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Trip Report RodT, Salzburg, Mittenwald Munich and Oktoberfest

Just returned from an amazing two weeks in fabulous southern Germany. It was my third time in Munich and 2nd to the fest. I was traveling with my wife for the first week and then meeting up with our daughter and a larger group of 14 for a few days of Munich and attending Oktoberfest.

Weather was overall great considering the amount of rain the area had been having in the weeks prior. We flew non stop from LAX to Munich on Lufthansa. Flight was late leaving Munich so we were delayed on our departure from LA but made up most of the time en route.
Munich was busy but not crazy arriving one week before the fest opened. We had gotten our $49 Deutschland-Ticket rail pass for the month of Sept and it WORKED LIKE A CHARM. Can def suggest it as a way to travel freely without ever having to think about buying tickets or dealing with vending machines. We used the DB app on the iPhone with ATT international daypass working for data and never had a problem getting around or figuring out what train to take next.

We stayed the first night at Hotel Platzl just off the Marienplatz and enjoyed it very much. We got up the next am and paid for the high speed train to Nuremberg for a day stop before heading on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber for two incredible nights. We loved this town and would go back in a heartbeat. Night watchman tour was a hoot and we took a long hike from the city down to the valley and the tiny castle(house) and back up and then just sat at cafes and marveled at the view of the city itself.

From there we trained to Salzburg for two nights. The Altstadt was under construction and the sidewalk outside our hotel was torn up which def took away from the atmosphere I remembered from a previous visit. In addition, they were setting up for their version of Oktoberfest and all the squares were filled with tents and closed booths and tacky carnival rides. It kind of took away from the romance of the place for me personally. We did enjoy the visit to the castle, the views of the alps and then our hike down to the Augustiner Biergarten for a refreshment. Another highlight was sacher torte and a tea sitting at a cafe on the river and looking up at the castle during a glorious afternoon of sunshine.

Next stop Mittenwald and Krun for the cow parade. We LOVED both these places and would go back to Mittenwald to do more hiking and exploring the area. The trails into the moutnains leave from the center of town and the beauty there is breathtaking. The Almabtrieb in Krun was a hoot and was PACKED with locals enjoying a good 10:30am bier. We were sad to leave but excited to get to Munich and our kids!

We stayed at Hotel am Markt in the center of the Viktulienmarkt. It might be too loud and crazy for some, but we love being able to have the market right outside our front door. Breakfasts strolling the market and eating the awesome food was a highlight. The fest was amazing, crowded but we were able to get seats for 14 at tables inside three different tents by starting around 11am and working through until the afternoon session ended around 4pm. Night sessions were PACKED and we only found room outdoors at Spaten and in the standing room of the main HB tent. Roasted chickens lived up to the hype and we had an absolute blast. The bier is strong and delicious but we knew to pace ourselves after a failed attempt a few years back!

Last stop was a couple days in Garmisch which we also really enjoyed. The hiking there is glorious but we needed a car since the trails all start a ways out of town. The town was super cute (and busy) and we found good food and drink choices for our meals. We spent one last night in Munich before heading back to LAX on Saturday. It took almost 2 hours to clear security at 10am but we saw the photos from later in the week which were a NIGHTMARE. If I was going again, I'd make sure to leave before the 2nd week of the fest or fly out of another airport.

Posted by
2584 posts

Nice report. I went down to the Tauber for the first time in 5 visits last year. Did you also see the double bridge ?

Posted by
29 posts

We did not see that up close but admired it from above in the city. We have several things we still want to do if we ever get back there!

Posted by
7044 posts

I have not hiked G-P. Which trails did you take/enjoy? Same question for Mittenwald, I guess, as my memories of hiking there have faded. Hope you have time to share a few details. Thanks.

Posted by
29 posts

In Garmisch - P we took the car just out of town and parked at a small lot up in the woods. We walked to a small ruined castle called Burgruine Werdenfels and then from there to a small lake and then on to a larger lake called Pflegersee. We had a fab lunch at the Gasthof there and then completed the loop back to the car. That afternoon we drove to Eibsee and did about 1/2 of the hike going anti clockwise around the lake. The best views of the Zugspitze were about 20 minutes down the trail that leaves above the parking lot across from the tram station and seems to be the opposite direction as most people walk the trail. We were thinking of going to the top of the mountain via the massive cable lift, but by that time the weather had closed in and the peak was in the clouds. Driving back to Garmisch, there were a number of tiny towns that had cute town squares and a few places to eat and drink and not much else. You could rent a bike, or walk through these and really enjoy a day as well!

