«Modern nomads»: bad luck, mishaps and the happiness that comes from them

Behind the old, loose wallpaper in our house, mould is growing from the floor to the ceiling. And not just in one room, but spread across three floors. It's everywhere where rain ran down the façade a few months ago, both inside and outside.

The accident happened in October 2024. The roof of our house in the Cévennes had just been completely stripped and was only protected by tarpaulins. The roof gutter was also missing. A huge rain front brought as much rain in a few hours as it normally does in weeks or months. The tarpaulin slipped. You can imagine the rest.

When cosiness takes a back seat

The sun returned and work continued in the attic without the craftsmen being aware of the extent of the damage – until we returned in December.

After another trip lasting several months in our motorhome, we were really looking forward to spending a cosy Christmas at home. Just a quick dusting of construction dust and then we could settle in – that was the plan. But cosiness was nowhere to be found at first.

The predictable challenges

Anyone who follows the travel series «Das Glück reist mit» (Happiness travels with us) and «Moderne Nomaden» (Modern nomads) knows a lot about the positive aspects of our lives. They also know how we master everyday challenges. We have learned to organise school and work while on the move and to maintain friendships. We know how to manage our family life in a small space. We now organise the practical aspects of our everyday lives with ease. But what about the unpredictable challenges? The ones that come at us from outside and without warning?

Closed borders

Five years ago, we left our settled life in Switzerland behind us. When I think about everything that has gone wrong since then and how our life has been turned upside down at times, the title «Bad luck travels with us» would sometimes have been more appropriate.

Our journey began with what seemed like an insurmountable obstacle: while the coronavirus pandemic was spreading around the world and most people were retreating to their homes, we left ours at the end of April 2020.

We were able to overcome some obstacles, others we had to circumvent, and still others caused us to change direction completely.

At first, nothing went according to plan: the caravan was stuck in production and wasn't available to us. The borders were closed, preventing us from finding shelter with our parents in Germany or France. At the same time, my husband developed serious problems with a cervical vertebra that could only be fixed with surgery. Our happiness was hanging by a thread. It was uncertain how things would continue.

Stumbling blocks in various sizes

The pandemic took its course and we spent the rest of 2020 and the second lockdown with my parents in France. Almost a year passed before we could even begin our planned trip. But we didn't let small or large obstacles deter us: we are now starting our sixth year of travel. In each of these years, obstacles have rolled our way. We were able to overcome some, had to work around others, and others caused us to change direction completely.

Shortly after setting off in March 2021, a gust of wind in Spain ripped the awning, our sunshade, off the roof. Forty kilograms of metal and canvas thundered down on my shoulders as I tried to hold it to the supports.

The shock was even greater when, in the same year, after the first five months on the road, the entire fold-down bed in the caravan collapsed. Thanks to the warranty, we were given a replacement caravan. We continued our journey with this. When we got our own caravan back after four months, it was severely damaged again while being unloaded from the transporter.

in 2022, the «mover» caused us repeated problems – this device is used to park a caravan weighing almost two tonnes. It is a kind of remote control that manoeuvres the colossus when it is uncoupled from the car. It is unpleasant when the mover keeps breaking down in the middle of the road and no one can get past you. Uncertainty and the underlying stress that came with it were constant companions until the system was finally repaired.

For months, we are merely travellers passing through – guests in a foreign place. Coming home therefore means a great deal to us.

Life plans thwarted

2023 set an important course for us. Our plans to settle in Portugal for the long term were thwarted twice by the loss of both our temporary and long-term accommodation. In addition, the ropes of our lift-up bed broke for the second time. It was also the year our car started smoking from the bonnet in the middle of the Spanish countryside, leaving us stranded. Until then, our trusty vehicle had pulled the caravan around the world without a single breakdown.

in 2024, we switched from travelling in our caravan to a motorhome, and our bad luck focused on our permanent base that year: as described at the beginning, when we returned to our winter nest, we found a mouldy house instead of a fully converted attic. This hit us hard. We are always just passing through, spending months at a time as guests in unfamiliar places. Coming home therefore means a great deal to us.

2025 has already brought us a few mishaps. We had to be dug out of the mud once and were towed away because of a liquid gas leak. The incident also involved five firefighters, two police officers and a few onlookers. This experience made a particular impression on us because of the risk of explosion. We think we've had enough excitement for this year.

It is not the misfortune that remains in our memories, but the people who came to our aid and stood by us.

Emergencies in an unfamiliar place

In addition to all the major events, there have also been several dog emergencies, severe cases of coronavirus, flu and other minor injuries and mishaps over the last five years. Falling ill or experiencing an emergency in an unfamiliar place causes greater stress than when you are at home. Especially when you don't speak the language well, you feel more vulnerable and are more dependent on the help of others.

This is how it usually is for us: we spend most of the year on the road somewhere. If one of us isn't feeling well or we have a problem with our home on wheels, we are almost always in a different place, in a different country, with a different language.

What impresses us

When I think back on the various moments of misfortune or mishaps, however, it is not the low points that stick in my mind. With each of these minor and major challenges, something else leaves a lasting impression: the people who came to our aid and stood by us. Those who went the extra mile for us, even though it brought them no personal benefit.

The highs in our travel life feel higher, the lows deeper.

What's more, our breakdowns often happened at the best possible moment and in the best possible place to prevent anything worse from happening. For example, the fold-down bed crashed down with a loud bang on the way to the garage after our first long trip.

Europe is full of good people

We know today that competent and helpful doctors, veterinarians, pharmacists, car mechanics, neighbours and passers-by can be found everywhere in Europe. We have never been left to fend for ourselves.

There were people in Portugal who cooked soup for us and did our shopping when we were ill. There was the car mechanic in Spain who picked us up from our caravan on the campsite outside the town so that we could get our things out of the car when it broke down.

There was the policewoman in France who drove us to our hotel when our motorhome had to be towed away for the night. The campsite owners helped us dig and push for two and a half hours to get our heavy vehicle out of the mud. A relieved high five was thanks enough for them.

The priceless blessing in disguise

In our travelling life, the waves between moments of happiness and despair or helplessness seem to be greater than in our settled life. The highs feel higher, the lows deeper. When we are on the road, it doesn't take much to turn our everyday life upside down: a broken tap or a drawer that gets ripped out while driving – and we are pretty much stuck.

When, through fortunate circumstances or kind people, we find a quick solution to our predicament, we feel immense gratitude. It is the fuel that gives us the strength to carry on. So what the last five years and their moments of misfortune have taught us above all is that luck in misfortune is the greatest thing there is. And we had a lot of that.