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Showing posts from October, 2021

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Alpensee

Our last day, the day we started the drive home, we got up and headed to Alpensee to hike around. I was so sad it was our last day and we would be back in Berlin in a few days...I didn't want to leave!

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Hopfensee, Faulensee & Forggensee

Our last day before heading towards home we had a lazy morning and I wasn't sure what we would end up doing. When planning the trip I didn't find many hikes to do in the area, but there was one between a few lakes that I thought might be nice, but I was still looking to see if there was anything else fun to see. You could walk around Hopfensee so I was looking to see if there was anything fun there and found some castle ruins you could hike up to! And then found another lake that is supposed to be really beautiful that seemed like an easy walk from Hopfensee so a bit more searching led me to a blog post from someone who did a loop that we ended up doing. And it was such a beautiful day! So we headed off - first stop the ruins!

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Drachensee & Hopfensee

When planning our trip I spoke with a friend about where we were going and she told me about the hike to Drachensee. Her friend who lives in the Munich area said it was her favorite hike in the area so I put it on the list of possibilities, but I didn't actually think we would make it there as I had so many other hikes planned. It was in Austria so I figured if we didn't get to it we would when we did an Austria hiking trip. Plus it was a little bit out of the way, but could be done on our travel day between campsites as then it was just a little bit out of the way. 

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Partnachklamm

I was super excited for Partnachklam after hiking Höllentalklamm a few days prior and absolutely loving it. Plus this gorge is advertised everywhere and is one of the things to do in the area. The day was a bit overcast and drizzly, but since we were just hiking in a gorge and would get wet anyways it didn't matter. Some sheeps on the way to the entrance.

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Eibsee & Bremsee & Fungi

The next day we woke up and it was quite cloudy, but we still headed off to hike around Eibsee. 

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Höllentalklamm

The next day we had a later start than normal as it was pretty foggy when we woke up. We took our time eating breakfast and drinking our tea and then eventually headed out to Grainau for the Höllentalklamm hike. This was yet another trail that I didn't have on my list to do, that I didn't find anything about when searching best hikes in the area, but the campsite we were staying out gave us a brochure for things to do in the area with photos from this gorge and it looked nice. Plus it was forecast to rain the entire time we were in this area and people said hiking in the gorges is a good plan on rainy days as you will get wet anyway. I did have the gorge trail on my trail app, but it was listed as difficult and went up to a Hütte which I thought was way above where the gorge was and would be a steep uphill climb. I figured we would see what we could see then decide if we wanted to hike up to the Hütte or not. When we got to the parking lot there were a few clouds to start...But

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Herzogstand & Kranzberg

The next day we got up early and got ready because it was forecasted thunderstorms in the afternoon. We definitely did not want to be on top of the mountains if/when it was thunderstorming. And we could see some of the sunrise!

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Sylvensteinsee & Oberes Isartal

The next day we left the area we were in, Lenggries, and headed off to our next stop, Tennsee. Of course we stoped to hike a bit along the way. First up - Sylensteinsee! We got there early and there were all these low clouds moving so quickly over the water! 

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Wallberg & Brauneck

The next day we once again drove over to Tegnersee for some hiking, but this time at the southern tip of the lake to hike up Wallberg. There is a cable car that runs up, but we decided to hike up as everything said it was an easy hike and then take the cable car back down.  

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Riedersteinkapelle Hike Tegnersee

Day 6 started off with a short drive to Tegnersee to hike to Riedersteinkapelle - a small chapel on a small cliff. The trails in this area are everywhere and there there were lots of different ways to get to the same location so we looked at the map and decided on a route and headed off. The hike up was along a river on a gravel road.

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Urschlau

Day 5 was a travel day, but we still wanted to do a bit of hiking. It was the longest travel day between campsites - 2.5/3 hours total so we didn't want a super long walk. I found a trail that sounded nice in Urschlau which was about halfway between where we were and where we were going so after breakfast we headed off. When we got there the trail was actually this educational trail for one to learn all about the forest! We actually did the trail in reverse order as that is the way my trail app had it, but it was fun.  The trail started for us with these interesting Christian things. I thought these were stations of the cross, but now looking at the photo I don't think there are enough pillars... And a last supper? The first part of the hike was just a steady climb on a gravel road in the forest. Near the top was a display to listen to different bird calls which was fun, and an overlook to see this waterfall down below.  Not very close, but you could definitely hear it! Then al

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Ice Caves and Waterfalls

Day 4 was such a great day. A long day, but one of my favorite days of the trip! We had planned on taking the boat around the lake one day, and I remember reading there was a waterfall you could walk to so that was our plan. The only problem? I couldn't remember where the waterfall was and I wasn't finding it in my hiking app. Only the waterfall we tried to hike to the day prior from town. So I did some research the night before about where we could hike from the first town stop and found...there is an ice cave you can hike to! I looked up photos and it looked okay, really the photos only looked so so but I was like okay we definitely need to do this. I mean how often can you hike to an ice cave? I didn't see a waterfall though...so I looked at the second stop and found it! The highest waterfall in Germany actually which is odd that my googling didn't find it sooner, but ultimately good it didn't or else I wouldn't have known about the ice cave! So we got up ear

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Malerwinkler Trail

Day 3 of our trip was forecast to be rainy and overcast so we had a nice, relaxing morning (though this was our normal breakfast - fruit, toast, and muesli/cereal with tea). 

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Hiking on Jenner

When I was planning this trip I saw a post that detailed a hike in the area that sounded fun. To start you took the boat to a stop on Königssee just for hiking. From there you hike up the mountains and then back down to town. After our first, long day of hiking I had planned an easier hike, but the weather forecast was not so good for the rest of our time here so we decided to do this hike the second day, only really modified! Instead of taking the boat and hiking up the mountain we took the Jennerbahn, a cable car that will take you almost to the very top of Jenner mountain! Higher than we would have gone with the hike we had planned even. There are two stops on the cable cars, one mid-way up and one at the top. When we woke up on day 2 it was so incredibly foggy you couldn't see 2 feet in front of you. I thought oh man, we are not going to be able to go up Jenner like planned! I mean we could, but we won't be able to see anything so why bother? And will any of the other days

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: Kehlsteinhaus aka Eagle's Nest Hike

Our first hike of the trip was a long one, but such a great way to start it off! From our campsite the hike to Kehlsteinhaus was a short drive and then an 8km/5 mile hike to the top! It started off with this nice gravel road in the forest, then turned into a much steeper paved path until you got to the parking lot at the top. You can't drive up there, but from where we parked you can take a bus up and back instead of hiking. 

Campervan Adventures in Bavaria: On the way to Königssee!

Hello hello! It has been forever! And forever since we have actually traveled...but we just got back from a 2.5-week campervan adventure to the German Alps! Oh, it was wonderful. Hiking every day, trying out a campervan for the first time, just being out in nature for so long was so very needed. And every day was just beautiful! For our first camper van adventure we rented a VW California Ocean here in Berlin, packed it up and headed south! Since we left in the late afternoon we stopped at a non-descript campsite a few hours south of here so we wouldn't have as far to drive the next day to our first official stop - Königssee! First night was leftovers heated up on the stove - easy peasy and good to get used to how things worked.