Germany's Alpine Corner: Exploring Bavaria's Mountain Haven
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
It is all too easy to let its turbulent modern history overshadow Germany's scenic charms. Even today, it is seen as a major aggressor in two world wars, though a reading of Christopher Clark's The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 should leave you with a more nuanced impression of its involvement in the first of these. Was there a feeling of injustice after the Treaty of Versailles, and did it lead to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party? Regardless of the answer to that question, the period has left painful memories that even the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent reunification have failed to overshadow. It does not help that Nazi symbols appeared during Greek anti-austerity protests following the Great Recession either, and they are not the only ones unwilling to let that past be forgotten.
After the travails of the twentieth century, Germany is a place whose history is stabilising, so we should be able to savour its attractions. To survey these, you could start with Tourism in Germany, since that is the official visitor website. After all, this is a big country with much regional variety on offer.
Bavaria is of particular interest since this is where the German portion of the Alps is to be found. That is not all, though, since a rediscovered leaflet that came inserted in a walking magazine featured non-Alpine areas like Altmühltal Nature Park and Fichtel Mountains too. These are north of Munich and my first visit to Austria saw me making use of its airport and the flatness of the countryside around there struck me, so any mountain regions must be quite a distance away from the Bavarian capital. The Alpine ones to the south also are like this with names like Ammergau Alps, Alpenwelt Karwendel, Berchtesgaden National Park, Chiemgau, Chiemsee, Inzell, Lake Chiemsee, Oberaudorf, Ruhpolding and Zugspitze not meaning so much to me until I added to my map collection during that Austrian excursion. It often takes a visit, even a fleeting one, for things to feel that bit more real.
The area is compact, too, since Germany gets a smaller share of the Alps than neighbouring countries like Austria or Switzerland. Even so, the range gives the place its country top near Garmisch Partenkirchen in the form of Zugspitze. Then, there are stunningly situated lakes like Alpsee and Chiemsee, so Germans should not feel short-changed. That there is a scattering of castles to set off the scenery around these only adds to the allure.
When it comes to practicalities, you do not need a car to get everywhere for Deutsche Bahn (handily, the website also offers train journey planning for most of Europe) run train services throughout the area and their Oberbayernbus network provides bus services as well. If you decide to base yourself in Munich for a while, MVV will have a use for getting around the city. For accommodation, Explorer Hotels are but one option among many and there are resorts like Garmisch Partenkirchen one owned by Best of the Alps too.
