CrazyCamp.org

Adventurous trips where strangers from across the world form tight bonds while exploring new places and tickling comfort zones! Check us out at crazycamp.org

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Crazy Mountain Balance Camp • 2018 •

We had a very inspiring time with 13 people from 3 continents. Glenda was one of them and this is what she wrote about this experience:

Looking back to an amazing time in the mountains with a wonderful tribe. I'm still processing all the wonderful things that I experienced during this week. I got to know 12 lovely people - sometimes we couldn't be more different from each other, and still there is a connection, we mirror each other, we teach each other something, and in the end we love each other no matter how different we are. Because we are all one. I felt happiness, I felt sadness, I felt fear, I felt joy, I felt full and I felt empty. I felt all kind of things. I dug once more a little deeper into myself, allowing me a little step further towards my healing. Thank you to all of you that made it possible, I am grateful to have met you 🙏❤️. Thank you Klaas Couchista for your amazing gift to bring people together and creating a safe and loving atmosphere at CrazyCamp.org 🙏❤️

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Crazy Mountain Balance Camp • 2016 •

Alwyn Birch from Australia was one of the people that participated in this epic mountain adventure. He wrote the following about his experience:

The Crazy Mountain Balance Camp was awesome! We hiked the mountains in the mist of the morning, seeing the due drip off the pines - and even in a storm with hail (on the same day), where the roads turned to rivers. It was a bit scary but me and another girl shared a poncho, she was from the USA. It was a special moment, we had some great conversations in there.  We looked so funny, waddling down the mountain together trying not to fall over!

We touched cows, they are so cute! They lick you like a big dog and their tongues are really long too! One girl had the whole side of her arm in it’s mouth. Gross, slobber everywhere but it was funny :) I want to make one my friend and ride it.  

We saw eagles off in the distance circling the top of the mountains, while sitting in a hot tub, feeling the steam coming up past our nose, watching all the new waterfalls appear, created from the herenderous storm - that was magical! Trying to find them, sort of like hide-n-seek the childhood game but we had a beer.  

We had many special moments and ate many different foods from all types of countries. This guy from Belgium made us these capsicums with like a little hat and all this yummy stuff inside. It was so good you could eat it like a yogurt.  

We did many yoga sessions and many meditations. Some even in the snow naked!  That was cool!  It sounds crazy and weird but when your there you feel so alive!!!! Like you never have before... trust me!

Join a crazy camp! www.crazycamp.org

Alwyn 

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Crazy May Mountain Camp, French Alps, May 2016

Check www.crazycamp.org/upcoming for upcoming Crazy Camps :)

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A glass of prosecco on the beach today, to celebrate 3 things:

(1) 5 years after the first Crazy Snow Camp, things have grown a lot. Nearly 200 people have shared mountain adventures with me (often several times), in almost 20 Crazy Camps. Now just came from the notary because I founded a not-for-profit Association (eingetragener Verein, Association sans but lucratif, vereniging zonder winstoogmerk, asociación de interés común) to give a legal context to the Crazy Camps. The Association is a legal entity subject to Dutch law, registered in the official Register of Associations, etc.

Crazy Camps are silly fun experiences, but not just that: also a celebration of human diversity, creativity, participation, togetherness, empathy, love. If you ever participated in a Crazy Camp, then my big big THANK YOU because YOU made all this possible! Simply by joining, or by giving me moral or practical support, or by making me understand that what I do is relevant. I LOVE YOU and I mean it!

(2) This year was for the first time that I organized a spring time Crazy Mountain Camp (it was the Crazy May Mountain Camp in France) and it was a big succes! For me, a confirmation that I should extend the hiking season. More to come next spring!

(3) Did I mention in (1) that we are 5 years after the first Crazy Snow Camp? Wow I kind of overlooked that. It all started in March 2011 high on a mountain in Switzerland, with 11 people from Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, UK, Turkey, USA, Iran, Cameroon, Romania and The Netherlands, skiing and snowboarding in a resort that doesn't even exist anymore. 5 Years of Crazy Camps... let's celebrate with more than just a glass of prosecco on the beach! WHAT IS YOUR SUGGESTION? HOW CAN WE CELEBRATE 5 YEARS OF CRAZY CAMPS? Please let me know!

