Travel update, a story about ungrateful customers and 5x customer experience inspiration from Italy.

Our journey so far in numbers:

• 4 countries
• 48 days on a trip
• 37 sleeping places
• 3746 km covered
• Walked 220 km

What does that do to a person? What do you learn, what do you discover? A lot, it turns out. So, it's time for an update combined with customer experience inspiration and a story about ungrateful customers.

Throwback to the first 3 weeks.

Driven by a crazy idea to 'get the most out of it', we are traveling fast and intensely. From the Netherlands to Germany to Italy in 6 days. To give you an idea: in 5 days we visited one of the largest gorges in Germany, headed into the mountains of Italy, visited Venice in 4 hours! and stopped at 3 other destinations in the meantime.

The consequence? You can't process all those impressions, resulting in a constant feeling of fatigue and overstimulation. My body indicated this as well, because in addition to more pain, I developed all sorts of other ailments…

At the start of week 3, we stayed in one place for 5 days for the first time, and that was when the fatigue really kicked in. It was clear it was time for a different approach.

From 'going on vacation' to 'traveling'

I had planned it all out nicely beforehand. I would get up every morning, meditate, do yoga, and then spend an hour doing strategic work on Customerry. Mondays and Tuesdays are our scheduled workdays, but after work there would still be time for walking and enjoying ourselves. We would fill the other days with traveling around and exploring. Eating healthy every day, going to bed on time—in short, the perfect camper life. In the 'dead' hours, I would find time to write, read, or podcast.

You guessed it: none of those wonderful plans came to fruition during the first few weeks. Instead, I learned a hard lesson in letting go and surrender. Because what turned out to be the case? I had absolutely no desire for, and no room for, a straitjacket of obligations, and over the past few weeks, I indulged far too often in all sorts of Italian treats—not-so-endo-proof—accompanied by the necessary Aperol Spritzes. Moreover, there was absolutely no time, and even less inclination, to think strategically, let alone write or read. I felt like a failure and, above all, an ungrateful customer of my own idea... Frustrated, I called a friend who once moved here and a few other vanlifers. Their advice? Let it go, let it be, and it will come on its own. And indeed, for the past week, I have felt like making time for 'my' work again.

Looking back now, I realize that we were in 'holiday mode' during those first few weeks, and that we are now more in 'travel mode'. We are going even slower. We are cutting more destinations than we are adding. We are making time to do one thing at a time, at a leisurely pace. We don't have to see everything at every place. We sometimes sit down while eating gelato...

A realistic view of #vanlife

Over the past few weeks, I woke up to, among other things:

• The top of a mountain
• In the middle of a nature park
• Next to a centuries-old castle
• On a cliff coast with playful dolphins in front of us

Fantastic? Of course! But just as well, we slept in ugly grey car parks or next to a mass of barking dogs. Just like we once left in the middle of the night because of a suspicious alarm, and were kept awake until the early hours of the morning by fireworks…

In addition, camper life is also a life of solving and figuring out many things every day. From where you will sleep that night, how you will do the laundry this week, searching for a supermarket with a parking space where you can actually park, to where you can empty your chemical toilet.

Those are pretty much daily practical matters, but you also have a 'household' to run. Cooking, doing laundry, washing up, cleaning the sink regularly. And naturally, you also read a lot about the destination you are currently in, try to figure out which walks are beautiful and what you definitely want to see.

Suffice it to say, life in a camper isn't always a bed of roses. Do we regret it? Nope, quite the opposite actually; we're not ungrateful customers here!

My key insights after 7 weeks of traveling

Over the last few days, we have also been talking more about our insights so far and how we want to / can deal with this in the future. It is all still very provisional and preliminary, but I would still like to share a few things with you:

We live a life of obligations

You have to maintain the garden, wash the windows, lead a successful life, enjoy yourself, grow your business, exercise x number of times, sleep x number of hours...

But is that really the case? Are all those things necessary? For the past 7 weeks, apart from the actual work agreements made, we haven't had to do anything here. And that felt very strange at first. By now, it feels liberating, and we fully realize that we are mainly imposing a lot of 'musts' on ourselves. Whether and how I will take this with me after this trip, I have no idea, but for now, it feels particularly good.

When I look at the Italians, I see how they apply 'enjoying' and 'doing nothing' to their daily lives. People work here, but they also take time to enjoy themselves. No rushing to lunch or doing the shopping quickly, but taking the time for all the 'tasks' of life. They live a simpler life, to be sure, but perhaps richer than the classic Western one?

