Every winter, a very special home is built on the Zugspitzplatt at 2,600 m — the Igloo Village, which can accommodate 46 people. However, anyone who thinks that the igloo village between the ski slopes with round snowdomes looks like it's on television is mistaken. Because the igloo is truly hidden in the snow and only a sign and a few benches in front of the door indicate the extraordinary snow hotel.

We booked an icy night together with a friend and are excited about what to expect. You can choose between 5 categories of accommodation, the Group Igloo for up to 6 people, the Romantic Igloo for two people, the Romantic Igloo Plus for two people with a private toilet, the Romantic Igloo Family for up to 4 people and the Love Nest for special lovebirds. We booked a Romantic Igloo Plus for our night.

Day 1

12:00: Take the Zugspitze gondola up to the Zugspitze. The ticket is not included in the accommodation price and must be paid separately. Be sure to indicate at the Zugspitze ticket office that you are staying in the igloo village, because then the ticket for the gondola is valid from 12:00 on the day of arrival and until the end of gondola operation the following day. This gives you at least 1 ½ days on the Zugspitze.

12:20 p.m.: At the kiosk on Zugspitzplatt, we rent a large locker, in which we first store our bags with the overnight items. Because now it's time to get into the fun of the snow. Tobogganing is the order of the day for us so we borrow two pointed bobs, helmet and ski goggles and off we go on the toboggan runs.

3:30 p.m.: After a few rapid descents, some of which also ended in snow, we drop off our pointed bobs again, pick up our backpacks from the locker and head to the Sonnalpin restaurant. Our ski clothes have gotten a bit wet and we want to dry them before going into the unheated igloos. We also decide to have a bite to eat, as we don't know when the cheese fondue will be served this evening.

16:30: The meeting point is in the upper room of the Sonnalpin Restaurant. Here we not only meet the other overnight guests but also the first welcome team from the igloo village. We receive thick (hopefully very warm) sleeping bags and initial instructions. Then we walk up to the igloo village together in groups. The thick sleeping bag is a bit bulky when running, but unfortunately only children are allowed to store the sleeping bag on the ski jets, all adults carry their own things. The way to the igloo village takes place at a slow pace, there is even a short break, as the trail through the snow at this altitude is exhausting for some guests and the igloo team is careful that no one gets too out of breath.

17:15: We enter the igloo village for the first time and are immediately amazed at how spacious the interior area is. As already said, from the outside you only see a large pile of snow, and what is exactly below is only now visible. We are assigned all our snow rooms and are allowed to visit each room once for the next 20 minutes to marvel at and photograph the incredibly elaborate and amazing snow figures with which each room is decorated. Every year, the igloo village offers new enchanting snow-fairy landscapes. We are currently enchanted by an underwater world of snow with dolphins, whales, a shark, a giant octopus, starfish and much more. Our snowbed is covered with fur, which our sleeping bag is now on. We put our sleeping clothes in the sleeping bag so that they are hopefully a bit warm when we have to undress in the cold at night. Our snow bath room consists of a real toilet (but without flushing) and the sink works with lotion, as water freezes. Let's see how we get on. The cold toilet seat already scares me. A furry blanket would certainly be fantastic.

17:50: We meet again in the bar for a hot drink and are also served a snack with cheese, salami cubes and bread. We could have saved ourselves our late afternoon meal, especially as the cheese fondue will also be coming. In the cozy bar, we also get to know one or the other fellow traveler. Everything is represented, a group, families and individual travelers like us.

Around 6:30 p.m.: If I was hoping to experience a romantic sunset on the Zugspitze, I am unfortunately disappointed because the weather has dragged on and it will still snow overnight. At least we had another lovely day. For all those who don't just want to squat in the bar (it's not necessarily warmer than outside), the Igloo Village team offers a short night hike (let's say evening hike or first digestive walk, it's still early), which leads from the igloo village to the chapel down to the chairlift and once again to the igloo village. However, the tour is very worthwhile, as 1. warms up the movement a bit again and 2. there are many interesting stories to hear, including about a stolen maypole and a somewhat strange car bet. I won't tell you more here, everyone should have heard the stories themselves. But it's amazing what has happened on the Zugspitze.

Around 7:30 p.m.: The cheese fondue is served and comes back in plentiful quantities. We wish we had stopped eating at Restaurant Sonnalpin; our stomachs were soon bursting at the seams. In addition, we have to drink a lot. At this level, it is essential to absorb a lot of fluid in the body (and this should not only consist of alcohol!). Other activities include tobogganing or relaxing in the sauna or hot tub. For this purpose, a list is created in which every guest can sign up. We choose our sauna session for 10:30pm so that we can jump into the sleeping bag right afterwards, hopefully still somewhat warm. Until then, people dance in the bar so that the body continues to move and does not cool down too much.

