Everyday Life as a Nomad in Europe (part 1)

Travel. It sounds like a glamorous lifestyle doesn't it? Well, I'd like to share with you what it is REALLY like to live a nomadic life in a foreign country; when you don't want to be a tourist, you don't have to go to a job, and you're not a 'social media influencer'

Everyday Vienna...

1. When You Don't Speak the Language

For me, it's very humbling being unable to do basic communications in a foreign country and it's been a personal stress-point on this trip. You see, I speak Brazilian Portuguese, Bad French, and Survival Spanish...and this has allowed me to feel more or less 'okay' when needing to speak to others. But since we've arrived Austria....this isn't the High German I learned on the weekends at the University of Victoria.

Regional dialects: Such a personal struggle. In fact, most times, if I don't understand what someone is saying to me (which is fairly often) I just stare with a blank look at the speaker. In my mind, I silently pray that they will repeat themselves, some sort of magic will happen in my cerebral synapses, and I will 'suddenly understand' and be able to respond.

(Oh no. I have no idea what they just said to me...!)

But no. I just stand there.

Staring.

O_O

I am determined to learn more German though! And basic Croatian (as we'll be spending a little over 2.5 months there in the fall). Until then, I will keep laughing at myself when I say 'yes' to something that I really didn't want, or when Kelly rolls his eyes at me as I try to read every sign out loud we pass on the road....

(The sign reads Gumpoldskirchen)

"Rumpolstiltskin, Gumpoooldstiltskin, Gumpskirchen" cough, choke, rolling rrrrrrr's....clears throat...

...heavy sigh."

(Kelly starts laughing. Oh well, at least I'm entertaining?)

2. Dogs Abroad

OMG. I swear that we have been to a vet in every single country we've been to so far! We joke about it (and try not to look at our bank account balance) but, it is so hard to know the difference between a dog feeling stress and having a parasite when they can't talk to you.

Kelly has said this before, but the dogs really have been rockstars on this trip. And we think that they are really enjoying spending so much time with us ;-)

Learning how fun 'funiculars' are!

They are learning proper manners when they join us at restaurants and patios, although we still have a bit of work to do on this one when another dog shows up (#chaos). And, as we are in beautiful Vienna, we have had to accept that we can't do a lot of the 'tourist' things with the dogs in tow. This would include museums, castles, and a few parks/residence grounds. BUT they can join us a beergartens, breweries, shopping malls, drug stores, ice cream shops, wine bars, and pretty much anywhere that's not a historic site/monument.

We do get pegged as locals a lot of the time though. Which brings us back to point number 1 above (...Oh no, I have no idea what you just said to me!!). However, we're getting really good at learning cues for when to just 'laugh' when people talk/share statements about the dogs. We wait for the pause, we wait for the smile, then we all laugh, and no one is any the wiser that we just had NO IDEA what was said to us. Everyone parts happy and smiling.

It's really strange, but we're getting really good at it! #itsthelittlethings

3. Driving a Canadian vehicle in Europe

To say that we 'stand out' when we're driving around, is a bit of an understatement. As very few people are familiar with the BC licence plate, many people we encounter in the truck think that we are from the UK or Columbia.

With the fabrication work we've had done on the front and rear bumpers, we've even had people in Vienna hang off of our front end, and give us a thumbs up (but we think that they may have just come from the nearest beergarten....)

However, having BC plates also like wearing a Canadian Flag as a cape everywhere we go. Which has made for some very cool stories.

Diving in Slovakia

For one, we went into Slovakia the other week and we were required to buy a vignette/pass to drive on the main highway. So, we stop at the boarder between Austria and Slovakia and Kelly goes inside to get the sticker (as we have done in other EU countries). However, THIS time there is no sticker to purchase. We need to register our plates in their system. (oh no). This is kind of how it all played out:

Agent: "Sir where is your car rental registered?"

Kelly: "It's not a rental. It's from Canada." Agent: "Sir, where did you get the rental car from?"

Kelly: "I shipped my car from Canada. It's not a rental"

Agent: (Pauses) "So, where is the vehicle registered?"

Kelly: "Canada"

Agent: (Speaks to their colleague)"....how do I put that into the computer?"

We don't stand out at all on the roads in Europe...

This other random time, we were driving through 'middle-of-nowhere' Germany, and this car with Swiss plates pulls up beside us on the motorway. The lady in the passenger seat scribbles on a serviette and puts it up to her window... Serviette: "WE'RE FROM SASK!!!"

Kelly rolls down his window and, while doing 80km an hour, shouts out the window "I'm from Saskatoon!"

"NO WAY!! We're all from Stoon!!! *Laughter*......How did you get your truck here??!!!"

Kelly: "Shipped it on a boat!"

Everyone is smiling from ear-to-ear, thumbs-up given all around, and it there is one thing that I have learned about those from the Canadian Prairies, it doesn't matter where in the world they may be, people from Saskatchewan always run into each other #Amazing #Mindblown #goRoughriders 😜

____

So, those are just a few random things about everyday life here as a wandering Canadian in Europe.

I'm going to be writing a bit more on this, but I would love to know if there's anything you would like to know about life on the road in the Europe?

Please, bring me your questions! (It will keep me out of trouble *heh heh* 😏)