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Bavaria
2011 For the first week of our two-week holiday we stayed in a
B&B called Gastehaus Kropfleiten:
an excellent guesthouse with breathtaking views of
the mountains.
The view from our balcony: from left to right there is Kehlstein (with The Eagles Nest atop), Jenner, Schonfeldspitze and Watzmann. For our first day, we decided to “take it easy”. We ended up
doing a 12-mile walk, not by accident, just the way it ended-up! It was an excellent walk, on a terrific weather day. However, it
did start to rain near the end, as we refreshed ourselves with a beer.
The highest point of the day, Gatterl,
about 1500m amsl. And enjoying a beer near the end
of the walk. Our second day started with drizzly rain, but was forecast to
improve by the afternoon. We spent the morning visiting the Salt Mine www.salzzeitreise.de and were very impressed with the
facility. The mine is still active, but at much lower
levels than the public get to see. The visit begins by suiting-up in overalls
and being driven astride a miniature railway train for 600m into the
hillside. You then descend further into the Earth using slides, ramps and
stairs; all of which are the same routes and methods used by the miners much
earlier in the day. A series of chambers, with informative displays, shows
you how salt is extracted. The trip concludes by returning on the miniature
train, but not before an underground boat trip through a vast solution
chamber! Unfortunately, other than the suiting-up, you’re not allowed to use
cameras on the visit. The visit is very worthwhile!
After our visit to the Salt Mine we spent a sunny afternoon
wandering around Berchtesgaden.
The afternoon was very warm and sunny, and we were able to
explore Berchtesgaden at our leisure – and try some local product. On day-3 we climbed the mountain Jenner
Nearing the summit of Jenner, we passed the paraglider launch
site.
And saw some interesting creatures on the summit
The famous viewing platform, just below the summit of Jenner,
affords beautiful views of Konigssee (The Kings
Lake), more like a Norwegian Fiord than an Alpine lake
And, of course, this is the Alps; therefore obtaining
refreshments is not a problem. And no, he didn’t get my beer On day-4 we had an easy stroll through the stunning village of Ramsau, and on to a very picturesque lake called Hintersee.
One of the most photographed scenes in the Berchtestgaden
area, has appeared on a great many calendars, Ramsau Church is exquisitely set in its
landscape
The path meanders along the river Ramsauer
Ache
We eventually reach Hintersee
The sirens-call of the beer, from across the lake, was too much
to stand. So we took the cute little ferry
Apple-Strudel and beer. Well we are on holiday Day-5, already: we were running out of time to do one of the
most famous walks in the Berchtesgaden area: The Eagles Nest.
We used a chairlift to take us up the first part of the climb;
we also used the bus service back down the hill. That said,
this was still quite a hard walk!
As luck would have it, the day was cloudy, and we were well in
the clouds when we exited the chairlift. Therefore, no photos of the walk
itself! The Eagles Nest, on the summit called Kehlstein,
was also known as Hitler’s
Tearoom. There is a steep footpath from the bus concourse to the
building (we used it to walk down), but for a couple of Euro taking the
elevator is worth every cent! You enter an austere tunnel that takes you 124m
to a room with a massive brass/bronze elevator door. We were very lucky to
have just missed a coach party going up; we had the tunnel and elevator all
to ourselves. No photos were allowed in the tunnel or elevator,
unfortunately, but the whole experience was rather eerie. Anyway, after a few
seconds the door slides open, and you step into a polished bronze lift, where
the operator takes your ticket, and you’re lifted
124m to the building above.
The view from Kehlstein is stated, on
a good day, to be truly spectacular. We only had hint of the view, but the
buildings location is quite amazing.
The marble fireplace was a contribution from Mussolini to the
construction of the “Teahouse”, which was a 50th birthday gift to
Hitler from Martin Bormann. Day-6; our last day in Berchtesgaden. After the cloudy, cool,
day before, today was hot and sunny. We had an easy day, taking the pleasure
boat along lake Konigssee.
Purportedly the cleanest lake in Germany; no discharge into the
lake is allowed, and (we are told) has a sewer pipe constructed underneath
it! The lake is truly magnificent: more reminiscent of a fiord than
a mountain lake; it’s very deep, and very blue,
surrounded by very steep mountain walls.
The clarity of the water is stunning, as is its temperature!
Quite the most beautiful mountain and lake scene – on a par with
Lake O’Hara in Canada.
Very beautiful, and very hot: we had
some difficulty keeping our beer cool! The following day (day-7 of our holiday) we drove to
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where we were to stay for 7-nights at Gastehaus Maria. We did a variety of walks around Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The
area has lots of limestone formations, and amongst the most spectacular of
these are the ravines, or “klamms” in German.
Extremely narrow, ferocious, watercourses, they have had tunnels and
footpaths cut into them. We did two klamms: Partnachklamm and Hollentalklamm.
Of the two, the latter has the edge on spectacle, and was the start of an
exhilarating walk. Hollentalklamm: Hell
Valley Gorge.
At the ticket office they advise wearing waterproofs
Via a series of tunnels and manmade shelves, you progress along
the gorge
The klamm ends at a breathtaking mountain scene: Zugspitze, Germany’s highest
mountain.
Our trail continues through a great mountain landscape
We climbed to the col of Hupfleitenjoch,
and another incredible scene looking back to Zugspitze
Before taking the cable car decent, there’s an opportunity to
admire the view from the cantilevered gantry On another day we climbed Schottelkarspitze.
I had done this route nearly 30-years ago, I had fond memories of it and had
wanted to visit it again
View looking east from Schottelkarspitze
The weather was forecast to change later in the day. The ascent
was sunny and a comfortable temperature
Near the summit, going becomes interesting
The view looking east from the summit
The mountains never change, at least on a human time frame
Descending into the stunning landscape for a well-earned beer! After such a hard climb, the following day we strolled around Eibsee. The day was a bit cloudy, but it didn’t detract
from the beauty of the lake.
Eibsee… For our final day we drove to Mittenwald
and climbed Grunkopf
We took the cute little chairlift out of Mittenwald
Walking through beautiful pastures, we could see Schottelkarspitze; right of centre
This area provides lovely, gentle, walking – very popular, for
good reason
Our final, at the summit, beer of the holiday. And Julie now
accepts that the lower Alps can be just as spiky as the high Alps! Back to the Top
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