Today’s adventure was to Lake Königssee, just a few miles outside of Berchtesgaden. The lake is long and narrow, about 5 miles long and 1 mile wide at its widest point, and crystal clear. Thanks to electric boats which carry passengers to a couple of stops around the lake, and the absence of any development, the lake water is unpolluted and said to be the cleanest in Germany. The small tourist village of Königssee where you catch the boat is filled with souvenir shops and restaurants, including everyone’s favorite Bavarian restaurant, McDonald’s.
It was a 35 minute boat ride to my first stop on the lake, the iconic St. Bartholomä church and “village”. On the way, the boat slows by the “echo wall” and it is traditional for a boatman to play the trumpet to demonstrate the echo. It was pretty cool.
The twin red onion domes of the church at St. Bartholomew are easily seen from around the lake and a favorite stop for pictures. The inside of the church has the same incredible detail I saw at Maria Gern yesterday. I was planning to do some hiking today, and the first hike started from St. Bartholomä. After a wrong turn on the trail I eventually found the right one and hiked about a mile to the St. Johann and Paul Chapel. This little church is tucked right into the hillside along the Eisgraben River. Though you can’t go inside, there is a metal gate through which to take pictures and a photogenic bridge leading up to it.
By the time I got back to the boat dock, it was downright pouring and I was soaked. But I decided the lake was the only thing I was going to do today and if I ended up soaking wet at the end of the day, so be it. Spoiler alert: it kept raining and I did get soaked.
The next boat took me to Salet. Salet is the furthest point on the southern end of the lake and the start of several hikes (Salet itself has a small restaurant and snack cart by the boat dock.). I decided to walk from the end of Lake Königsee to Lake Obersee, which is only about 15 minutes away on a well worn path. Lake Obersee is not nearly as big as Lake Königsee, only about 1 mile long and a quarter of a mile wide. There is a popular photo stop at the head of the lake with a wooden boathouse. Of course, I took lots of pictures while dodging the raindrops and selfie-takers.
A mile long trail leads around the west side of Lake Obersee to the Fischunkelalm am Obersee, a small wooden snack hut and the start of another trail to Röthbach waterfall. I skipped the snacks and headed for the trail. Cows roam freely along this trail and with cows comes… cow pies. Between those and the mud from the rain, it was an adventure. ¾ of a mile later, I arrived at the base of the falls, but the trees were too full to actually see the waterfall from there. The views were better further back on the trail. Live and learn.
I turned around just as another downpour began. I was tired and wet, and one of the buttons on my camera had frustratingly stopped working, so I was ready to head back. 1.5 hours later, I was back on the boat to Königssee.
I wish I could say that I did something else exciting this afternoon, but I was tired and wet and in desperate need of clean clothes. So it was back to the hotel to freshen up. Dinner was at the pizzeria that is part of the hotel. There is Bavarian music on Monday nights in the pedestrian zone of Berchtesgaden, and one group was set up right by the outdoor patio, but after spending a day in the rain and cold (it was only in the low 60s today), I sat indoors and enjoyed a really delicious pizza. Two scoops of ice cream/gelato finished off the night. Tomorrow I’ll be adding a 15th country to my list!
Traveling with Laura 