Vantastic Lukas: Following the migratory birds

Project “4×4 Van”

It's been a long time since I last hit the keys. After all the writing, whether books or blogs, I needed some variety in the form of craft activities. Even though the last van expansion was only a year ago, I decided to start a new conversion project during my last trip at the beginning of the year. In practice, when traveling and living in a van, it quickly becomes apparent what works and what doesn't. For this reason I decided to build a new van. By selling my last Sprinter, I was able to realize my long-held dream of an all-wheel drive vehicle. Since the vehicle market is currently limited, especially for cars of this type, and my budget was limited, the search was not easy. In the end I found what I was looking for at a small dealer in the Czech Republic, whose offer I didn't hesitate for long. After a viewing including a test drive, the deal was done. The expansion began shortly afterwards - at the beginning of May. The project lasted until the beginning of October, during which I was able to work on the van more or less full time.

The rediscovered beauty

In addition to the expansion and a few other appointments, I regularly went to my home river, the Elbe - where my fishing career began. She gave me a feeling of freedom that I had rarely felt in all these years. After the many large, often very wild bodies of water that I fished during my travels, interest in fishing in local lakes, some of which were very busy, had completely waned. Spring on the Elbe started better than expected but then turned into an almost fishless summer. The fall and thus the end of my stay at home went extremely well. The river showed me that nothing is calculable and predictable. As water levels, weather conditions and seasons change, the underwater cards are reshuffled and in the end all you know is that you don't know anything - just like outside of fishing 😉

migratory bird

Even though I really enjoyed my time at home, after a while I realize that it's time to leave again. The past connected to my homeland and my changed perspective on many things are among the reasons why I keep moving away. Because of my lifestyle, which is still rather unfamiliar to many people, it is not always easy to meet like-minded people, especially in small towns. This is much more likely on the road. You always meet logically similar people where you are drawn to. Whenever you do things that you love from your heart, you find connection and resonance.

I was able to achieve my previously planned goal of heading back to warmer climes at the end of October. So I was first drawn to the promised land in France. In the north of the country I met my friend Christoph, with whom the first fishing session of the tour was planned. I quickly threw this plan overboard when I saw the many anglers on the agreed water and the weather forecast on my cell phone. On a spur of the moment I quickly drove south to find better weather. On the way, but already in the south, a loud whistle when I accelerated announced that my car was once again defective. It seems as if I would be able to take all the problems and quirks of the model series with me and deal with them. In a quiet place I diagnosed a broken screw on the exhaust manifold. I ordered the parts, which I hope to receive from Germany soon. Then I have to repair the damage “on the road” before I continue on my way. My apprenticeship as an automotive mechatronics technician definitely pays off.

I'm excited to see when I can get the rods in the water. The downside to traveling in such a comfortably equipped van is that you are reluctant to swap it for a tent, especially when the temperatures are already cool. This limits the number of possible fishing spots many times over.