Bavarians are always happy to tell you that they live in the best state of Germany. Not only do they have the best beer, they also have a beautiful and diverse natural landscape. From mountains for skiing, to forests for hiking and lakes made by glaciers thousands of years ago perfect for swimming, boating and relaxing.
I headed off to see what the fuss was all about.
First stop: Chiemsee. The weather wasn’t great which unfortunately left me a little disheartened by all this talk of ‘great Bavarian lakes.’ A boat trip and a bit of sun later and I was starting to see what all the fuss was about. A castle on “Man Island” (that’s what Herreninsel translates as), and a beer garden right on the water and lots of bikes on car-free “Lady Island” (Fraueninsel).
Next stop, as spring had sprung and the weather was getting better: Ammersee. Perfect to get our grillen (German style portable coal BBQ) on.
Then there was a walk from Tegernsee to Schilersee. Why not walk a good 11km straight up and hill and back down the other side one sunny Saturday afternoon.
There was also a trip to Starnberg with the flatties. The snowy peaks in the background are actually the Austrian Alps.
Of course I had to return to Tegernsee, as I missed out on trying my favourite beer right from its very own home. As so often happens in Bavaria, we turned up coincidentally on the day of the Tegernsee Beer festival.
And finally (for me anyway) there was a walk from Starnberg to Ammersee along what is a part the famous König-Ludwig-Weg as well as being a section of the Munich to Santiago part of the Camino de Santiago (I walked the France to Santiago section in 2010). Just an easy 20 or so kilometers compared to the people who might keep walking to Santiago. Apart from the beautiful lakes we started and finished at, along the way we got to see frogs, small lakes, naked bathers and Andechs, a village known for its monastery which brews beer. How wonderfully Bavarian.
Click here to see more on the walk from Tegernsee to Schilersee.
Tali Goes Travelling 
Maybe you will take us to these beautiful lakes on a future visit. The beer looks nice.
Bavaria is a very beautiful part of Germany. I have a friend who lives near Nuremberg, so I get to visit often.
Hi Tali, Justin,
I always like getting your updates, it’s lovely to see the photos and read the story, and great to see you both enjoying. Lets catch up sometime soon somewhere in Europe!
Hi Matalin,
Glad you’re enjoying the updates. We’re enjoying the instagram updates we get from your travels. Now we’re in Korea so maybe we can meet half way!
Ow, I only went to common spots for my short visits to Germany. I didn’t get a chance of exploring the nature side of it. Thanks for the share.
What are those long pipes?
I’d highly recommend exploring the nature side of Germany, it may not overly be famous for it, but it’s definitely beautiful.
The long pipes are like a musical horn. We left before they played but they were part of the beer festival.
I am so excited to find your entry: having walked part of the Camino last summer, I’m thinking about walking the Konig Ludwig Weg this June while visiting Germany from the US…but it’s been hard to information in English. From your experience, would you say it is as well-marked as the Camino? As in, suitable for a visitor with better Spanish than German skills? Hope you don’t mind my emailing out of the blue!
Hi there,
I’m glad you found it too! I hope you do walk the König Ludwig Weg, Bavaria is beautiful for walking. We only walked a small part of the Weg, but from what we saw (also on other trips where we stumbled upon it), it was quite well sign posted, better than the Camino in some areas.
I spoke OK German when we were there but I think you could muddle through. Germans (in general) are more comfortable with English, especially in hotels etc. I’m sure with a phrase book you could get by.
As for finding info in English, you could try searching German pages with google chrome and then using the translate function? It’s not always good but it gives you an idea.
I hope that helps, feel free to message again if you have any more questions!
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