Tag 150 - sch**ße

27.09.19

- Jonna

As our gas ran out yesterday, the first thing we do today is go to a gas station to refill our cartridge. It turns out to be more difficult than expected because our gas bottle is smaller than the standard size. Eventually, we find someone who refills our bottle, we quickly refuel and then head towards Wetterspitze, our last 'Lord of the Rings' destination. The road is beautiful and even though everything was filmed on private property, you can easily imagine Aragorn and the four hobbits pausing here.

We continue driving to a small coastal town, park our van in a parking lot, and take a walk through the dune landscape. It's quite windy, and after 5 minutes, we turn back.

From a distance, we are surprised to see that the rear window is open. As we approach, it quickly becomes clear that it's not open but rather smashed. There are glass shards everywhere, all the doors are unlocked, and we slowly realize that someone has broken into our camper. There is quite a mess at the back, clothes and backpack among the glass shards, broken microwave, muddy footprints. Shit! A local resident from a terrace about 50 meters away quickly comes over. 'They have broken in, right? These assholes!!' Yup! That's an understatement. The man tells us that he saw a black van stop and then our doors open, but he thought that one of us had come back. By the time he realized that someone had broken in, it was already too late. Unfortunately, he couldn't recognize the license plate, but he could only tell us that if we had been back 3 minutes earlier, we would have seen him. We go through our things and find a laptop, iPad, credit card, and passports. The cash is gone, including loose change, fortunately, it was only about $40, so €24. We call the police and the rental car company, sort out all the details, and are told to come by tomorrow to exchange the camper. We clean up as much as possible from the glass shards, collect the shards from the lawn, and find the stone in the camper that the idiot must have thrown with such force through the window that the microwave on the opposite side was also broken. There are no stones of this kind in the area, so he must have brought the stone with the intention of breaking into a car today. The neighbor comes by again and asks if he can still help, but we don't want to burden him at his age. We thank him, cover the window with a plastic bag, and leave the village.

We are less concerned about the missing money and more about the fact that someone can have the audacity to break a window in broad daylight, on a beach where many people go for a walk, in a village where 50 meters away houses are located and someone is sitting on every second terrace. We continue to the next place, and as we gather there, we realize that the missing money was not all that was taken. Alex's camera bag, including the lens, is unfortunately also missing, as well as our Bluetooth speaker. Now it was definitely worth it for him. (Lens - €280; Bag - €30, Speaker - €110). We make phone calls and try to find out if any insurance will cover it, but no chance. So we are also stuck with the costs for the window and microwave. And all of this three days before our departure.

We talk a lot about how people can have so little social understanding and not think for a second about what they are doing to people and the consequences that this 30 seconds, this stupid idea, will have for us. Despite everything, we were probably incredibly lucky because all of our personal data (hard drive, laptop, iPad) is still there, but it leaves a queasy feeling that doesn't fit with our previous experiences in New Zealand. We cook something to eat, even though we don't have much of an appetite, and then quickly fall asleep despite the fluttering plastic bag.

- Jonna