You can do much more than you think

I have already broken quite a few patterns here over the last few weeks. From a fear of heights (hello cliff walks and silly suspension bridges ;)) to a more fundamental fear for my health. But you can, and so much more is possible than you think. For example, I was under enormous stress beforehand about the financial aspect, but so far that hasn't turned out to be a problem at all either.

You need very little.

30% of what is currently in our bin hasn't been used even once. And that's even though we did two rounds of clearing things out before we left because we had too much weight... 2 plates, 2 cups, 2 bowls... It's all enough. We are already wondering what we are going to do with all the stuff currently living in our attic when we get back...

The impact of stress is enormous.

The loss of stress, worrying far less about the state of the world, does wonders for my body. Despite all kinds of minor ailments (which will always be there), I feel just great most days. The masses of exercise and hours in nature have a healing effect. Just being, realizing that you are walking through gorges and mountains that have been there for centuries, works wonders.

Traveling makes you pause, strangely enough.

Somehow, we are reflecting more on all sorts of things. Relationships, friends, the global stage. It is all there, but we worry less? The realization that you are just a grain of sand, and that the world simply keeps turning, is sinking in more and more. We miss people; our inner circle has become very small and selective in recent years, but we certainly miss those who are in it. We video call and WhatsApp, but we notice that it is just not the same.

So, what's the deal with that ungrateful customer?

Exactly. One thing stands out enormously to us, especially in the more touristy spots. Mass tourists are ungrateful customers. In an attempt to take the perfect, Instagrammable photo, they climb onto altars, touch frescoes, hug centuries-old stalagmites in caves, and shamelessly stand for hours at the same viewpoint (including changing clothes and the like). When they are subsequently reminded of the rules, they even get angry. Or what about the German lady who, a few weeks ago, thought that they could 'just abolish the siesta, couldn't they?' so she could go shopping in the afternoon?

That sounds very judgmental of me, and I am sometimes guilty of stopping in the middle of the street to take a look myself, mind you. But even in the low season, we see things here that make you think: this can't go on forever. Traveling is fantastic, and going on vacation is too, but if we all want to visit the same places en masse, I fear it will eventually have to be done differently.

5x customer experience inspiration from Italy

Regalo

aka the Italian word for gift. You get plenty of them here, especially in the south. Mandarins from the garden, olives, freshly baked bread. Or shall we bake a pizza for you too? I am not blind to the poverty in the south, but the people give so much. Yesterday I was walking through the supermarket trying to figure out which pastries were on display. The baker spotted me and quickly slipped me one to taste. Can you imagine that at our Carrefour? Giving without expecting anything in return; it feels uncomfortable at first, but oh so beautiful. Surprising and amazing —that’s something they certainly know how to do here!

Flexible rules

Camper sites here have check-in and check-out times, but these are more like 'recommended rules'. In practice, they often deviate from these at the customer's request. "I have a meeting until 3 pm, can we stay until then?" Of course! No reservations about 'if we do that for you, people will take advantage of it' and all those kinds of objections. Simply put: is it possible? Will it make the customer happy? Then go for it!

The warm welcome

From campsites, to agricultural campers, to private farms, to free parking in a small village: everywhere and always, there is that warm, heartfelt greeting. Villagers pointing you the way to the best ice cream parlor, campsite managers quickly taking you to the pharmacy in their own car. Nothing is too much trouble here. People here are incredibly helpful and welcoming. If, like us, you make a little effort to speak the language, they are also very charmed. I have already asked a few people why they are so friendly and helpful, even if you are just a passing tourist. Their response was unanimous: you tell friends and family, and then they come too, and that is good for our business. Word of mouth; you don't have to teach them that here!

Always time for a chat

Despite driving like maniacs and often appearing rushed, the opposite is usually true. Piano, piano, there's always time for a chat too. They rarely let themselves get rushed, and as a result, they pay more attention to their customers' questions. The difference between our focus on operational efficiency and their focus on the more human aspect strikes us greatly. Could it all be faster? Certainly, but why would you? #foodforthought

Processes and paperwork

However, if you need to arrange something here, you'd best bring a good dose of patience. A few weeks ago, I had to go to the doctor and then submit a sample. Read: I first had to go to the lab to request a sample collection, get a container that I then had to bring back the next day. Then pay, results in the mailbox within 5 days IF it was negative. No email within 5 days? Return physically to the lab, pay extra, and only then receive your results physically on a printed piece of paper... So, a touch more efficiency and process optimization wouldn't hurt.

General tip: don't wait to live the life of your dreams, it is highly recommended!

See you next time,

Sarah