Out and about – sustainably.
Life on the road
Isabella Schulz and Rebekka Bünter moved from a 5.5-room apartment into a minibus. Can less ever be more? It can, as the couple explains.
The connection establishes, and a woman’s face, topped by dark curls, appears on the screen. Behind her, on a beach in Sicily's Marina di Modica, a small, white bus shines in the evening sun. But this bus isn’t just for holidays; it’s also a home.
“Look!“Look there!” says Rebekka Bünter as she enthusiastically begins the virtual tour, showing us the small shower cubicle, toilet, bed, folding benches and twin hotplates. The bus is small, more so than your average coach or mobile home. But that’s practical: Because it’s also a good way to get through cities and alleys, and it’s still a good way to park. Meanwhile, Isabella Schulz prepares the aperitif outside on a folding table: fresh sheep ricotta and olives, accompanied by a glass of red wine. “The on-board luxury continues”, she says with a grin.
As long as we enjoy it.
Breaking away from the routine
Schulz & Bünter’s decision to relinquish their 5.5-room apartment in favour of a six-metre-square home on wheels was a bold one. It was also the only one right for them, the couple confirms. The choice was made in 2019. "We’d had enough of living life on the rails, following the same routine”, Rebekka says. The pair debated on every option under the sun, from moving across Switzerland to emigration. But after a journey in a habitable bus, they both knew that this feeling of freedom and closeness to nature should not only remain a holiday feeling, but also become a real way of life.
And with that, the process of giving items away and putting furniture into storage began. They bought a Toyota Hilux which they converted for off-road use, fitting a folding roof to make it possible to stand up in the cab. Solar panels were also installed on the roof so that they could generate their own energy. “We produce enough electricity to power the lights, refrigerator, boiler, heating and hotplates, Naturschallwandler sound system and our laptops. Full sunlight charges our batteries in no time at all, and also provides warm water for showering and washing up,” Rebekka happily reports.
Life as a digital nomad
Your home on the move is also your office: Thanks to the European tariff, Wi-Fi is provided via a mobile phone hotspot. "All we have to do is make sure that we have good network coverage where we are at that moment. If not, we just drive a little further. And lo and behold, we can largely work from the road,” explains Isabella.
Isabella gave up her own practice as a hearing balance trainer in the canton of Lucerne when she moved into the bus. She now rents a practice by the hour while in Switzerland. Since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, however, she has shifted her focus to online consultations.
Rebekka, who works in theatre, has been unable to perform on stage or at private events for some time due to Covid. She now writes short texts, as well as plays for both stage and radio. Both also offer coaching sessions via Zoom. A digital nomad’s dream? “Digitalisation naturally supports our lifestyle; we can work remotely and pay the bills online”, Rebekka explains. She adds that having fewer fixed costs consequently leaves her with fewer money worries.
This lifestyle so close to nature makes us very satisfied and relaxed.
Connected to nature
Two glasses clink together, the phone display glowing a deep wine red. Rebekka and Isabella celebrate their new life every day. “For us, the most wonderful part is being in nature.’ Rebekka says. “We start looking for our own little spot in the evening – when we’re in Switzerland, we usually pick somewhere on the edge of a forest. The holiday feeling starts as soon as we unpack the camping table and chairs,” she adds, laughing. “This lifestyle is so close to nature, which leaves us feeling very happy and relaxed,” Isabella agrees. Life feels much closer to nature now. “I don't even like sleeping in houses any more,” Rebekka claims. If the two ever want to explore a city, they bring out the folding bikes that they keep on the bus. They ride home when they’re finished – and fall asleep to the forest’s evening melody.
Three knives, three forks
And yet, does this idyllic-sounding lifestyle come with its own less-than-ideal limitations? Not at all, according to the pair. “We never feel like we're missing out on anything. And we also have many encounters, even more so than before when we were still living in the house, because people stop and are interested in us and the bus.” Her new lifestyle shows that things can also be done on a simple and small scale: “If more than one friend visits us at the same time, he or she has to bring his or her own cutlery,” laughs Rebekka. The only difficulties they face, she says, come when driving or parking restrictions leave them with nowhere to pull up for the night.
For the moment, however, it’s all plain sailing. The two feel at ease on their Sicilian beach. “We never have to decide whether we want to live in the mountains, by the sea, in a city or in the countryside. Our mobility allows us to go wherever we want, and that freedom is wonderful” Rebekka muses.
More conscious consumption
Another plus is the automatically more sustainable lifestyle: “We’re certainly doing things even more ecologically, so we need e.g. very little water,” says Isabella. The shower boiler holds just 6 litres, and the pair either hand-wash their clothes in rivers using natural soap, wait until they visit friends or stop at a launderette. As long as their solar panels produce enough energy for warm water, Isabella and Rebekka don’t even have to resort to using energy guzzling devices like the kettle. “Our living arrangement forces us not to buy anything new except wheat we truly need,” Isabella adds. “And we’ve come to realise just how little that is.”
The Sun sinks lower in the sky while the birds treat us to their evening chorus, accompanied by the percussion of waves crashing against the shore. The couple currently has no plans to return to Switzerland. They want to continue living their new lifestyle “for as long as we enjoy it”, in Rebekka’s words. That could be a long while yet.