My Laika

I had been looking for a caravan for the Fiat 500 for a long time. I dug my way through all the relevant literature and studied one or two of them at meetings. It shouldn’t be too small, I still want to be able to move about. But the folding tent trailers couldn’t really convince me. Most caravans, on the other hand, are too tall and act like a drag chute the moment you drive. And then, while browsing classic caravan forums, I came across a caravan you can crank down! That could be the one.

Somewhere in the vastness of the internet I came across an old brochure: does such a thing still exist? Where do you find one? My “there-must-be-one-out-there-somewhere” urge gave me no peace. In 2006 I found photos at a Fiat 500 fan in France – he had found and bought his on eBay. So it really does exist! A year later I found one too, but because of the fantasy price of 5000 Euro nothing came of it.

Then for a long, long time I found nothing at all. I wrote to every Laika dealer in Switzerland, Italy, Germany and France. All that came out of it was one photo and various people telling me they had never seen one.

During a long night at the end of October 2011 I worked my way through the various classified platforms and once again searched with the term “Laika 500” – and to my astonishment I actually found an ad. The very first one ever for such a caravan. The first euphoria gave way to a “sh….” when I read where the thing was standing: Palermo, not exactly next door. But it gave me no peace. I phoned the owner: the caravan is complete, not the prettiest any more, there is still some work to do but it is very rare, the papers are there. When I asked whether you could hitch it up and tow it home, he answered with a “ma certo”.

Then things moved fast: I wrote him an e-mail with my address, he wrote me one with his bank details, and whoosh, the euros were transferred – and I got an uneasy feeling: is somebody taking me for a ride here? After all, I had only seen the caravan in pictures.

Then I tried to find a haulage company that would bring the caravan to Switzerland for a reasonable price – unfortunately without success. I had already been to Sardinia with the Fiat 500 once, by ferry back then. Why shouldn’t that work with Sicily too? The ticket including car, seat and all charges cost only 81 €.

On 9.11.2011 the journey began: off from Thun towards Kandersteg, car-carrying train through the Lötschberg, on over the Simplon into Italy, past Alessandria to the port of Genoa. On the ferry to Palermo I spent the night on three upholstered chairs. After 20 hours and an hour’s delay we arrived in Palermo. A fast drive through the city took me to Nino, the seller, where I was greeted by two barking dogs and – in the same shed – by a 2300 Alfa Romeo from the 1940s as well as various Lancias and a Ford Mustang. The tow hitch was held by just one wobbly bolt, the lighting didn’t work. With an extension lead I rigged up something provisional and hitched up the caravan.

Time was running out: in 30 minutes the ferry was due to sail back. When I arrived at the port at 22:55 it had already left 10 minutes earlier. I decided to drive to the next port – but I missed that ferry as well. In the end I got a ticket for a ferry to Salerno, 900 km from Genoa. With two cars and about 25 lorries we cast off at 2 o’clock. At around 10 o’clock we docked in Salerno, and the long drive via Napoli, Roma, Firenze, Pisa and Genova to Alessandria began.

As the vehicle papers were not ready yet, I first took the caravan only as far as the summer house in Piedmont. Via Gondo, the Simplon, Brig and Visp – shortly after midnight, the last train of course missed – I carried on down the Rhone valley and home. After 1857 trouble-free kilometres I fell into bed exhausted. And it was fun!

In December the papers arrived by registered post: a new vehicle registration document made out in my name. But at first the weather did not allow me to bring the Laika to Switzerland for good. Only in February, after far too much snow, could I tackle the trip – this time with a car trailer. On the drive through the Simplon tunnel the pressure wave of a train coming the other way tore a hole in the trailer’s tarpaulin; at full speed I had to get out and fasten the tarpaulin by hand. Luckily it was only scratches, and the insurance covered the damage.

Two hours late I finally arrived in Vaglio, freed the caravan from its load of snow and loaded it backwards onto the trailer. The return trip then went without a hitch and I was home the same evening. This way to the restoration of my Laika.