Denise Elbel tells Vanalogue all about life on the road in ‘The Jumpy’
For Denise Elbel, 23, van life is all about the freedom to travel and find adventures on the road. Originally from Germany, she and her boyfriend Tim, who hails from Belgium, spent all of last summer in his converted Peugeot Expert, jokingly called ‘The Jumpy.’
After Tim bought the van, he spent two weeks fitting it out, just enough to be comfortable for travelling, and then they were on the move. Denise says, “All we had was a mattress, a camping cooker, candles and a pocket knife. Our table was an upside down longboard.” But it was more than enough to let the couple get exploring.
Their first stop was in Bordeaux where they met up with several friends and officially began their trip. Making their way further along the coast to the Pyrenees, the couple spent most of their time climbing and trekking through the vast woodlands.
On why they decided to explore Europe from ‘The Jumpy’, Denise says, “We chose to get a van to be flexible and independent.” One of the greatest benefits to van living is to be able to go wherever you want and already having you need with you. Denise loved the simplicity of living out of a rolling home. “Even with just a mattress it worked out really well. Simplifying life makes it more intense and no more difficult,” she says.
Though their little adventure has come to an end, for the time being at least, Tim is still living from the van while he attends college and there are surely more trips in the couple’s future. Having built out the interior with his granddad, the van is looking better than ever.
Denise would definitely get out on the road again. She says, “The best thing, and my best memory of life on the road, is literally waking up in the morning at the beach, with sand between your toes. Then you could hit the road and by the evening wash your feet clean in a mountain lake.”
You can follow Denise’s travels on her Instagram here.
