Munich Day Trip - Hiking in Murnau

In late November, we attended a suprise party for a friend in Munich.  As part of the surprise, we used the pretense of hiking to get him and 3 sons out of the house while his wife and other son prepared for the party.

(I must admit here that we were an hour late getting him back, since he'd promised the boys we'd stop for ice cream and we didn't know how to hurry everyone along without ruining the surprise. Besides....ice cream!...)

 

Murnau lies just 70km from Munich (less than an hour), near Staffelsee. There are several Rundweg in the area (hikes where you can circle back to your starting point), ranging from the 4 and 5 km walks like the  Höhlmühle-Rundweg to the 20.5 km Staffelsee-Rundweg that circles the lake.  Most of these are not strenuous hikes nor have great changes in elevation, so they're good options for families with small children or for a day when you want a relaxing excursion into nature.

We chose the 5.9km Drachenstich-Rundweg,which offers a walk through Murnau, along the banks of the Staffelsee, across the Murnau Moor and down a small gorge. The circuit takes its name from the dragon that legend holds lived in the gorge and feasted on maidens.

You'll find many businesses in Murnau with the name Drachen (dragon) in them, and of course the local volleyball team is the Murnauer Drachen!

It's an area known for nature and art (Kandinsky's longtime partner, painter Gabriele Münter, lived there), and a beautiful trip to the lakes below the Alps.

You can see below where the Drachenstich-Rundweg breaks off from the longer walk around the lake:

It was a gorgeous fall day. Probably the last good day of fall or the first nice day of winter. But beautiful clear skies, lovely winter sun, and the last of the leaves falling from the trees.

And the first frost (for us, at least....I'm sure there was frost south of Munich earlier).

There are many lovely houses and hotels along the lake.

It's a great area for watersports. Though most of the boats and kayaks had been put away for winter, there were a few still out there enjoying the day.

And a couple of paddleboarders. That looks like a great way to travel to the islands! Though I'd be terrified of falling in the cold, cold water.

So, after a walk along the shore, we met the trail to the Drachenstich. It's a pretty leisurely walk through the tall, thin trees, with a gentle slope.

You then exit the woods to a field with several bluffs overlooking the lake to one side, and the main road and farmland to the other.

After crossing the road and the train tracks, we're now ready to enter the dragon's woods.

Though this isn't a steep hike or one at a high altitude, the views of the Alps across the fields are beautiful!

As with most popular trails in the area, it's incredibly well maintained.

We finally come to a steeper descent, down to the dragon's gorge. And a small waterfall, of which one of our hiking buddies scrambles up to the top.

I can't say enough how wonderful the light was!

The guys paused to enjoy the sun and the view before heading back into town. 

We stop at the playground for a quick break.

But most importantly, ice cream!

After a few covert SMS's to our hostess to let her know the ETA, we finally make it back to find a wonderful feast and many friends.

They made great use of the covered pool in the backyard - using it as a party area!

A wonderful afternoon hike through the woods and fields, followed by a great night with friends!

Train Travel

Munich Hauptbahnhof with the Olympus "Diorama" Art Filter - quiet but active in the early morning

Travel tends to bring out the best and the worst in people.  (One reason why travelling together can be a great test of a relationship...)

It's not just air travel - it's also true when travelling by train. While one of the things I enjoy most about train travel is seeing how the countryside changes, I also enjoy seeing the people and how they interact with one another.

Let's be honest, usually the most memorable travel stories are about the "worsts," not the "bests."  Last week, however, I experienced one of the bests.

I had another work day with a round trip to Frankfurt.  Early that morning the train left Munich with the car rather empty.  In our section of 4 seats facing each other (with the table in the middle), I sat at the window and another guy sat across the table on the aisle. And had his stuff in the seat by the window. He then decided to take the seat next to me for sitting, AND the TWO across the table for his belongings....Not the best start for positive glimpses into humanity, but it didn't matter much to me...I was in my reserved seat and had the space I needed.  The issue of the other seats would be someone else's battle to fight.  This is a typical German train situation.

