Text and photo: Helena Bergström
This year it's really harder to plan than ever. At least for us. We've made a lot of plans, but it feels like we have to change and rethink everything all the time... Anyway, now we're off on our first little camper trip of the year!
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Lots of plans... that we change
We can't really put our finger on what it's about, but this year is different for us. We make lots of different plans, but just as often we have to change them. What's left is a slightly confused feeling and a kind of lack of clarity about direction. We're trying to understand what it's about, but it's probably a mix of different things.
A lot of things that complicate life
It feels like there are a lot of different things that complicate life, and that make it difficult to plan.
Everything that happens in the world
Everything that happens in the world has an impact, of course. Flights are canceled, gasoline prices are going up – and gasoline is becoming a scarce commodity. We were forced cancel our trip to Namibia, and in connection with that we had to struggle to rebook our tickets to a different date and destination. The result? A lot of hassle and a fairly large financial loss.
The situation in the world of course also affects our personal finances and our possibilities to travel with the motorhome. How expensive will diesel really be? We don't know...
The company – with opportunities and challenges
We are experiencing many interesting opportunities around our company and our site, freedomtravel.se, right now. We have several really Exciting collaborations and development opportunities are underway.
At the same time, it's sometimes hard to know how to prioritize, and we end up spending a lot of time and energy on projects that may not really lead to progress. Some days it feels like we have little for many balls in the air.
Technical problems – is there no end to them?
We have had a huge amount of help from ChatGPT in solving all the technical challenges, whether it was the home alarm, the drone, the computers, the statistics program, various portals or Facebook. Strangely enough, it feels like we spent more time than ever on technical difficulties. Is there no end?
Health and family
It may seem like we are always healthy and energetic, but of course that is not the case. Like many others, we struggle with one thing and the other.
You are also connected to many other people in this world, not least through family and kinship. Right now we have several people in our vicinity who need support in different ways. We try as best we can, but we often feel that we are not enough. This is of course another aspect that affects our lives.
The damnation of everything
Last but not least, there's this whole damn thing. I don't know, but this year the stars aren't really aligned for us.
If we book plane tickets, we have to cancel the trip just a few days later. If we board a plane, the bags won't come with us. If we put the campervan away for the winter, the battery dies. And if we spill wine on the computer, it's right after we cancel the insurance...
This year simply hasn't really wanted to play our tune. Not so far anyway. Sometimes you wonder if someone is trying to play a prank on you? Maybe it's just as well to laugh at the whole thing...?
Planning trips – and replanning
We were supposed to be in Namibia by now, and when that didn't happen, we tried to change our minds. Instead, we decided to take a trip with the camper van to Värmland (not quite like Namibia maybe, but still!), which we haven't seen much of. But, due to various factors (above) we haven't been there either, not yet anyway.
The big plan for the summer has been Norway. But are we going now that fuel prices feel so unstable? Yes, as you hear, the plans are a bit unclear...
A first little trip with the campervan
Anyway, we're currently on our first little trip with the camper – we've made it to Peter's brother's in the Stockholm archipelago. And we have to say: it's very, very cozy to be out in the camper!
We are already longing for more and longer motorhome trips, and they will come – if we just manage to plan a little. In addition, a trip to an exciting destination in Turkey is coming soon, and after that probably Germany…
How is planning for you this year?
How are you planning this year? Do you have any vacation or travel plans for the summer?
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Frido says:
Too bad everything has to be so hard for you right now. The damnedness of everything is more than familiar to me too. 2025 was the damnedest year so far with unexpected, premature deaths in the family and my own illness. This year the "worst" hasn't happened - yet - but there aren't any major joys either. Uncertainty at work and in the world situation, my own and others' health... I still think it's good to say it like it is instead of pretending to be happy as a lark when life only gives you lemons (without any chance to take a tequila, as the saying goes). (When life gives you lemons drink tequila). My son and I will hopefully go to Northern Italy at the beginning of the summer. For now, that flight lives in the SAS app.
Today I'm drinking coffee outside in the sun at 8 in the morning, at least I'm happy about that.
10 May 2026 - 6:58
Helena says:
Sorry to hear that you had to get acquainted with ”the damnedness of everything”! Northern Italy sounds lovely! And also coffee in the sun, that’s worth enjoying!! Wishing you all the best!
11 May 2026 - 19:40
Jossu says:
I have Kazakhstan and Peru booked, and so far there have been no changes. This feels like a year where I won't dare to prepare myself for actually going, until maybe a few days before departure.
