Road Trips

Let’s talk about road trips

Yesterday Rob and I started our first, long road trip. We had a few road trips in the last year, but none was that long.
We started at ten o’clock yesterday and realised we are missing some stuff. So, first thing – shopping!
We haven’t booked any hotels, just one AirB’n’B in a castle, where we are currently staying. Rob was very exiceted to see me doing camping… Yes, camping. No, I find camping a horrible excperience, not just because it’s cold, but also because you have spiders and ticks everywhere and most of the time it’s uncomfortable. Seriously, who designs a two-men-tent without space for your luggage? Nobody is travelling or hiking with just the tent! But, I said I would try it for another time and I owe him this still, because yesterday evening went from chaotic to a completly fail. The fire could not be started, therefore we had no food. Also we could not find a good place for the tent, so we decided to stay in our car. It was not Rob’s Littlefoot, but my god boy John Snow. Yes, I named my car after that guy, because it’s white… Surprisingly the rear of the car was very comfy.

What to do on a road trip?
Stop at any point that’s catching your eye. We had and still have a plan, where to go. For yesterday it was grapping our small boats and go on a river. But the one way was blocked by fallen trees and we had to go the other way, against the current and were observed by a pair of swans that have might be aggressiv. We were very calm and were going for the long way around them. Luckily we didn’t capsized at any point of our little tour.
In the afternoon and evening we were driving to Castle Eltz and had a … light sleep at one of the parking lots. It was THE BEST decision. We had the best options for pictures in the early morning! And we didn’t need to wait for anything. As we were leaving the castle there were a queue of nearly 200 people!
On the way to Castle Eltz we had a beautiful view on another castle, right beside the river Mosel. After Castle Eltz we went to this Castle, called Castle Thurandt. Yes, Castle Eltz is great, and actually pretty historic, but Thurandt has much more to see and is so much more romantic! Also it is very cheap.

Something you need for a roadtrip is patience. Patience with your travelbuddies or your significant other and also you need it for yourself. Not everything will work right away and especially if you are not going from hotel to hotel, fom one guided tour to another you have to take your time to watch, to listen, to find solutions that fit everyone. Step out of your comfort zone and be patient with yourself in managing this new situation.

All I can say, while I am half asleep for now is, that it’s very good to be back on the road, back in travelling. The last few weeks were heavy and I missed Rob and us as a couple very much. Now, we are back in what we really care: ourselfs and travel.

– Toni

As I am writing these lines I am currently in a castle I booked on Air BnB for a Rrpad trip we are doing right now, so it is a quite fitting blog entry. Also because we are on the road again please excuse the late posting. And yes we are travelling again and we are super lucky and happy 😀

Rob’s Recipe for an Amazing Road trip

Atleast 3 hours of a drive preferably with a scenic route. Anything under three hours I wouldn’t consider a road trip because after a roadtrip you must be exhausted from the drive 😉 The scenic route is a must have because, as you know: “The route is the goal”. Driving along side a beautiful coastline or through a breathtaking forrest down a mountain, is so much better then driving down the motorway with nothing to see for miles.

1-4 people to share the ride with. The best road trip stories are experienced by a group of people. The things that are happening on the road can be pretty hilarious sometimes. And also it is nice to have someone to talk to while driving.

1 – 2 Bags full of snacks and drinks. It does not *and I have to repeat here * does not matter how old you are when you go on a road trip your snack bags have to look like an unsupervised 8 year old was given a hundred bucks in a candy store! You got me?

A playlist with atleast 100 Songs on it. The songs on a road trip playlist are special because those are your guilty pleasure songs. You must be able to sing all of them in full volume. If the lyrics you are singing are right or wrong does not matter, what matters is that you performed the hell out of “I want it that way” by the Backstreet Boys! Backstreets back alright?!

1 calm moment and 1 moment where you have a deep and emotional talk with your road trip buddy. Both of those moments will come at a road trip. There is somewhat of an unwritten law of physic or somthing like this about that. Both of those moments will come and will pass and you will enjoy them somehow. So don’t force them.

Depending on your route: 1 weird animal entcounter. On all the road trips Toni and I went on combined we saw: Deer, Rabbits, Horses, Ponys, Alpacas, Lamas, Swans, Ducks, a Suicidal Owl, Dogs (three and four legged), Cats, Beavers, Otters, a suicidal pigeon and a drunk guy dressed as the back part of a horse. So to see a random animal on the side of the road is pretty common.

1 amazing adventure mobil that will carry you to the end of your journey: Through boring parts of the motorway, through traffic stops and stop and goes, through toilet breaks, up mountains and down again, across bridges, up a volcano so your buddy Frodo can return his jewlery, Through that weird hick town were people will look weird at you for wearing a shirt while driving, across all roads and into all parking spaces and out of them again until you will finally arrive at your destination 13 minutes early because Goggle Maps can suck it. My trusted 4×4 Littlefoot is such a sar and I love him.

Shake everything good through and serve with a side of responsibility and you have yourself a tasty road trip for you and your friends.

-Rob