Mobility #35
The love for cars explained.
I am stressed. Which is great, to be honest. I feel like I am constantly working on four different projects each day, the biggest one being my full time job - which is highly necessary though as I need the money for uni as well as all the future trips planned, so work is kind of fun at the same time. Some other little, but way more important projects include the weekly wisket, applying for uni (finally) and scholarships (wish me luck), tutoring (very fun) and - this one might actually be the most important one on the list - finally doing my car license.
The latter is something that has been on my list for ages, but it’s just never worked out yet - not because I didn’t pass the tests, but because there were so many other topics on my mind - for example school, saving up money for New Zealand or enjoying life in New Zealand… some pretty valid reasons not to start doing your license, right?
Well, now I finally have the time and motivation to finish those tests as fast as possible - which is not as easy as you may think. I have two licenses already, and each of them took its time, all due to the German street system being quite complex, with more than 1100 questions to study and memorise ahead of the theoretical test - which I passed already (let’s go!) - and a practical test which every single instructor keeps warning us about… apparently all of the testers just want to see you fail in order to make some money (not my own opinion). Oh yeah, money - getting your license is expensive! Now, I am not going to give you a price list, but I’ll have to work a LOT in order to still be able to have some vacation afterwards.
Well, I am happily going to pay whatever price it takes to finally be able to drive a car. My driving school advertises the car license as the one step you need to take in order to be free, and I totally agree. Thinking about being able to drive a car - especially because there is my own one parked in the driveway - just brings up some incredible excitement, which is then boosted when thinking about all of the road trips planned in my head.
Well, as you may have expected, all of these thoughts need to leave my head at some point, so welcome to this week’s addition to the wisket, in which we are going to dream of mobility, road trips and rental cars…
Obviously, being mobile has become a huge part of everybody’s life in the modern world - barely anybody would want to live without a car for a week, let’s be real. With all of the things to see all around the world, not having access to a car can change the way you view and experience the world rapidly. Which makes being able to finally be on the road even more exciting.
As you may know, I’ve had many road trips with my parents growing up. So being able to just get in a car and go somewhere has just been a natural thing for me, but I have definitely learned to admire and appreciate the freedom mobility grants you during my time in New Zealand. In order to be able to travel and see the best things, you need a car, no question. Of course, I’ve enjoyed becoming creative with different bus and bicycle routes for some time and was able to see some great stuff, but when I went on road trips with some friends or with my mum especially, that’s when I had the greatest time. Just being able to stop wherever you like is so incredibly fun and the purest as well as most exciting way of travelling. That way, you can get to know a country properly in depth within a quite short amount of time. Of course, it is less fun than riding your bicycle across the whole country, but who still has the time to do that? That is exactly why I’d rather pay more for rental cars and camp somewhere instead of just staying at the same hotel for a week. You just cannot tell the bus driver to stop at a random point you think is pretty - which would make you miss out on plenty of things. I’ve realised this first hand back on the West Coast of the South Island, just read weekly wisket #12 and you’ll know what I mean.
And not just I enjoy road trips. Just look at the average Instagram travel page - most of them are about van life, the best road trips, rentals, cheap travelling and so on and so forth. It is true that road trips can be relatively cheap and enjoyable - especially when doing them with the right person. I am so looking forward to road tripping Sweden with my girlfriend - right person, relatively cheap (freedom camping!) and a beautiful country.
Just in case you need some more proof than my dreams and some Instagram feed, here are some European statistics on car usage from 2018-2020:
Cars are - obviously - the most famous mode of transport, with 83% of all kilometres in 2018 having been made by car. Which is not a surprise, considering there are more than 48 million cars in Germany as of 2022. What an incredible number, if you think about it. Considering domestic and outbound vacation, a total of 65.6 percent of all of EU residents’ private trips in 2018 were made by car - another highly interesting number, especially for the car rental industry, considering there are plenty of EU residents travelling outside of the EU - don’t get me wrong though, road trips through Europe are absolutely astonishing.
Anyways, these numbers inevitably prove how great of a holiday you can have by car - and no, I am not planning to open a car rental company, just trying to convince you to go on some more road trips with your friends. The advantages are obvious: own music, way less stress, great company, no planes needed (except when going abroad abroad) and way more freedom - which reminds us of the beginning of this article.
Well, my first actual driving lesson is going to be in one day, and I feel very excited - just trying to get it done as soon as possible, and then you’ll be able to look forward to some great road trip content. You know the basic stats, now get out on the road.
Have a great week!