Finally Slovenia ... and back home

At Koper we cross the border into Slovenia. We decide to skip the small piece of Slovenian coast and head towards the mountains.

Our destination: the beautiful Soča Valley. We have heard a lot about the turquoise river and can't wait to see it for ourselves. So off we go into the Slovenian hinterland, with temperatures reaching 28 degrees Celsius. The vegetation here strongly reminds us of home. We leisurely drive on remote country roads into the interior of the country. We spend a night at a military museum and then continue on our way. We pass through huge vineyards. Rows and rows of vines as far as the eye can see. Slovenia is very clean and modern. In Nova Gorica, we quickly do some shopping and then we see the Soča River for the first time. WOW!! What a spectacular color this amazing river has!! We are completely amazed. We continue driving close to the river up into the mountains and check in at Camping Lazar. Even here, the campsites are no longer as cheap as they probably were a few years ago. We pay 26 euros for one night. The plan was to take a hot shower, refill our water, get some rest, and continue driving. But everything turned out differently!! I send a text message to our English friend Paul, with whom we spent the winter in Greece. We haven't been in contact for a while, but we knew that he had to be in England at the end of June for some technical inspection. And yes - it's a small world - coincidentally, he's currently parked only 40 kilometers away from us and he's just as excited as we are. The next morning, he travels directly to us and what a coincidence - it's his birthday tonight too!! That - and our reunion - must be celebrated in style. We go hiking together to a nearby waterfall. First, we cross a high suspension bridge. Our Lucy lies flat on the bridge (laughs) - she has never experienced anything like it. But bravely, she walks or rather crawls across. The path along the river is beautiful and leads into a gorge. The rock walls on both sides get closer and closer and in the end, we stand in front of a cave. We walk in and are totally speechless!! A waterfall shoots into the cave from a hole in the cave ceiling. What a sight. We feel like we're in a sunken world from Jurassic Park. Bats fly through the cave, birds chirp, and large ferns grow from the rock walls. What an incredible place - it gives me goosebumps of enthusiasm :)

Back at the campsite, we gather wood and make a bonfire. Paul is celebrating his birthday. We are in a good mood and after the second slivovitz, Paul goes to invite some other campers. Next door are some German older rockers from Germany and on the other side are some young Berliners. Everyone gladly comes to join us at the bonfire and a fun evening with actually strangers ensues. We talk about our journey and everyone is very curious and has many questions, which we gladly answer.

The next day, everyone is feeling a bit hungover (grinning). It was a fun and boozy night and all the 'homemade' drinks from all over the world have taken their toll. Kilian and I make plans for the next two (last!!) weeks. Our plan was to surprise our grandparents as guests on their 65th wedding anniversary on June 18th. But things turned out differently!! We take a look at our travel account (scream) - some unplanned (or ignored) withdrawals have been made and yes - we have to go home! NOW!! My heart sinks, adrenaline rushes through me - is it really happening now?? Part of us is excited (of course) to go home - but a (big) part of us also knows that our free and self-determined life will come to an end. But there's no way around it - the next morning we pack up (with emotional chaos in our heads). All of our nice neighbors at the campsite know about it and when we say our goodbyes, they all hug us, wish us well...

As we drive away, I actually fight back tears. One part of me is looking forward to seeing our loved ones at home - another part says NO NO, we don't want the journey to end. Silently, we drive through beautiful Slovenia towards Italy/Austria. Each of us is dealing with our own emotional turmoil in our heads. Slovenia presents itself in all its beauty (as if it wants to mock us). We are sure that this amazing country must be visited again during a (normal) vacation. We pass through Italy for a few kilometers. Here too, we see a beautiful mountain landscape. Then we reach the Austrian border. Quickly, we buy a vignette and continue our journey. We drive the last 600 kilometers on the highway to make progress. We have to get used to the traffic again after being away from civilization for so long. Suddenly, we understand what is being said on the radio (scream) - it's like a blow to the neck for us. We are getting closer to home. We pass Villach, go through Carinthia, and quickly pass Salzburg. After three hours, it's finally time. We reach the German border. We see the sign Bundes Republik Deutschland!! After 14 months, we are back (almost) home. We struggle with our emotions. The joy takes over. We are excited to see our loved ones - especially since no one knows that we are coming home already. We are looking forward to the surprised faces :)

