The story of happiness begins in Cologne.
My name is Andrea, I am 45 years young and I love freedom, life. I prefer to surround myself with people who respect life and have a little empathy, by the way.
For me, happiness is also feeling the little things in life - being able to experience love, having friends and helping animals. Yes, and not to forget: a good meal and a good wine are pure luxury for me.
In the carnival city of Cologne, life already felt very good, freer, more relaxed. The mentality of the people of Cologne is unique for me, just like §10 of the Cologne constitution - "Drinkste eine met?".
My job (TV editor) drove me from the juggernaut of Berlin to Cologne and a little later straight to Marc's flat share.
I was looking for a room - it was only supposed to be temporary - but it turned into a few years. Please don't pin me down to dates, I'm really bad at that, but it's been at least 11 years now.
From here on, luck took its course.
At this point I have to mention that you can't imagine how awesome I found this shared flat! You could say that I had found a real home. In the middle of the city, yet quiet and green, with a great garden and the finest furnishings. But what made this flat share my place of well-being were the people, especially Marc, who really helped me out of a jam more than once. - Thanks again at this point!
My eternal singledom, or the constant changing of partners, finally came to an end here too. I met Craig from South Africa and it's hard to believe - we've been together for over 8 years now! Craig makes me happy, he lets me be who I am. That's not a given, because for most of the guys I've met, it's unthinkable. (Marc, you know a few of these cardboard noses)
And, how could it be otherwise, luck continued to run its course.
In the meantime, our togetherness had developed into a little family - no, not a child - a dog called Emma. We rescued her from the Bonn animal shelter. A real street dog, from the capital of Bulgaria.
A year later, we decided to do something really crazy - we decided to turn our backs on Germany for a while.
How could it be otherwise - we were naturally drawn to the sun and the sea.
Not that you think we've planned all this for a long time... nope.
We are more the adventurous ones among the emigrants, so at least we don't get bored. And that's how it was...
Tenerife was our destination. Why? Well, it's far enough away, always warm, mostly sunny and we've had local friends there before.
Everything happened very quickly in Cologne. We bought a T4 for no less than €3000, cleared out our apartment and off we went.
It has to be said that we crammed the bus so full of stuff that there was hardly any room left. In the front, the three of us, for the next 2600 km towards Huelva.
Here in Andalusia our ferry left for the Canary Islands...
We now have 6 years of island life behind us. A time with many ups and downs, but which have allowed us to grow in such a way that the definition of happiness can be corrected once again.
As a little insight - Tenerife is the largest of all 7 Canary Islands. At 80 km long, it's actually not particularly big in proportion, but if you've lived here for a while, you'll find that a drive from north to south is "far". Kind of funny.
Being able to spend your life here means (still) having quality of life, at least as far as the weather is concerned.
However, tourism is taking more and more of the locals' space here, especially in terms of their livelihood. Housing prices have risen immensely, like everywhere else, I know. Just crazy.
It's wonderful to go on vacation here, but living here is a completely different matter.
What I don't like here is all the garbage lying around everywhere. As the saying goes? All that glitters is not gold.
Tenerife is nevertheless a very beautiful place that you should experience, because the energy here is very special.
So happiness is what you make of it.
We actually live in our van for financial reasons - but today it's out of conviction.
Giving up was never an option.
Above all, happiness is also about being healthy, being close to the elements of nature, having found peace and, above all, losing fear.
This is our inner prison, it robs us of the freedom that we all desire deep inside.
Where fear once had its place, real life begins, in personal responsibility - a very topical subject in my opinion.
From my own experience I can say: live your dreams, don't be afraid and listen to your inner voice, to your gut feeling.
For me, this life was also a big step at the beginning, but today I am a different person.
And from now on, life in the van is at the top of my list of goals, because the journey continues.
Hasta luego Tenriffa - because in the long run you do get a little bored here.
Stories that life writes, you have all experienced them. If you would like to tell me your story too, I would be happy to make a video with you. Just take a look at my YouTube channel YOUandMii...
... or write me an e-mail at: andrea@youandmii.de
Thank you! Gracias!
English 
German 
Italian 
French 
Japanese 
Dutch 
Spanish
Recent Comments