Camping for three
Posted on January 6, 2022 • 9 min read • 1,815 words
News
Oh boy. It’s been over a year since our last article. During Corona, however, not too much happens - one would think. But that’s not true. Since March 2021, the three of us are now on the road and have also discovered the right travel style for us. Once rented and tested for a week, we fell in love with traveling in a camper van. So now that we’ve been too lazy for months, we’re rehashing a whole bunch of older stories to bring you up to date.
Let’s start from the beginning
Some time ago we had the opportunity to look around at the camping fair in Freiburg im Breisgau. At that time we thought of a vehicle built on a Ford Nugget. The possibility to start our photo and bike tours at any place seemed tempting. The idea was then long on ice. You don’t buy such a mini camper every day and somehow we didn’t want to hang a second car on our necks.
In the meantime, our old car is no longer available and we live in another city, in another country, have other jobs and, on top of that, the responsibility for our mouse. So it was definitely time to see how we can still go on our adventures now with completely different conditions. So we came back to the camper idea. Always the same environment for our mouse, a guaranteed place to sleep with reliable comfort and food can also be delivered at any time - just a few advantages of traveling with toddler in a Womo. However, a larger van now seemed more practical for three of us. So we just tried it out and spontaneously rented a Hymer Free for a week from our local dealer.
Relatively spontaneously, we then headed a good two hours in the direction of Albuen Strand on the island of Lolland in Denmark. On this test trip, we wanted to try out several things:
- What can we already do with our little mouse?
- Can we cope with living in a small space (and with baby) in a camper van?
- Can we fit all our luggage into a 6m car?
Of course, our stroller, which can also be converted into a bike trailer, as well as our wheels, all the photo equipment and whatever else you need to survive are on board: So much too much.
Arrival
Unfortunately, we could pick up the car only at noon at the rental Fritidsbiler in Haslev (about 1 hour drive) and only then loaded at our front door. So we left late and have arrived at our campsite also promptly no longer found a socket in the dark for our shore power. Well, not quite. We have already found it. The cable that we had with us, but was not long enough and the reception of the place no longer occupied. So we jumped right into the cold water and survived the first night only with power from the battery - it will be fine. We wanted to know anyway, how good or bad you can stay overnight without infrastructure. So we quickly cooked our first dinner on the road - at 21:40… and then off to bed. After all, tomorrow we want to explore the area!
When choosing our camping vehicle, we paid attention to a few things. The gaz heating can be set by thermostat prima to 20 ° C. The bed in our vehicle is a transverse bed. While beds along the direction of travel in camping vans are usually designed as two single beds, the transverse beds are usually French double beds. So our mouse can sleep in the transverse bed on the rear side or between us. She can’t fall out of there and ways of getting around still have to be learned. Unfortunately we forgot to take a picture of the interior of the camper and especially of the bed. We’ll probably make up for that later elsewhere.
The next morning Lolland welcomes us typically Danish: rain, sun and much wind. Always beautifully in the change. As usual on vacation, we just ignore it and go to three explore the Albuen. A short walk along an asphalt path leads us to the parking lot by the sea, where some kite surfers are getting ready for their tours. The Albuen is an 8km long headland in the very west of the island of Lolland. On the western side is the sea, the Langelandsbelt, on the eastern a fjord, the Søndernor.
Albuen
From here we start a short hike along the headland. The view is really beautiful. On one side the surf from the sea, then reeds and meadow on a sandy beach swaying in the wind, followed by the quiet fjord. In places the wind has pushed the water away from the beach and crab skeletons appear in the mudflats.
The path on the headland is not particularly easy to walk thanks to a lot of sand and headwind, so we quickly turn back and have a quick lunch in the car. After all, we were particularly well prepared and had neither provisions nor any other preparations. Memo for future adventures: A little more preparation does not hurt.
Langø
In the afternoon we walk on a path on the dike around the other side of the fjord to the small village Langø. There should also be a small snack there. With our planning mistakes from the morning, this is certainly a good destination.
On the way there are always little things to discover. At one place boats are parked.
At another one you will find a nice thatched house.
On the way back, we then test the adventurousness of our mouse. Ok… maybe rather that of our stroller. First we put our feet (or wheels?) into the water.
After that, it goes under a barrier in limbo.
Then we explore narrow sneak paths.
And last but not least, the supreme discipline: off-road with all-hands drive.
Albuen — second attempt
So the next day we start a new attempt to explore the headland Albuen. This time with provisions and better preparation in the luggage we want to make it as far as possible. The weather is more gracious today. Lots of sun and clouds… and lots of wind! Denmark just. Nothing works here without wind.
While the headland is in places less than 50 meters wide, it becomes much wider after a few kilometers and offers space for a cattle pasture. Here you can also find wonderfully blooming meadows.
Again and again we think to ourselves, “only up to there in front!” and run further and further along the headland. The path here is now more comparable to a dirt road in a meadow and therefore much easier than the sandy part at the beginning, but it still remains strenuous.
On the way back, we try to make it a little easier for ourselves and instead of walking through the loose sand, we prefer to walk back on the wet sand on the beach. The strong wind has pushed the water in the fjord away from the shore and exposed a super running surface for us here.
While there is no more water on this side of the tongue, back on the other side we find a foaming sea. Here it is the other way around and the wind whips up the water and pushes the waves towards the land.
It wasn’t really clear to us beforehand where we were going here. The whole thing was a very spontaneous affair. But now we really like it here. A great contrast to Copenhagen and the city bustle.
Camper life
In the evening we had a dinner that sounds mundane, for whose idea we were already ashamed during the preparation and which was then infinitely delicious: dumplings with pesto! Sounds totally boring, but with good pesto it is incredibly delicious. And in the campervan it is super easy to prepare.
To clarify the question about the cargo space, yes with a stroller and 2 additional bikes in the car it is already really tight. But it still works. Only this stowage method is not ideal. With the 2 wheels in the aisle one comes during the journey neither sensibly behind to the bed, nor in the bath or well to the stove. Our borrowed car was apparently more geared for a permanent existence on a campsite. The 4(!) camping chairs and the table have filled the trunk almost completely, so that we could only effortfully accommodate our stroller there at all. For the wheels was then no more place. We woltten not do without them, however, because the nearest supermarkets at our destinations are partly 10km away and we did not want to go there every time by car.
So, and because we are oh so experienced campers (we are not!), of course the first breakdown catches up with us here. Before we leave the next morning, we want to get rid of our waste water at the campsite. So the car is packed, everyone is ready to go, we just have to fill the water tank and continue the tour. So we drive over the drainage grate of the gray water disposal at the campsite, get out, look at the side with the water outlet… and… Yes… how exactly does this pipe open here? Ah! For this is this strange red Allen key, which I have stowed away this morning completely down in the middle in the car under the bed! It’s just stupid when bicycles and strollers block all access under the bed. So one must go head over heels on diving station and make the recovery. Fortunately, the search was quick. After all, I still knew where I had last seen the key.
Dodekalitten
After our two nights on Lolland we continue to Kragenæs to the Dodekalitten. Once here, we take a leisurely walk through the forest to an art installation that is truly impressive.
To electronic music, several obelisks are hewn into statues by artists here. The whole arrangement is reminiscent of Stonehenge and has a mystical touch. Unfortunately, our video recording fell victim to the strong Danish wind. In any case, you can hear what I meant by the wind of the last days…
Before we continue from here, we enjoy an ice cream in the sun and go to the small supermarket to fill up our supplies. In particular, we run out of coffee…
Overall, you can see the route of this section here:
