One of my lifelong dreams is to have a bus, a van, and travel with it. And not just for a vacation. I believe I've had this idea of myself on the road since childhood, both by car, motorcycle, and bus. At 30, I fulfilled my dream of having a motorcycle and took a tour of Scotland. Alone (unplanned) and with a lot of rain, but it was one of the best experiences I've had so far. The motorcycle was a used Yamaha TDM 4TX, an older lady. It was in the shop quite often, and I even had an accident once (luckily, nothing happened to me, but it was my first time flying in a helicopter 😛). Anyway, the repairs eventually became too expensive, and I had to sell the motorcycle to a hobbyist. That put my on the road dream on hold for a while. But in 2023, I finally took the next step. In this article series, I'll tell you step by step about my journey to realizing one of my biggest dreams.
The decision to finally tackle it
I've been working towards making my dream of a life on the road a reality for quite some time. In 2023, I decided it was time to make it a reality instead of just talking and dreaming about it. Of course, this isn't something that happens overnight. It took time to gather enough information and testimonials to make the first decisions. Because with such an undertaking, you have to answer question after question, such as: What do I need to consider if I want to be on the road? Can I even imagine such a life? What types of buses are there? How much do they cost? What types of conversions are there? How much does that cost? Do I want to convert it myself or not? And these are by no means all the questions that arise. Nor are they by any means all the decisions that need to be made. And for me, decisions are always very challenging.
The first leg of the journey
There were some significant moments and people who played a role in important decisions during my first stage. For one thing
Vera Popper and
Martina Gross, in which
Seminar in Corfu I made the decision that now is the time to pursue the dream. Then
Tobias Frommelt, who has been living and working in a motorhome for many years, traveling all over Europe. We met online, and he offered to let me call him. During a very long and great phone call, he told me about his journey, what life on the road is like, and where I could start. That was incredibly helpful. After that, I set up an alert on willhaben.at to get an overview of the used market. In October, I was at the
Caravan Fair in Wels, to get an overview of the new prices, what the differences are, and to get a feel for what kind of conversion would be suitable for me. In November, I looked at the first used bus, perfectly converted, which I absolutely wanted to buy. Unfortunately, it was not financially feasible, no matter how I tried.
The decision to buy
When I was in Croatia in February 2024, I expanded my online search radius on the platform Autoscout 24. And there I discovered a few cars that interested me. On the way back from Croatia, I decided to look at the buses, after all, they were almost on the way. And what can I say: I fell in love: with the buses offered, with the company that offered them, and with the wonderful people who run this company, "KFZ Krammer." Of course, I didn't decide immediately, but first, I received wonderful advice. And after a week, I went back again to take a test drive. And that's when it was finally decided, and I knew: I was going to buy this bus. I even gave her a name: Violet.
Dear Lorena,
Congratulations! How wonderful it is to fulfill one's dreams and wishes. We treated ourselves to a motorhome in 2019 and swapped the motorhome for a camper van in 2023. We're having so much fun traveling like this. We enjoy it so much. As a result, we even took a Namibia road trip in a rented camper.
I'm looking forward to part 2 of your story.
Best regards, Birgit
Dear Birgit,
Oh, how wonderful, I'm so happy to now be a part of this diverse community. In the past few months, I've had the pleasure of getting to know many wonderful people from all over. The expansion is taking up a lot of time, but it's fun, and soon I will dedicate myself to the next parts and publish them in the blog as well.
Where are you guys traveling right now? Where are you heading next? And: what kind of van do you have?
Kindest regards,
Lorena
Your story reminds me that life is about taking risks and forging new paths. Thank you for sharing your adventure with us!
Best regards,
Manuela
Dear Manuela,
Yes, sometimes one can be brave. Especially when it comes to one's own life dreams. Even if it's sometimes scary. In the end, it's beautiful again 🙂
Loving greetings,
Lorena
Hello Lorena,
I just found your blog through your blog parade – for which I'm unfortunately too late. But I'd like to congratulate you on this article. You did everything right. Sometimes you just have to overcome your own hesitations and fulfill your dream. You won't regret it. It was similar for us 5 years ago. For us, it wasn't a bus, but a boat. I also thought about it a lot back then, back and forth. But now I have to honestly say, it was the best decision we ever made, and we are absolutely happy with it.
I wish you safe travels and many exciting, happy adventures. I'll enjoy checking back on your blog to see how things are developing with you and Violet.
Dear Britta,
Thank you for your comment and your encouraging words! „If not now – then maybe never,“ how fitting the title of your blog post about your adventure is. And with the boat, wow! I recently had the thought: First, I want to explore the land with my bus, then the seas. So who knows, maybe we'll cross paths sailing someday. Your adventure sounds great too, in any case. Thank you so much for your good wishes! Soon, when the renovation progresses, I'll report on the rest of the journey again 🙂 By the way, a new blog parade on the topic „100 things I'm proud of“ is currently running. Maybe an interesting topic for you too? Best regards and safe travels to you too! Lorena