Motorhomes in the residential area
campers at home
© makasana photo / Shutterstock
And at the end of the street there is no house by the lake, but a sea of mobile homes. This situation gets our author going again.
On the road, but not on the road
Now it is time: I live at a campsite. At least at first glance, because when I look out the window, I see nothing but campers. For “mobile”, however, many are extremely steadfast: They are on the road, but not on the road, but permanently parked. In already cramped residential areas, near which I would also like to park my car to get my groceries in the fridge in less than half an hour. For some time now, my magical parking lot luck has been overwhelmed by camper vans, caravans and individually converted buses that all look the same on Instagram: equipped with fairy lights, macrame curtains and mattress dormitories, they are somewhere by the sea, which a long-haired woman looks at through the open tailgate while clutching her coffee cup. Yes, what are they all doing here on my street?
Representing a wild, free life, they stand on and in the way, take up sight and view – and with an average length of seven meters they take up an adventurous amount of public space. Are they allowed to? According to the road traffic regulations, yes, as long as the weight does not exceed seven tons. Only caravans that are parked without their own drive have to be moved every two weeks. Surprisingly, those people buy such a “leisure vehicle” who otherwise get upset about SUVs and their drivers with climate change security. If the typical person with a mobile home once lived in the surrounding area and parked his caravan on his own property, new campers are now well-off city dwellers who choose green areas. Your escape vehicle from everyday life should still be in front of the apartment so that you can keep an eye on the part, which can cost up to 70,000 euros. Why haven’t there been huge, guarded mobile home garages with underground connections next to airports for a long time? It would be so much less stressful for all of us!
2020: The year of the camper
Travel and accommodation bans due to Corona were the first in Germany within a calendar year in 2020 alone more than 100,000 recreational vehicles newly registered, as the German Caravaning Institute rejoices. Since then there have been more and more. By the way, you could also rent the giant things if necessary, but rather buy the dream of driving to the end of the world with your loved ones in your own tour bus at any time – in the good hope that there will also be a parking lot with WiFi, electricity and drinking water connections there . In addition, the theoretical exit strategy of being able to live completely mobile at any time if you can no longer or do not want to pay rent and heating costs is reassuring. nomad land!
Until then, the trip goes south for two weeks of vacation or sometimes at the weekend in good weather into the green or blue. And from autumn, caravanners will go shopping again with the cargo bike or second small car and otherwise stay at home. In a real home, with a real toilet, bath and bed.