Munich Day Trip - Pertisau / Achensee (Austria)

At my prior company, we had an annual weekend retreat in Pertisau, Austria.  It's really a classic destination for Germans and Austrians:  in the gorgeous Alps, lots of "Sporthotels" to stay in (focus on healthy/organic food, have a good spa, mountain bikes to rent, etc.), petting zoos and park playgrounds for the kids... colleagues brought their families along each year and it was a real highlight.

Pertisau is a bit more than 90 minutes from Munich, with good traffic.  (That's another future post - parts of the autobahn have no speed limit, but good luck taking adantage with the crowds.)  Like many trips near Munich, Pertisau is located in the Tirol section of Austria.  Tirol has 2 primary mountain ranges:  the Karwendel and the Rofan (also called the Brandenbergs).  They're the quintessential peaks for hiking in summer and skiing in winter.  In the area around Achensee (Lake Achen) they have over 200km of cross country skiing trails and over 500km of well-marked hiking trails!  Plus, they maintain 12 live webcams to try and temp you into a day trip or holiday.

Here is Pertisau on Google Maps:

Below is the hotel where my old company put us up for the weekend.   Nice, right?  Green Alpine meadow, gray limestone cliffs, and blue skies.  The rooms (no photo) are typically utilitarian, with modest size, hard beds, a tiny television (they expect you're not there to watch the tube), and usually a small balcony.  Most guests get up early for vacationers - tables are pretty full for breakfast by 6:30!  If the sun is up, they want to be outside.

Obviously my visits there were in the Summer, which means hiking.  The path we took climbs from about 1100m to 1400m and takes 1.5 hours one way.  It's graded as "easy" so you see a lot of families with children.  Along the way, we saw a group a cows that looked like they came right from a tourist brochure.  My colleague went over to say hello.  Notice also the tiny flowers.  It is such a stereotype, but the Alpine meadows are picturesque.

As you get higher and round the corner to see the lake again, the view gets good.  The Achensee water is especially colorful (it's mainly glacial runoff), and the peaks in the back are very close.  The hotel is sitting the tiny valley below.  Many folks prefer to hit the beaches along the lake or even sail, but over a week you could do something different every day.



One thing I did not (and never have) done is paragliding, but I saw a lot of paragliders here and caught this guy on camera.  You also notice a small lookout over the lake with people resting, watching the paragliders.  This is definitely on my shortlist -- they say the updrafts here are strong enough but not too unpredictable or violent.

The destination, as usual, was a hut (and a little higher for a nice view).  The "menu" is typically Austrian:  cold cuts and bread, goulash soup, wurst and potato salad, and of course water/beer/juices.  There are a lot of huts on the trails, but we stopped at the Dalfaz Alm (see photo below).

For kids, one of the highlights is pigs that the hut keeps.  Here is my co-worker again, this time interacting with the pigs - who are eagerly sharing his banana.

Speaking of animals, the other things I love to see is people hiking with their dogs.  A couple brought along their pair of Huskies.  The summer heat can be tough on them, but at altitude (even only 1500m) it's more pleasant for these guys.

Well, that's a brief view of the opportunities that Pertisau / Achensee provides.  Check it out, or look at other options for an Austrian getaway in any season.

Munich Day Trip - hiking the Plumsjoch (Austria)

One of the "funnest" books I've found in Munich is called "Bergtouren für Langschläfer".  Translated, it means "Hiking Tours for those that sleep in"!  Müncheners take advantage of the near-by Alps year round - for hiking and skiing especially.  Since the mountains are so close, somebody wrote a book that tells people how to get good hikes in without having to wake up early on the weekend.  There is a similar book for skiing.

 
In this case, the hike is to the Plumsjoch.  The drive is about 1 hour and 45 minutes, so you reach the Tyrolean Alps but can get there, have fun, and get back in the same day.  Here is Plumsjoch in relation to Munich, courtesy Google Maps.  Almost directly south, just across the border into Austria.

A typical day-hike will take 1.5-3 hours to get to the destination, there will be at least one hut where you can get food and drink (proabaly stay an hour), and then last 1-2 hours back down.  That's a total of 3-6 hours.  Sometimes the hut is the destination, other times you go to the top of a small peak and visit the hut on the way up or down.  Add in a 1.5 hours each way, and you have a nice, full day (and will sleep well that evening!)

The Plumsjoch path starts at about 1000m of elevation.  Here's a photo about 20 minutes from the trailhead.  Starts out nice and green --  lots of groundwater available and below the timberline.