The next morning we left the hotel early and drove to the parking lot by the ski jumps. The hike was up Partnachklamm which was an awesome walk from the ski jumps into the valley where the gorge trail starts. We would have carried on past the gorge and back around on the upper trail but our rental car was due back at Sixt and we were all pretty tired and leaving from Munich the next day. We went early and were glad we did as by the time we were coming back out, there were a LOT of people coming in and the trail is very tight and it's easy to bonk your head in the tunnels and overhangs. There were so many more trails available as well as an alpine slide and we could have spent two more days in this area easy! We also walked around the Alstadt of Garmisch a lot and really thought the town had a good blend of food, shopping, views, and Bavarian charm that was just lovely.

In Mittenwald we arrived in the early afternoon and went to the Leutasch-Klamm Wasserfallsteig. The gorge trail was closed for the day so we went up and over starting at the trail map and after a farily strenuous climb, we reached the walkways and the bridge. It was an amazing hike and we came back through the forest and down the hill via a wide road that returned us to the bridge in front of the lower trailer gate. It was a short walk out of town and across a beautiful field in font of a huge mountain. The walkway trail was incredible and the whole thing took just under 3 hours with lots of stops for picture and to catch breath! We decided to come back on our last morning and see the waterfall via the lower trail. The lower trail has a few Euro entrance fee and features a short 25 minute each way trail right along the river and to the waterfall at the end. It was short, but was super cool and we were glad we went back and did it on our last morning.

The next day we took the bus to Krün for the Almabtrieb and could have easily done more hiking in that area as well. We went back to Mittenwald and hiked an easy trail up to the Lautersee where we had a bier and enjoyed the views. It's a huge meadow with a massive lake and tremendous views. There is a snack bar with swimming area and then a small restaurant. We were not hungry but the bier and cake on the patio looked lovely and it was full of families and couples enjoying the good weather. Really lovely. We also spent a good amount of time just wandering the streets of Mittenwald and really loved spending time there including the city park which has a put put golf course and a large lake with lots of benches and ducks hanging around.

Posted by
4035 posts

Thanks for the trip report! I particularly appreciated the additional info on hiking that you provided. Partnachklamm is great! I was able to hike back using the upper trail, which was a nice experience, too. But you, of course, got the best experience, which is just walking through gorge right beside the water.

Posted by
61 posts

tom, thanks for the info, my wife and I got back 2 weeks ago from 23 days in Europe with 15 of those days spent in Germany. We too took the DB's D Ticket and was pleasantly surprised with the train service. After reading about the decline in train service and on time ratio being low, I was apprehensive about using the DB in Germany before we left, but had one late train by 10 minutes and we missed one train but caught the next one hour later to the same destination.
We also were in Salzberg just before the start of Octoberfest, we kinda had to weave around the construction too, but alot of the mess looked as if they were setting up tents and stages for the festival.
We also did the long flight to LAX on the return. Actually, not bad. We were on American Airlines; they were pretty good too. We both had a simple coach ticket, but we and everyone else got a nice hot dinner. I was surprised when the stewardess handed me the dinner with drinks, asking her how much! Oh no sir, this is on us!! These days, I'm used to peanuts and a glass of soda on these long flights.

Posted by
7044 posts

Thank you for all those nice details, Tom. The first hike you took drew my attention... Looks like maybe you did the loop below, which hits Werdenfels ruins and two lakes - and that the smaller lake might have been the Schmölzersee.

https://www.hoehenrausch.de/wandern/garmisch/burgruine-werdenfels-pflegersee/

The other lake (just "Pflegersee"... Strandbad refers to the grassy-beach zone there) looks like a great place to spend some time. I can see why you enjoyed it.

The hike sounds right up my alley, so I made some notes. I am not sure where you parked or where you started out on your trail, but i see from the hiking page above that there's a parking area RIGHT next to the trail just outside Sonnenbichl. The same page above provides instructions for non-drivers (like me, in Germany that is) which I will probably take advantage of on my next visit... a local bus from Marienplatz in G-P takes 4 minutes to reach the town of Sonnenbichl. From there I will have a 15-minute walk through Sonnenbichl to join the loop trail.

I will have a close look at your other hikes too. Thanks again for the tips.

Also, you referred to the Erbsee but I'm guessing you meant to write Eibsee, right?

Posted by
29 posts

Looks like maybe you did the loop below, which hits Werdenfels ruins and two lakes - and that the smaller lake might have been the Schmölzersee.

https://www.hoehenrausch.de/wandern/garmisch/burgruine-werdenfels-pflegersee/

Yes that was the hike we did and we parked the car and began the hike right where the P sign is on that map. We could have started from the center of Garmish and it would have added 30-45 minuntes max over mostly level ground. It was an excellent hike and would do it again!