22:15: Back in our igloo, we are already preparing everything for our bed. Brush your teeth quickly and go to the cold toilet (that's actually the worst thing for women). Then it's time to take off your warm clothes and walk to the sauna with only a towel and shoes. Brrr, it's cold. We walk into the first big keg and are surprised at first. It doesn't look like a sauna here. In fact, it is the dressing room. So out again and into the second keg. This is the right place for us. The sauna is now ours alone for the next 15 minutes.

22:30: Admittedly, all the cold hasn't disappeared from my body, there are still some spots that feel like pork knuckle. And now it's time to get out into the cold again. We take a quick breath and then literally run back to our room, throw the towel over the chair, put on our hopefully warm sleeping clothes (long pants and long-sleeved shirt, sleeping socks and a hat for the head) in record time (tip: in warm sleeping bags, less is generally better, I hope it's true) and now try to snuggle up in the sleeping bag. Then we lie next to each other a bit gibbering and struggling with the ideal sleeping position — after all, you can't talk about a soft or medium-hard mattress with a snowbed. After all, my body seems to warm up once in a while, I'm still struggling with my head. However, if I continue to pull the sleeping bag over my head, I have the feeling of suffocating and it gets too warm. Keep your head outside and it gets cold. My friend is no different and so we slowly laugh ourselves into sleep and the sentence “What were we thinking about. ”

Day 2

06:00: The night is over and surprisingly I didn't freeze. The sleeping bag was so warm that I still had to pound my socks during the night as my feet began to glow. My head also somehow found the right position so that it wasn't too cold, but not too warm either. But the night has brought another insight. The throat is extremely dry and in between we woke up again and again because we were thirsty. Of course, you definitely don't want to get out of your warm sleeping bag and apart from sparkling wine, we wouldn't have had anything in the room. So collect spit, swallow a few times and go back to sleep.

06:15 a.m.: None of us actually want to get out of our sleeping bag, but the wake-up call comes at 07:15 anyway. I also want to see if there is a nice sunrise on the Zugspitze, so I've already stuffed my daywear into my sleeping bag right after waking up so that it gets warm. Now it's time to move again in record time. We did it. Somehow everything doesn't feel as cold in the morning as it does in the evening. The igloo village is still completely quiet there, only the igloo team is already on their feet. I open the “hotel door” and look outside. I would have preferred not to look at it. It has snowed and it is still snowing slightly. About 1 meter of fresh snow has fallen, it is windy, cold and I can only dream of a sunrise like I dreamed of. So back in the room and pack things.

07:30: All guests look a bit carried away after the night, of course, a refreshing shower, makeup mirror, etc. is not included this morning. Our 7 things have been packed again and the sleeping bags have been rolled up. In single file, it's now back down to Restaurant Sonnalpin. A pleasant warmth flows towards us behind the restaurant door. We all receive cash stamps for our breakfast, which we can use to put together our own buffet breakfast. And so it will be a sumptuous breakfast. There is also plenty of tea and coffee. Everyone slowly thaws and the conversations become more intense. None of our table neighbors slept optimally either, yet everyone we talk to finds it a great experience.

09:00: We're heading back down to Grainau. The weather is not playing along today anyway, it will probably be until noon for the snow clouds to clear, and we also have another trip ahead of us and don't want to miss the opportunity to enjoy a hot shower first.

Summary:

An overnight stay in an igloo village on the Zugspitze is really a very special experience, but you have to be prepared for certain “inconveniences” and live with them. After I told me about the night, my colleague, who is in the mountain rescue team, gave me some advice that I would have had better before. At this altitude, the air is so dry that it is of course difficult to breathe at night (which is of course never noticeable during a day of skiing). In order to counteract a dry throat, it is worthwhile to tie a wet scarf over your mouth (I then secretly ask myself what the scarf will feel like when it is probably frozen). I'll try it out next time though.

Zugspitze igloo village - website

The igloo village usually opens at the end of December. Reservations should be made quickly, because despite the limited comfort, the igloo village is quickly booked out, especially on weekends.

If you only want to experience the igloo village once as a day visitor, you can visit the bar daily from 11:00-15:30. If you want to taste the cheese fondue, you can do so on Saturdays and Sundays at 13:00 with advance reservation.

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