Green Traveling
Happy Holidays in the trailer
© Bogdan Sonjachnyj / Shutterstock
Vacation in a trailer in the country? Sounds like drizzle, shivering nights and four to eight-legged friends romping around the construction trailer or in its cracks. In short: It sounds like little relaxation! Our editor puts it to the test – and is thrilled! A plea for greener travel.
The bar can sometimes be quite high on our vacation: come out, experience new things, see distant countries, stylish accommodations and, if you like, experience a lot of adventure! Everyone can imagine that this is not exactly the best for our environment. But last year not only did I feel ashamed of the flight, the coronavirus also thwarted any travel plans. Globetrotters involuntarily turned into couch potatoes and frequent travelers either into forest bathers or permanent campers. The tourism industry was hit hard, but it was actually good for our environment. Worldwide air traffic was greatly reduced and nature finally breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, many holiday-hungry people were forced to find out in the period between lockdowns that it can also be really beautiful in the home region – and thus moved automatically to the category of slow / green traveling. So did me: A week’s vacation in October lay ahead of me – and the desire (not only due to Corona) to stay close and in things Keep your eyes peeled for more sustainable vacation options. So I clicked through various online presences and finally found a restored, small construction trailer that is in a garden in the country.
Hygg and green
So vacation in a construction trailer – in autumn, without heating and with an outside toilet – that sounded like adventure! The question of how to get there remained. Since I made slow traveling my motto and don’t own a car anyway, the matter was quickly resolved: bike and train make a good combination and took me relaxed from Hamburg to MeckPomm. The outward journey was Pure deceleration and as I cycled through the fields, I came directly into the kind of cosiness that rural villages per se exude. The trailer itself was really a surprise: The gem, restored with so much love and craftsmanship, stood on an orchard and can be best described with the word hyggelig: Small, cozy and furnished with sustainable materials – so that you can simply feel had to feel good. What followed then reminds me of the motto “life close to nature”: When it got cold in the evening, I practiced the art of making a fire, water was filled in canisters, and wastewater was removed in the same way. There was light as long as the supply of solar energy allowed it, and in the morning apples rolled straight from the tree in front of the “front door”. Conclusion: I loved it!
© private
Seldom have I been able to switch off so well on vacation as there in this little trailer in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it was the lack of internet reception or because I was confronted with the opposite of overstimulation in this place. Maybe it was because there wasn’t so much to do there, except for walks, short bike rides, evenings in front of the fireplace and good books. The fact is, a few days in the trailer felt like weeks in which I was “get out of it all” and found what you often want on vacation: relaxation. My energy level filled up again as if by itself in the little idyll. Also, the thought of that made me happy Combine sustainability and travel well!
© private
Travel and see new things with greener options
It is clear that as soon as we are on the move, we humans always have one leaving an ecological footprint – and it is also clear to me that a construction trailer like this is not the epitome of vacation for everyone. Nevertheless, it shows that there are many beautiful and above all greener options out there (and especially around the corner): Be it the privately run guesthouse, which is open for breakfast Organic products the local farmer sets; The hotel that green energy includes and a sustainable water and waste management tracked; Or the many accommodation options that come from sustainable, recycled or local materials are made and place you directly in the green (tree house, tiny house, tippi, etc.) – they all try to do their part to rethink sustainability.
We humans will always like to travel and want to see new things – the only question is how and at whose expense! I am not an advocate of saying we should all never fly again – there are far too beautiful places in the world that one or the other would like to be discovered in the course of a lifetime. Nevertheless, it is worth keeping in mind that tourism can also destroy what we actually love. Looking for greener options can even offer more exciting or relaxing alternatives – even if or precisely because there may not even be 100 kilometers between home and vacation spot. And that completely independent of corona-related travel requirements. And even if you want to go a little further south at some point, there is sure to be a Mediterranean construction trailer version – with even more solar energy potential.