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Yoga (and Snowga) at the Crazy Snow Camp

View with sound on

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Confessions of a Crazy Snow Camper • 

Paulina from Lithuania participated in the Crazy Snow Camp, Switzerland January 2016 edition. Here is what she wrote about it...

I chose the Crazy Snow Camp for skiing in Switzerland. It was the first time I went alone on holidays. Therefore I was a bit worried about the things, if it will be OK and if the people will accept me or if I enjoy the company. It was two days after the crazy camp started when I realized it is going to be one of my best experiences in my life. I had to stretch my comfort zones for physical environment, as in the cabin there was no shower. We had to be creative and invent the shower ourselves. Also there was nothing to plug in our electric devices. By the way, this served as a benefit as we had to prepare the food on a wood stove that made things interesting and focus on each other instead of TV or PC.

The people in the group were very nice, always friendly, cheerful and helping. By the way, people were from all the continents except Australia and Antarctica :). So it was very interesting to get to know all of them. And now its good to know that I am always welcome to visit my new friends all over the world! :))

I strongly recommend Crazy Camps for people that are willing to challenge themselves, improve their social relationships with people and become more open minded.

See you in one of the upcoming Crazy Camps! :))

Thank you Paulina for this very nice report :)

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Crazy Snow Balance Camp • 2015 • 

“From Moguls to Massage” was the theme of the Crazy Snow Balance Camp in February 2015. In 2016 we’ll be back at the same location for another Crazy Snow Balance Camp! Emily was one of the participants. She’s from the USA and integrated the Crazy Camp in her 6 months Europe trip. Here is what she has to say about her experience:

I can honestly say that my week of Crazy Snow Camp in the Swiss Alps was one of the best weeks of my life! I had so much fun with total strangers who were total family by the end. Klaas knows how to make ANYONE have a great time! He came more than prepared with fun activities, good food and even a sauna. I would recommend Crazy Camps to anyone who likes fun, period. GO!!!!

Of course we did some epic skiing and snowboarding on this trip, and our ‘disconnection from daily life stress’ was made complete by massage sessions, meditations and yoga. And let’s not forget the jumping into the powder snow after the sauna :-) And the singing around the camp fire in the snow in the night. And the great food from around the world. 

Just come check it out yourself! Be part of an epic winter adventure. 

Some more pictures: the view from the hut, life in the hut.

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Crazy Balkan Snow Camp • 2013 • 

The first time that there was a Crazy Camp in the Balkans was March 9-16, 2013. We came for winter, and winter is what we got! Incredible amounts of snow. One morning it was impossible to get out of the hut because the complete entrance had been covered with fresh snow! We had to shovel our way out. The place was Jahorina, some 40km from magic Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. An intriguing mix of old and modern: some ski lifts were really old school but most of the lifts and snow makers are state of the art. Excellent skiing and snowboarding, both on-piste as off-piste. The bars and restaurants at the slopes offered authentic Balkan-atmosphere and very good (and very affordable) food. Speaking of affordable, a one week skipass here is around EUR 110...

As usual with Crazy Camps, the group was very diverse in nationalities (Canada, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Russia), backgrounds and ages.

The experience was good enough to come back again in 2014, and also in March 2016 a Crazy Balkan Snow Camp is planned at this fantastic location - home of the 1984 Olympic Winter Games. We’ll be in a luxury cabin with a very nice built in sauna (this is actually the most luxury of all Crazy Camp accommodations :) ) Check it out at http://www.crazycamp.org/cbsc and join the winter adventure!

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Crazy Mountain Balance Camp • 2015 •

Nadine (from Austria, one of the participants) made these photo’s and wrote this report about our beautiful mountain adventure :-) Thank you Nadine! Here she goes:

A journey to happiness

Taking the train across half of Switzerland, passing marvelous views, cute villages and great mountains. Last stop in switzerland after passing famous St. Moritz was a tiny village next to the Italian border. 60 Minutes up the hill by car and 45 minutes walking until we reached the middle of nowhere: our home for five days.

