Bodensee
Living our best (van) life
I woke up with a very excited feeling in my stomach: today would be shower day! Going into the trip, I was very excited about van life as I remembered it from my road tripping times from 2009 where I travelled up Australia’s West Coast with a friend I had met on the way. The only small differences were: I was 19, it was summer in Australia, and there were public showers all along the beaches. This time I am 32, it is spring in Germany (which technically still means winter) and all campgrounds including showers are shut down due to covid. As I said: only tiny differences…
Van life: pros and cons
Looking back on the first week of van life at half time, it was time to evaluate it: I loved sleeping in the van (it is honestly so cozy!), I love having the freedom of parking and driving to wherever we like (even though as a real German of course I always have a plan where to go, the only thing making me even more German would be the socks with sandals). Food is not a problem either as supermarkets are open and so are restaurants for take-away. Not being able to shower, however, has been tough for me. I know Blake doesn’t mind as much (he could probably go without a shower for the entire trip; no offense). But when I brush my hair in the morning and the hair doesn’t seem to go back naturally but stays at the exact spot where I had brushed it to, it can be quite alarming. It was time for a shower! Thank god, we were going to stay at my friend’s place in Offenburg tonight who I had met in Cape Town in 2014 where we both lived in South Africa to do volunteer work.
Lindau, Bodensee
In the morning Blake and I enjoyed the peacefulness of the Bodensee, visited the not-so-peaceful-town Lindau and then said goodbye to the lake and drove to Offenburg (it actually took about another hour until we really left the side of the lake – man, this lake is really massive!).
Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg
Vineyards everywhere
It was great seeing Caro again, we had some cake and coffee at hers before we packed some wine and a blanket to walk to the vineyards close by (no shower just yet but I tried to be patient, my time would come). The landscape was totally different to the one in Bavaria (we were now in the neighbour state Baden-Württemberg to the west of Bavaria) and when we sat down in the vineyards to enjoy our wine and watch the sunset, we could look as far as France.
A shower – at last!
On the way home we ordered some Indian take-away food but Caro assured me I could shower when we were waiting for the food. In my mind I could already feel the water on my skin! Half way home, Caro got a phone call by the delivery guy saying he was already at the door waiting for us! Usually I get very excited about take-away food (or any type of food) but not if I haven’t showered in a week and this would mean I have to wait longer for it. Priorities in its primal forms…
Anyways, going a bit fast forward I won’t go into detail but I will only say as much as this: this shower might have been the best shower I had taken in years (or in forever?!). I think Blake also agreed as he took a 40-minute shower and I had to go and check on him as Caro asked me if he was okay in there. As they always say: it was worth the wait (I’m sure they are referring to showers here, aren’t they?).
Previous Day: Day 8: Pfronten – Füssen – Scheidegg – Bodensee
Next Day: Day 10: Offenburg – Stuttgart
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