From Poland to Norway
(First published in Issue 3, August 2021) We are Peter and Mary, a couple from Poland. Our story began 5 years ago when we decided to change our lives and move abroad. We chose Norway even though we didn’t know much about the country. We had heard about the fjords, the northern lights, and the midnight sun, but that was all.
In February 2016, we packed our entire life into boxes and, with our cat Stefcia, boarded the ferry to Sweden, and then traveled further to Southern Norway. The idea of van life had been with us for a long time. Peter, an enthusiast of caravans and later campervans, carried this dream with him for a long time. Our dream was to build our own home on wheels.
This dream started to come true two years ago. In the spring of 2019, we became the owners of a Peugeot Boxer. Our tiny home was about to become a reality. Besides working full time, we spent our free time converting the van into a living space. We were motivated to finish the van before our vacation. The long evenings and weekends of hard work eventually paid off, and after 9 and a half weeks, we were ready for our first excursion in the campervan.
During our 2 weeks of van life, we woke up every day in a different place. Norway is a perfect country to start your adventure with van life. There is a law here called “Allemannsretten,” which stands for “Right of public access.” It means that you can camp for the night anywhere in the countryside, forests, or mountains, as long as you stay at least 150 meters away from the nearest inhabited house or cabin. There are many such places in Norway. The sky is the limit :)
Imagine waking up at the foot of a massive fjord and by nightfall falling asleep on a sandy beach with azure water. It is no joke that Lofoten is called the Caribbean of Europe. White sand, beautiful sun, and crystal clear, turquoise water – all this is widely available in Norway.
Unfortunately, the holiday ended way too soon, and we had to return to our domestic life of work. However, we both knew that this was not the end but only the beginning. As time passed, we tried to get the most out of our campervan and feel the freedom we experienced during the holidays more often, so we took many weekend trips.
At the beginning of 2020, we decided that we wanted the camper to become our full-time home and van life to become our lifestyle. We enjoyed Northern Norway so much during our adventure the previous summer that we wanted to see more, and when I say more, I mean all of it. So in June last year, we packed up all of our belongings into the van and started an adventure, which, as it turned out, continues to this day. The funny thing is that at the time we weren’t very experienced travelers. As you can imagine, life was busy and mostly occupied by work, but once we made the decision, we were forced to jump into the deep water.
At the beginning, it was difficult for us to find our way in the new country. Each trip was also associated with finding care for our cat. That’s why we wanted to find a solution to make the journey with a cat as simple and safe as possible. Stefcia had not traveled much in a car before. The first long trip for her was when we moved to Norway. She didn’t take it well. However, with time and our trips between Poland and Norway, she got used to the road. Now she is a real van life cat. She loves traveling and, apart from the camper, has also traveled by plane and ferry.
We were afraid of how she would cope with moving into such a small and confined space, but she adapted to it on the first evening. When we are not in the camper, she usually spends her time in the same place where we leave her – sleeping on the couch. Life on the road became our reality. We enjoyed and appreciated each morning because it gave us new experiences to look forward to. We got rid of most of our possessions and lived in 7 m², and for the first time in our lives, we felt that we had more of everything – more time, more joy, and only happy thoughts. We began to appreciate small, simple things in life like a warm shower, clean water in the van, or seeing the sunrise or the twinkling stars at night. Norway provides an amazing visual experience of ever-changing landscapes and at the same time is very van life-friendly. Clean, drinkable water can be drawn straight from the stream, and you can camp practically anywhere.
Our journey lasted 5 months. We visited the most popular places like Trolltunga, Preikestolen, and Trollstigen. We saw moose, reindeer, and countless sheep. We swam in the cool waters of the ocean and climbed high mountains. We pushed our limits by doing things we didn’t know before. During the trip, photography and filming became our passion, which we continue to this day. We wanted to capture memories of this journey so they would stay with us forever.
When the weather got rough, we decided to temporarily put van life on hold to wait out the snowstorms, coldness, polar night, and constant darkness – these are not the best conditions for living in a van. However, as soon as the beautiful winter arrived, we returned to our home on wheels. Right now, we are exploring Northern Norway, this time in the winter edition. Our base is Senja, the island that is said to be Norway in a nutshell. We couldn’t find a better place to continue this exciting adventure.
