Camping in Europe. Check out their RV's

[Ladywendolyn]

Just got back from a 45 day trip all across Europe. We decided to camp a bit, as we enjoy camping more than hoteling, so we brought along a back packer tent, some cool pop up chairs , and a mini camp stove just to name a few. We found that the whole concept of Camping in Europe was different than North America. Very often their was just an open field and people put up tents, RV's and whatever else right next to each other. It made for instant friendship and sometimes a bit more info than you really wanted to know about your neighbours ..lol. The RV's in Europe are much smaller than ours due to size regulations. (Our 28 ft Jay-flight would be banned in most places.) and so they compensate for this with enormous and intricate "Add a Room" attachments on most trailers. It kept me wondering how long it took to pack up! people also seemed to bring all sorts of things with them like city size refrigerators and even some furniture.
It was fun to be on the other side of camping with our simple little tent and stove.. but I am happy to be back home with my big RV... which seems even bigger than what we saw in Europe!
Here are a few photos showing some trailer styles, the add a rooms, our simple little set up, and a cool VW tent.

[mcfarmall]

Interesting. Not too many trees in the RV park are there? The VW bus tent is cool.

[Ladywendolyn]

No trees except on the perimeter. I think that from what I could see, they have the idea that camping is kinda like pretending to be gypsies, (known as travellers in most European countries). The gypsies generally set up their caravans in an open field, and so they have styled their camp grounds as a replica of this. Also... we did not see a single water hook up or sewage hookup. People had big jugs of water in their cars that they would fill and pour into their trailers. There must of been a single sewage dump somewhere, but never individual ones in sites.. that we saw.

[troutslayer]

In what country(s) did you do most of your camping?

[Ladywendolyn]

We camped in England, France, Switzerland, and Spain and visited campgrounds in Croatia.

[Allamuchy Joe]

That explains a lot. Years ago, I brought my German friends camping here in the US at a state park. They were completely amazed at the room and privacy of the campsite. Of course, they got very nervous when I told them to keep their food in the car because of the bears. :-)

Thanks for the look over the pond at their RV's.

[mitechie]

Wow, when you did you take the pics? With the smaller trailers and such I'd have expected people out and about but it seems that most of the people were hiding inside?

[DocBrown]

That was very cool! Thanks for sharing.

[LBL 1206]

I camped all over Europe for 4 yrs in my VW Westfalia. was a hoot and the people at the campgrounds were great.

[RickAE]

I have a friend who lives in Germany. He and his wife travel all over europe. Here is a photo of their "Camper"

[exjay1]

Those VW tents are pretty cool. Saw a blue one recently at a show.

[2edgesword]

Thanks for sharing this different perspective on camping in Europe.

[EnricoG]

Having moved to the US from Europe in 2008, I must say that we absolutely love camping here. However, I do think the US rv interiors could do with a more modern look.