepare a snack, and then spend the whole day in nature. You don't bother with cleaning, because you are limited to the car and you fall asleep in the evening with plenty of new memories," explains Alja and continues: "For the last two years, it seemed to us that we were running so late, as if someone was stealing our time. And we got to the point where we said to ourselves that we have to do it, otherwise we will probably regret it for the rest of our lives."
So they mustered up the courage and adopted a Citroën Jumper L2H2, which was once used as a bakery, but the previous owner converted it for travel needs. In three weeks, they transformed it a little in their own way and set off on their first trip to Pag. After that, they just moved into the van and headed for Spain via France. Their van is called Bert, and they named it after Alja's grandfather. He was, as they explain themselves, a man they don't make anymore. Principled, hard-working, brave, resourceful, warm-hearted and wise. A bunch of wonderful human virtues, which they wish their van could adopt a little.
The initial challenges did not take away their joy
"When we set out on our journey, we were sure that with our Youtube knowledge we already knew everything about outdoor life, knew all the hacks and respected everything. Until we got to the Italian roads, where there were potholes after potholes, and I climbed into the back of the van while driving and held 4 different cabinets with all my limbs, from which a quarter of the stuff had already fallen out. When the situation calmed down a bit, I installed an additional 'safety' system, still while driving, which now works 100% and the lockers do not open while driving," says Alja with a smile, who, together with her partner Mih, has already won the many tricks that life on four wheels has to offer.
As they are both lovers of an active lifestyle, they spend most of the day outdoors. While roaming, while cycling. And what, in her opinion, is the best part of living in a van? "That the whole world becomes your home and you can wake up somewhere else every morning! And that no day is the same as the last. And also the fact that you can prepare coffee and food anywhere and anytime, that you don't have to do too much cleaning, that you learn to live even more simply and that you feel really free," who puts it in his heart that this is without a doubt one of the best decisions, that you can accept in life.
Nina Kogej
Experienced traveler Nina shares her travel adventures on the blog Nina travels. At first, they traveled alone with their partner Simon, later their son Ren joined them. The idea of buying a van had been there for a long time, and with the change in travel habits brought about by the new coronavirus, the long-standing wish came true.
"Simon and I have been thinking about a van for several years, but somehow it was never the right time. We have always been around in an SUV and this adventurous way of traveling has always been our favorite. What bothered us the most was that we lost cooler days with this kind of trip. We had everything in the SUV - from the kitchen to the bed, and if we wanted to function normally, good weather was decisive," recalls Nina and explains what prevented her from buying the van of her dreams: "During the corona, however, we were forced to stay at home. Also, there was more time to think about what to do and when the trips, and thus our blog, will even return to the pre-corona time. Of course men, we wouldn't be men if we didn't check the range of cars, or in our case, vans online, when Simon found our dream model – the 4×4 Mercedes Sprinter.''
The excellent opportunity that presented itself encouraged them to buy. With the help of Adventure Truck Slovenia, they turned an empty van into a wonderful home on four wheels. It's considerably more spacious than the SUV that was originally planned, but still roomy and well-designed enough to accommodate the needs of all family members. The van was named by his son Ren, who immediately decided that the new name would be Owl. The name stuck, because just like these feathered nocturnal animals, Nina and her family like to look at the world with wide-open eyes and learn from what they see and experience. They chose a van with four-wheel drive, as the family enjoys more adventurous trips.
Four-wheel drive van for real adventures
"When we bought the van, many people told us why we needed a 4×4 van, and on our first night it already proved how smart this decision was. The first night we were at PZA, already rescuing a classic van/camper from the mud. That's when we got additional confirmation that our search and breeding for a van with four-wheel drive was more than right," smiles Nina. The van was completed last November, and since then they only managed to go on a long trip to Spain, in and they also spend a large part of their weekends with him.
But that's okay, the main adventures are still waiting. The family has a lot of plans and wishes for 2022, among them is exploring Serbia, discovering the beauty of Germany and some longer trips in the summer months. And what, in her opinion, is the best part of living in a van? "We ourselves have not yet experienced the real life in a van, because for it we would have to go on a trip for at least a few months, but the desire remains. In any case, we especially like the fact that when traveling by van, home is always with you. And actually, when you go back to him, you say you're going home and not to the van," concludes Nina. You can see more of her van conversion tips here recording.
Noemi Zonta
The cute Primorka is known for rarely being still. Therefore, the long-standing desire to own a van is nothing unusual. Together with their partner, they already had two small vans with which they traveled around Europe. The first one thus became a travel van completely by accident. Namely, Noemi tried to push a surfboard into a three-door Citroen, but accidentally broke the windshield. So she started thinking about a bigger vehicle and came up with the first van.
"About a month later, when I realized that I could actually sleep in it, a bed made of planks landed in it. Little by little, the rest of the junk began to accumulate in it, a lot of skate equipment, bikes, dogs... from one trip with the van, I returned with an abandoned dog, and so only me, my partner and two big dogs slowly outgrew the van at the time and started to think about a bigger vehicle," explains the blonde skater, who happily revealed the news about the new van only recently.
At first the plan was to buy a newer one, but it got away from them, and then they saw an integrated Dethleffs from 1992. It was love at first sight. With some skill and effort, they carefully transformed it over the last year and restored its reputation. There was a lot of work. During the renovation, they discovered that the floor in the kitchen was also rotten.
There were no complications during the renovation
"It was not clear to us why, because everything was as it should be and the floor was not rotted elsewhere. But every time we entered the van, a puddle awaited us by the kitchen. We inspected every inch of the roof, siliconed everything again, and then realized that one of the previous owners had turned the wall vents the wrong way around and water had been happily flowing into the interior of the van all these years. Well, now the problem is solved. Everything has been renovated and the floor in the back part has been reinforced with a new board," says Primorka, satisfied.
At the moment, she and her boyfriend are still waiting for the green light so that they can go out with him, and they will be accompanied by the furry friends Apollo and Chia. They haven't chosen a name for him yet. The previous owner, a big fan of the Star Wars franchise, named it Obi van, but maybe the name will stick. Who knows. And what are you most looking forward to when you get behind the wheel?
“In my opinion, the best aspects of living in a van are twofold; that such a life teaches you to be simple and shows that you don't need much, that you are happy and that you have a good time on your journey. You enjoy simple things, accept some compromises and simplify many things for yourself. Another thing is the way of traveling, because it somehow forced you to be even more connected to the place, culture and nature. Every bit is your yard. It seems to me that every time I travel by van, I experience the place I visit in a much more authentic way," Noemi is convinced.
