From San Marino to Portugal: Travel Plans, Special Places, and Unexpected Twists
Above the Rooftops of San Marino
San Marino is not an Italian town, but an independent state in northern central Italy. It is one of the oldest republics in the world and boasts many historic buildings. The medieval old town is situated on the slopes of Monte Titano.
A population of just over 34,000 lives in an area of just over 61 square kilometers (as of June 2026). It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.
Three 11th-century defensive towers stand on the neighboring peaks.
We took the cable car up the 338 meters to the historic center. The entire old town is a completely car-free zone. With its medieval architecture, narrow cobblestone streets, and breathtaking panoramic views, we found San Marino absolutely worth seeing.
The Three Towers and the Witches’ Trail
As the region’s most striking landmark, the three towers of Rocca Guaita stand majestically on Monte Titano, overlooking the old town.
The first tower dates back to the 11th century and is the oldest of the three. It and its two sister towers served to defend the city. From up there, you have a fantastic panoramic view of the old town and all of San Marino—the mountains on one side and the sea on the other.
The second tower (Rocca Cesta) houses a museum of historical weapons. The third tower (Montale) can only be viewed from the outside. They are all connected by the picturesque Witches’ Path (Passo delle Streghe).
The former Rocca Guaita prison, which served as the official state prison from the 18th century through the 1970s.
The inmates of that time left inscriptions, drawings, and graffiti on the walls.
Since 1956, the restored fortress has housed a fascinating collection of historical European weapons. In this museum, visitors take a journey through European military history from the 15th to the 19th century. Here, you can see the evolution from massive battle axes to intricately decorated ceremonial halberds from the Renaissance.
You can also marvel at masterfully crafted suits of armor and learn how firearms replaced swords. On display are historic matchlock, wheel-lock, and flintlock rifles, as well as curious, experimental combination weapons—such as a dagger that also functioned as a pistol.
Here is just a small photo collage of the numerous weapons and suits of armor:
Culture in the Heart of the Old Town
The Basilica of San Marino is the most important church in the microstate. It is dedicated to Saint Marinus, the country’s founder and patron saint. The building was constructed in the Neoclassical style. A large colonnade with eight Corinthian columns dominates the façade. The basilica was built between 1825 and 1838 and remains as it is today.
Piazza della Libertà is the city’s central gathering place. Here stands the neo-Gothic Palazzo Pubblico, which serves as city hall as well as the seat of government and parliament. The Statua della Libertà, made of white Carrara marble, stands in the center of the square. It was donated by a German countess in 1876, and its tower-like crown symbolizes the country’s independence.
St. Anna Chapel features symbols of the Christian and Jewish faiths as well as Islam. It is a memorial to intercultural peace and is not an active, shared place of worship.
More impressions of San Marino:
Impressions from Montecassiano
In the Italian town of Montecassiano, in the province of Macerata in the Marche region, we found our last campsite on our way south through Italy. First, we’ll show you a few impressions of this beautiful town before we tell you why it was our southernmost campsite.
When Your Gut Feeling Sets the Course
Life in a camper van can sometimes present us with radical challenges—especially when it comes to honesty. Italy, Greece, and beyond—that was firmly set on our itinerary, but sometimes you keep driving along a route for the sake of the other person, even though your own gut feeling has long since been telling you to turn back. That’s exactly what happened to us on the way there. Until we realized: We only want to go down this path if we’re both fully behind it. We don’t want to build a life with a knot in our stomachs. So we hit the brakes, talked it out, and found a compromise that works for both of us. We’ve realigned our compass and recalculated our route, because life in a camper has to mean freedom and joy for us!
For days, Alex has been saying this one sentence to me over and over: “If you say YES, I’ll turn around right away and we’ll go somewhere else.” I’d already noticed that something wasn’t right with him. For him, the whole plan—Italy and then on to Greece—just didn’t feel right anymore, even though we were both excited about our trip. When he said once again during the drive from Montecassiano to the next campsite, “If you say yes, I’d love to turn around right now!”
So I blurted out, “Yeah, let’s do it!”
At first he couldn’t believe it, but when he realized I was serious, he pulled over right away and started looking for a new place to spend the night… in the opposite direction! It was almost obvious where he wanted to go—where his destination for the winter would be. I’d love to continue on our planned route, but I agreed to his suggestion right away, too. And even though I’d love to dive into a new adventure, the whole package has to work for our permanent home on wheels. We both have to feel comfortable, and sometimes something changes inside you, so you just have to rethink things.
