Bulli ahoy: the "Once in a Lifetime" experience on a floating pitch

How was it? "120 percent vanlife!" says Anja, our first winner, after spending the night in a van on a pontoon in Hamburg harbor. Together with VW Commercial Vehicles, we create exclusive "once in a lifetime" promotions for you. And since we, as northerners, are in love with Hamburg's harbor panorama like the first day, it was clear that the first promotion had to take place right here.

No sooner said than done: Our Hinterland-Bulli was maneuvered onto a floating pontoon of six by twelve meters and placed together with the Bulli in the middle of the Elbe in Hamburg's Travehafen harbor. Equipped with fairy lights, candles, a chill-out corner and a fireplace, the floating site became a perfect camping spot.

Over 200 Bulli fans had applied in advance for the night on the pontoon. For Anja Hänisch from Meckenheim near Bonn, the dream came true. As a real adventurer, Anja (@bullitouristin) has been traveling permanently with her son in her own Bulli "Paul" since 2019. For the "Once in a lifetime" overnight stay, it was time for her and her good friend Katharina Große to "cast off" very early in Meckenheim on a sunny day in September 2021. Arriving in Hamburg, the two said goodbye to Paul and crossed over. "Just the boat ride from the shore to the pontoon with the van on it was awesome! We could see the Bullicamp from afar and everything looked so beautiful and lovingly prepared," says Anja.

She and Katharina arrived first with coffee and snacks and took in the spectacular view of the Elbphilharmonie, the Michel, the Köhlbrand Bridge, the cranes and container ships. "Unbelievable what a great spot has been created here! And we were mega lucky with the weather." Peter donated the perfect late summer day for the "Hotel California" experience: around 20 degrees with blue skies light breeze. Perfect conditions for a night on the water.

"Later, when it began to dawn, a boat came closer and 'La Paloma' sounded from there on the accordion. That was so beautifully Hanseatic, as you would imagine," Anja recounts. Fridolin Fröhlich, accordion player and Hamburg veteran, joined them on board and played a few classics from his squeezebox. In addition, we had a three-course dinner made of regional-seasonal ingredients from the restaurant Hobenköök come to the pontoon by boat for Anja and Katharina. "It was super delicious, we were really blissful." Even though the van kitchen remained cold that evening, Anja, as a professional, had of course long since checked out the equipment of the T6.1 Beach: "What I found really cool was the space-saving camper kitchen that folds out. Paul has a normal, 'big' kitchen inside."

After the sunset had also once again given everything in terms of colors from yellow to orange and violet, the perfect starry sky spread over the pontoon. "And by chance, a great fireworks display from another event suddenly lit up the horizon. I don't think you can get much more than that," Anja enthuses. And then it was time for the bunk a.k.a. the pop-up roof of the Californias. "Before, you didn't notice that much that you were on the water - but above, we felt the slight rocking." When a larger ship passed by some distance away, the seafaring atmosphere was perfect. Anja's conclusion the next morning, when she and Katharina enjoyed the view at breakfast (and were careful that the seagulls didn't steal anything).

You also want to spend a night at a special camping spot? No problem! In the coming weeks, we'll be launching the application phase for our next "once in a lifetime" campaign. Just follow us on Instagram, where we will keep you up to date about this and other promotions.