We knew from the start that practicality would rule. Big Paul has only limited space and what we carry has to be uncomplicated and multifunctional by nature.
Actually, some of the stuff we had on board was a nice-to-have, but proved dispensable. We kissed it goodbye and threw it into a Swedish garbage container.
Going natural
I find quite an amusement with some of the videos on You Tube that show van life in Insta style.
All these extremely good looking, well coiffed people who never go in front of the camera before they have powdered their nose and put on their eye lashes.
Their vans are parked under ever sunny skies, overlooking well-groomed beaches. They are super modern, nicely polished and some even carry decorative potted plants.
Do these guys ever come in contact with reality?
Compared to them, Big Paul looks like a Hippie vehicle from the Woodstock era.
We are the masters of improvisation. We neither have the time nor the energy or interest in looking fabulous or putting on a show. We like the „natural“ approach to van life.
"Friluftsliv" is so recreative.
In Scandinavia, where everybody seems to love „friluftsliv“ – spending as much time as possible in the outdoors – and the weather is moody, they really take it easy. And we cherish it!
They all know, you will wear yourself out. You and your nice clothes will get dirty. You will sweat. Bloodsuckers of various kinds will lurk in the bushes waiting for a chance to start munching on you.
You may realize you urgently need a shower and what you do is jump into one of these wonderful little lakes, nippy as they are, and take a dive.
It‘s refreshing, uncomplicated and extremely recreative!
Daring to go on a Swedish diet
For us, it was very easy to give up „beauty“. The second thing that went down the drain was „healthy“ nourishment.
We decided to try some of the popular dishes that everybody knows, who has ever been to a famous Swedish furniture store: Köttbullar and Fiskbullar, or meatballs and fishballs.
When it comes to dessert, you have to know that Swedes prefer three levels of taste: Sweet, sweeter, sweetest.
I probably don’t have to go into details – we tried many … Just take a look.
