The P+R along the A28 near Haren often looks like a campsite with dozens of campers. “It’s free,” camper van owner Hans from Emmen explains the appeal of the petrified plain. “And the larger the camper, the more economical.”
De Drent is right. This Saturday it will be significantly less busy with the ‘car caravans’ than normal at the completely petrified ‘campsite’ where, given the tire tracks, street racers sometimes rev their engines and burn rubber. However, there are still a few sturdy versions of the camper, which easily have a price tag of 70,000 to 100,000 euros.
The question naturally arises with this view. Why do you pay so much money for a camper and then spread your almost ten meter long camper over two tiled passenger car parking spaces for a free overnight stay? Not to enjoy zero point zero views?
Everything for nothing is the sport of the camper
No, it isn’t, assures Hans, a retired teacher who travels with his wife Greta. “We were also at the P+R Haren last night. Because it’s for nothing, free. But. That’s not the only thing here. It doesn’t seem too cozy, but you are also close to the village. You can walk straight into Haren. And the campers like that too.”
After a night at the P+R in Haren, Hans and Greta wake up on Sunday morning at the official camper place De Lijte, on the banks of the Paterswoldsemeer. “Here too we stand for nothing. But this place is a lot nicer,” says de Drent.
He and his wife have their daughter, who lives in Groningen, for coffee. They look out over the rippling water while chatting happily. “It was full here on Friday evening. But it is mainly the sport of us campers to park for free. And, preferably close to a village. That’s why P+R is not so crazy. You can, as I said, walk straight into Haren.”
Camper virus struck 44 years ago
The camper virus has been raging among Hans and Greta since 1980. Then they went out in an old Bedford van with their six-week-old son. “I got calluses on my knees from crawling into such a small space,” Hans remembers.
They now camp in a luxurious and fully equipped Rapido camper with a Fiat Ducato engine. The people of Drenthe drive about 10,000 kilometers with it every year.
Hans and Greta have just completed five months in Spain. They wintered for the first time on the Iberian Peninsula, near Valencia. “We had already gone there in the autumn, around Christmas we heard that the weather was bad in the Netherlands. Well then we ‘made additional bookings’,” Hans jokes.
And before we can ask, he says laughing: “Yes, all these months we have been everywhere for nothing. Man, we stood in a place with free water, free electricity and even free WiFi through a nearby university and free toilet in the supermarket. what else do you want?”
Greta lists another advantage for campers: “You are away from home for five months and all that time you save gas, water and electricity.”
‘Germans are the best at camping for free’
Practicing the sport of camping for free with the camper is also necessary, according to Drent. Because otherwise it can’t be done, it will be too expensive, Hans grins.
“Germans with a camper that fits three of ours, and with a Smart car in the back, well, they are even better at taking free holidays. How big the camper, how more frugal ”,
And aren’t they afraid of being robbed at such a large free P+R with ideal quick escape routes? “No, like I said, we are never alone. Everyone wants to stand somewhere for nothing. That is the hobby of us campers. In France we once had to pay ten euros. Just as I was about to do it, someone arrived and said he still had a ticket left for one night, they had to leave anyway. Even though we wanted to pay, we still got paid for nothing.”
Swedish campers lost due to Ring diversion
The Swedish Eva, her husband Busse and poodle Selma, out of desperation due to the Ring diversions, also landed at the official camper place De Lijte on Saturday. No, not up. Because d he place was full. That’s why they parked their camper in the parking lot of the beach pavilion. ,,We actually had to go to Oldenburg to catch the ferry in Kiel to Sweden,” she says. “But we couldn’t get out in Groningen when we followed the ‘diversion’ signs. Yes, we understood that word, it is similar to the Swedish word diversion. “Google showed them the right route to a free camper place, De Lijte. ,, Do you know how we get to the road to Oldenburg?” Eva asks. She and Busse are overjoyed with the directions written on a notepad via the village of Haren and then inland to Hoogezand to pick up the A7 again.
