LITTLE CURRENT—After selling their Zurich-based logistics company, Philipp and Manuela Antoni gathered up their two children, Lara, 4, and Nyla, 6, packed a Jeep and trailer with bicycles, clothing and some really good coffee and headed out to explore North America, landing in Montreal. After waking up on the Little Current waterfront the family encountered resident Richard Glaude, out for a walk on the dock, who insisted they come and meet The Expositor to share their story.
Initially a bit shy, the couple warmed with the sunshine and a cup of the aforementioned coffee to talk about their journey and what they think of Canada so far.
“Wow, wow, this is beautiful,” said Ms. Antoni as she looked out across the North Channel, a self-confessed world traveller who hails from a tiny Swiss village nestled in the picturesque mountains. “We travel through a tunnel to reach the valley,” she said. Her husband is originally from Germany, but the couple settled to raise their family in Switzerland.
The couple founded a logistics company in Switzerland in 2014 with two others, since sold. Mr. Antoni is something of a serial entrepreneur, this being his fourth company (with two subsequently sold). Logistics is not an area of endeavour he would ever entertain again, admits Mr. Antoni. He explains the challenges are legion and the margins miniscule, particularly in Europe these days. His wife worked as a program manager in the company, while he handled the physical parts of the deal. Like just about everywhere, the last mile is the most challenging in deliveries, notes Mr. Antoni.
Curiously, he explains that Finland has actually ended its postal service, being replaced with boxes where packages are dropped off.
Both are ardent cyclists and have travelled large swathes of the globe on two wheels as well as four (or eight-ish with trailer).
The couple endured a slight setback on arriving in Montreal, as their custom trailer was damaged in transit. (No, they did not travel by Air Canada.)
Both the customized Jeep and the accompanying trailer were designed by Mr. Antoni. “I had the idea from scratch,” he said. When he stepped back from the drawing board, he had a vehicle body designed on a Jeep chasis. “This one has limited space, it sleeps four, and is five-and-a-half metres, but there is not a lot of room inside,” he admits. “I designed the trailer to hold our tools, clothes and other things.” The trailer also has a built-in kitchen that folds out of the side. “We needed somewhere we could cook,” he said. “I figured we needed a place to store all of our stuff, my toys especially,” he laughs.
The custom Jeep is a bit top-heavy, admits Mr. Antoni, “you can’t go everywhere.” But with the trailer detached and left at a campsite, the Jeep affords an acceptable level of mobility when large distances are in order—and then, of course, there are the bicycles for toddling around locally.
Their children are remarkably fluent in English for such a young age, but that is not so very unusual for Swiss children. That country boasts four main languages explains Ms. Antoni, “Swiss-German, French, Italian and Romansh. English and Portuguese are also very common,” she said. At the age of Kindergarten we learn normal German, the ‘official’ German, at the age of nine they start learning French/English.”
The couple took an opportunity to explore the many trails and sights of Manitoulin, including Bridal Veil Falls, the Cup and Saucer and Twin Peaks Trail in Sheguiandah. They had originally planned to cross over to the US at Sault Ste. Marie. “We want to head south as it gets colder,” said Ms. Antoni. But after chatting a bit about the North Shore of Lake Superior, the couple said they would consider a modification to their route.
Manitoulin, they assured The Expositor, was one of the most beautiful places they had encountered along the way.
