For weeks the needle has pointed north, now it turns around: we have a workshop appointment in Schladming and a few thousand kilometres to cover before it. Three stopovers lie in between - with reindeer right outside the door, salad on the pizza and a Finnish invention Sven falls in love with on the spot…

The welcoming committee in Suomussalmi

We had actually wanted to visit a friend in Helsinki. He, however, was on holiday - at his cabin by a lake in the middle of Lapland. So we reprogramme the sat nav, drive a good way north once more, and Sven spends the rest of the day building a jetty…

The last kilometres to the cabin

Time for the next country. On the way there we briefly become involuntary animal rescuers, at the border we miss out on the cheap diesel, and in the Korouoma we do not meet a single other person for hours. What we do find instead, over and over again…

An encounter in the Korouoma

Straight back through Sweden or the big loop via Finland? In Umeå the decision falls. After that the east coast shows us boardwalks, skerries, a lighthouse and an evening sky you would happily end a meeting early for - Sven, at that point, is still on a call…

Evening sky near Lövånger

The mountainous west is behind us, now we head straight across Västerbotten to the sea. Two stopovers, two hikes, a surprisingly good pizza - and at the end a campsite that is really not our thing…

Evening light in Fredrika

Back in Steinkjer we faced a decision: north, west or east. By now we have worked through all three - and now we cross the border into Sweden, heading for the famous panoramic road through the wilderness…

Climbing up onto the high plateau

The decision is made: we are carrying on north. Along the way we hike across four suspension bridges, reach the one place in Norway I absolutely wanted a photo of - and then a landslide closes the road…

Mission accomplished

Quite how big the staircase actually was got carefully kept from me beforehand. Afterwards we drive one of Europe’s best known coastal roads - and finally stop in a city we had previously only ever driven past…

Over 3,000 steps

We restock straight from the farm, stand beside a lake that is just as beautiful as it was ten years ago - and then finally drive the one place we had skipped on every previous Norway trip…

The Trollstigen at last

A new noise keeps us company over the pass, so in Bergen the workshop comes before the sightseeing. And at the Briksdalsbreen we stand at the same glacier we visited ten years ago…

Back here ten years later

After a few lovely days in Denmark we cross to Norway. What follows is the country’s southernmost town, a place that forces you to think - and a rail bike ride where giving up is not an option…

Off to Norway

The second season begins. We meet the podcast crew in their natural habitat, stay longer in Aarhus than planned - and in Vejers Strand finally take a photo we completely forgot about in Morocco…

The beach photo at last

The first season of our new life is complete. On the way back we cross a suspension bridge I ducked out of last time we were here - and to round it off we treat ourselves to a few days in London…

Across the bridge together this time

After two weeks in the workshop we are finally back on the road. In the Pinzgau we take on three big hikes straight away - and over the Gerlos Pass we reach our last pitch in Austria…

The Krimml Waterfalls

After the 30 kilometres in Madrid we move up a level and take on 50. At kilometre 25 the Nasenweg is waiting - and afterwards Mammothon spends two weeks in the workshop…

Fifty kilometres this time

I pick a campsite in the Lech valley and once again do not look too closely at the route. The snow gets deeper and deeper, skiers are everywhere - and then we get a visit from the Allgäu…

The snow gets deeper and deeper

We had meant to stay a few more days in the Rhône valley, but it is pouring. So we cover ground instead - and on Lake Lucerne end up trying winter camping more or less by accident…

Time for a new flag

We are back in France, treat ourselves to an ice cream at a beach bar and then head up the Rhône. Saskia finishes an ordinary working day with 32.5 kilometres on the watch - and in Aubignas we find a spot you could not plan for…

The medieval village of Aubignas

In Valencia we walk into another festival we had not planned for. Afterwards we drive towards Barcelona in the best weather - except the one mountain we end up on is completely socked in with fog…

Valencia in the middle of Las Fallas

The landscape near Marchal is something special - and thanks to a faulty factory alarm, so unfortunately is the night. Afterwards we drive up to a viewpoint that several signs warn you about…

The badlands near Marchal

We walk across Ronda twice, work our way down the path to the abandoned building, climb through a karst landscape in El Torcal - and see in the forest what the recent storms have done…

The rock formations of El Torcal

We drive straight into a carnival along the way, then walk 30 kilometres on the Mammutmarsch - and Lou, shortly before her 16th birthday, simply does the whole distance…

Thirty kilometres around the Casa de Campo

The weather is still not on our side, but right on cue at the end of the working day it clears for two hours. Later we have to reverse through a narrow village - and then end up in a place we had not expected at all…

Nature’s own cinema above the Arribes

We stay in the Faro region once more, take a boat trip through the Ria Formosa - and then bury our planned route entirely, because the weather on the Iberian peninsula simply will not settle…

