Only one household per room, even in the dormitories with their many mattresses – this corona precautionary measure had led to a lot of resentment in the Bavarian Alpine Club huts – especially since the other Alpine countries are much less strict. The Bavarian rules have now been adapted, the German Alpine Association (DAV) is happy to say: strangers are also allowed to share a camp again. According to DAV Vice President Roland Stierle, “the huts could start a safe summer operation that is reasonably economical”.
The seven-day incidence in each county remains the deciding factor in the answer to the question of how many people are allowed to come together. Is it below 50 as is currently everywhere in the Free State, ten people from any number of households can be accommodated in one room, plus vaccinated and convalescent people and children under 14 years of age. As long as they stay at least 1.50 meters apart, they do not have to belong to the same hiking group. If necessary, sleeping in the bunk beds is shifted diagonally to ensure sufficient distance.
Spontaneous tours still remain difficult: Without a reservation and, provided the hiker has neither been vaccinated nor recovered, without a negative test result, there is no place to sleep. And instead of the usual light hut sleeping bag, hikers now have to have a “real” sleeping bag, pillow case and towel in their backpack. Also, if possible, a cell phone for registering contact details – and of course a mask.
Austria even insists on registration for day visitors
The other Alpine countries are not an alternative for spontaneous travelers: Austria and Italy only accept guests with a reservation. also in Switzerlandwhere – the confederates afford a little extra route – the negative test is only “urgently” recommended, which is mandatory elsewhere, unless one has been vaccinated or recovered.
Austria consistently insists on the “three Gs” even with day visitors who get an appetite for Kaiserschmarrn and apple spritzer on the go: they have to tested, recovered or vaccinatedThe “vaccinated” status is already reached on the 22nd day after the first injection. All guests must also register if they stay in the hut or on the sun terrace for more than 15 minutes. If you are on the road for several days, you can refresh your status with self-tests on site – so they also belong in your luggage.
Bavaria, on the other hand, is generous with day visitors: As long as the incidence is below 50, they can sit inside and outside without any proof – up to ten people at a table. That is almost the old hut cosiness again.