It will be planning, booking hotels and excursions that can be cancelled and hoping for the best.
I hope that the technical difficulties and other crap are over for you. That you can get on with your travels, relax and enjoy.
10 May 2026 - 9:17
Helena says:
What exciting trips you have ahead of you!! Hopefully no disruptions in those directions, but it can still be good to be a little foresight! Wishing you all the best!!
11 May 2026 - 19:42
Eval8 says:
Sometimes it just feels like it's been destroyed.
We have been home for a little over a week and will soon drive back to our seasonal campsite. Staying for a little over a week, I think. Then we have to be home for a few days before we go to a rented cottage for a week. Blekinge archipelago, my childhood summer destinations. As I have longed for there. Wondering if it will be a positive or neutral experience? Looking forward to it very much anyway.
10 May 2026 - 9:28
Anna i Portugal says:
Oh, it's so hard to be in that kind of spiral where everything goes wrong. I hope you land on whatever trips you're going to take, that it feels good in your heart and wallet. The Stockholm archipelago is beautiful, I've only been there once – but I would love to return, maybe I'll get the opportunity through your pictures 🙂 Have a great time!
10 May 2026 - 9:42
bmlarsreseblogg says:
We are among those who usually have a lot planned but also feel that we don't know a thing about even the summer. We had probably planned to go quite a bit north, but if diesel suddenly costs 30 SEK/l or is rationed, it doesn't sound as fun. We have plane tickets to Krakow at the end of August, but the hotel is cancelable so we'll see how it goes. It's still nice to have a camper van as you can make shorter trips, because we also have several doctor/dentist appointments booked, so now we're aiming for the Mälar region with Birka, Mariefred etc.??
Our biggest dilemma right now is what will happen to our mobile home in the future? What will the outside world look like in the fall, is there fuel and at what cost. If we can't go south, we'll probably have to get an apartment again and that's not what we had in mind right now...
10 May 2026 - 10:09
Anki says:
Sometimes everything is just the opposite of what you want... hopefully all the misery will end and things will turn for the better!
I (and Muffin) have been to Vadstena and Karlstad this spring and the only thing we have planned for the summer is a train trip to Skåne. There we will meet a couple of blog friends and explore Österlen … I am looking forward to that!
Nice pictures...have a great time!
10 May 2026 - 10:24
Ditte says:
Hope luck is on your side soon. But it would be nice to have a few days in the archipelago. We don't really have anything planned, but in the summer we rarely go abroad; no more than Norway or Finland. A trip to Gotland is planned for the end of July. Here one of the daughters and her family have bought a house by the sea with a view of the Karlsöarna Islands. And otherwise we'll see what health and other things allow. But we can go quite spontaneously...
10 May 2026 - 11:00
BP says:
Sad to read that 2026 is not your year. I mean, planning flights right now is doomed I would guess. Flights that don't depart, that get changed and that get merged. No, there's no point in planning anything. Now I'm not a planner but a spontaneous person, but still.
I don't know what diesel costs right now, but I can imagine that it won't be a cheap campervan holiday that was supposed to go to Norway.
Luckily, you live in a holiday paradise on your houseboat. And a summer at the pier with a restaurant/bar/café a few meters away is no shame either…
10 May 2026 - 19:55
JoY says:
It seems a bit chaotic for you right now, hope the technical mess sorts itself out. Traveling is a chapter in itself with all the flight and fuel prices. We are still on a roll, now in northern Germany. In the fall, the idea is to go to family in Switzerland but as most people say: we'll see. I don't have any ferry tickets booked that need to be cancelled/rebooked, but it will be the bridges in such cases.
11 May 2026 - 19:34
Annika på Resfredag says:
I don't know if it's any consolation - but I feel that most people around me are taking trips a bit as they come right now. It's hard to plan because we simply don't know how things will turn out with something like... anything. If you get to go on a booked trip, that's a bonus, I guess!
But I think you can avoid all that extra hassle you've been going through, with everything from technology to lost luggage. Hope your stay in Turkey will be great!
15 May 2026 - 23:37
Lena - gott för själen says:
Damn, what a chore it is when you're in that kind of "anti-flow". I remember a short period in my past life when the waterbed, the boiler and the gearbox on one of the cars broke down at basically the same time. Also during a period when we had extremely little money. So hard! But, luckily, it gets better...
This year, it has felt good that we won't be doing much this summer except for shorter trips. We are aiming more for the September trip, which we of course hope will happen without doubled fuel prices! Choosing not to think about it right now.
Hug Lena
29 May 2026 - 10:07