Roaming the Alps of Bavaria

2018-01-29

Since my brother and his wife moved from the north of Germany to Bavaria I waited for a chance to spend some time together to go hiking in this beautiful countryside. As kids we actually spent a lot of time in the Alps on hiking trips together with our parents. Only now did I realize how much I missed these trips when I looked down from the summit of a mountain.

old farmhouse in the bavarian alpsgerman gemütlichkeit

Our first trip led us into the mountains close to Rosenheim with stunning views over the Alps close to the Austrian border on one side and lake Chiemsee to the other side.

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Apart from the beautiful countryside I enjoy spending time in old towns of Bavarian villages. All the little details of the historic architecture are a joy to admire and of course a visit to a beer garden every now and then doesn’t hurt either.

gasthaus and weinhausmarketplace in rosenheim

Lake Königssee

Next on our list was a trip to lake Königssee. On a beautiful, sunny day we started hiking on a path that led around the lake to a lookout point. When we arrived at what we believed to be the end of the trail we saw some locals taking off their shoes and following the path along the shore through shallow water. We followed and soon came across a creek that led us to a waterfall. Curious we climbed upstream to see what else we might find. The path led higher and higher in cascades and crossed the stream several times where we either had to hop over the water or wade through it. Once the path even led behind the waterfall and we only had to stretch out to touch the water that looked like a curtain between us and the lake deep below us.
When we arrived back at the lake we couldn’t resist and jumped into the crystal clear water to cool down from our hike. Sometimes the best adventures really seem to be the ones that you didn’t plan for in the first place.

königsseeboat on königsseewaterfall in the woodswaterfall in the woodswaterfall of königsseebehind the waterfall in königsseeunder the waterfall of königsseewaterfall königsseelake königssee in bavariakönigssee bavariasummer jumping into lake königsseekönigssee bayernboat on königssee

Innsbruck

Before I had to fly back to Hamburg we left Bavaria for a day trip to Innsbruck. The charming Austrian town is nestled between imposing mountains and we decided to enjoy the view from the top. This time we avoided hiking and took the cableway instead. As a pastime during the ascend it’s fun to observe mountain bikers speeding downhill all the way to the cable station. I got sweaty hands just from watching them. After a short hike we strolled through the streets, had some ice cream and admired the colorful historic houses of Innsbruck.

mountainside innsbruckinnsbruck mountaininnsbruck from aboveinnsbruckinnsbruckinnsbruckbuildings of innsbruckinnsbruck