Now that we've been "on the road" for a month and are almost 3 months after handing over our apartment and almost the beginning of our journey, we finally get around to expand this part of the blog a little.
The Van
Zacharias, our 1988 T3 Syncro, has been in the works for quite a while. Of course, there are always new problems and here and there something can still be optimized. In the end it was almost ready for departure - apart from a few minor things. Since the beginning of October I had more time to continue building the bus. However, then of course there was also the clearing out of the apartment and other organisational things. Now, after hundreds of hours, the bus is so far that you can go on a trip around the world. Not at least because a reliable engine from a Passat 35i now forms the heart of our Zacharias.
Flat
It quickly became clear that there was only one option when it came to housing: complete dissolution of the household and handing over the apartment. The other option, subletting the apartment, certainly makes sense for up to a year, but we do not recommend it for longer absences. First of all, it depends on the landlord. A sublease of more than a year is often problematic and difficult to manage for the landlord and just as difficult for us. With a 3-month notice period, the subtenant can move out very quickly. Then you have to look for a new subtenant while you are on the road, organise the handover and so on. This is quite unpredictable, especially since the apartment usually contains personal items. And thirdly, exactly the previous point creates a stress factor on the way. You still have an apartment at home that you may have to take care of.
We haven't touched our apartment (or rather its contents) for a relatively long time. Smaller things were sold, given away, wrapped up. But the majority happened in November and December, just before departure (as you know it from normal movings). With two children and a expedition vehicle that is not yet ready, it is quite difficult to sort and pack sensibly. That mostly happened at night. The same applies to the transport of belongings packed in banana boxes. We only decided to use banana boxes, firstly because they are free (just always check out all the supermarkets), secondly, they come in two or three different sizes and the double wall makes them extremely stable when it comes to stacking. The volume is about half that of a classic moving box, so you simply use more boxes, which are easier to carry and are rarely too heavy. We packed the crates in pallet foil and additionally welded silica gel into it to prevent mold inside. Let's see if that works ;-)
The apartment handover was, so to speak, a precision landing shortly before Christmas, everything cleaned, everything cleared out and gone. At the same time, one should not forget how much cleaning work it takes to clean an apartment. Thankfully we had some help of family and friends. Then it's time to live on the bus. Luckily for us we were able to visit Juliane's family and later my family in Dresden before the seriousness of the trip really started.
Health insurance
An extremely important point when traveling is always health insurance. As long as you are traveling in Europe and do not stay abroad for more than 50 days, you can easily take out international health insurance. There are still a relatively large number of providers of international health insurance for up to a year's travel time. As soon as you crack the magic limit of 1 year, it becomes very confusing when it comes to insurance options.
But let's start at the beginning. As one or the other may have noticed, our Syncro has a German license plate. Due to the legal situation, we have decided to leave Switzerland and move to Germany. The reason for this is as follows: For such a long journey, you need "long-term travel insurance". In principle, this covers all illnesses and accidents abroad with a term of up to 5 years. As a rule, several weeks of vacation "at home" are also included. In Germany, when you take out long-term travel insurance, you can be exempted from the statutory obligation to take out insurance. Unfortunately, this is not possible in Switzerland. In addition, every person in Switzerland is subject to compulsory insurance until they become subject to compulsory insurance somewhere else. This means that it is not enough to simply unsubscribe.
Since a rough estimate ends at around CHF 20,000 for the Swiss basic insurance of a family over 3 years (in addition to travel insurance), it quickly became clear that we would move to Germany to become insured there and then be exempted from the obligation to have insurance. That worked perfectly. You should only note that every health insurance company in Switzerland needs a confirmation of deregistration from the municipality. We received different information in advance on the phone, which led to slight trouble.
The process is relatively simple. You deregister in Switzerland, move to Germany and register there (you usually need a rental agreement and an apartment for this). Then you register with the statutory German health insurance company as a new person (note: people who were previously insured in Germany will inevitably be insured again with the same insurance company before moving abroad). After you are registered and insured, you can take out long-term travel insurance (this requires a German confirmation of residence). As soon as this is completed, you can deregister in Germany (mandatory for stays abroad of 1 year or longer) and you inform the statutory health insurance that you are privately insured from a corresponding date due to the stay abroad.
Kids and traveling?
Traveling with (small) children is not uncommon. Many go on vacation with their children or fly to exotic countries. Such a long journey to perhaps rather foreign countries and far away from civilization as we know it requires a few more considerations.
The most important thing is certainly medical care. Although adults in remote areas also have this problem, this point is even more important for children. We have medication with us for all conceivable emergencies. In addition, the private number of our pediatrician, who we can contact at any time. In addition, we and the children are fully vaccinated, or as far as it was possible for Jonathan. He gets a few vaccinations on the way. How good or bad the local medical care is is certainly a matter of luck, but it can also be better than at home. However, traveling by bus also minimizes the risk of being infected with certain diseases, since the children generally play outside and are not in daycare or school. We also deliberately excluded countries with a high risk of malaria.
The space problem
The place in the bus is certainly also an important point. Our T3 Syncro is small, no question. But we four can sleep inside (if necessary, more). But life clearly takes place in front of and around the bus. In our opinion, considering a larger vehicle (e.g. MB Sprinter or Iveco Daily) brings the advantage of four permanently installed sleeping places and that you can take more things with you. But the Sprinter doesn't really offer much more living space in the case of 2 weeks of rain in Scandinavia. Then the ceiling falls on your head.
What remains is a four-wheel drive truck. Certainly very cool but also associated with many disadvantages. Even the larger vans have clear disadvantages in cities or on narrow paths off-road. A truck stops outside narrow streets of old villages and towns. It swallows much more fuel and all spare parts are much more expensive than with a car. Last but not least, you also need a place at home where you can park it. Shipping or using ferries is also much more expensive.
However, the most important point for us: With the bus you are close to the people and do not swing through an expensive European fortress, e.g. very poor countries (financially). This is also an experience we made with our old T3 Syncro Günther.
IMPORTANT: These are just our thoughts on this and every vehicle is a compromise. Everyone travels as they see fit and like it, the main thing is that they enjoy it.
Climate & Weather
And then there is the weather and the seasons. When the two of us were in Kyrgyzstan in 2017, we didn't think about it that much. We were a little apprehensive about the heat in Kazakhstan in the summer but in the end that wasn't so bad with the dryness (even without air conditioning). With children you have to think carefully about which part of the world you are in, especially in the winter months. Even with a parking heater, cold always means dressing warm and a lot, which is time-consuming and gets on your nerves. That's why we try to be in the south as much as possible during the winter months. And that is not that easy if you look at the atlas and the entry requirements of the Asian countries (quite apart from the Corona Pandemic and the situation in Ukraine). So far we have rescheduled several times and found solutions that we can live with. We will see how everything else develops and let you know in the blog.
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