In October this year I took the whole last week off to make a short trip to South Tyrol, Italy. However, on this week, the German government has announced the second wave of lockdown, and it became clear that going abroad, even if it’s just a couple of hours drive from home, was not the best idea. So, I spent my vacation days at home — the weather in Bavaria was not very nice either — until this sunny weekend came. ‘Whatever, let’s go to the Alps!’ — I said, having in mind our Bavarian part, of course. The hotels in Germany and restaurants were still open on this weekend, and I managed to book a room in a nice resort in the village of Grainau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the very same day.

We had a very pleasant drive to Grainau. From where we live it took us about two and a half hours to get there. We checked in the hotel and hurried up outside. It was already past 3pm and we didn’t have much time left before it would become dark.

The most famous tourist attraction in this spot is Zugspitze, the highest mountain peak in Germany. Normally, one can take a cable car to its top and enjoy the view — the scenery looks like on a different planet! However, these days the cable car was not in operation. Luckily, we still had many options for activities which would not require any social contact.

A forest walk along Eibsee

On that day we decided to spend the remaining light hours on a walk in the forest along the lake Eibsee. Framed by mountains, this crystal-clear water lake is truly beautiful! Looking at the photos I took during this walk, I immediately think of the smells of pine trees, fallen leaves and moss, and almost feel the cold fresh air on my cheeks.

After it finally got dark, we drove to the town and had a hearty dinner in one of the traditional inns.

Sunday morning

Next day we had a late breakfast in the hotel and spent some time walking by the small lake Badersee.

Frühlingstraße in historic Garmisch

Our next stop was the Frühlingstraße, the historical street in Garmisch. This street is full of nice alpine houses with mural paintings on the facades. With the dreamy snow-covered mountain peaks in the background, this place is like a living fairy-tale.

In the end of this street we found a Thai restaurant and made a quick stop there for lunch.

Wamberg village

As our next stop this day we picked the village Wamberg. It’s a popular hiking destination, but we cheated and drove there. This alpine settlement located on a high hill is really tiny. It has a church, an inn, a couple of farm yards and a small cemetery.

Pflegersee

We also drove to Pflegersee, yet another small lake and a hiking spot. There we overcame the temptation to visit the inn and to have a tea with some calorie-bomb apple strudel. We just enjoyed the view instead.

Ettal Abbey

There were still some daylight hours left, and we decided to explore the village of Ettal. It is famous for its Abbey, but also has a cheese factory and a shop. Through the window in this factory one can watch how cheese is made. We were curious about the cheese factory, but it turned out to be closed. So, instead we had a walk around the abbey and visited the monastery shop offering various local souvenirs and the spirits from the local distillery.

To sum up my impressions of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the surroundings, I truly loved the place. I will definitely return to experience it to the fullest after the pandemic. It will be definitely nice to do some hikes in summer and a snowboarding trip in winter.

Photos taken in November 2020

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I’d like to continue sharing Bavarian gems with you, and today I want to show you Chiemsee, another beautiful lake. With an area of 80 square kilometres, it is the largest lake in Bavaria, and it’s also known as the ‘Bavarian Sea’.

Chiemsee is located just a one hour drive away from where we leave. We decided to go there on one of the warm September weekends, and it turned out to be the last day this year when we got a chance to wear shorts and tops. 

Starting point

There are several towns on the shores of Chiemsee. So, if you just enter ‘Chiemsee’ in Google Maps, it may get confused. If you are traveling from Munich for a day trip, I think Gstadt am Chiemsee can be a good starting point. Gstadt has a large beach area for swimming, a couple of cafes and restaurants, a pier and a post office. There is also a Tourist-Info point in Gstadt.

Seasonal treats

September in Bavaria is the season for apples. We saw many apple trees at Chiemsee.

You can do many things at Chiemsee

There are many activities one can engage in at Chiemsee. Visiting its islands is the most popular one. There are three islands — Herreninsel, Fraueninsel and uninhabited Krautinsel. Herreninsel has a palace built by King Ludwig II in 1878 called Herrenchiemsee. Frauenchiemsee houses a Benedictine nunnery, built in the 8th century, as well as a small village.

If you decide to stay at the shore, you can enjoy a lunch or a dinner ‘with a view’ in one of its cafes or restaurants.

You can stay in one of the resorts and enjoy wellness and spa.

There are several boat rentals at Chiemsee. You can get row or paddle boats there.

Of course you can also swim in the lake, lie on the beach or perform all kinds of water sports. For instance, we saw people kayaking and stand up paddling .

…or just enjoy doing nothing

We didn’t do anything special this time, just walked along the shore, looking at the beautiful lake. We had a calorie-bomb-of-an-ice-cream in a cafe and bought a 1 kg of cherry tomatoes at a self-service kiosk. 

We’ll surely come back someday to explore the islands!

Photos taken in September 2020

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Although it’s been already over two years since I moved to Bavaria, I realised I did not post anything about this nice region on my blog. So, let mi fix that and show you some photographs of pretty Bavarian places.

I would like to start with Tegernsee. It is a lake and the name of a town on its shore. It’s a very picturesque resort area close to the Bavarian Alps. Located in just a bit over 50 km to the South from Munich, this place offers a great opportunity to escape the city for a one day, or, alternatively, to stay a bit longer in one of its luxury resorts. I’ve only been there on day-trips so far, but I would definitely like to stay there longer someday.

This summer we went there just for a short trip in the end of June. It was one of the first weekends after the first-wave corona lockdown was weakened.

The place was full of people and it was not easy to find a table in the restaurant we picked for lunch, but we eventually got lucky. After a hearty Bavarian lunch we went on a long walk along the shore. It was a nice walk, but Sergio forgot his sunscreen and his skin soon started burning in the harsh direct sun, so we decided to turn back.

On the way, at one of the piers we saw a ferry, which also served as a pleasure boat offering one-hour-ride tickets. We though it’s a great idea, and hopped on board. We were sitting inside to avoid the direct sun, and the ride was very enjoyable.

When the boat ride has finished, the sun was not that harsh anymore, so we walked a bit more, had some refreshing drinks in a terrace bar by the lake and bought two pieces of an apple strudel (the German apple pie) to bring home.

Photos taken in June 2020

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