”Brevik är inte bara en plats – det är en känsla”

Brevik is not just a place — it is a feeling.

That is the phrase we use whenever we talk about Brevik. We are the Evangelisches Jugendwerk Degerloch from Stuttgart, Germany, part of the German YMCA, called CVJM. Since 1979, we have been grateful to visit this beautiful place every summer to hold our annual youth camp with 60 kids and 25 leaders.

Over the last almost 50 years, our youth camp “Brevik” has become a cultural heritage for generations of young people in Stuttgart — especially in Degerloch. But what makes this place so special? Why do we spend 22 hours on a stinky bus with 90 people just to get here?

In 1990, Arp answered these questions by composing the ”Brevik Hymn” for us.

Yesterday I left the city, yes I escaped the daily fight.
I tried to search, I tried to find,
a place of silence — where I get peace inside.
I met some people with the same ambition,
they all had left their world behind.
We went up north to the coastline,
there was the place we tried to find.

These are the first lines of the Brevik Hymn, and they describe perfectly what Brevik means to all of us. It is a break from daily routine, an escape into another world. A place where all the issues and challenges we deal with every day suddenly disappear for a short period of time.

The people around you fill the camp with life and complete the Brevik experience. Friendships formed in Brevik are often much deeper because you get to know each other on a completely different level.

Brevik lives through its everyday moments: swimming in the fjord, playing volleyball on the German field, discussing topics about life and faith, or simply sitting in the church or on Philosopher's Rock, watching Grandma's Island and enjoying life.

Life slows down here, and the focus returns to what really matters.

And we enjoy the fresh blue water,
and we enjoy the burning sun,
the talks about life, the games and fun,
yes we could do this all day long.

The refrain sums it all up beautifully. No one would say they are physically stronger after Brevik. After three weeks, everyone is completely exhausted. The batteries are empty, and no one could survive Brevik for a “whole year long.”

But the inner battery gets fully recharged during Brevik. It is this energy that helps you get up on a cold and rainy November morning and face everyday life again.

Summertime is Breviktime,
it is just the place where I get strong.
Summertime is Breviktime,
yes I wish Brevik would last the whole year long.

And when we talk about Brevik as a feeling, we wish that feeling could last the “whole year long.”

Now we are here but soon we will leave,
unanswered questions will remain,
but I do know, yes I do feel,
next summertime we will meet again.

Everyone who has experienced this feeling once will come back again.

Since 1979 is not quite 70 years yet, but we are deeply thankful to have been part of this story for decades now, and we hope to continue this very special partnership with KFUM Brevik for many years to come.

Niklas Lind, Boardmember