Now who can that be in Marilyn’s reversing camera?! It’s Opa Hugo (Opa is German for grandpa) – and we’ve called together a family reunion! Opa Hugo is a Niesmann+Bischoff Clou 670 from 1983! He’s 36 years old! That’s quite a respectable age for a motorhome! We got to know him because he belongs to our blogger colleague Dr. Camp. And Opa Hugo also really wanted to meet one of his granddaughters. Oldie meets goldie – by the sea, of course! We showed Hugo’s nice owner family our favourite spot.

After spending a cosy Friday evening with our first chitchat on the campsite, Saturday morning started off with breakfast with a view. Plus some photo-worthy positioning of Marilyn and Hugo. Beautiful Marilyn is a pro at modelling, of course, and liked how she reflected the old fellow. What a nice family they make, the two of them.

We made our first inspection of the interior during breakfast. The Dr. Camp Family, aka Thorsten, Katie, Helge and Henny, also have plenty of room. We were really amazed to see how much space the classic motorhome had to offer! But we obviously have lots of space too. Which we also need for things like feet, orange juice and other necessities for a hearty breakfast ;)

We took a secret tour of Opa Hugo. The cab has a “genuine” look from the olden days. Memories of the German show about truckers “Auf Achse” started to surface. The front panel looks like a solid construction without too many electronic features. In the third picture, you can see why Opa Hugo ended up with the family of four. There are bunk beds for the kids in the back of the motorhome plus a big bathroom. They had been looking for a larger campervan for longer trips and enough space for four. After fire trucks, lorries and all kinds of stuff that’s in right now, they thought about looking for a vintage motorhome and wanted it to be one from a high-quality manufacturer. They hunted through layouts, found the Clou 670, fell in love, had a look and bought it. We think they even topped us in terms of speed. What’s perfect about Opa Hugo is that the previous owner already refurbished a lot, like the upholstery…

For comparison, here’s the interior of our Marilyn, a 2018 Arto 85E. Super chic and fully equipped with electronics. But you already know how gorgeous Marilyn is :)

Here are some facts about the old treasure. Pretty darn impressive at 36 years of age. You can really imagine that he must have been a true luxury mobile back then!

Niesmann Clou 670 F
Built in 1983
Iveco Daily I
2.5 l turbo engine, 105 hp
Maximum speed 100 km/h (but it’s better not to try that out)
Odometer reading 264,000 km
Weight 4.2 t
Length 7.50 m, width 2.40 m, height 3.10 m
Fresh water 200 l
Grey water 100 l
Black water 100 l

One advantage, of course, is that you can repair a lot of things after a family meeting. Like a broken indicator light. We fortunately haven’t had to deal with that yet. But we still are quite fond of our bling. :)

A direct fact comparison with Marilyn:

Arto 85 E
Built in 2018
2.3 l engine, 180 hp
Maximum speed 130 km/h (go ahead and try it out)
Consumption 11-12 l
Weight 5.5 t
Length 8.43 m, width 2.32 m, height 3.05 m
6-speed Comfort Matic gearbox
Fresh water 200 l
Grey water 150 l
Cassette toilet

And after all those oohs and aahs, it was time to make our way to the beach. The Dr. Camp Family had never been here before, so that meant it was time to give them the Stranddeko tour. We went along the beach to the next beach café to make a pit stop and eat a bit, then checked out the surfers on the Lake Grevelingen side and didn’t skip any shops, of course. The only challenge was that we were dealing with a small summer storm. That gives your legs a nice tingling sensation and clears up your nose. As a reward, the beach was basically deserted and we felt like we were on a

We brought the fun and stormy day to an end next to Marilyn. The strong winds blew away any hopes of cooking on the gas grill. We fed the hungry team with a hot plate and frying pan. That works too. And while we were waiting, we tried to keep the cups and salad on the table.

Sunday arrived with more moderate wind, which meant Bo got in a round of kite surfing. And another N+B colleague joined us and parked properly right beside us, as one does. Many thanks to our two friends who we know from the club NBEC and whom we lured to Holland! Now that is a perfect family photo to complete the trip, and there’s definitely room for more :)