Yes, it is possible. Easy. With a smile.
It does hurt a little. There was hope that Covid could have made people rethink their travel plans a little. Some began to appreciate the beauty of hiking in their own backyards, back then, or paddling silently across quiet lakes in eastern Germany. Also because there was no other way, the cheap flight to Turkish coasts or the Maldives was simply no longer possible. But the pandemic has long since become just a ghost from a very distant past; meanwhile, more people are flying again than ever, for business and leisure alike. A shopping weekend in New York is already back on the cards, and Mauritius or Costa Rica are more popular than ever as holiday destinations. The carbon footprint, however, is so yesterday. It’s all about YOLO – you only live once, after all. And that’s probably why you buy that big V8 SUV, let the others, all the others, see how they want to save the fickle planet Earth.




And so you are happy to hear, even from people who are not intellectually challenged, who are actually capable of reading: I would buy an electric car, but. But it’s so difficult with the charging infrastructure, you can’t charge anywhere. And if you can, it takes hours, if not days. Even weeks, at best. You are then left standing in the rain (which is actually true), you have no idea how to pay (which can actually be a problem), and it is completely uncertain when and how you will continue, if at all (which is complete nonsense). We drove the weaker version of the Volvo EX90 from our home in Emmental to friends near Frankfurt, charging it once on the way (without charging, although it would have been possible). On the second day, we continued in a relaxed manner around Berlin to Storkow; we charged twice on the German motorways, once during lunch, all without any problems. Once, the Volvo satnav wanted to send us to a strange charging station, only 22 kW, but still far from the motorway, but we corrected that ourselves, relaxed, because we knew what was important. High charging speed, for example, the faster the better.



But now, in Storkow, it got a bit more difficult. Although a reasonably good charging station was promised by the satnav and also the smartphone, it didn’t work. However, other things were not working in Storkow either: at six o’clock in the afternoon on that Tuesday, the sidewalks were being folded up in the small town, exactly one restaurant was still open, and we still had a long way to go to see the semi-final between Spain and France. And the next morning there was another not inconsiderable detour before we could get to a fast charging station. But we then chose it so that we could still buy fresh food for our paddling tour; you can combine things like this perfectly. That is, if you want to think about it.



We had already discovered paddling as a very relaxed form of holiday before Covid, but during the pandemic we took it a little more seriously, and also did it more sportily. Usually, when you go out in a kayak, you set off from A, get to B – and somehow have to get back to A again, with the boat. The Märkische Umfahrt now has the great advantage that you can set off from any point – and get back to it after 180 kilometres. You can rent the equipment at various places for little money and return it there after the trip. Yes, you have to row against the current for a (surprisingly short) stretch, but that’s not really exhausting. There are a few kilometres on a calm canal, but otherwise you’re on two open lakes. The rest of the way is mainly on the Spree – and it’s a scenic wonder. The river is narrow, the banks are densely wooded almost everywhere, and you can see a whole menagerie of birds and sometimes otters. However, the tourist infrastructure is miserable, there are a few waterway rest areas where you can pitch your tent, there are hardly any restaurants on the shore, and the shopping opportunities are also quite limited. So the tour needs to be well prepared; it can easily be done in a week, even by inexperienced paddlers. We managed it in five days, but only because bad weather was forecast. If you are looking for peace and quiet and magnificent river landscapes, this tour is highly recommended – but it’s not so much of a party.



So we stayed in Berlin for two extra days. After that, we went even further to the Lüneburg Heath to visit relatives. And from there, it was exactly 800 kilometres in one go back home. With a fast car and sporty driving style, it is sometimes possible to do it in seven hours. However, with the Volvo EX90, which we had to charge three times for the whole journey, it took us nine hours. That’s not a bad result – and somehow we arrived home more relaxed than before. That’s because you don’t drive so fast, otherwise the electricity consumption increases disproportionately. And you take a charging break every three hours at the latest, which also serves safety purposes. Problems at these charging stations: zero; everything worked perfectly. There is a ‘fast charging’ option about every 50 kilometres on the A7 and A5, there were always enough free columns there, and payment (via the Volvo ‘Plug & Charge’ service) was perfectly regulated. And yes, even with the current very high electricity prices, the costs are still significantly lower than for any combustion engine, however economical. There are no more excuses, sorry.

This is a story from the Volvo supplement in our print edition radical #2. You can find the table of contents here.
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