In a group of 18 people we enjoyed the first evening with cooking, playing games and setting house rules. Day 1 was for getting to know the area, becoming one with mother nature and simplicity, swimming in a wild mountain lake and arriving there from top to toe.

The bound between us CrazyCamp members got stronger, everybody enjoyed being part of such great open-minded group. And everybody got to know him- or herself better whilst enjoying mother nature.

Day 2 and 4 were reserved for hiking. Within these 8-9 hour hikes, passing ice cold mountain lakes, sheep, horse and cow herds and stunning views, everybody got balanced.

Hot water and consistent electricity have become needless, dead spots where daily business. Anyway, in our focus were group activities such as cooking, playing funny games, enjoying the sauna, taking photos and group hugs. Being in this very mixed group led to learning from each other. Everybody could contribute something into group life: singing, playing the guitar, cooking, taking beautiful pictures, massaging, explaining new games and so on.

A perfect holiday.

Because: Everybody is beautiful!

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Crazy Art Camp • 2013 • 

Some impressions from the Crazy Art Camp that took place in the amazing mountains of Tuscany, in June 2013. 

We were photographers, painters, writers and models from (in random order) Lithuania, France, Norway, Spain, Finland, India, The Netherlands and the UK. We participated in each others projects, giving inspiration to each other and crossing borders between the diverse art disciplines. Some of us were professional artists and some were amateur. It was an unforgettable and intense week.

The location was a former water mill, all alone in a mountain valley filled with beautiful forests. Even the colorful rooms added to our creative vibes. We also visited some typical, untouched villages nearby and the overwhelmingly beautiful medieval city Lucca.

 The huge garden with swimming pool was not bad either. 

The house, such an amazing place!

The old watermill where we stayed is hidden in these forests.

Breakfast in the open air!

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Crazy Mountain Balance Camp • 2014 •

From July 25, 2014 till July 30, 2014 the Crazy Mountain Balance Camp took place in an amazing place high above the Rhône valley in the French speaking part of Switzerland. Mountain hiking, crazy group games, swimming in wild mountain lakes – a unique and intense experience that brought us back in balance!

In all Crazy Camps there are some elements of yoga, meditation, massage and similar activities that connect mind & body. But in the Crazy Mountain Balance Camp has more of it. The weather was not always reliable but the group spirit was :-)

The views over the Rhône valley deep down below gave us the feeling that we were in an airplane. And around the corner: empty valleys with not much more than some cows and sheep. We climbed a peak of over 3.000m high! That was such a cool thing to do.

We were people from The Netherlands, Germany and Poland. So it was a much more homogenous group then the average Crazy Camp. However, as usual the ages and backgrounds were very diverse :-)

Here is the info for the 2015 Crazy Mountain Balance Camp (which is, by the way, in a different location).

Our hut was a steep climb above the place where the forest road ended. This definitely contributed to our feeling of wonderful isolation: it was just us; no noise, no cables, no agenda’s.

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Crazy Mountain Camp • 2013 •

Some impressions from the Crazy Mountain Camp (see http://www.crazycamp.org/past-events/) that took place in July 2013 in Central Switzerland. This was the first ever Crazy Mountain Camp; all Crazy Camps before had been Crazy Snow Camps (skiing and snowboarding). The location was amazing! We did wonderful hikes, even crossing some snow pads. And how about swimming in an ice cold mountain lake? When you do it together, it’s a surprising energizer! 14 People from Mexico, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Italy and Hungary.

The hut, situated far away from villages and traffic, had an outdoor hot tub and a terrace where we would often eat. For one week this was our paradise :-)

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What does 2015 have to offer for us travel-wise?

Blind Breaks are the number one travel trend in 2015! Says who? Says the well known travel market analyst Tessa aan de Stegge (see link). CrazyCamp.org has been organizing Blind Breaks since 2011. 

A blind break is a holiday you book without knowing the destination. These surprise trips originate from the “experiential travel”: traveling with the goal to get out of your comfort zone.

When you sign up for a Crazy Camp, the exact location is not disclosed until shortly before the actual trip. I want to make sure that you sign up because the Crazy Camp concept appeals to you, and not for some other reason, such as for example that you really want to go to that specific resort but everything is booked, except for the Crazy Camp, or that you are looking for a cheap holiday, no matter what kind of trip it is.