Now we're getting closer to the peaks.  You can seel the trail behind me - we've already covered much of the 600+ meter ascent to the hut.  The linear distance is probably 8 kilometeres, for a round trip of 16km or more.  It takes between 1.5 and 2 hours to get there, depending on the number and duration of stops along the way.  There is one stretch where thigs get a little steep, but it is mostly a nice, consistent slope.

Now we really get a view.  After rounding a corner of the trail we can see down into the valley below.  It's chilly, even in the summer at above 1800m, so I usually hike in a t-shirt and bring a fleece for when I stop moving.  Apfelschorle (apple juice mixed with sparkling water) and food at the hut is soooo close...

The trails in Austria are well marked - usually with a spray-painted Austrian flag!  They have a government service (as does Germany) that marks the trails, preserves/maintains them, and of course rescues people when needed!  At this point, I put a long sleeve shirt over the t-shirt.  Without the right combination of no-wind and sun, I wanted the extra layer.  It came off quickly again when the sun got brighter and I got moving.  The photo is not that great, but you can see some wildflowers popping out.  It's what makes the Alps so nice.

Finally, here we are.  The Plumsjochhütte.  It doesn't look like much, but it's pretty hard to build and keep a hut at 1630 meters!  Sun, snacks, and drinks, then ready to head back down.  (Or... you can stay overnight if you book ahead!  It is part of a longer hut-to-hut hiking trail that you can take for over a week.)  Notice that some people rode mountain bikes up.  Not all Alpine paths are bike accessible, but the Plumsjoch is wide and not-rocky enough to work well.  Very popular with that crowd.  Overall, it's a great hike for families, adventurous but not hard-core walkers, and of course late sleepers.

Munich Day Trip - sledding in Kufstein (Austria)

We've posted already about example skiing day trips from Munich, but sledding is an option too -- particularly if there are non-skiiers in your group, or perhaps a few knees recovering from the latest ski wipe out, or maybe you just want to try something different.

One of my favorite destinations for sledding is Kufstein in Austria.  Here it is on Google Maps.  It's just across the border from Germany -- and just a little more than an hour in the car.  There is a small lake call Thiersee nearby, not visible at this map level, that is available for winter/summer sports too.

 

There are some destinations where you can take a ski lift up, and then sled down, but that's not very German/Austrian.  Half the fun is the hike up, plus it's good for you and makes the ride down all the more rewarding.  Frau A took this photo of me on the hiking trail, on the way to the Kala Alm (an Alpine hut).  This was about 10 in the morning, with fresh snow and strong sunshine already.  The path alternates between woods like this and open fields.

Here is Frau A in one of the open spaces, the benefit obviously is getting a great panorama of the surrounding peaks.  In total, the snow is probably 2 feet deep, with the top fresh layer being so soft that she steps in almost up to her boot top.  We've been ascending for a good 40 minutes at this point, and she's opened the jacket to cool down!

The ascent takes about 1-1.5 hours total, rising over 400 meters and covering more than 6km.  You can continue past the hut to higher elevations and great views, but this was our goal on that day.  It was so sunny at this point that many people took their jackets off!  We're at the end of the second table, enjoying a snack and some apfelschorle or local beer.

When you're ready, the hut will rent you a sled - three euros if I remember correctly.  The sledding path is actually a road that is not used in winter, so it's just for sledders & hikers.  The great thing is:  now that you've ascended so high, the ride down is almost 10 minutes long!  You can really get going too, and risk takers will wipe out!

    

We didn't take any video (next time!) but here is a YouTube movie from the same sledding path.  Notice how you have to steer around people hiking back up!

It was a great day trip for everyone, and thanks to 30+ friends from Toytown Germany for joining us!

Hi-Tech Clothes

Germans take their free time activities very seriously.  Their hours spent on cars, sports, or any hobby are focused and dedicated.  Combine this with their appreciation for technology, and you get some great products.

In this case, it's the lowly sock that they have elevated to a sophisticated tool (well, relatively speaking of course).  I bought these for the hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro, and wore them recently with Frau A on a winter walk through the snow to the monastery at Andechs.

Check 'em out below.  They are fitted for right and left feet (and have the R and L to let you know which is which) and of course have the latest heat-trapping, moisture-wicking materials and specially designed knit pattern (including tiny strands of silver to keep feet smelling nicer).  But the icing on the cake is integrated rubber beads woven into the inside of the top of the sock. 

Why? 

Well, winter hiking is common here, so these are designed so that you can pull the socks over your long underwear and the rubber beads cling and help them stay up -- maximizing heat retention and preventing bunching in your [naturally, also high-tech] hiking boots.

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!