‘Felicità’ mini camper: cosy, compact... and on the move

Ten years ago, Martina and Dylan gave up their home and moved into a VW van. Seven years ago, Transa tracked them down to report on their nomadic way of life. And now we are meeting them again at their workshop in Switzerland, next to their latest home-on-the-move: a 20-year-old Fiat Panda, converted into a mini camper. During our interview, it soon becomes clear that it is possible to pare your life right down to the essentials – if you are really committed to it.

The workshop smells of oil, metal and wood dust. Boxes are piled up against one wall. ‘Felicità’ (which means ‘happiness’ in Italian) is parked outside – a compact car with an air of defiance about it, and more of a local neighbourhood feel than a North African vibe. That is exactly why it suits them. It’s not the picture-perfect vision of van life, or the promise of freedom and luxury on the move, but quite the opposite: it is proof – on four quite ordinary wheels – that less is more. Dylan would have liked to go by motorbike. After all, that was his transport of choice when he went on his first trip around the world in 2010. But Martina vetoed that idea. So they settled on Felicità, which they found in the Jura and bought for around CHF 1,000, before taking it apart and rebuilding and reimagining it. With Dylan’s skill, the car has been transformed into something completely new and different – complete with diesel heating, a large water tank, air conditioning and even a hot shower. The result is a space-saving sensation, with room to drive, sleep, cook and live, as long as you are willing to rethink what comfort really means. The pair chose the name Felicità because it is Italian, like the car itself.

Their dog Punchi, the third member of this travelling trio, scurries around impatiently – as if she too were eager to leave at any moment.

How do you come up with the idea of travelling in a Fiat Panda?

Martina: We have been living in a VW van for ten years, so for most people the next logical step would have been to upgrade to a bigger vehicle. More space, more technology, more independence. But this way of living has become normal for us. We wanted to shift towards a simpler life again. Closer to people and closer to adventure.

Dylan: With Felicità, we can be on the same level as the people around us. A large touring vehicle with all the luxury would distance us from them. The Panda does seem like an absurd idea – but that makes a great conservation-starter.

And why Tunisia, of all places?

Martina: We didn’t just want to tour around Europe and then say “Yeah, this is kind of working, we’re ready to take on the world”. We wanted to know if the concept really works. Tunisia was perfect for this: a ferry trip, another country, another culture, desert, heat, vast open spaces, eight weeks on the road. Things turned out differently than expected, but Felicità proved that she’s not just a crazy idea.

Martina: It was a trial run for both us and the car, with everything that goes with it: not much space, plenty of rain, getting stuck in the desert, spontaneity and improvisation. It took a while, but eventually we got our bearings – and into the rhythm of the journey.

But even before the ferry left, Felicità the mini camper taught the couple their first lesson. Laughing, Dylan regales how they got stuck on an Italian motorway – a rookie mistake, as they both realise now. They discovered that the fuel gauge in a Fiat Panda works differently from the one in their old VW van. Since that incident, they have always had a full spare fuel canister to hand.

Did you have to get used to being on the move again?

Martina: For us, travel is not a state of constant euphoria. Work and leisure are seamlessly intertwined, and the boundaries between them are blurred. Daily life is defined by a particular rhythm, and we had to find ours first.

Dylan: The first few days were truly special. The fridge has to stay outside the car at night because there just isn’t room for it inside. At first, you worry that’s going to end badly, that it will get stolen. And then you realise it’s actually OK.

What did you find particularly strange at first?

Martina: The cramped space. The new routines. The sounds. Or being woken up that first morning by gunshots and wondering where on earth we’d actually ended up.

Dylan: Or that night in a remote gorge, where desert jackals were howling all night long and their howls where echoing through the gorge, so Punchi was afraid to get out of the car. Of course, those are the memories that stay with you. Lots of things seem strange or threatening at first but then suddenly become normal. Not because you become numb to them, but because you start to recognise things for what they are.

When did you know you had got to where you wanted to be?

Martina:After about two weeks. Not geographically, but internally. Then you stop constantly comparing and being so cautious.

Dylan: Once we forgot to buy bread, and then suddenly someone just brought us a bag of bread. It’s a small gesture, but it says a lot. We had the feeling that this is it – we’ve made it.

Both say that they set off on their journey carrying certain prejudices – images and ideas of places that dissipated surprisingly quickly when they were actually there. They found Tunisia to be much friendlier, more complex and more humane than the news and stories suggest.

Is that what travel is all about?

