What to expect
Freiburg
Waking up in our van one last time
One last time of crawling over the front seats to open the side door from the outside (the side door was either locked from the inside or we were just not smart enough to open it correctly, probably the later…).
One last time of not knowing straight away which city we woke up in (Freiburg – check).
One last time of getting changed under the blanket so that our new neighbours wouldn’t see us naked.
And one last time of brushing our teeth next to the car on some car park.
Even though there are some things we are looking forward to when it comes to having a real apartment and a real bed again, we were actually sad that this road trip was about to be over. It was so much fun and you definitely learn to appreciate the small things in life again (like a real toilet or shower).
Sightseeing in Freiburg
But before we could get too sad, it was time to explore Freiburg and it was finally sunny again. I really love Freiburg’s vibe with a lot of young students who cycle everywhere. There are also many cool alternative bars and cafés that I can imagine were packed in pre-covid times.
Heidelberg
Catch up with friends
Around noon we drove about one hour up north to check out Heidelberg and to explore it with our Frankfurt friends Julie and James. Heidelberg is also known as a student town and has a very cute old town.
Great view over Heidelberg from both sides
The four of us walked up to the castle on the one side, having a great overview of Heidelberg and then hiking up on the other side of the river to see Heidelberg from another perspective (swipe left to see the other perspective).
Frankfurt
Last day on the road
Afterwards we drove to Frankfurt (about one hour) to stay the night at Julie’s and James’ which was great. James is from England and the two of them also met in Australia a few years ago so it’s cool to get to know a couple that is in a similar situation like us.
Gelsenkirchen
Back in the “Pott”
After a fun evening with friends we drove back to Gelsenkirchen the next morning to drop off the van. The two brothers we had rented the van from (through a website called PaulCamper) were very relaxed. They quickly looked at the van and then transferred the 1500€ deposit back onto my account. The van was actually about to be rented out an hour after we had dropped it off again – really cool business idea, just saying..
**Click on the link above if you want to have your own van experience!**
Another great road trip together
In the end we were so happy we did this road trip together to explore my home country a bit more. I usually tend to travel further away, however, due to covid it was cool to be forced to see some of my own “backyard” and to experience a different type of travelling together with a van. Usually we are “flashpackers”: We travel with a backpack but still do private rooms and eat out, while still watching our budget.
It’s nice to see how much Germany has to offer and that sometimes you don’t have to go far to have a great time – if it’s spent with the right person of course.
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