In my thoughts, I'm already going through my huge to-do list for home. There is a lot to do to get our old life going again. We firmly intend not to put too much pressure on ourselves at home and to take it easy (we'll see if that works out). We get stuck in traffic in Munich. One construction site follows the next. It starts to rain as well. We think 'well, welcome back to reality'. But when we see Lake Constance for the first time near Lindau, the sun comes out again - as if it wants to welcome us. We are tired and excited... we want to go home. And after 10 hours, we finally arrive - welcome to Kluftern. Silently, we drive into our yard and enter our house. Hmm... we are still struggling with the emotional chaos in our heads. Everything seems too big and too crowded!! We greet Kilian's parents and an hour later, we sit thoughtfully on our terrace. Yes, we are really back home... we still can't fully grasp it.

When we started last year, I was sure that I would eventually can't wait to live in a house again... The fact is: we would rather sleep in the bus!!

In her short life, our little Lucy only knows cages and the camper van. In the evening, she keeps looking into the yard at the bus - when are we going to sleep in the bus?? No little Lucy - from now on, you have more space around you - get used to it. Our Amy recognizes everything right away and wagging her tail, she immediately inspects the sofa and her bed in the bedroom - everything is still there. She is very happy and makes herself comfortable in her (big) little bed:):)

After an (almost) sleepless night, the first friends and my parents come by the next day. Everyone is overjoyed. We are also very happy to see everyone again - but at times we are almost overwhelmed by the situation. So many people, so much input, so much to do, so much to tell... staying calm is the motto!! After being just the two of us for so long, it is an extreme change to suddenly have so many (lovely) people around us. Where do we start to talk about such a long journey??

The next day, we visit my grandparents. They also have no idea and my dear grandpa even bursts into tears when he sees us. In the afternoon, we stop by some very good friends. We see their baby for the first time. Little Juna was born while we were already on the road - and now she is just about to start walking. It becomes clear how long we have been away. We receive a 'Welcome home survival package' with important things like salt, red wine, nuts, and pasta :) - thank you, dear ones, for that :)

We start to tidy up. Clean the house, unload the bus - the work keeps piling up - we want to try to maintain our inner calmness for as long as possible. On the third day, our friend Paul from England comes to visit. He is on his way home and makes a stopover with us. We are very excited... we have experienced a lot with him on our journey!!

The 'happyhippies' are back!! Started as a trio - back as a quartet :):) We had a perfect trip. Our bus Knut safely took us (with a few minor hiccups) through 20 countries in Europe. We met incredibly friendly people. Locals, long-term travelers, van lifers... we didn't have a single 'dangerous' situation. We weren't robbed and we weren't driven away. On the contrary, we were constantly invited and warmly welcomed everywhere. Our view of people has changed positively. We drove nearly 30,000 kilometers. We refueled 72 times and spent a total of 5,820 euros on diesel. Granted: our ecological footprint for this lifestyle is not thrilled about it - but we have seen almost the whole of Europe - and yes: the people are friendly . The poorer people live, the more hospitable they are - that should make us Germans think. We have traveled seven seas in total and, with the exception of Scandinavia, we were sometimes shocked at how polluted our seas are. Dear people - our Earth has a big plastic problem - the oceans are full of it - it is time to take action. Future generations will not collect seashells, but garbage (so that they can reach the seashells).

Otherwise, our journey was consistently positive. Europe is beautiful. From glaciers to palm beaches, everything was included. Midsummer in northern Norway, we will never forget. The Baltic States - yes, the entire 'Eastern Bloc' is beautiful. And the winter in the Peloponnese was a dream. Each of the 20 countries had its own charm!

Now - at home - it is also nice to see how many people are happy that we are back. We may need some more time to really arrive... we'll do our best!!

One last time, I want to greet all the people we met on our journey. You are all amazing and we are happy to have met each and every one of you.

I would also like to thank all the people who helped us make this journey a reality.

We are often asked: Are you done with traveling for now??? We can answer that without hesitation with a clear NO - we will probably never have enough of this amazing life... and there is still sooo much to see!!

With this, we (reluctantly) say goodbye to this blog and say goodbye. Thank you to everyone who followed us so diligently and with interest on this journey. Thank you for your interest :):):) Your 'Happyhippies' Sandra and Kilian