Dylan: Absolutely. It’s not about sightseeing. We don’t have a fixed route. It’s about the people you meet along the way. The Panda helps enormously, because it sparks people’s curiosity. Even on the ferry, the border guards didn’t believe us at first when we said we really were sleeping in this car. We had to show them a video to convince them. Felicità is not a car that creates distance – not even in a literal sense. It stimulates conversations.

Martina and Dylan laugh, and you notice how fascinated they are by moments like this: when scepticism turns into curiosity and curiosity becomes a conversation. For them, the best travel experiences always seem to be when things do not go completely smoothly – when things veer off track, unplanned, and are not just taken for granted.

Was there an encounter in Tunisia that you particularly remember?

Dylan: Yes, one night in the desert: it was already dark and I saw a fire somewhere off the road. So we went towards it.

Martina: One thing you should know about Dylan: if there’s a fire burning somewhere in the distance, he doesn’t see it as a warning, but as an invitation. So there were two shepherds there, about 200 sheep, a fire and nothing else – just darkness. After getting over our initial amazement, we unpacked our food and started cooking with the shepherds. We ate and talked, although of course we didn’t understand everything they were saying. But you can get a lot of things across through gestures, looks and laughter. Above us you could see the Milky Way, and around us were the animals – it was magical. The next morning we baked bread in the ashes.

And you stayed?

Dylan: Yes. One of the shepherds asked if we had any shoes for him. But we didn’t have an extra pair with us. So we set off and bought some shoes in the next village and tried to find the shepherds again – with no map, just with a rough direction in mind. We drove around the desert in Felicità for a while and had pretty much given up hope. It was hours later, when it was almost dark, when we actually found them. They were so surprised and delighted! For me, this was everything that travel can be: being open, having time and not constantly asking if something makes sense. Doing something because it feels right.

What’s it like for two people to live in a small car?

Martina: You have to be tidy. Otherwise it won’t work.

Dylan: The Panda trains you to be tidy. There’s no room for mess. If you don’t put something back immediately, you’ll pay for it.

Martina: Everything has its place. Everything. Otherwise, your toothbrush will end up lying in the sand outside the car or you’ll spend hours searching for your car key.

What do you actually need to take with you in such a small car?

Dylan: For me, tools and spare parts. For Martina, her little stove. For Punchi, treats. And a good toilet for both of us.

Let’s talk about the toilet: you have your ‘FlowerPott’ toilets in your workshop. How did this idea come about?

Martina: Basically it was a solution born out of dissatisfaction. We were simply not impressed by many of the existing toilet solutions available for camper vans made. Chemical toilets get pretty disgusting eventually, while dry toilets often start to smell.

Dylan: So we came up with something ourselves – with a separating system and an activated carbon filter, so it doesn’t stink and you can stay self-sufficient for longer.

Martina: We didn’t plan to launch this a product in its own right initially. But it worked so well for us that we thought maybe it will help others, too.

Doesn’t living in such a small space put a strain on your relationship as a couple sometimes?

Martina: Of course, we get on each other’s nerves from time to time. But that’s got nothing to do with the Panda. We would have the same arguments even if we were living in a flat.

Dylan: In the confined space of Felicità, we often settle things straight away. We basically complement each other well: I like to try things out, improvise, sometimes unsuccessfully. Martina is more of a voice of reason.

Martina: Which will definitely help keep Dylan alive for longer!

They both laugh. There has been a lot of laughter this afternoon. Perhaps that is the true answer to the question of how you can make life work in such a small space.

What does travel mean to you now after ten years?

Dylan: Certainly not holidays.

Martina: Travelling is our life. It’s not really possible to separate our work and private life. We write, take photos, produce podcasts, make videos – all of this happens on the go. We are not opting out of society. It’s more like we are opting in to another way of life.

And what about home?

Martina: Home has long been more than just a place for us.

Dylan: Switzerland is our base, as that’s where our friends and family are. But for me, home is not really an address. Feeling at home is more of a state of mind. When we’re on the road together, it feels like home.

As the conversation slowly comes to an end, Dylan crawls underneath the Panda mini camper, thinking aloud about the next improvements. Martina disappears to busy herself in the workshop. Punchi starts scampering about again, as if to emphasise a fundamental need to be on the move. And Felicità? She stands there, a small figure in yellow, ready to venture out into the big wide world. So where are they heading to next? The pair shrug their shoulders. They probably really don’t know – or are waiting to find out along the way, when they get back into their Fiat Panda and stumble unexpectedly into the next adventure.