Colorado Inspired

Colorado Inspired
Colorado Inspired

Winter Wonderland Wood Sign

Winter Wonderland Wood Sign
Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Designs

Valentine's Designs
Valentine's Designs

The Southern Germany Outdoor Excursion Experience


We had the fortunate opportunity to travel to Southern Germany over fall break.  We hit the ground running when we got back and I'm just getting around to sharing it, but I have to admit is was super fun to do a little reminiscing choosing the photos that I wanted to show you.  The Germany Alps were more beautiful than I imagined.



Wow is all I have to say.  

We landed in Munich, rented a car, and drove to Berchtesgaden in southern Germany near the Austrian border.  When my husband was stationed in Germany in the military this was one of the city's he went to on long weekends so we were excited to travel and see the places he experienced during his time in the service.  We stayed at the Hotel Gruenberger and booked the apartment just down the street from the hotel for our family of four.  We relaxed in the afternoon after a long day of travel, and enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant.  Click here for my review of the hotel.

Our first sightseeing stop was Eagle's Nest which I thought was Hitler's hideout, come to find out on our tour that wasn't so true.

  
This is the view from above Obersalzburg (city below), which was the city that Hitler made his home.  All the original buildings from the Third Reich are gone and in it's place is the documentation center you see below.  Right above us is Eagle's Nest; a fun fact while I assumed it was a hide out for Hitler, he only visited it a mere fourteen times being afraid of heights and claustrophobic.  That mountain off to the left by the way is where the sound of music was filmed, and you can see Salzburg Austria in the distance.  


Once in the parking lot you enter this tunnel and literally walk into the mountain which leads you up to an elevator taking you to the top.  The elevator ride takes about 45 seconds and boy do they pack you in there, but when it was used by Hitler the ride took one minute and 30 seconds, and he refused to ride up with many people in the elevator due to his claustrophobia.


The views again are stunning.  We got lucky enough that the morning fog was below us and above were crystal clear blue skies and views for miles.



I would highly recommend this tour, while the informational part of the tour was short we had time to walk around and take in the views and even grab a beer at the restaurant.  Click here for more information or to book a tour.

Next up on the sightseeing tour was a stop to see Konigssee lake which is one the purest and deepest lakes right at the entrance of Berchtsgaden National Park, it's said you could simply drink the water right out of the lake with no filter.



We took a boat tour around the lake which is quite long.  On a quiet electric boat our first stop was a small village which sat the little church of St. Bartholomew and was once a hunting lodge for Bavarian Kings.


After a bit of hiking around and seeing the sites, we are back on the boat for a stop at the far end of the lake.


Once to the back of lake, we were met with an array of hiking options, we took a few of the shortest ones given our time frame.



We have a photo bomber!

Being in Colorado and an active outdoorsy family whose climbed 14ers it was an easy leap to assume that we made it to the top of Germany's tallest peak Zugspitze.



The gold marker is the very top.  Look how far you can see, over 400 mountain peaks in four countries.  We took a tram cable car up from sea level up almost 9700 feet above.  There is a ski area up top and several buildings around the top to get souvenirs, hot chocolate (which you might need to stay warm), and of coarse a pretzel my new personal favorite.


Just a little windy which makes me think that maybe the skiing here is a little more brisk than in Colorado.


I think this just might be the Christmas card this year, or at least make it to the family tree wall, but that's another post all together! 

We definitely got our fill of the outdoors while in Germany with perfect weather between 70-75 degrees, the trip was a huge success so far, but wait we have historical cities and other sites to visit. 
Coming soon!

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