Munich Hauptbahnhof with the Olympus "Dramatic Tone" Art Filter - almost empty when Frau A returns about 21:00

At Würzburg, a lot of people boarded the train, meaning this guy occupying 3 seats had to move some of his things and share the space.

A 30-something German guy sits down at the window seat across from me just before the train departs. At this point, many people are walking through the train trying to find empty seats. He moves the other guy's stuff and tells a 20-something tourist that the seat is "vacant."  In the confusion, it sounded a bit like "taken," but he made sure to let her know that she could sit there. So she and her friend finally find seats on the packed train - one at our table and one across the aisle.

Then the fun begins.  The German guy asks "So where are you from?" The average business traveller is not usually so outgoing or caring about other people and strangers don't strike up a conversation here as much as they do in the southern US where you learn someone's family history in the grocery checkout line. I admit that while I'm always careful not to infringe upon anyone's rights to enjoy the train, I'm usually exhausted and don't go out of my way to talk to people. 

These girls were here from Dallas (!) and were headed to the Frankfurt airport after the last leg of their European vacation.  They had visited Wurzburg, home of Dirk Nowitski, which only made me like them more. 

The German guy noticed that at times the two girls conversed in Spanish, so when she apologized for bumping him, he responded with a no te preocupes to her.  Over the next hour or so, he conversed with her in Spanish and English, and was incredibly helpful in telling them out of which terminal their flights would depart and drawing a map of how to most quickly navigate the airport (they were a bit pressed for time). And at which club in Würzburg they stood the best chance of running into Dirk.

It left me with a happy feeling, because I had witnessed what I'm sure was the creation of a positive memory of foreign travel and of the people who live there. When she first found a seat, she commented to her friend that "this train is totally different than the last one...people aren't so rude!" And after talking to a random German guy (in two languages that were not his native tongue), I suspect that the feeling was intensified.  Instead of the usual difficulties anyone faces in navigating a foreign country, the last part of the trip included a friendly and helpful person and an easy final leg of the journey. It just left me with a happy feeling inside.

 

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Bahnhof with Photomatix for HDRThe Munich-Frankfurt connection also delivered another memorable trip, this time with an eastern twist:

A couple of months ago, I was seated in the middle of a wonderful example of clashing cultures: Middle-aged Chinese tourists vs weary German business travellers.  It's slightly before 5am on the Munich-Frankfurt train, and only a few of us are scattered through the train car. No one wants to be up this early, so it is quiet and peaceful. Until the flash flood of Chinese tourists, that is. I choose the description "flash flood," as the train changed in a few seconds from an empty & quiet to overcrowded with much noise and activity.

As a generalization, Germans often are more measured and deliberate in their actions, and on the mornings trains prefer relative quiet, especially in the cars that don't allow talking on the cell phones. A disapproving glare at an offender often is enough to quiet him or her down.  While conflict definitely has a place in German culture, it usually is more quiet conflict...battles fought by laying down umbrellas to keep the neighboring empty seat or a short gesture or word to let someone know when they have overstepped the boundaries.

In China, things are louder and, to the outsider, utterly chaotic.  Lots of pushing, bumping and speaking very loudly, but that's just how the system works.  This tour group was ending their German trip and headed to the Frankfurt airport with loads of suitcases and packed cardboard boxes. As they began to fill the train car - both physically and with noise - I could see the discomfort on the other passengers' faces.  These new passengers were very loud, bumping each other, and taking all of the overhead and luggage rack space in the car.  One of the already seated passengers muttered very softly, Ruhe, bitte, but a barely audible whisper in German is not going register over the din to non-German speakers. Most just sat there looking very uncomfortable, as if they didn't know what to do about the situation.  I sat there trying not to chuckle.  On one hand, yes, a lot of noise is not what you want when you've gotten up at 3am. But on the other it was fascinating to see how different the two cultures were. Both the Germans and the Chinese were following their respective social norms, but WOW do those norms clash! Probably the same would be true on early morning trains in most Western European or US cities, but the differences were so clear here.

