Bavaria

Bavaria sights

Bavaria is located in the south east of Germany and borders directly on Austria and the Czech Republic. With Munich Airport it has the second largest airport in Germany and is perfectly connected to international travel.

Sights in Bavaria

In the following I will show you a various sights with short descriptions and a few photos. To make sure you know where to find them in Bavaria, I have marked all points on a map: https://goo.gl/maps/mRACWtwZ8cDmpEYD7

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle is a fairytale castle in the truest sense of the word and served as inspiration for Disney’s fairytale castle. You have the world-famous and probably best view of the castle from the Marienbrücke. Such a spot naturally attracts an endless number of tourists. The best chance for less people on the bridge is pouring rain or the off-season.

If you want to get a few more views of the castle, you can also see it from the valley. Also a nice hike that starts at the foot of the Tegelberg. You could hike up to the Tegelberg, climb on a via ferrata or simply take the cable car. From there a hiking trail leads down to the Marienbrücke and to the castle Neuschwanstein. Finally you can end your tour with a walk in the valley or take the bus from the village square back to the Tegelberg parking lot. Of course the way is also possible in the opposite direction.

https://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/tourist/index.htm

Zugspitze

The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany and therefore a must-do when you are in the alpine region. The summit cross is at 2963m and is located in Germany. On the other hand the Zugspitzplateu is divided between Germany and Austria – which means you can simply walk back and forth between Germany and Austria on the Zugspitze.

There are 3 ways to get to the Zugspitze with cable cars. From the German side from Garmisch with the combination of rack railroad and glacier railroad. A second possibility from Germany is to take the cable car from the Eibsee directly to the top – https://zugspitze.de/en 

The third possibility offers the Tiroler Zugspitzbahn (cable car) in Austria – https://www.zugspitze.at/en/home/

The summit cross is visible from the Zugspitze plateau and you can also go straight to the cross. However, the way up there is quite narrow. From the back the people who climb the Höllental via ferrata come up and you have people who climb up from the plateau with flip-flops. Caution is advised here, because next to the most considerate people there can also be idiots.

Hiking / Climbing to the Zugspitze

Cable car sounds too easy to you? Of course there is also the possibility to hike or climb the Zugspitze. There are different possibilities. Pure hiking tours, tours with via ferrata passages or tours where you should have real climbing experience. 

Find out in advance which equipment you need. Depending on the route you need only your hiking boots, but also a via ferrata equipment and possibly even crampons if the desired route includes a glacier crossing. You can find information about the different routes here: https://www.auf-die-zugspitze-wandern.info/ (German)

I hiked the Stopselzieher Weg, starting from the valley station of the Tiroler Zugspitzbahn. It includes an easy via ferrata (A/B) and is the shortest and perhaps easiest way to the Zugspitze. Of course, here easy is relative. Also on this way 1700 meters of altitude difference are to be overcome, duration approx. 5h. You don’t have to be a super athlete but a good basic fitness is necessary. On the way you can get some refreshment in the Neustädter-Hütte. After the ascent and 2h stay at the summit I took the cable car back to the start.

Further recommendations

Erdingen – Here you will find the thermal bath Erding, the largest thermal bath of the world with a huge slide world. The bath is so popular, that you should plan a visit on a weekday outside the vacations if possible. https://www.therme-erding.de/en/

Munich – The capital city of Bavaria, known mainly for the Oktoberfest and the Hofbräuhaus. https://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/en/welcome.html

Rothenburg ob der Tauber – A beautiful medieval small town, which is probably even better known abroad than in Germany itself thanks to good marketing. https://www.rothenburg-tourismus.de/en/

Cities – Other larger and worth seeing cities are Würzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg (especially at Christmas time), Augsburg, Passau and Regensburg

Lakes – There are many well-known and beautiful lakes in Bavaria, e.g. the Eibsee, Königssee, Chiemsee, Starnberger See, Forggensee, Obersee…

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