I managed to build most of the technical features during the winter. By the end of March, I was able to store my mountain bike, take a shower, cook warm meals, treat dirty water, sleep and work in my van. Although there was still a lot of work to be done, I packed all my tools and building materials into the van and left the farm in April.
It was about time to soak up some sun and test all the things I built during the winter!
Leaving Germany
My first destination was Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. I slowly traveled through the Alps,
spending most of the daytime working in my new wooden office.
After a few calm working days in Austria, I crossed the Alps and reunited with my friends from the farm near Lago di Garda in Italy.
We enjoyed a sunny weekend climbing,
relaxing and hanging out.
Discovering Sardinia
We took the ferry from Livorno to Olbia where we started exploring the island. We often stayed at calm beaches on the west coast.
I really enjoyed hanging out with my buddies watching the beautiful sunsets after work. Good times!
While you can go surfing at the west coast,
there are also big mountains in the east where you can go hiking, climbing and mountain-biking.
In contrast to the rough west coast, there are some calm white sand beaches at the east coast with crystal clear water. Wow!
Most of these beaches are only reachable by boat or foot. We mostly stayed on top of the cliffs where I had good connectivity to do my work. 
Visiting family and friends across Germany
At GitHub, engineering teams regularly meet in person to spend some time together and discuss high-level roadmaps. This spring, my team decided to meet in Amsterdam, so I had to leave Sardinia in May headed to the Netherlands.
After welcoming spring in Sardinia, I experienced winter for a short moment again when crossing the Alps.
On my way to Amsterdam I stopped in my hometown where spring had arrived, too.
I really enjoyed the time with my family and friends. After traveling through foreign countries for more than two years, I felt like spending the summer in Germany with my family and close friends living all across country. I sketched out a rough route through Germany to meet most of them: From Amsterdam to Cologne where we celebrated the record release of my friends’ band the Boneshakers.
Via Münster and Hanover to Berlin where I spent a few lovely weeks in my old neighborhood near Tempelhofer Feld.
From Berlin to Dresden where I built a storage rack into the back of my van,
Via Fulda to the farm where we celebrated a big summer party.
Back to my hometown where I spent joyful days with my family and friends and relaxing evenings by myself,
and finally to Munich where I found one of the best spots in a big city.
I spent a whole work week surrounded by trees, right next to a refreshing river. The city center was only a 10 minutes bike ride away where I met with my friends after work. What an awesome spot! Nevertheless, I left Munich last week to enjoy the nature in the Alps,
and met my friend for some mountain-biking.
Cities, parties, sun, nature, family and friends: you don’t have to travel far to enjoy the summer! 