We love secluded, beautiful beaches and nude swimming. We love the ocean and the mountains alike. We love being able to have a beer or glass of wine at noon without getting strange looks, and we hate seeing new no-driving signs around every corner. We want to feel free and welcome and just live each day without a plan. And so it was clear where we should go next.
True freedom means changing your mindset
I know what some of you are going to think right now: “But you’ve been to Spain and Portugal so many times already! I thought you wanted to travel the world and see new countries?” And yes, you’re absolutely right. We’ve been living in a camper for three years now, and to be honest, we haven’t seen as much of the world as we actually wanted to. The plan was different.
But we realized during the trip: There’s no point in chasing new countries if our gut feeling isn’t right. We don’t have to prove to anyone how many places we can check off our list. This is our everyday life, our real life. For us, true freedom doesn’t mean stubbornly following a plan just to give others an exciting story—freedom means being able to change your mind when your heart desires it. To turn around when it no longer feels right. We’d gladly trade “checking off” destinations for that deep sense of having arrived. And that’s exactly what Spain and Portugal give us.
Alex’s relief was immediately palpable, and so we quickly set off for Spain. With our 7.5-metric-ton vintage truck, we not only have to consider our size and weight but also the low-emission zones, which often make life difficult for us, especially in France. We also usually avoid highways and tolls. After hours of discussion and research on the best way to get from Italy to Spain, we had a plan in place that very same evening. Given current gas prices, traveling via the French toll highway was actually the cheapest option for us. Since we wanted to get to Spain as quickly as possible by our standards, we took the highway for the remaining kilometers in Italy as well.
A Cistercian Abbey in Lombardy
In Chiaravalle, Lombardy, we found a nice place to spend the night. We visited the Abbazia di Chiaravalle, which was right next to the campsite, and then went out for a drink to wind down the evening.
The Abbazia di Chiaravalle is an impressive 12th-century Cistercian monastery. The abbey was founded in 1135 by Cistercian monks from Clairvaux. Particularly impressive are the Romanesque-Gothic architecture, the striking bell tower, and the elaborately painted interiors. As you walk through the old cloisters and the monastery grounds, you can still sense some of the tranquility and spirituality of this special place. Unfortunately, a service was taking place while we were there, so we could only catch a brief glimpse of the beautiful interior.
Dolceacqua: Welcome to our Musketeers movie
Our last stop in Italy was in Dolceacqua. France has so many low-emission zones that we’re not allowed to drive into with our classic car. We took the French highway from Italy to Spain. Since we aren’t allowed to take a single exit into any of France’s cities because of these low-emission zones—and would therefore have to sleep at rest stops, which is out of the question for us due to the well-known robberies—we had a long drive ahead of us. So we were in Dolceacqua to grab a little food for the long drive the next day when two boys on their bikes came out of a small, unassuming passageway. The walls looked old, and we were very curious. So we cautiously made our way through this dark passageway and found ourselves transported to a completely different era. Do you know those moments when you’re traveling, when you stand speechless in front of a scene, happily pull out your camera, snap a photo—and then, when you look at the screen, you almost want to cry? Because the photo just doesn’t do it justice at all? Dolceacqua is a place you simply have to see in person! Maybe you’ll still be able to feel a little bit of that magic as you browse through the pictures.
Dolceacqua doesn’t feel like a typical Italian town—it feels like a set from a historical swashbuckling movie. You’re practically waiting for D’Artagnan and the Musketeers to come charging around the next corner with their swords drawn at any second!
The absolute centerpiece and undisputed star of the town is the legendary Ponte Vecchio. This bold, 33-meter-long stone bridge from the 15th century spans the Nervia River in a single, elegant arch, connecting the modern part of town with the historic “Terra” district. None other than the famous painter Claude Monet was so enchanted by this sight in 1884 that he described the bridge as a “jewel of lightness” and immortalized it in his paintings.
We simply strolled through these alleys for hours, completely immersed in the carrugi—those incredibly narrow, steep stone alleys that wind their way up the hillside like a labyrinth. Everywhere, old stone arches provide shade, and behind every bend, a small artist’s studio awaits.
When the Compass Feels Right
The next day, we arrived in Spain. And from the very first meter, it felt like coming home. That confirmed to us that it was the right decision! Now we’ll just go with the flow and see which path Spain takes us on to Portugal!
