Artur's first (little) climb

Cruise on Königssee wasn’t our only goal In Berchtesgadener Land. As I’ve already mentioned, we bought a combined ticket for the cruise and Jennerbahn. When in the Alps, we wanted to get to at least one of the summits. Watzmann for sure would’ve been a great goal, but not with a child. Having said that, we decided to get to Jenner (1,874 metres).

As we could observe from the cable car (can I call it a train? Please :)), the route to Jenner isn’t that challenging. I’ve seen worse, trust me. But Jenner isn’t that high, either. Nevertheless, we took the Jenner train. For one, it was great fun and new experience for Artur (his first mountain ride, and not the last during the trip). For two, it took much less time and effort. Have I mentioned that it was really hot that day? Yup, for most of the trip we had a wonderful weather. Having to carry a tired kid in a chilly weather is exhausting. Not to mention having to do that on a hot, sunny day and on a way up. Not great (although I can only imagine that, as I wasn’t the one carrying him).

Back to the hike. Or “hike” at parts. The train took us from 630 metres (the lower station) to 1,800 metres (the higher station). There is one stop in the middle with one path for those taking off and a turn and change of trails for those travelling further up. Of course, we were in the second group. Weird experience, though. Up there was a restaurant/bar (not really sure), where you could sit and relax. We decided to head to the top straight away. We didn’t have that much time left if we wanted to make it in time for the last train down. We thought that Artur would stay at the restaurant with his grandmother, but in fact he was the first one to start the climb.

The first part of the climb was quite pleasant. Wide, plain path leading up to a viewpoint, from which you could see Königssee in all its glory. Plus it was giving a great view of the Jenner peak as well (invisible from the other side). The second part, though a lot shorter, was much more challenging. Uneven, slippery, full of rocks that could fall on your feet. And you could easily fall down as well. Felt dangerous. We had to be really cautious. I was so proud of Artur that he managed to get to the top!

And the views! As always, when you climb a mountain and the visibility is pretty good – worth all the effort. Can’t wait for the mountain trip this autumn!

The view of Königssee

 The last part of the climb

 View from the top on Königssee and the viewpoint

A fjord-like lake in southern Germany

After visiting Dresden and Rothenburg, we were, sort of, satisfied with city-views and were looking for nature-views. Sure, we got some of that in Bastei, but that wasn’t enough. Just raised our appetites for more.

We were finally in the Alps. It was already Thursday, sixth day of our trip. My mother-in-law was the only person who’s been to that area before. And she was so impressed with it that she wanted to show that place to us as well. Can’t blame her for that. In fact, I’m really thankful for that!

The first thing that we did in the area, apart from having a walk in the neighbourhood, was a cruise on Königssee. King’s Lake? That’s what the name suggests, doesn’t it? That’s probably not it, though. Why? Simply, there were no Bavarian kings since Louis the German up to Maximilian I Joseph (and he assumed the royal title in 1806). It’s way more probable that the name comes from the first names of the local nobles who donated the Berchtesgadener Provostry waaaay back in time (something like 12^th c.). Their name was Kuno and the lake was previously known as Kunigsee.

The lake itself was formed by glaciers during the ice age, which gave him a fjord-like shape. It’s over 7 km long and about 1.7 km wide (in its widest point). It’s surrounded by steep mountains, including Watzmann as well.

It’s also one of the cleanest lakes in Germany. That’s why only electric driven passenger ships, rowing and pedal boats are allowed to the lake.

What’s absolutely amazing is the echo on the lake. A-MA-ZING! Soooo clear! There were two guys operating the boat with us. At some point the boat stopped, one of the guys came to the middle of the boat (right where we were sitting, duh) and started playing the trumpet. It felt like there were two guys playing, just that one in the distance and a bit later. As if answering the first one. We could hear clearly every tone, every bit of the playing. Twice! Once played and once echoed. Fantastic!

There are two routes that you can choose from on the lake. We chose the shorter one, to St. Bartholomä. First, because it was shorter (about an hour long, and how long can you keep a lively three-year-old sitting still?). Second, because my other in law has already been to the other place. We bought a combined ticket for the ship and the Jennerbahn (which we were planning to go to later on anyhow), which let us save a few euros each.

St. Bartholomä is… just a Catholic pilgrimage church. With wonderful views, a great place to get into the lake (hard to call that place a beach, but you could for sure relax there), a beer garden and a restaurant. Some hiking paths start there as well. A beautiful place. So worth to visit. 

 The church, the lake and the mountains