After spending a month sanding, building, painting, and kitting out our van, we put it to the test. Leaving England, we ferried across the Channel into France and on to Belgium, where we spent the first night pulled over in a lovely little neighborhood south of Brussels. We pulled over in a residential area and slept soundly through the night without issue. This may have been a little less than legal, but, as mine and J’s old saying goes, “It’s much easier to get forgiveness than permission”. We weren’t harming anything and left no trace. Plus, no one wants to compromise safety with a tired driver on the highway, right? After visiting an old roommate in Maastricht, Netherands – where we held the van’s inaugural live music sesh-  we carried on through Germany and on to Luxembourg.

My first time in Luxembourg was pleasant, meeting new friends and having our first “party in the van”. The country (and the city) are picturesque and home to some of Europe’s wealthiest, making our beat-up old Donkey an eye sore against the backdrop, but she handled the ups-and-downs like the little engine that could.