Munich Day Trip - Hiking to Breitenstein (Bavarian Alps)

Last summer we joined a hike organized by the Munich chapter of Internations. This one was a short trip from Munich, to Breiteinstein in the Bavarian Alps. The drive took only an hour to reach the parking lot at the trailhead (in the village of Birkenstein, near Fischbachau).

You'll see in the Google Map below that Fischbachau lies east of Schliersee, near the Austrian border.

This is a good hike, with a mix of steep and easier stretches, as well as mixing meadows, forest, and rocky trails. 

The hike up takes around 2 1/2 hours and less than 2 hours down, depending on your stops. The trail begins around 850m elevation at Birkenstein, ascends to a hut at 1,585m, and finally to the peak at 1,622m (for a total rise of 1,170m).

You can see our destination below - we'll go all the way up to the small cross at the summit. 

 

The hike starts off with a steep walk up shady trails through the forest, before opening up into rolling meadows dotted with evergreens.  Not too bad, but definitely a challenge.

There are quite a few benches along the way to stop, rest, and enjoy the view. The wide trail then snakes through the meadows, with a steady (but not steep) climb upwards.

We then reach the bottom of a large grassy hill where cows graze, and gently wind around the hill into the forest on the right.

After passing through more shaded forest, we reach the Hubertushütte, a little hut serving drinks and snacks in a small valley below the peak of Breitenstein.  We stopped here for a snack before the final push up a rock-studded grassy hill up to the cross at Breitenstein. It's only another 10-15 minutes up to the peak.

Despite the not so steep-looking grassy meadow, the mountain drops off on the other side. At the top there is space to sit and look out over the villages in the valley, as this couple does. 

We ate lunch at the top, before heading down. Instead of the same route down, we passed along the ridge through a flat meadow where the cows grazed.

We pause to enjoy the view before descending.

 

Then back down the grassy hills. Herr J greets another one of our huge bovine friends. The cows were definitely one of my favorite parts of the day. 

 

Once again we had nice weather, friendly hiking companions, and great scenery (with animals!) -- this is why hiking in the Alps is so much fun.

The Summer in Munich

I'm chomping at the bit for our upcoming vacation - we haven't taken time off in over 6 months.  But despite the lack of a real holiday, this past Summer was great.  Munich has a lot to offer and it doesn't take extraordinary measures to take advantage of it.  The Alps are only 90 minutes away, the Isar river runs right through the city (and lakes are not far either), plus there are a continuous stream of local events and fairs.   NOTE:  I've exchanged emails with a lot of you recently after you visited this site -- if you come visit I'll really set up some great things to do and see!

Some summer highlights...

Spring Skiing

OK, so it's not actually summertime, but on March 20 we went to Austria for a day of skiing.  Our last ski-day of the season, although you can ski on glaciers much later.  In the photo you can see an instructor with a student in the foreground, an Alpine hut on the left (ski right up to it and get some schnitzel and mulled wine), and a gorgeous backdrop of Tirolean peaks.  A good ramp down to Winter and transition to warmer weather.

Bayern Munich Soccer Games

In the German Bundesliga, Bayern Munich is basically the New York Yankees.  They have the highest payroll, most stars, a beautiful stadium, plus long & rich tradition and the most championships in history.  And like the Yankees, fans love 'em or hate 'em.  This photo is an action-shot of a corner kick at the Allianz Arena... in between sips of beer and bites of bratwurst.  Bayern beat Bochum 3-1.

The World Cup

Bayern Munich has its fanatics and haters, but when the German National Team plays, everyone goes bonkers rooting them on.  The best option to see the World Cup games is outdoors in the biergartens, where they put up big screens and speakers for every game.  The atmosphere is an interesting combination of energy and relaxation.  This photo is the large Augustiner Biergarten, not far from the main train station, where we watched the the U.S. and Ghana.

            

Canoeing on the Isar

When the weather got really hot, we took a canoe down the Isar river.  It is so easy here:  get on a train for 45 minutes to a town upstream, walk to the launch point, and push off.  Some people bring inflatable rafts on the train, others rent a canoe (and owners put it on a trailer to take it back).  We stopped for a swim and lunch, and finally "landed" around 4pm.

 

Hiking in the Alps

Two hikes stood out this summer.  The first was through a river-gorge near Garmisch, the Partnachklamm.  This is especially nice because you take the train south and avoid traffic, and it's different that a "to-the-top" trail.  The second was up to a small peak called Breitenstein.  Great weather for both outings, and there are always huts along the way serving food and drink.

        

Fairs and Street Festivals

It's good practice for Oktoberfest that Munich has summer fairs and street events.  Here, you see the devotion to grilled wurst - over real charcoal.  The second is in this post for a different reason... it looks like a typical carnival ride, but check out the background graphic.  Not exactly NSFW, but shows you the tolerance Germans have for, um, exposure, at a family-oriented activity!

              

Schnitzelbahn

This summer also marked the start of this web site, and the beginning of our beer tournament.  This picture shows the collection of 64 German beers for the tournament.  A labor of love.  Thanks for visiting!