Empty track at Munich Hbf - awaiting arrival of Frau A's train from Frankfurt Hbf after 3.5 hours

Today is another Munich-Frankfurt round trip....another 7 hours to pass the time with sudoku and reading and watching people. I'm hoping for some more positive experiences or just some sleep!

Munich Day Trip - Augsburg

Thanks to FIFA holding some of the Women's World Cup matches so near to Munich, we recently made a couple of day trips over to Augsburg.

The first thing to know is that going to Augsburg from central Munich takes almost exactly as long as going to the airport. And up to 5 people can travel there (including public transportation within Munich and Augsburg) for €29 on Deutsche Bahn's Bayern Ticket. 

If you're planning to travel within a region in Germany, these regional tickets are a great, cheap way to get around and good any day of the week. They have them for most regions, though we're familiar with the one for Bavaria. They are not so good for long-distances, however, as they are not valid on the higher speed ICE trains. But to go to Garmisch or Augsburg from Munich (or Lübeck from Hamburg), it's a deal that can't be beat. More info is available on these Länder Tickets (here in English) on DB website. There's a similar Schönes Wochenende Ticket ("Happy Weekend Ticket") that is €39 for up to 5 people on a Saturday or Sunday. It's valid on any local trains (not the ICE) and even includes some lines to Poland.

So, it's quite an easy and inexpensive day trip.

We didn't have time to explore much beyond the Alstadt (Old City Center), but we liked what we saw and we found a wonderful cake shop!

Augsburg is the third oldest city in Germany, founded in 15 BC as a Roman garrison camp under the orders of Emporer Augustus (from whose name the city's is derived).  As it sits at the confluence of two rivers and has access to a passage through the Alps, it retained its significance through the ages for both trade and military reasons.   The wealth brought by the banking and trade in turn attracted artists and musicians, making it a major center in the 15th and 16th centuries.  Today, Augsburg is a bit in the shadow of Munich, but is a regional center for hi-tech industries (naturally, since it costs much less but is very close to large customers in Munich) and for education.

It's a perfect size for a day's walking tour and displays a wide variety of architectural styles.  This brightly painted building was one of my favorites.

The Perlach Tower (a 10th century watchtower) and the Rathaus (17th century).  As with many German cities, there's a nice square in front of the town hall and often many festivals and public events.

We also noticed that many buildings in Augsburg employed painted textures and ornaments, whereas often Munich uses actual sculptures.  There were some really impressive examples of 3D painting, but I found the facade of the Maximilian Museum to be one of the most pleasing.  

For food, we highly recommend stopping at least for cake and coffee at the Kaffeehaus Dichtl on Maximilianstraße.  I'm a little ashamed to say we ate there 3 times on our two visits to Augsburg....but their cakes really are great. So were the ice cream sundaes.  The food menu looked good, though we ended up having the Sunday brunch buffet. I definitely would recommend it - it's a wide variety of items and includes something for everyone. Unfortunately we were too excited about eating our cake to remember to take a photo...

Herr J got a video of one of the street musicians playing the German World Cup song. (it's originally called "'54, '74, '90, 2006" but they update it each year, replacing 2006 with 2010 last year, and even with 2011 for the women's team this year. you can watch the music video...it's catchy)

And finally we took a quick walk through the farmers' market before heading to the stadium.

 

A couple of fun facts about Augsburg: It was occuped by Sweden for a couple of years during the Thirty Years War and has more official holidays than any other German city. (It has its own holiday Hohes Friedensfest, plus all the Bavarian and federal holidays).

I don't know enough about Augsburg to know the story behind this guy. He looks like one of those city mascots that are painted by various sponsors, but we didn't see any other rhinos on the street.