Why Alex Is Suddenly on Probation in Portugal!
We had just been traveling around Spain for a few days when news reached us from Germany that we’d received mail from the ANSR (Autoridade Nacional de Segurança Rodoviária) in Portugal.
The reason dated back almost two years. In 2024, we were riding our KTM in Portugal when, of all times, the police happened to be around at the worst possible moment 😉 We hadn’t properly observed a right-of-way rule—it involved a “yield” sign with a corresponding stop line. What we didn’t know at the time was that in Portugal, this “yield” sign, when accompanied by a white line on the ground, must be treated like a stop sign. We, however, as we’d learned in driving school, didn’t stop, since the flow of traffic allowed us to slow down gradually and continue on.
Unfortunately, the GNR (police) noticed how we were driving and pulled us over. Of course, we gave our side of the story, but it didn’t help. As the police officer explained to us, the fine ranges from 120 to 600 €, depending on the circumstances. At the time, we thought it would be better not to argue too much and just pay the fine. So we paid the hefty fine of 120 € right there on the spot. We had absolutely no idea that this offense is treated as a “serious traffic violation” in Portugal. What we also didn’t know—and what no one pointed out to us—was that paying the fine in cash on the spot automatically resulted in a driving ban (a so-called “additional penalty”) for a serious traffic violation.
Well, almost two years later, we received mail from Portugal—and suddenly it was about a driving ban! The statute of limitations there is a full 2 years, not 6 months as in Germany. The ANSR’s decision imposes a 30-day driving ban in Portugal. Since Alex hasn’t committed any other traffic violations in Portugal, he’s lucky in his misfortune:
That’s because the driving ban was suspended for 180 days on probation. The probation period begins in a few days.
We do see a bit of irony in this whole situation. After all, we originally didn’t plan to drive there this winter at all—we wanted to explore Italy instead. In that case, this driving ban would have been completely irrelevant to Alex. Now it means he has to be careful on the road and err on the side of caution—stopping one more time just to be safe. He can’t commit any further offenses for the next nearly 180 days. Otherwise, he’ll have to pay the fine for the new offense, and the 30-day driving ban will be enforced immediately.
A Little Less “Going,” a Little More “Being”
What a start to our new, unplanned adventure! First, our gut feeling makes us turn around right in the middle of our planned route, then a story from almost two years ago is waiting for us in Portugal—and somehow, all of this fits pretty well with our life in the camper right now: Things always turn out differently than you expect anyway.
And maybe that’s exactly the moment when I realize that it’s not just our route that’s turning out a little differently than planned.
Lately, I’ve been having this feeling over and over again that I’d like to slow down a bit. And at the same time, I ask myself: Why, exactly?
Actually, I have an incredibly wonderful life. I don’t have a typical 8-to-5 workweek, no obligations that drive me somewhere every morning. We get to live where others go on vacation, and we decide for ourselves when to move on and when to stay. We’ve experienced so many wonderful things in recent months—we visited our family and even had four weeks of an absolutely dream vacation in Namibia.
And yet, I often feel tense right now.
To be honest, I find that a little crazy myself. Because really, I should be feeling exactly that sense of freedom that so many people dream of.
But maybe it’s not the act of keeping on traveling that’s wearing me out right now. Maybe it’s this constant “What’s next?”—the next place, the next stretch of road, the next experience, the next decision.
Maybe sometimes my mind just needs a break, even if life is actually wonderful.
That’s why, ever since we hit the road again in August, I’ve been feeling a growing desire not to constantly have to see something new. Not to keep going. Not to visit just one more place. But just to stay put for a while. To wake up in the morning and know: Today, we don’t have to go anywhere.
And now it’s actually almost time: Portugal—and with it, our winter home—is getting closer.
I’m incredibly excited to stay there for an extended period. I’m looking forward to our spot—which we’re now heading to for the fourth time—to the community, to evenings spent together, and, of course, to all the people we’ve met along the way who have since become really good friends.
Maybe I’ll figure out a little bit there what’s actually going on with me right now.
Maybe I really just need a little less “moving forward” and a little more “being.”
And maybe I don’t even have to figure out right away why that is.
Maybe I can just accept that it’s possible to have a wonderful, free life and still long for peace and quiet sometimes.
Without that meaning there’s anything wrong with my life.
