How do you get a sabbatical?

I've already hinted at it in part, but here comes the explanation for the sabbatical year and also the reason for our trip.

Christian and I moved back to Traunstein in 2014, the reasons are varied and shouldn't necessarily be the topic here, but the main reason was mental health.

In Munich everything was just a hamster wheel, then we kept going to the mountains to relax until Christian's grandma made a suggestion to her grandson, which didn't go over well at first, but was then rigorously pursued.

I was alone in the large apartment from February 2014, then I was first rejected and then also given a new place to work. The year left its mark, there was no real vacation, we were initially under a lot of stress because of the move, then we went to Tuscany with Christian's parents for the fall vacation and my father-in-law said something about time off and other things. Christian's godmother had her first experience with sabbaticals, but none of us knew exactly how it worked.

In the new school, these breaks were obviously completely normal, because my new position was 1:1 that of a colleague who was on sabbatical. At first I didn't even dare to bring up the topic, then it turned out that many colleagues had already done so or were saving up for the sabbatical year.

After the turbulent year of 2014, I casually suggested to Christian that he could ask his employer, as it is also public service. He had to pursue this relatively persistently because there had never been such an application there before. I had to provide information that Christian could then pass on. After 6 months the green light came and we applied for the sabbatical in February 2016.

What exactly does sabbatical actually mean? In the past it was the time when a doctoral thesis or other degree should normally be achieved, today it is also the planned time off with a salary. In principle, any employee can apply for a sabbatical and have it approved; it doesn't necessarily have to be 12 months, it could be longer or of course shorter. Agreements with the employer are essential here. People with shops or other self-employed people in all industries would have to save for the sabbatical themselves, which is theoretically possible, but probably a little more difficult.

We've had a reduced salary for a few years now, so that our salary continues to be paid even during the sabbatical, and at the same time the pension is smaller, but I'm really happy to accept that for this break.

Now the question that needs to be answered is why we are traveling for a year.

We don't have a house that we're renovating this year, we're not building anything, we don't have any plans to keep us at home. At first we had the small goal of being able to travel independently of the holidays, then I cheekily suggested that you don't necessarily have to be tied to home, but simply be on the move all year round. Of course that means we don't have family and friends there, but that's exactly why this blog exists. I especially miss the training with the RHS, but I have to shoulder that now, we'll be back!

Christian was skeptical at first about traveling for a year, but then we threw ideas back and forth and started thinking about possible routes and wintering in Palumbi. Christian's father immediately supported it, my family found it rather ridiculous, my mother-in-law couldn't imagine that you could only live in a caravan for months, and there was also the dog.

But we continued to plan, changed and discarded routes and were encouraged by cancer, deaths in the family, the risk of burnout and also COVID that if not now, then when?

If we had children, it wouldn't have been so easy, but that wasn't possible because of me, so then came the second dog and the idea of where could we go without causing problems with our two super noses from the rescue dog team.

We've been on the road since August and I have to say it was the right decision, I wouldn't do it any other way. We are now adventurers who make fun acquaintances, get tips and pass them on ourselves. It's gigantic! We are always learning new things, every now and then there is something for the culture, but what is more important is always to enjoy and have fun. Nobody can take that away from me, the experiences are wonderful!

We have moved away from being bigger, further, faster and more; for months we have only met like-minded people who are happy to pass on their wisdom and experiences to us and vice versa. You can't describe it, experiencing it would be better.