Six hours drive from the winter wonderland of the Bavarian Alps into spring.
We started early in the morning in 15 centimeters of freshly fallen snow and temperatures around freezing, heading for the lowlands.
The Autobahn was busy, but traffic was rolling. Big Paul obviously liked the continuous flow of the moderate speed at about 100 to 110 km/h (about 65 mph) and happily purred along.
In the afternoon, we arrived in a paradise of daffodils and blackthorn blossoms. Down here, you can even see little palm and fig trees every once in a while.
This is „Rheinhessen“, the largest coherent winegrowing area in Germany. Near the river Rhine, spring comes early, summers are kind of Mediterranian and autumns mild and sunny – great for the wine to grow to full richness.
Great also for people who want to work outside, all around an old VW van. The nights are still a bit nippy now, but the days are warm and gentle and we are really making headway with restoring and equipping the car.
The perfect workplace for introverts
While our friend is spending her vacation on the sandy beaches of the lovely, colorful island of Lanzarote (Canary Islands), we are house-sitting and enjoying all the benefits her home provides. Perfect for introverted people like us.
Thick walls surround us as her property is an old winery from the 19th century, maybe even older. In the cellar you can still find old wooden wine casks, of course not in use anymore.
Her yard is fully enclosed and we can park Big Paul behind locked doors. No disturbance or distractions from the outside.
She also has a big workshop, so just in case we need a tool, it’s all there. Actually, my partner brought all the tools necessary, but it’s always good to have a backup.
Introducing the queen of the house
First task though was making friends with Her Majesty.
The cat.
Isn’t it funny, her name is Freedom?!
Yes, and as a matter of fact Freedom is calling. All the time.
For food, for opening doors, for closing doors, for caressing, for company. In a split second she integrated the two of us into her domestic staff.
Fortunately, I used to be a cat servant myself for a long time. So, I know how to please the queen.
In case you are not familiar with cats – they are all like that. Once you know how to take care of their special demands they are very amused and make lovely, patient and tolerant friends.
And they make excellent role models and teach you how to be authentic, self-reliant and determined while selling yourself to the audience with an ever charming and joyfull attitude.
Even queens have to face challenges now and again
But of course, there are certain limitations. Even for cats.
So, after a while, Freedom had to pass a real challenge.
When we came back from food shopping, we brought fresh rotisserie chicken along for a fast and tasty lunch.
The owner of the chicken and pork leg stand obviously was an expert on „fragrance marketing“. Leaving the supermarket, we hadn’t been able to resist, but followed our nose until we found him somewhere around the corner.
Freedom must have had a similar idea when she received us back, nose and tail high in the air, eyes big like soup bowls, purring like a steam engine.
And then we put the chicken on the table …
How this was handled, you can see on video (spoiler: it was not to the cat’s satisfaction).
Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X29dcfJ4lK4
Well fed and ready to work
After the delicious meal we could engage in the first task on Big Paul, which was the most awkward one:
Cleaning up.
I know, there are people who think cleaning is meditative and a good chance to calm down. Maybe you like it, too.
For me, it’s different. It’s Sisyphean work and stressful. I know right from the beginning, the pleasure a clean place provides won’t last long. Which is frustrating and usually makes me procrastinate the whole procedure.
With Big Paul though, it was a little different. We wanted to remove all the grime and dirt that had crept in the holes and cavities underneath the inside paneling. We wanted to get rid of the old stains and smells from 13 years of postal service. We wanted our Big Paul to rejuvenate.
So, we unscrewd and removed all the covers in the loading space – which sounded simple but took quite a while.
Then we cleared the floor and let the scrubbing party begin.
Hell, what a workout! My biceps is still complaining.
Anyway, after two days of hard work we could celebrate the result.
Big Paul looked and smelled (!) so much better.
Insulation and ventilation
Next big thing was the insulation. We decided to put the insulating material on the sides, the doors and the ceiling. This would not only help with the temperature but also have a certain sound absorbing effect.
Luckily, it didn’t take too long to cut and attach it.
Then the upper part of the seperating wall had to come off in order to get some ventilation in the loading space.
If you want to take a look how we did all this – here’s the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo93hygOmic
At the end of the first week, all preparations were completed. We were ready to compile all the stuff for the next milestone.
This is:
Measuring, cutting and hanging the wallpaper.
Don’t grin! We want a cozy atmosphere inside our van!
But first of all, we’ll take a break and continue next week.
