From the screwdriver course at SpaceCamper in Darmstadt to Milan in Italy

When we wake up on the bank at the edge of the Ticino, it is still raining. But we don't care. We start the day calmly. After coffee I find the time to prepare the first lines of yesterday and today for the blog. Today we stow away a few little things we bought in the last days. It makes us very happy that we have finally arrived at the bus.

A few days ago we were in Munich for a stopover. Here we noticed that the lock of our pop-up roof has warped a bit. This is not so surprising, because our off-road training was certainly also a challenge for the construction of our BUTCH, our VW T6.1 SpaceCamper. In addition, compared to a VW California, we not only have an additional sliding door, but with the long wheelbase also the pop-up roof has grown by 40cm. Thus, something can also warp faster.

SpaceCamper can quickly adjust the roof for us. But that doesn't make it any better on balance, because we don't always want to go back to Darmstadt. So what is the solution? The solution is Ben, Benjamin Wawra, one of the managing directors of SpaceCamper. Hardly anyone could be more familiar with his SpaceCampers. After all, Ben has been living more or less on the bus for years, thus a true SpaceCamper. "Come on by, I'll show you what you need to get along on your own on the road."

How did Torgit put it? - "So that we are prepared for all eventualities on our tour in the future, Ben has shown us many tips & tricks about our Butch and let us in on the secrets. So far Krzysztof, the head of the workshop, has helped us with our smaller technical problems. He is also called the man with the magic hands, there is nothing he can't fix. In our case, the problem was mostly in the vehicle, i.e. user errors. At the handover Moritz explained everything to us for hours, and we also received a manual & videos via USB stick. But this vehicle is so well thought out and complex that we have done something wrong from time to time.

Today we first sift through our tools to see if we have everything we need. Then we discuss the heart of our SpaceCamper, which is under the driver's seat, with the batteries and fuses. A handful of fuses is included as a goodie, just in case. Almost incidentally, our gas stove is repaired, whose ignition fuse jumped out again and again.

We continue with our pop-up roof. The entire lock is quickly removed and explained. With our long wheelbase and the two sliding doors, the roof is quite challenged in off-road terrain, so we should be able to readjust it.

It was mega fun and the time flew by. Thank you very much, dear Ben, for this beautiful evening. We are very grateful that we always find open ears and help with you."

So wrote Torgit already from a few days on our Insta account. There is almost nothing more to add. Except that Ben has presented us with another problem the appropriate solution. We have determined in advance not only that our previous folding bikes from United City Bikes are no good, but also that the shock absorbers of our tailgate, despite reinforcement, could not bear the weight. Thus it was clear, the folding bikes must be exchanged and in the future additionally in the interior be stowed. On the one hand, this increases protection against theft. On the other hand, space is in short supply.

Ben has the perfect solution for this as well. It itself has replaced the rear support of the mattress with an edged plastic plate. This offers the possibility to store vertically in the rear two folding bikes. On top, underneath our pillows, the yoga mats and folding chairs now find a new place. We thank Ben and the company SpaceCamper for allowing us to test this pre-production study. The bed will be about 25cm shorter, but it is perfectly sufficient for us.

The new order makes happy. That's why we spontaneously decide to head for Cologne once again. Here we know our way around and make a hook to the chapter of our old folding bikes. These go from board. In the next few days we test various folding bikes. Quickly only two candidates remain. The Birdy from the house Giant & Müller and the Brompton.

We didn't make the decision easy for ourselves, because these are opponents at eye level.
We test rode both bikes extensively. In the end, we opted for the Brompton. And this although the Birdy has left an excellent impression, especially when driving. But we asked ourselves for a long time what is more important to us in the Bulli. In the end it was the smaller pack size of the Brompton. Because here it is unbeatable. It is not only slimmer, but we also save space in height. So we gain storage space for two small bags.

In the last few days we have moved some things back and forth, modified our rear carrier again. Because that must carry now no more wheels. Surely not everything is in its final place. But everything is stowed in such a way that we not only don't have to move much around, but above all we can get to everything. Our daily Tetris has finally come to an end. And what can I tell you, this not only makes us happy, but it also creates a home. Home means not only arriving, but also a little bit of comfort. Maybe I'll end up winning a little comfort zone after all.

Life isn't a pony farm, and van life doesn't always mean sunshine. But we will report on that separately here.

Today we are satisfied with the day and ourselves. It was a good day, even if there were a few disturbances. But the best comes at the end!? Today it is true. We visit Ilka and Roberto. Ilka is an old friend of Torgit. We also visited the two three years ago and explored Milan together extensively.

We have good memories of Milan, the Milan Cathedral, the beautiful parks but especially of a shared ride in the Tram Ristorante ATMosfera. This fine, small restaurant is located in a historic streetcar. While you dine, the most beautiful squares of the city glide past you. Everything is coherent, right down to the rose seller at the exit.

Today we take it a little easier. We meet in her apartment, because Milan and Lombardy is becoming a Corona hotspot again. And nowhere knows so well what that means. The two tell us about the time of the lockdown and the silence that has lain over the city. This was only interrupted by the constant sirens. It quickly becomes clear that the Lockdown had a completely different dimension in Italy than in Germany. But we also come to positive topics. After all, we are in Italy and Roberto is not only Italian, but has the blood of a Sicilian. And they know how to deal with difficult situations. It's not for nothing that they say there, "The best way to digest sorrow is to dissolve it in wine." So we turn to wine and pasta, real pasta, the kind only an Italian can conjure up. Or Ilka, who may be a girl from Dresden, but in the meantime is also almost an Italian.