One of my favorite things about blogging is getting to relive an adventure I went on. Writing this post allows me to relive the start of an awesome week with my dad and my stepmom. These two wonderful people blessed me with their presence for ten days in the middle of July, and I am so thankful for all the fun things we were able to do.

The first day they arrived, I met them at the airport in Munich and we drove our rental car back to Garmisch. 

The beauty of a rental car is the freedom it provides, and the day after they arrived we took a trip to Berchtesgaden National Park. The main goal was to visit the Eagles Nest, which I will share more of in my next post. After the Eagles Nest we went to Königssee, a lake I’d been dying to see located in Berchtesgaden National Park.

Berchtesgaden is an adorable town, with a boardwalk like area of shops and ice cream vendors located near the foothills of the German Alps. At the end of the shops, you’ll find the lake, and a kiosk where you can purchase tickets for a boat ride to one or two of the stops at the other end of the lake. According to the boat driver, this lake is the cleanest lake in all of Germany, so clean the water is drinkable.

I didn’t test this water, but I did once drink from a stream in Alaska where my dad swore I’d get giardia. 

My first month in Germany I looked up things to do in Bavaria, and Königssee popped up as a must see lake. It’s not close to where I live, so I wasn’t sure when I would get to visit. When I realized the Eagles Nest was right next door to the lake, I was stoked. I didn’t realize the lake was in the national park, so this was an extra bonus.

I was very excited my family was up for this adventure.

We bought tickets for both of the stops on the boat, and my only regret was not having enough time for exploration. We spent most of our time at the Eagles Nest, which didn’t leave much time for getting off the boat and wandering the trails at the other end of the lake.

We went straight to the second stop, which dropped us off near a network of trails. I’ve daydreamed about hiking these paths since I left. We had only enough time to walk the 15 or so minutes to a man made lake called Obersee. The reflection on the lake of the mountains surrounding it were amazing, and there was a waterfall in the distance I would love to go back and hike to.

The last boat ran around 5:45p, which is why we had limited time. Because of this we weren’t able to stop at the first stop. The first stop has a cathedral that I really wanted to go into, alas time did not permit. This just means I need to go back! The good thing about Berchtesgaden is that it’s only a couple of hours away, so I can easily take a trip back for a weekend.

The boat ride itself was a bit long, it took an hour to get to the end of the lake and then another hour to get back, and after a long morning we were struggling to stay awake on the boat ride back. The drive back to Garmisch was equally eventful. My dad was struggling with some delayed jet lag, it was dark, and it was a long day.

We ended up missing our exit (twice) adding an additional hour to our journey. We also stopped for late night coffee at Mcdonald’s in an attempt to perk up the driver. This was the second Mcdonald’s we’d gone to that day and BOTH of them had fresh flowers on the tables, and a fancy inside area.

European Macd’s are bougie y’all.

We finally made it back to Garmisch around midnight, and slept soundly that night. Our first family adventure was a success, and set the tone for a wonderful week in Europe!

Q: What do you do when you’re feeling tired while driving?