Does this work for the participants? According to the testimonials it does. 

Tickle your comfort zone! Join a Crazy Camp this year! Check them out at http://www.crazycamp.org/upcoming/

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The Crazy Camp Mountain Sauna!

At all Crazy Camps, there is some form of wellness/water pleasure. Some of the huts/cabins have a built in sauna; at our amazing location for the Crazy Mountain Camp in July 2015 in Switzerland there is an outdoor hot tub; at the old watermill in Tuscany where the Crazy Art Camp will take place in September 2015, there is an outdoor swimming pool. And the sodyba of the Crazy Water Camp (July 2015 in Lithuania) has a sauna and a hot tub :-)

When there is no such facility already available, I bring the Crazy Camp Mountain Sauna :-) that is entirely portable (well, when it is dismantled. When it’s up, it’s not portable, obviously). Except for the outer tent in the actual version, everything is hand made by myself. I’m still improving it but it’s almost perfect now. Also thanks to Patrick who taught me a better way of feeding the stove during last February’s Crazy Snow Camp :-) So if you have been already in one of the previous versions of the Crazy Camp Mountain Sauna, then know that it’s getting hotter and hotter!

The sauna experience in this sauna is quite unique. It is great for warming up, sweating, and getting rid of little shoulder pains after a day of snowboarding :-) The effect is based on Löyly rather than on extreme temperatures. As a result, one usually stays for 30 to 60 minutes in the Crazy Camp Mountain Sauna before going out to make snow angels under the starry sky. I’m telling you, Crazy Camps are proper awesome.

About the pictures: 

The first two pictures show the pre-actual version while preparing for an after-surfing session at the beach. The third picture gives an impression of the interior during a test set up; benches on both sides, stove in the middle. The isolation was not finished here. The fourth picture is a collage of previous stages in the life of the Crazy Camp Mountain Sauna: the first version (picture taken at a Crazy Snow Camp) was hardly warm; the second version (picture taken at the Saunafestival in Amsterdam) was a lot better already because of improved insulation. In the third version (picture taken at the Crazy Forest Dreams Camp in France) there is the new outer tent already. The last picture shows how we were bringing down parts of the dismantled sauna from the Crazy Snow Camp, on ski’s...

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Crazy Camp reunion

In the first weekend of May 2015 twelve people came together for the first Crazy Camp reunion. Two days in Amsterdam and Haarlem (The Netherlands) doing fun stuff together. It was fantastic to meet these people again! Not only Dutch participants of past Crazy Camps, but also Italian, Scottish, Ukrainian, Belgian, German, Spanish and Swiss :-) 

We had a great time in Amsterdam’s coolest sauna (in a huge squat), in Amsterdam’s most exciting museum (Electric Ladyland), in an improv party in OT301, and during a long walk at the beach. It was a little bit of a try out also for the Crazy Amsterdam Camp in October 2015 :-) (www.crazycamp.org/ams) 

Everybody loved it! We should do this more often :-)

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Crazy Forest Dreams Camp • 

Some impressions from the Crazy Forest Dreams Camp (see http://www.crazycamp.org/past-events/) that took place in May 2015 in the south of France. All Crazy Camps are in huts, cabins or villa’s but this one was the exception: we were in a group tent :-) that we placed in an abandoned hamlet in the forest. We made a cool kayak tour on the river Tarn. The rapids were exciting! Every day we were cooking on the fire place and the salad was made with plants that we found in the forest. We made some cool forest hikes and visited an amazing medieval castle. 7 People from France, The Netherlands and Spain. (Thank you Kris for the pictures!)

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New payment structure for the Crazy Forest Dreams Camp: Pay What You Want! You will pay the advance payment as the floor price. At the end of the Crazy Forest Dreams Camp you will decide how much it was worth for you, and you pay accordingly. Of course, I hope that you will pay the normal price of EUR 220 (incl. EUR 110 advance payment) but it is not an obligation. France, May 17-23, 2015. Join us! www.crazycamp.org/cfc