Van life is trendy. Camping holidays are more popular than ever and some campsites are fully booked weeks in advance.
We, Nicole and Pascal, have also fallen in love with camping. With our VW T5.2 called "Monday" we travel - currently only during the holidays - through Switzerland and Europe. We quickly realized that #Vanlife only shows one side of the coin. The pitch is not always so breathtaking and the weather does not always play along. But hey, we're glad we got those experiences right from the start, so we'll be well-armed once we hit the road for several months on our bus.
If you want to try this type of holiday soon or are already a die-hard camper, we have put together six items for you that you should definitely have with you on your next camping trip. In any case, we wouldn't leave them at home anymore.
Little all-rounders
Our first must-have, which we definitely don't want to do without when camping, are wooden clothes pegs . As the name suggests, you can of course use it to hang up your freshly washed bed linen or wet bathing suit to dry. But the little helpers can do a lot more: Do you have a place in the blazing sun and no parasol with you? No problem - simply make a sun sail out of a piece of cloth and attach it to a tree or your van with the help of clothespins. The half-empty pack of chips or the sliced cheese lying around openly in the camping kitchen? You guessed it, clothespins are also ideal for closing open packaging.
Everything safely stowed away
In order to be able to hang up your bed linen , you will of course need a clothesline in addition to the clothespins. Which brings us straight to our second must -have item: bungee cords . These elastic helpers with a hook at both ends are also multifunctional: whether as a clothesline, for temporarily repairing a loose object or for fastening luggage on the bike. You can definitely use the elastic ropes again and again and the best thing about it is that they can be attached to each other as you wish, so that you always have exactly the right length of rope at hand.
3 and 4. Provision for going to the toilet at night
Imagine you are lying snuggled up in a soft bed , it is the middle of the night and it is raining outside. You wake up and the bubble squeezes. If you don't have a toilet on board, that now means: Get out into the dark, wet night and head to the toilet building. There are better ideas, aren't there?
To make going to the toilet at night a little more pleasant, our must-have vanlife items number 3 and 4 are the umbrella and a rechargeable lamp . The best thing to do is to get a battery-powered LED outdoor light that has a magnet. So you can easily attach the lamp to your van or any metallic surface.
Rainy days
You probably don't want to hear that, but contrary to the usual pictures on Instagram, there are certainly rainy days when traveling. And if you have to spend a rainy day in almost five square meters, then there is only one thing to do: snuggle up in bed with a gripping book , hide under the soft duvet , immerse yourself in the fantasy world of the novel and listen to the raindrops on the roof. 
bright nights
Finally found the beautiful parking space in front of the water, raised the pop-up roof, set up tables and chairs, had dinner, drunk the last sip of red wine and now it's off to bed. As soon as you lie in bed, you wonder why it is so unusually bright here and notice that the street lamp across the street shines directly into your bedroom. Great. And that's exactly what our sixth indispensable companion on camping trips is for: the sleep mask . Even on long journeys, overnight stays on ferries or spontaneous afternoon naps, it is always a reliable companion. 
So, have you already started packing for your next camping holiday?
In any case, we wish you a relaxing holiday!