Over the years, that passion kept growing as I searched for my ultimate dream off-road vehicle. Before long, I stumbled across videos on the early days of YouTube about an event called Abenteuer & Allrad. Literally translated, it means “Adventure & All-Wheel Drive.”

For years, I followed the event and its community from afar. In 2022, I finally decided it was time to visit, but unfortunately I had broken my ankle and had to cancel those plans.

Last weekend, it finally happened.

After years of waiting, I made the trip together with my friend Jeff. He brought his camper van, and I brought my tent. After about four hours of driving, we arrived in Bad Kissingen, Germany, on Friday, June 5th, around 10 a.m., where the event was being held.

The first thing that surprised us was the sheer size of the camping areas. There were four different campgrounds, and the first two were already full. We ended up on Camping Area 3, which was roughly the size of five or six football fields.

The campsite was packed with every type of expedition vehicle, camper, van, truck, and overland rig imaginable. Different sizes, heights, and designs everywhere you looked. We couldn’t stop staring.

Before long, we found a spot, parked Jeff’s self-converted camper, rolled out the awning, and set up my tent. After that, we enjoyed a late homemade brunch while taking in the view and admiring the countless custom-built vehicles surrounding us.

And let me tell you… Germans are incredibly passionate and dedicated when it comes to overlanding and camper travel.

Despite the enormous number of vehicles and visitors, the campsite felt remarkably peaceful. It was something I hadn’t expected.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and wandering around the campground, admiring everyone’s creations and gathering ideas for my future camper project. That was one of the main reasons I came. But we certainly weren’t the only ones. Everywhere you looked, people were strolling around for exactly the same reason: to admire, learn, and get inspired. It was fantastic.

The next morning, we took it easy. I made breakfast, and afterward we jumped on one of the free shuttle buses heading to the exhibition grounds. The moment we entered, we were speechless.

The scale of the show and the amount of things on display were almost impossible to describe. Everything was there: from bolts and construction materials to camping accessories, vehicle upgrades, and fully built expedition vehicles.

We spent five hours walking non-stop and still didn’t manage to see everything.

I’m a complete nerd when it comes to this stuff, but even for me it became overwhelming at times simply because there was so much to see.

The day couldn’t have been better. The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was incredible, and everyone was genuinely excited to be there.

You might assume that an event like this is attended mostly by men, but that wasn’t the case at all. Plenty of women were there too, enthusiastically exploring vehicles, discussing solutions, and searching for accessories and upgrades for their own camper projects. It was genuinely great to see.

The exhibition was every bit as impressive as the campsite itself. Everywhere we went, people were friendly, helpful, and sincerely interested in each other’s vehicles and travel stories. We both absolutely loved it.

Jeff was incredibly happy and grateful that I introduced him to this world. The experience only made him even more excited to continue improving his camper. As for me, I was simply grateful to finally experience Abenteuer & Allrad after all these years. Sharing it with a good friend made it even better, and it has given me a fresh boost of motivation for my own future self-build camper project.

So stay tuned… it’s going to be epic.

One thing is certain: next year, we’ll be back.

Thank you, Abenteuer & Allrad, for an unforgettable weekend!

Last Friday, the time had finally come. We set off for Barcelona to pick up Nacho from storage. At the end of my previous trip, I had left him there and flown back to the Netherlands. The plan was to continue traveling from Barcelona… but plans changed.

A good friend of mine, Jeff, had just finished converting his van into a camper, built to carry his motorcycle. Together with his brother, Marlon, they joined me on this trip. We left on Friday, March 27 at midnight and drove non-stop to Barcelona. Every three hours we switched drivers, stretched our legs, grabbed a drink, and occasionally refuelled.

The weather was terrible. Through Belgium and France we dealt with heavy rain and even wet snow. About three hours before reaching the Spanish border, the weather finally cleared up. It was obvious we had entered the Mediterranean region. But then came strong wind gusts, so we could not maintain high speed. We arrived in Barcelona around 9:30 PM after about 21 hours of driving.

I had saved a few parking spots on Google Maps, but the first one failed immediately. No vans or campers allowed, only trucks. We had to find another option. Parking security suggested a spot 8 km away, which was not practical. Two of our phones were dead, and the third had only 6%. My phone, with the saved locations, was also dead.

In the back of the van, Jeff had a large battery, but we needed the key to open the side door to access it. At the same time, we were afraid to turn off the engine. Earlier, during a fuel stop, the van would not start, and when it finally did, the battery warning light came on, indicating it was not charging. Still, we had no choice. We turned off the engine, opened the side door with the key to reach the battery, and quickly started the van again. Everything worked fine. It turned out heavy rain had caused a temporary connection issue. Relieved, we charged the phone, found the saved parking spot, and drove there.

If you know Barcelona, parking is difficult, especially for tall vehicles. But this spot worked. It was just behind Las Ramblas, so we carefully navigated the narrow streets and parked safely.

That gave us an instant energy boost. The Barcelona effect.

Jeff had the idea to bring our bicycles, so we all brought our own. Once parked, we grabbed the bicycles and rode to the Airbnb. That gave us an instant energy boost. The Barcelona effect. We were exhausted but happy to have made it.

After checking in, we dropped our bags and bicycles and went out for food. Despite being extremely tired, morale was high. We walked around the city and ended up at Marula Café for a drink before heading back. We fell asleep within a minute.

The next day, Sunday, we woke up slowly. No tight schedule. After breakfast, I played tour guide and showed them around Barcelona by bicycle. The weather was perfect. Sunny, not too hot, not too cold.

We visited the gothic neighbourhood, Cathedral de Barcelona, admire the Pont del Bisbe, Casa Batlló, Arc de Triomf/parc and the finally finished Sagrada Familia, where we sat on a bench for almost an hour just watching people. Then we rode to Barceloneta and relaxed by the beach. After that, we had an amazing paella at Bar Cal Chusco, a traditional restaurant in de La Barceloneta neighbourhood 3 minutes from the beach.

Later, after some resistance, I convinced them to ride to Plaza de España to catch the golden hour from the steps of the National Art Museum. It was a long ride, but the view was worth it. They complained, but now they have a story to tell.

Monday was the day to pick up Nacho and head back to the Netherlands.

That morning started chaotic. Someone tried to steal our bicycles parked outside the Airbnb. Jeff heard it, confronted the thief, and suddenly all three of us were outside in our underwear chasing him. He managed to escape, which was probably for the best. Meanwhile, we stood there half-naked, frustrated and disoriented, in front of a hotel restaurant full of people having breakfast. Not our finest moment.

After that, we laughed it off. We checked out, had breakfast, and rode back to the camper. Loaded everything up and headed to pick up Nacho.

It was close, but with Barcelona traffic it took about 20 minutes. At IMTBike Barcelona, they recognized me immediately and guided me to Nacho. There he was, happily waiting. Or maybe I was the happy one.

We loaded him into the van, secured him, talked a bit with the staff, great guys, very friendly and helpful. Then it was time to head back.

The return drive went smoothly. Dry weather allowed us to keep a good pace. We left around 1 PM and arrived home in the Netherlands at 7 AM. About 18 hours of driving, but it felt much faster.

That was the journey to pick up Nacho. Long, exhausting, but full of laughs. Barcelona always gives energy. Now I have also infected two of my friends with the Barcelona virus, I am sure they will go back again.

In the coming days, I will give Nacho some attention. Oil change, new filter, and a few small fixes. Then he goes up for sale so I can upgrade.

Thanks for reading.

HPPY TRVLS