The first time we visited Germany was in winter, December. I love cold places, and that was the first time I drove in the snow. It was quite an experience.
We managed to visit Füssen and the Neuschwanstein Castle, and then we moved on to Munich and Nuremberg. All of them were beautiful, but I left Germany with the impression that the place was too cold and the weather too severe 😅.
The second time was last year, in July 2022. It was a completely different experience. We crossed the country, entering from Luxembourg and heading towards Denmark. It was summertime, super hot, and it was our first year in Marmita.
During this second experience, we also had some challenges:
- Welt Zone that is an area of low carbon emission where we could not enter with our old RV. In the big centers this area can be considerably large so we were a bit limited while moving around with Marmita.
- Mobile data options were really poor. Max we found in a pre-paid plan was 20Gb for 20€
However, we also had great experiences and discoveries — We learned how vegan-friendly the country can be, and we had the opportunity to live like locals. We met a friend who has been living in Germany for a long time, so we were able to experience the place almost as locals. It was amazing to see how Germans enjoy nature, especially during the summer.
We left the country with a different perspective, realizing that it has some restrictions but is truly worth exploring.
Now, in July 2023, we are visiting Germany for the third time, and I can say that we are in love with this place ❤️.
After one year of living on the road, we learned that, in general, it’s best to avoid big cities. They can be a source of stress when moving around in an RV due to weight, height and carbon emission restrictions, difficulty finding parking, and various other disadvantages. So now, we don’t even consider entering big cities, which made us realize that the challenge we faced last year wasn’t really a challenge — problem solved!
Regarding mobile data — a crucial point for those who live and work on the road — Magenta (formerly T-Mobile) solved our problem. They offer unlimited data with hotspot allowed for 100€ per month. It’s not cheap, but it is what it is 🤷🏻♂️.
The mood this time is different. With both challenges solved, we are free to fully enjoy the place!
So, despite making some bad decisions in the past that led to suboptimal experiences in Germany, we have now managed to amend the situation and enjoy the country to the fullest!
More to come in the next posts. See you!
