RV in a Cousin’s Driveway

In keeping with our desire not to mess up a bedroom, and to make it so convenient for all concerned, we spent about 15 nights in the driveway of several of Emmy’s cousins, in both Germany and France.

On our first couple visits to Essen, Germany, our main interest was to see Cousin Bärbel who shared an apartment with her (and our) friend Margit. By the time several years had passed, Bärbel had moved to the old family home in Mettlach, and Margit had tired of paying rent so had married the landlord. We have parked our RV in that back yard several different years. When Margit and family traveled through the Western US in 1999, in order to get “even,” their two boys insisted on sleeping in their rented RV in our driveway.

Emmy’s cousins Monika and Henri own a beautiful home in Montivilliers, France, and while we did spend one night in a bedroom when the children were visiting their Grandmother, the nights in the parking lot next door (with electricity connected), were much more convenient for all of us.

Four of Emmy’s Cousins were visiting on the beach in Dossen, France, at the summer home of Monika and Henri. There was not enough room for us to sleep inside the little house, which is fine by us, we preferred to stay in the camper.

At Nauborn, Germany, Cousins Gerd and Monika finally admitted we were right to say, “Connect the cord, and we won’t mess up your guest bedroom.” An excellent campsite (two different years), that included breakfast in their dining room.

At Ueckesdorf, just outside Bonn, Germany, we stayed in Cousin Reinhold and Christiane’s driveway a couple of different years. The first time, Simone (then about 3 years old) came out and looked in the Camper, but she just could not believe their company was really going to sleep in their driveway, instead of inside their beautiful home.

Cousins Ulrich and Ursula and daughter Christina live in a wonderful condo in Rodau, Germany. Their home was one of three units in a rather new building, built of stone, cement, and terrazzo — looks as if it will last forever. There was plenty of space near their garage where we could park and plug into the electricity. Although Ursul had to leave for work early the next morning, Frühstück (breakfast) was waiting when we awoke.