A Hike in the Bavarian Alps

I met Paul and Alina when I was traveling in South Africa in 2014.  We hit it off and kept in touch.  At that time Paul invited me to Oktoberfest and said I could stay with him.  I thought that was very generous of him.  When I came to Munich last year, we met a couple of times.  He invited me to go hiking with him in the Alps last year but my hamstring was really bothering me.  This year it's healed and he invited me again.  I can't pass up this opportunity to see what the Alps look like.

We met at the Fraunhoferstr U-Bahn station.  From there we walked 5 minutes to his dad's apartment.    Paul's dad Roland drives an old VW bus (or van).  We drove about an hour outside of Munich to the foot of the Alps.  Paul told me that it'd be an easy hike, about an hour.  Once we got started it was evident that it was not going to be an easy hike.  The trail was steeper than for a leisure hike.  It was this way most of the way to the top.  Paul later told me that there was a little miscommunication between him and his dad.  He thought they were going to hike a different trail.

Start of the trail

It's Fall.  Leaves are turning yellow and some red

Paul and Roland (in front)

You can see other nearby mountains, including Austria

Paul and I

Leaves turned yellow

Cows come up the mountain to pasture in the summer.  A farmer's cabin

A cross at the summit

Having never seen the Alps, I was pleasantly surprised by its lushness.  There were trees and plants everywhere.  If you slow down, you could see mushrooms, lizards, bees, etc, all kinds of tiny creatures and plants.  It look us about two hours to get to the top.  We didn't see anyone alone the trail but when we got to the summit, there were about 20 people up there.  A big cross marked the summit.  We sat on some benches and ate lunch.  It was a beautiful relaxed afternoon.  Blue skies.  Bright sunshine.  Slight breeze,  Nice crowd.  Nice conversation.  An Alpine bliss.

Then it was time to hike down.  Coming down may be easier but you still have to be careful.  The trails are defined but the terrain is not easy.  Water runs down some of the trails so some rocks are slippery.  Many times we stopped to admire the scenery or something that someone spotted.  That's why we hike.  "To smell the roses," so to speak.  

A tiny stream with a tiny waterfall

Picture of the dam, on the drive back down

Some exotic looking mushrooms

A moss-covered tree and fallen trunk

A small lizard

Beautiful fall colors - yellow and red

Bees are loving the flowers

Name of the trail where we hike

A bonus at the end of the trail - donuts, croissants and danish

This last picture is something we WISHED were waiting for us when we finished the hike.  It was taken at one of the pastry shops around Marienplatz, perhaps the most popular tourist area in Munich.  It's where a Glockenspiel is housed above a tall tower.  Every hour at the hour, they will play this instrument.  It's a very popular tourist attraction.  For more about Munich, go back to my post from last year:  https://mengineurope.blogspot.com/2016/10/munchen.html

The Glockenspiel is next to the golden statue in the tower at Marienplatz