THE PLAN

We pick up the motorhome in Frankfurt on Monday the 1^st of August and return it to the same place 4 months later on Friday the 25^th of November. That essentially sums up our plan so far! We don’t really have an itinerary as such yet. We are taking a fairly relaxed approach to the trip, considering the ease with which we can travel around and the fact we don’t have to book accommodation in advance.

We are unsure which order to do out trip in. The countries we plan to visit, either in this order or the reverse order are: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, back through England, Belgium and then back to Frankfurt. We are thinking we might do the reverse order, maximising the warmer weather for the northern countries first and heading south when it’s a little cooler.

I do plan to do some research, so that we have a rough idea of the key places we want to go, what events might be on in certain places at different times, the best routes for motorhomes and the best order to do it in. Other than that, we’ll just see where the road takes us so to speak. Flexibility will play a major role in our trip. If we find somewhere we like – we can stay there for as long as time permits. If we have seen enough of one place – we can move on.

MAKING OUR DREAM A REALITY

Initially I thought the best way to motorhome through Europe was to enter into a buy-back scheme. You purchase a motorhome, use it for as long as you like, and then sell it back when you are finished. This can prove quite economical, especially if you are planning on going for over three months.

There are a few issues however such as finding a suitable motorhome that is available for the time you want, arranging insurance and registration (often you need to know someone overseas with a permanent address), you don’t get to inspect the motorhome before you get it and have to pay months in advance, the motorhomes are fairly old (especially if money is an issue) and the buyer bears the onus of repairs and faults once they buy the motorhome. It all sounded a little too risky to me and from my research can take months, even over a year, to organise.

On to plan B – renting. I have discovered than Germany is the cheapest country to rent a motorhome in – something to do with their laws and taxes. Pop across the channel to the UK and you are looking at double the price.

After a few searches on Google I came across the website for Idea Merge, an internet based company that acts as a third party liaison between the rental companies and the renter. More searches on their website confirmed that Germany was indeed the cheapest option and I found a suitable motorhome in Frankfurt, available around the time we wanted to go.

The vehicle itself is from a reputable rental company called McRent (remind anyone of a McDonalds burger?) and is one of the two biggest motorhome rental companies in Germany. Funnily enough it is cheaper to rent through Idea Merge than to rent directly from McRent. The guys at Idea Merge were fantastic. They answered all my pesky emails in record time, impressive considering they are based in the US, and placed the vehicle on hold while we made up our mind.

I was quite hesitant about handing over our credit card details to this unknown third party. What if it’s a scam? What if they aren’t affiliated with McRent at all? What if it goes horribly wrong? To ease my fears I sent an email directly to McRent seeking confirmation that they were legitimate business partners with Idea Merge.

Reassurance washed over me as I read their reply, once again in record time for a company on the other side of the world, and they confirmed that they had worked with Idea Merge for years and that they had in fact placed a motorhome on hold for me. What a relief! I was so glad I went to this extra effort because, without the reassurance, I know worry would have plagued me until we were in Frankfurt successfully picking up our motorhome.

YOU'RE DOING WHAT!?

Some reactions to our plans have been of skepticism. Driving a motorhome on the wrong side of the road! Spending 4 months with your newlywed in a tiny box! Paying all that money upfront! What if you hate it!? While we could let thoughts like this and the fear of the unknown hold us back, we have decided to have a little faith and take the leap.

Others have been more positive. My colleagues at the CMCA were thrilled. Dad was slightly jealous – he, mum and the girls go to the UK in late June and have to do it the normal way, hiring a car and booking accommodation. Our friends stared at us in disbelief but agreed it was a wonderful idea.

The reaction I have to our plan is one word – FREEDOM – and all I can see is the advantages. No 10am checkouts and 2pm check ins, no carting luggage on public transport and up and down flights of stairs, no unpacking and repacking every time you move, no having to make it to your next booked accommodation or transport arrangement, no strict itinerary and having to search for somewhere to stay for the night. It sounds like heaven to me. Luckily Matt agreed with me.

WHY MOTORHOMING?

Up until early 2011 the plan was to ‘backpack’ our way around Europe, perhaps alternating between public transport and a hire car to get around and staying in cheap accommodation. If six months ago you had have told me that instead I would be motorhoming around Europe and the UK for four months I would have laughed. So what changed?

In January I was trawling through the University of Newcastle careers website database, searching for a job to tide me over until our wedding in May and our trip overseas. The words “Researcher/Writer” caught my attention. I had just finished my Business and Law Degrees and had completed a subject called ‘Advanced Research and Writing’ which had resulted in me being awarded Honours. “I can research and write” I thought, so I applied and was successful.

The job is possibly one of the most random jobs around: writing the history of the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia to commemorate their 25^th Birthday in April 2011. In conducting my research I discovered a world that I never knew existed - a world full of freedom, friendship, travel and adventure. I kid you not when I say my heart would flutter as I read peoples stories in the CMCA’s monthly magazine The Wanderer. I would hang on every word as I read about travels around Australia and all the joys the motorhoming lifestyle brings.

I kept thinking to myself “I can’t wait until I retire and can travel around Australia in a motorhome”. This is a pretty depressing thought for some fresh out of uni and yet to even start working. Then it hit me - this is how we should see Europe and the UK, we should hire a motorhome. I have no doubt that I got the job at the CMCA for a reason. The simplest way to describe it - I was absolutely hooked.

THE DREAM

For a long time I have dreamed of traveling through Europe and the UK. I spent one month on exchange in Germany in 2004 and barely touched the surface. It opened my eyes to a new land and culture and I longed to have this experience again.

Matt on the other hand spent 2 months touring Europe and the UK with his family in 2004. Unbeknownst to us we were overseas at the same time. One can always see and experience more and he is keen to go back, visiting different places and doing different things. And with his new wife of course!

Matt and I had often spoken about a far off plan to travel through Europe and the UK. Matt and I don’t live together and, due to our beliefs, travelling overseas before we were married was not really an option. It would have to wait until after we were married. Things then just started falling into place.

After five long years of study I finished uni at the end of 2010 and had already been offered a graduate position with Middletons law firm in Sydney to start in March 2011. I was also offered the option of deferring the start date for one year. A year off to travel and a guaranteed job when I return – how could I possibly turn it down. I technically have no commitments until March 2012 which is a wonderful position to be in.

Matt’s situation is a little more delicate. He works for ABC Radio in Newcastle and has been on a fulltime contract for over two years. We anticipate he will just have to leave the job. We will be moving to Sydney at some stage after we return anyway so it was going to happen sooner or later. We are trusting that he will get a job in Sydney.

So with nothing holding us back we started saving our butts off in order to make our dream a reality. Our minds were made up. We would be heading overseas after our wedding in May.

IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING

On Monday 11^th April 2011 Matt and I took a deep breath as I clicked “Submit” on the online application form for our motorhome. On it were our credit card details, or should I say my parents credit card details, and an agreement to charge the full amount for the hire upfront. This moment had been the culmination of hours and hours of meticulous research and detailed discussions.

I want to record our trip overseas and what better way to start than at the very beginning, answering questions like how we were able to take four months out of our lives to travel, why we picked a motorhome and what we are planning to see and do. This is of course followed by the story of our adventure itself, filled hopefully with wonderful tales of what we discover along our way.

Part of me wants to fast-forward to that moment when our plane takes off the run way in Sydney but really our adventure has already started. So here we are, one and a half months to the wedding and three and a half months until we head overseas, and I can barely contain my excitement. There’s no going back now – it’s actually happening!