To The Ends Of The World - To What End?

As the millennial generation increasingly seeks out long-term travel, the nuanced relationship between the two is propelled into the limelight.

- Kames Narayanan

ROUTINE IS THE enemy of progress was the mantra that encapsulated one young German couple’s year-long pursuit of happiness. After living together for three years in Berlin, filmmaker Felix, and his musician girlfriend Mogli, packed up their lives and their Bernese Mountain dog Rudi, and drove across North America from Alaska to Argentina. The entire journey, documented in a film on Netflix, aptly titled “Expedition Happiness”.

To an outsider looking in, the couple led a picture-perfect life: a contemporary loft to call home, a well-earned reputation amongst the creative set and each other’s companionship. Yet, a gaping hole remained unfulfilled in their lives. “Why Berlin? Why Germany? And why settle down so early?” wrote the couple on an entry they penned for Southern Chronicles, a site that curates travel escapades.

The final impetus for the couple to leave their home country came when they stumbled upon an old 40-foot school bus online. Transforming the vehicle into a home for the road, complete with furniture, electricity and even plumbing, the couple then set off on their pilgrimage. What ensued in the months after was a traverse through vast, boundless stretches of barren land, encounters with exotic wildlife and the visual ephemera of uninhibited views of the Milky Way. Every step of their journey was meticulously documented in film footage and photographs. At the time of print, the pair’s Instagram account (@ expeditionhappiness) had amassed an impressive 150,000 followers.