Turin, Italy (by camper)
A friend from Peru was travelling in Europe and visited me in Switzerland. We explored some local places. Then we continued to Italy where I dropped her off so she could explore more. On the way South we stopped in Lugano , a Swiss city with Italian vibes and also the Italian speaking part. While I was working in the camper van, my Peruvian friend was exploring the town and lakeside a bit. The day afterwards we continued to Milano, where I dropped her off and continued to Turin. I parked the camper closeby the city centre and went to explore a bit after I finished my work.
Cinque Terre, Italy
The next day, I left to go south along the coast. After driving on the highways and through many tunnels, I arrived at Cinque Terre. It was packed, and all the campsites were full, so I went a bit more out to the coast and found a spot on the side of the street to stay for a night. Since it was so packed, I left the next day immediately (I don’t like crowded and touristy places).
Pisa, Italy
In the afternoon, I arrived in Pisa, famous for it’s leaning tower. Before I started to explore the city, I had to finish some work since I had been driving a lot for the past few days. So, I had some focused hours of work and then headed out. I met a Couchsurfer in the city centre and explored with him a bit, including the leaning tower. After it got dark, we went for food. Some really nice Italian food – love it.
Florenz, Italy
Next on the route was Florenz, a city I skipped the last time I was in Italy. So it was time to visit this city as well. My mother was there once and loved it. The architecture and vibe there are charming indeed. The weather was so hot I decided to rest a bit from the camper van life, and I needed a shower. So I booked myself a hotel room and parked the camper outside on the street. I went out for some walks in the city to see all the buildings and for sure had some Italian ice cream. Despite exploring, I also did a lot of work on my laptop.
Padua, Italy
After some days in the big city and away from the camper, I returned to my tiny home and drove outside into the countryside. Upcoming was a meeting with a good friend in the Northern part of Italy and a weekend away. To really be able to enjoy that trip without having to check my laptop, I really needed to finish some work. So the next days was really focused on my laptop. First outside on a campsite, then in a Co-Working in Padua. I had my private office in the Regus office in Padua. Sometimes during my workday, suddenly the fire alarm went off and the full building had to be evacuated, only to find out that it was a false alarm and wait for the Building supervisor to return from his lunch break. Italian style I guess. Good that I grabbed my laptop before leaving the office so I could continue my work down in the lobby before we got released into the office.
Cividale del Friuli, Italy
The day came to meet my Italian friend I met in Fuerteventura a year before and shared a villa to co-working. We connected and had the same perspective of the world and work ethic. So I was looking forward to seeing his village where he grew up close to the Slovenian border and also talking about a lot of things. I knew the time fill be amazing and so it was.
On my first day of arrival, he picked me up with his so Italian vintage car, a FIAT 500. He brought me to a parking spot where I could leave my camper van and had a great view down to the village. Then we continued to a vinery since this is very typical in the area. Next up, it was my turn to drive the car. I had never driven such an old car, and it was quite challenging with the clutch at first. We drove back into the centre and saw bridge which divides the centre. At the same day there was a historical (knight) festival happening in the village. So very crowded. We went to get some traditional local food and continued talking.
Tarvis, Italy (roadtrip)
Upcoming a weekend trip in the Italian mountains where we could join up in a mountain cottage for a night. It’s in a skiing area closeby “Tarvis”. It was a nice getaway to relax. But the next day, we already felt bored at the top and decided to walk down and drive around with the camper van. We went to some lakes and into Slovenia. They have great nature there. We for example stopped at a bridge called “Brv čez Sočo”. My friend did some FPV drone shots for the local tourism region there and it looked pretty amazing.
Trieste, Italy
After this mountain trip, we headed back South to the sea. It’s crazy how quickly the environment can change. From these blue waters, skiing areas go directly to the beaches and the Mediterranean Sea. Trieste is the last city on the sea which belongs to Italy. Afterwards, there’s the border to Slovenia, which has a small sea access there, and directly after, Croatia.
Ljubljana, Slovenia
From Trieste, I continued to Slovenia. Crossing through the countryside and stopping at the caves of Postojna, a 25km long cave system and a top tourist site. I went into them. It was a perfect refreshment inside since the temperature is the same all year round the same and out, it was crazy hot that summer.
My goal was to reach Ljubljana the next day. I had already driven in that direction but stopped somewhere in a big parking lot in the middle of nowhere to cook, work, and sleep. Early in the morning the next day, I continued to the capital. After I arrived there, I directly parked in the centre and went to a co-working to have a proper working day.
In the evening, I met up with a friend from Ljubljana I know from my last visit. It’s my second time in the city, and I have already explored most touristy places, so I was keen on just walking around, chilling and talking with locals.
Bled, Slovenia
Next up North into the Alps of Slovenia. Some famous places are there, like this lake with an island in the middle, with a church, or Kranjska Gora, famous for all the people who follow the Ski World Cup. The area is a lovely one. There is a lot of nature and for sure mountains. I spend some time driving around with the camper van. Going through the curvy mountain roads and passing by river and lakes.
Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Italy
On the way home, my friend from Germany came close to the Slovenian/Austrian border by train, and I picked her up. We continued our drive towards Switzerland and stopped in the Italian mountains – the Dolomites. It is also a very special region with stunning views. We drove trought the small Italian villages with a lot of carme and stopped by for “gelato”. Then we continued to a special parking spot. A place high up in the mountains, just beneath a very famous constellation of mountains peaks, the so called “Tre Cime di Lavaredo”. After arriving there we had a walk around to see it before it got dark. Later we went down into the village to have some Italian pizza. Next to a small lake (Lago di Misurina) with some hotels/restaurant besides it. Stunning view as well and a bit touristy.
Innsbruck, Austria
The next day, we did a little hike and saw some stone formations. It was a hot day and we were happy to be able to walk a lot in the forest. We only had half a day and needed to continue driving to reach home by night. We left Italy and continued in Austria until we reached Innsbruck. There we researched a nice restaurant we stopped and had late lunch. It’s a horse farm which runs a restaurant as well. So you sit and eat while watching the horses. I love the Austrian kitchen and was happy to get a very traditional dish as well as a local soft drink. “Schlutzkrapfen” is a very similiar dish I know from my region as well. Grandmothers best dish – my favourite. And this Tyrolean comes very close. With this “Almdudler”, a Austrian lemonade from herbs. I was in heaven, great food. New strength for another 2.5 hours of driving until we arrive home.