Out in the Ria Formosa

After the mud there is one thing we need above all: hot showers. We stay considerably longer than planned, hike the cliff coast up and down, reach the end of the continent - and then get thoroughly shaken by a storm…

The cliffs near Zambujeira do Mar

It starts harmlessly enough: a hike, a workshop, a good restaurant. Then it rains all night, the gravel track transforms - and we spend three days stuck at a spot we had not considered at all…

The track looks worse than it did the day before

We reach our destination for the holidays and stand on a proper campsite for the first time in ages. From there we explore a city where it is really only ever uphill or downhill…

Hello Portugal, hello Lisbon

Leaving Morocco is hard enough on its own - and then a small series of mishaps begins, peaking on the ramp up to the ferry of all places…

One more run across the country

After 17 days together the group goes separate ways. We head for the coast, have the sea almost to ourselves, finally record the room tour - and eventually find a way into the medina of Marrakesh after all…

The sea almost to ourselves

We leave the wild country south of the Atlas, stand at the pass in cold wind for the first time in days - and in Marrakesh get moved on by the police almost the moment we have parked…

Climbing over the High Atlas

At the famous dunes of Erg Chegaga we get ourselves stuck on purpose in order to learn recovery. After that comes the last training point - and finally a mud-brick town you may recognise from a few films…

The dunes of Erg Chegaga

We set off to refill our water and within a few kilometres find ourselves doing a spontaneous repair in the middle of nowhere. After that it is up over the crater rim and down inside - and in the evening everyone pushes their tables together…

Over the crater rim and down inside

We calmly practise what we had already learned involuntarily, wake up among dunes looking at a mountain shaped like a tajine - and at night I finally get the Milky Way onto a photo the way it actually looks…

The day of sand

We turn onto the first track and pick up a flat within metres, stock up at the bazaar in Erfoud because after that there is nothing for days - and practise driving to within five centimetres…

From here on it is tracks only

We hike through canyons where half of film history was shot, meet eight more trucks in the port of Almería - and the next morning we stand on Moroccan soil for the first time…

The Tabernas desert

We drive for hours through the largest olive monoculture in the world, haul Mammothon up a climb of more than 20 percent, hike the Caminito del Rey - and end up staying at MAN considerably longer than planned…

Olives as far as you can see

We want a bit more solitude again, so we drive up a valley that gets narrower with every kilometre. At the end Mammothon stands almost alone - and Saskia’s circular route turns out to be considerably more sporting than expected…

At the end of the valley you can only continue on foot

Mammothon gets a shower first, then we drive straight through a storm into the Monegros - and discover, on opening the roof hatch, that the wind up there has been busy…

The semi-desert of the Monegros

We swap the bustle of Paris for a great deal of quiet, get warned by a local about a “narrow” road, relocate our pitch by WhatsApp, cross the highest bridge in Europe - and end up in a town we previously only knew as a board game…

Lou inspects the plateau above Millau

We take our time, eat surprisingly well along the way, then park 17 tonnes on an island in the middle of Paris, walk all the classics - and in between I take the Eurostar to Amsterdam for work…

Lou has seen the Eiffel Tower and is moderately impressed

We arrive in the Allgäu with plenty of extra kilometres on the clock, watch our daughter jump out of a plane, build a bigger home for a snake, finally meet friends of over 15 years in person - and then one morning everything is white…

Our daughter is somewhere up there

We drive through France, stop at the flooding system of the Maginot Line, visit a fortress, squeeze through a narrow road in the Black Forest, visit Sigmaringen, and Sven presses the wrong button…

Quarters inside the fortress

We make a detour via Aachen, then travel through Belgium to Luxembourg and meet up with many other Krug owners

Overview from above

We stop in Oosterbeek, I catch a cold in Windsor, and we hike 25km on the Airborne Wandeltocht

Kastel Doorwerth

After all the beautiful, peaceful nature, it’s time for a contrast — off to the big city of Amsterdam.

Lou in front of the Dancing Houses

From the IKEA of campers across two “seas” and through a marina all the way into the dunes.

Campsite on Texel

After completing all our scheduled appointments in Austria (sounds way too much like work – but in between we really enjoyed the mountains), our next destination is the Netherlands. Looking at the map, this means we get to cross all of Germany.

Lou enjoys a book in the sun

Our trip through Austria had several stages – from the Bergdoktor in Ellmau, along the Hochalpenstraße to the Großglockner, and finally to Krug in Schladming at the Dachstein.

Almost at the top – the summit has finally come out of the clouds.

For about two weeks now, we’ve done it – we’re now traveling full-time and living wherever we want to be.