SO MANY WAYS – KARIN & YAKOV

64 and 49 years old, from Zurich, Switzerland

So Many Ways; Vanlife; 2022; Portugal; Teneriffa; travel; lifestyle; van; camper; lebensgeschichten; life stories; Saskia Uppenkamp; Portrait; Fotograf; Fotografin; Berlin; Friedrichshain; Studio; On Location; Reportage

„Life as a miracle.“

Karin & Yakov – El Medano, Tenerife
64 and 49 years old, from Zurich, Switzerland

Karin and Yakov were introduced to each other at a theatre festival in the Crimea. Every year they met there again, a friendship developed. Karin runs a playback theatre in Zurich and is an international teacher of improvisational theatre. Yakov comes from Donetsk and has worked there with children who are difficult to raise, but he also was active as a clown and played in a band.

When war broke out in the Donbass in 2014, Yakov fled to Switzerland to join Karin. They fell in love and wanted to get married, so they could stay together. In Switzerland and Ukraine, they organized the necessary papers, which was anything but easy at the time. Three months later, they were in front of the altar.

At the beginning of 2020, Corona broke out. Together, the two had just been to New Zealand for a holiday. Since it was not possible for them to return to Germany due to the pandemic, they unceremoniously extended their stay, travelled through the country in a camper and discovered their love for this way of life together. They spent the following winter on Tenerife, at first only in a holiday flat, but then in a rented camper, with which they fell in love.

As with their wedding, Karin and Yakov again pulled out all the stops to purchase the camper. Many acquaintances advised them not to buy it because of its age. The two were not deterred, found helpful people in the Spanish authorities who supported their plan and helped to transfer the car from Spain to Switzerland.

Now they are on the road for several months during the winter. They have just taken a small cat and a puppy from an animal shelter on Tenerife, who now live with them in the camper and accompany their future journeys. The camper was painted by an artist from Tenerife. Karin and Yakov’s motto immediately catches your eye: Life as a miracle.