So far we have never really traveled through Europe with Shujaa… only in a quick highway transit to Morocco or to the usual seaports for shipping to other continents. Since we will not start our next big trip towards the Silk Road until March next year, the question also arises as to where Shujaa will stay over the winter, protected from frost. Barcelona is a good option, also because we can then start practically on our doorstep.
So we decide to combine the transfer from Munich (where Shujaa has had a wellness treatment, both for the living habitat as well as the chassis) to Barcelona with an extensive tour of France. Alsace, the castles of the Loire and the Bordeaux region with the Cote d’Argent are on our agenda. Then we head over small, lonely mountain roads through the Pyrenees towards Barcelona.
In fact, this trip is completely different from our previous ones: We manage to do “Living like God in France” quite well, which – however – isn’t particularly difficult. We eat excellent food, Karin can’t walk past a bakery or patisserie without bursting into excitement, and we often shop at small village markets with lots of homemade products. We also have an intensive cultural program: unfortunately, the castles of the Loire are hidden under a thick blanket of fog the whole time. But simply beautiful and, above all, very stress-free compared to our previous, long travel stages on other continents.
Surprisingly, this also applies to traveling with Shujaa itself: We always find good parking spaces very easily and despite the sometimes narrow roads and the numerous weight and access restrictions (which we constantly have to ignore in order to get to our destination 😉) we always get through without any problems. But it is also clear that the advantages of an 18-ton three-axle expedition vehicle, which apply in many regions of the world (extreme self-sufficiency, robustness, off-road capability), turn into disadvantages in Europe (high fuel consumption with high diesel costs, poor maneuverability on the many small roads, no need for great autonomy). Nevertheless, we really enjoyed showing Shujaa our homeland in more detail.
What we particularly noticed in comparison with our many trips to other continents is the diversity of Europe in a very small space: you drive from Germany to Alsace and you are in a completely different world, the Loire is completely different to Bordeaux, etc. On other continents, the respective countries are also different, but not in such a small space! In any case, our trip has made us want to explore more in Europe. And of course the cleanliness – hardly any rubbish and respect for nature, as well as an unlimited choice of food at the highest level at overall reasonable pricing.
We are looking forward to the start of the next travel adventure in March next year. We’ll travel through Turkey, Georgia and Russia to Kazakhstan and from there through the so-called STAN countries (Usbekistan, Tajikistan, Kirgistan) and the Pamir Highway to Mongolia. Then through China to Nepal, where we plan to store Shujaa for a break an go home. At least that’s our plan!
