Camping, with your feet in the grass and barbecuing all day long. For many holidaymakers, a campsite is Walhalla. This summer we will be visiting campers in Brabant, today Jurgen from Beek en Donk with his daughters Jill and Jane. They sleep in a large tent, with three bedrooms and enough space for extra guests.
Jill (6) and Jane (10) are ready to go to the pool. Together with Sarah, a friend from home who is also at the campsite. It’s a big ‘us knows us’ for Jurgen and his daughters. Jurgen: “We came here for the first time last year, we went to visit friends. We stuck there for a few days and decided to come back again this year.”
They are not alone. His sister Simone, her husband Coen and the children came to visit Jurgen and his daughters here last year. They are also these weeks at the Eurocamping in Vessem. That also applies to girlfriend Emma, she was brought for a few days.
With three sleeping cabins and a large awning, it is always full. Just like last night. “The girls wanted to cozy up in the awning with a few friends. Then we throw all the mattresses together and it will find its way. It’s always good for me, as long as the girls are having a good time.”
“For the girls, a tent is a bit the same as the hut they like to build at home every now and then.”
This holiday is a breath of fresh air for the single father. A divorce and three deaths in a short time cost him a lot of crumbs in recent years. His life has been back on track for six months and he is doing better. He could take over this tent from a good friend for next to nothing. After purchasing the necessary camping gear, the decision to return to Vessem was quickly made.
“It’s a nice atmosphere here, you can blow in everywhere for a chat, everyone is close together and there are many acquaintances. That group of acquaintances grows every year. It’s fantastic for the girls, they make friends on every corner. For the girls, a tent is a bit the same as the hut they like to build at home every now and then. Camping with a tent feels real to me back to the basics.”
At the very front as you enter the tent is the kitchen. A compartment further is the place where the girls slept last night and behind that are three separate sleeping cabins, with thick, solid air mattresses. “With these beds you are a bit higher off the ground, which is easy to get out of bed.”
The kitchen is equipped with a refrigerator and stove. Jurgen came with one car. If you look at the entire furniture, it soon becomes clear: that will be cram. “No, I drive up and down more often,” he laughs. “When we go home, I first bring a part home, which is only a 45-minute drive. I have driven up and down several times for things we had forgotten.”
At his tent there is now a moment of peace. His phone is face down and sound off. He immediately goes after his girls for a swim, because he goes camping for the two of them. “You take your experiences with your parents with you. I give that to my girls too.”
“I remember when I used to go camping with my parents. That meant staying up late, making friends, but also that the tent almost overflowed with water. With my father I had to dig a trench around the tent, to get the water That’s not going to happen to us here, but I thought that was fantastic at the time.”
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