Camping in Holland
LanglyBastion was at JHQ Rheindahlen about the same time as me (1972 – 1975) I think, and as a weather man may well have been the weather man whose advice I sought when I took the family on our first camping trip into Holland whilst stationed in Germany.
Having bought a family sized tent and erected it in the garden of our Married Quarter to see how it worked etc. we planned to go on our first camping trip into Holland for a long weekend and I sought telephone advice from JHQ’s weather centre as to what the weather would be like for that weekend. Advice (possibly from LB?) was that it would be hot with a possibility of thunder storms later. Nothing daunted we went off to a camping site over the boarder in Holland. Having got there, erected the tent and enjoying the warm and sunny weather we enjoyed our first evening meal we put the kids to bed whilst wife and I had a drink or two and retired only to be woken at about 1 o’clock in the morning by the fiercest and scariest thunder storm I’ve ever been in – it was frightening with lightning flashing and thunder cracking just overhead whilst it absolutely pelted down with rain. Eventually in the small hours of the morning it all abated and we went outside to see what damage if any it had caused – apart from a flooded floor and a some strained guy-ropes we were all OK. Nearly everyone else camping at the site was doing the same and we got chatting to out neighbours who were checking their tents too. With the storm gone the next couple of days were lovely and we enjoyed the site’s facilities and socialised with out newly found friends who’d endured the terrors of the storm.
I don’t remember the name of the camping site, but did take some photos of what it was like and remember it as being very well ordered with plenty of facilities – so happy memories of a memorable week-end – after that we were hooked and caught the camping bug and from then onwards we joined the Rheindahlen Camping and Caravan Club and regularly went camping at the weekends, not only in Holland but in Germany too whilst for the longer holidays we headed south to Italy near Venice – wonderful memories.
A couple of photos recording our fist camping trip in Holland, sadly I cannot recall the name of the place.
LB if you think this is too much to add to your memories let me know and I’ll delete.
WT
