Hector’s charm is irresistible: more and more of my friends buy camper vans and discover camping being their ultimate way of travelling.

The first one that took a glance at my wonderful van and immediately bought one on his own now booked neighbouring places for a weekend at the Camping Resort Zugspitze. We try to circle the vans in a corral, but with only 2 campers and vast space, the form does not fully show. So what, we are here, we face the alps and somebody has a bottle of red wine on board.

Comparing the barbecue offered at a) the Schmölzer Wirt and b) the campsite’s bistro Alspitzblick, it is clear that b) wins (each Saturday). Having the diet set, we face a bright sunny day with 30° Celsius and the Eibsee in a short distance of only 6,5 km. However, some details have not been prepared accurately, such as any clue of the region’s cycle paths or the altitude difference between the camp site and the lake.

Once there, the environment is enchanting. The lake sparkles in all shades of green and blue, surrounded by mountain peaks and forest. As usual, I cannot resist the inviting sheet of water and that is just perfect: the water is mild with a temperature of at least 24°.

A path surrounds the lake that is free for cyclists and for pedestrians, providing us with all possible perspectives on the Eibsee and its paradise-like islands.

Although today is not the most sportive one for me (did I mention the red wine?), it feels good to be in this landscape with the mountainbike. In July, the tourist crowds might be annoying, but by end of August there is no rush on the path around the lake.

Being aware of my duties as private camping quality tester, I ignore the 30 degrees in the afternoon and check out the camp site’s sauna. The furniture is neatly done and the sauna has nothing less than full view on the Zugspitze. Apart from this the average age (60+) and average camper’s size (kg 90+) become obvious. Lucky me that I can focus on the mountain peaks in front of the window.

We spontaneously skip the foreseen home barbecue in our corral when dark clouds and strong wind indicate a nearing thunderstorm. Anyway, we have delicous dinner at the “Bistro Alpspitz” and cannot complain of anything.

The Camping Resort Zugspitze is the new (and expensive) area of the older campground “Camping Erlebnis Zugspitze” down beside the street. In 2015, I spent a night at the older one that is more simple with the street close by and less sparkling facilities, but still comfortable enough. The new part is further away from the busy street and offers normal (huge) places as well as exclusive ones with personal bath rooms. On top, the new one has a nice bistro and the sauna is included in the prices per night. Both are few kilometers away from Garmisch and from the Zugspitzbahn. In August 2016, I paid about 30,- EUR per night for Hector and myself and the common bath rooms.

Perhaps there are even more alternatives around here – let’s see what comes up next…