Visiting a freezing cold Berlin in November (mostly for the Christmas markets) a few years ago we always swore that a return trip to landlocked Germany was something we had to do. When friends told us of the misty Alpine peaks of Bavaria and generous beer gardens of Munich, we mentally notched a visit to München into our travel bucketlist and promised ourselves we would get there one day.
That promise of ‘one day’ turned into years, until summer this year and we fancied a relaxing week in sunshine. Planning to spend a week in Munich (several friends said 3 days is plenty, but I disagree) gave us more than enough time to factor in several days trips (including swimming in an alpine lake near Neuschwanstein Castle) which unconditionally made our break lovely.
Putting down my book and scrolling through ‘alpine day trips from Munich on my phone from the comfort of our hotel room, google came up with the peak of Wendelstein as a viable option.
Vague plans made – we google mapped it and figured we could just find a local pub if it all went awry – we hopped onto one of the regional services (the Bayerische Oberlandbahn GmbH or BOB). After skirting around a beautiful lake we panicked a little when the train carriages split in a train station and we lost sight of our destination, dashing to which end we assumed was better (based mostly on following locals rugged up in hiking gear) which luckily delivered us safely.
Bowling off at the Osterhofen station, we stopped for a minute to breathe in the clear air and listen to the contented moos of a local herd.
Watching the sports mad locals unfold their hiking sticks and uncap their beer bottles (seriosuly) as they strode up along rocky paths, at that point we realised that we’d definitely gone off
map. Luckily spotting a small cut-through path wending under the train
station and over a trickling stream, we found the cable car that winched us up 2,000 metres literally into the clouds.
The grey morning lifted as we got higher up the mountainside, revealing a breathtaking vista (and distracting me from the heart palpitations of the admittedly smooth cable car ride).
I may have hummed ‘there is a coffee castle on a cloud’ unashamedly as I brandished my caffeine hit and read my book whilst the boy walked further up to the summit for even better views.
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It was one of the best things I’ve ever found on the internet – a morning of clear air and peace amongst the clouds and forests.
Ps. Our visit to Munich and the clear alpine waters around Neuschwenstein Castle with a touch of tourist dodging, both definitely were so much joy!)
