source: www.youthwork-practice.com | 2000 Games, Devotions, Themes, Ideas and more for Youth Work
only for private using

After a long journey...
© www.youthwork-practice.com

Staying out in the sticks

Hiking through the Black Forest – sleeping in a clearing in the grass.
© www.youthwork-practice.com

Here we are talking about some rather unusual places to spend your night: under bridges, in the ditch, under rocks, covered entrances, in the VW bus, in the woods, on the meadow, in the vineyard, on the beach, in dilapidated houses and much more.

Sometimes, when you are hiking or on a bike tour, you do not know where you will spend your next night. This is quite attractive to young people. In addition, you have the weather to count with. Will it rain? How cold will the night be? Is the place to stay safe? May I stay there at all?

Here we arrived just outside Paris by rain. We slept under a bridge.
© www.youthwork-practice.com

These are all questions which occupy one or the other to some degree. My personal objective always was, to arrive late, leave early and also leave the dwelling as if we never were here in the first place. This way we never had any troubles, regardless if we travelled through Germany, France or Sweden.

Even the French police noticed one or another place we stayed - well, if you stay right in a village on park benches and our bikes built up to a mountain, things like that do not go unnoticed.

The charm of the extraordinary

An overnight stay in the French Alps near a river bed.
© www.youthwork-practice.com

The kids liked it. There was rain and even a bit of snowfall. Not even that compelled us to look for a covered spot in the middle of the night.

Such experiences - far from cuddly soft bed at home – are the stuff which creates unforgettable memories. Even after decades, the one or other night lingers in your memory.

On a hike in the gorge of the Grand Canyon du Verdon (France).
© www.youthwork-practice.com

We stayed on the beach and woke up to the sun.
© www.youthwork-practice.com

What dangers may lurk out there?

A one-night stay in southern France forest.
© www.youthwork-practice.com

This is in Southern France. It was cold and wet. This dilapidated
house was our stay for one night.
© www.youthwork-practice.com

Woods or meadows: wild fire danger, wild boar - the special encounter
Ravine or high up on the rocks: rock falling, floods
Ditch: Car accident, traffic
Forest and meadow paths: agricultural vehicles could come up
Public spaces (park benches, driveways, porches): no clear view, you can be mobbed
Beach: Ebb & Flood

Evaluate the situation

In the end, it is always the situation where you spontaneously decide where to sleep. Alternatively, you could look at a map beforehand and decide on the places you could stay overnight. Also, find out if you allowed staying there.

It was just above zero degrees, a bitterly cold at night.
You can still see the frost on the grass.
© www.youthwork-practice.com