Van Office from the VW bus in Italy

I have traveled in a VW bus many times before, but I had never worked remotely from the van for an extended period. After a harsh winter, I was in need of some sunshine, and that's when the idea of mobile cross-border working crossed my mind. Besides already being perfectly prepared to work from home or other locations, my job as a Product Owner for a Software Component in the Sensor Data Fusion and Environmental Modeling for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems allows me to perform my daily tasks from anywhere, as long as there's a stable internet connection. Software development is possible anywhere in the world. The internal approval process was incredibly easy, so I recently set off from Frankfurt towards Italy, accompanied by my Labrador, Caspar.

The whole route started from Frankfurt to Lake Como in Italy, with a short stop at Lake Garda, then heading through Venice and the Mediterranean Sea for a couple of days. Afterwards, I headed towards some cities in Tuscany, including Florence, Lucca, and Pisa, ending my trip in the area of Genoa. I spent a week working from my 'Van Office' at a small, privately-owned campsite on the shores of Lake Como. My bus is specially equipped for this purpose, featuring a second screen and a solar system on the roof. The local internet was stable, providing everything I needed as a software developer. The only difference was that the lake was just two meters away, allowing me to take a quick swim break whenever I wanted. Over Easter, I was near Venice, and afterwards, I worked for another week from Tuscany.

It was an absolutely recommendable experience, and I'm certain it won't be my last 'workation'. I am very grateful to have the opportunity and trust to decide for myself how and where I can create the most value for Continental.