The journey is the reward: Lasse Stolley is the 'railway nomad'

In der Bahn leben

Lasse Stolley likes to travel by train. Not only to get to other places, but also because of the train itself. Because trains are his home.

BahnCard 100 instead of fixed residence

Since 2022, 18-year-old Lasse Stolley has opted for a life on trains. As he himself writes on his website, he has ‘swapped his permanent residence for a BahnCard 100 1st class’.

Photo: Markus Winkler / Pexels

Minimalism instead of ownership

Behind this is also a special approach to life: a minimalistic one. Stolley writes on his website: ‘... and an abundance of possessions became minimalism.’

Photo: lassestolley / Instagram

The journey is the destination

Stolley combines life on trains with the destinations he travels to: sometimes he visits friends or attends events, sometimes he is out and about as a tourist, taking in the new sights on hiking tours or sightseeing tours.

Photo: lassestolley / Instagram

Problem: Sleeping

The only problem Stolley emphasises on his website is sleeping. This is because he doesn't have a cozy bed in a room at home, only the train compartment...

Photo: Mariusz Zajac / Pexels

Train compartment instead of a bedroom

But he has also found a solution for this: Deutsche Bahn's night ICEs, which he uses to travel across Germany every night. And, as he himself writes, with "a little practice (...) you can sleep pretty well on these trains".

Photo: Markus Winkler / Pexels

Digital nomad

Stolley finances his life on the railway as a software developer. He is self-employed, able to live the lifestyle of a digital nomad, while working and travelling by train.

A lifetime in 30 litres

Stolley's equipment is totally reflective of his minimalist lifestyle. Everything he carries with him fits into a rucksack with a volume of 30 litres. This includes selected items of clothing, for example just two pairs of socks, and plenty of technical equipment to do his job.

Photo: lassestolley / Instagram

Freedom

Stolley writes on Instagram, that life on the train gives him the freedom he loves. His favourite thing to do while travelling by train is to look out of the window.

Photo: lassestolley / Instagram

No end in sight

Stolley was inspired to live on the train by a report about a person who lived on the train for a year. So far, however, there is no end in sight for Stolley's life as a ‘railway nomad’.

Photo: lassestolley / Instagram

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