Crouching room only

Things are moving forward on the Fiat. We've been driving it around for a few weeks now. To Woz's delight we've been keeping up with the traffic at 120 on the motorway (that being said, that scenario requires a generous helping of momentum and bit of gravity on a downhill slope.)

The camper has felt very much like an empty shell since Woz removed all the wooden panels to sand them and re-stain them. We weren't sure if we could successfully sand the curved sheets of plywood but they had been quite poorly stained by the last owner and they were generally very grubby so we decided to give it a try. Woz decided to pop his head in to a local woodshop (Tischerlei) with one of the ply panels to see if they might be able to sand them for us to save us a bit of time. He noticed that the apprentice had already stopped for the day and so Woz asked if they'd like him to do it himself. Austria being Austria (no policies and procedures in force regarding health and safety), the friendly boss ushered him towards the machinery and off he went. It took him about three days to sand all of the individual pieces and then he left the sheets there to be sprayed professionally with a clear satin stain.

 We got them back on Saturday morning and we went straight to work to fit them. It just happened to be pouring with rain, (thankfully) which led us to discover a leak near the skylight so we've fitted all the panels with the exception of the two near the leak. The panels look so beautiful now so the last thing we want to do is risk water damage.

Preparing the first sheet.

By the time we finished the last panel it was dark so there's no 'after' shot yet. Tomorrow's job!

Tomorrow Woz will pick up some more timber from the hardware and we'll start work on making the bench seats for the table (which then fold down to make up a double bed.) The rush is on now to get it all done in the next three weeks when we plan to drive to Denmark via the Czech Republic and Germany with my brother Matt and his girlfriend Emma. They arrive in a week and we travel in three. Nothing like a deadline to get you moving.

It starts here

It started with a fire truck.

Woz was spending an evening looking up weird and wacky vehicles on ebay late one night when he found a vintage German firetruck for sale. It had been converted somewhat into a sleeper/camper and his eyes lit up as he scrolled through the photos.

He was met with an outright no.

It was a bit of a random thing to look at for us. We're not camper people. I think probably we think we are a bit young for it. But who are we kidding? I'm 38 and Woz is 43. We're collectively nudging our way into 'middle-aged' and camper vans are looking seriously seductive. Especially when we have Europe on our doorstep. Landlocked Austria (where we're based,) shares the borders with seven countries. Perfect for road trips.

A few days later, Woz showed me some photos of a Fiat 238 camper with only a few days to go on Ebay. Having warmed to the idea of something camperish related (keeping in mind the last thing I looked at was a firetruck) the Fiat looked exactly like us.

'Buy it!' I exclaimed and a very surprised Woz jumped straight on it. As the clock counted down we put in our top bid and waited the last few seconds. Winning the auction was the best feeling in the world. A whole new world of travel had just opened up to us and a new way of life. It opened up Fiat Freitags. Friday afternoons where we take off in the Fiat and explore some of Austria's gorgeous scenery, with a free roof over our head and no need to pack. Just like our barge years but with a little more freedom and a little (just a little) more speed.

 It is the beginning of a new era of learning and exploration for our son Nate and a remedy to quench the relentless thirst for travel in us. Languages, smells, food, people and spectacular scenery await!

Fiat Freitags

Well we didn't get the fire truck. We did however, get the Fiat.

Tonight, with six seconds to go, we won an ebay auction on this baby! Now that Woz has more flexibility with his time, mine is still flexible, we're hoping to take advantage of Nate's lunchtime finish on Friday afternoons and start a new family tradition: 'Fiat Fridays'. As usual we have plans to renovate it inside, so it will also be a fun project for us to be creative with.

Now that the challenge of winning the auction is out of the way, the next challenge is getting the car back to Austria from Poland.

Let the adventures begin!

Help!

We've had an incredible summer and Woz has the camping bug. He's been online tonight looking at airstream caravans. Which I love by the way, but it's just that we haven't really been thinking along those lines lately. But eBay is a marvelous thing: he's now digressed to an ex-German firetruck. Seats six.

Nate is in on it too. 'Dad do you have enough money if I use all my pocket money too? No really, I mean it.'
 
I'm not sure exactly if they're wanting us to sleep in it, drive it or both. Either way I'm out.