Tag: Bavaria

• Höllentalklamm

  Posted at 2:00 PM by Brittany, on October 3, 2019

  Although in my last post I mentioned I’ve been biking more than hiking lately, I still get out and hike once in a while. The mountains surrounding where I live in Garmisch are too amazing not to explore. I was lucky enough to have a day off with BOTH of my roommates a bit ago, and I convinced them to hike the Höllentalklamm with me.

  

  There are two Klamm’s in Garmisch, the Höllentalklamm and the Partnachklamm, and I’ve now been to both. Klamm translates to a few words such as “clammy”, “damp”, and “gorge.” The Höllentalklamm is a gorge that is both damp AND clammy, which made this a great activity on a rainy day.

  

  Backyard path towards the Klamm.

  Our end goal was the Höllentalangerhütte, which is a bit further than the end of the Klamm. The walk from where we live to the beginning of the Klamm is about 4.5 miles, and from the beginning of the Klamm to the Höllentalangerhütte it’s about 1.2 miles, so we walked 5.7 miles from where we live, through the Klamm area, to the Hütte.

  

  

  The Höllentalklamm is a bit less crowded than the Partnachklamm, likely because it takes about an hour just to hike to the entrance. I didn’t mind this, because while I enjoy hiking with others around, I don’t enjoy an overly crowded path.

  

  It was a light drizzle the day we went, but overall the weather was perfect. I prefer hiking in cooler temps because I tend to overheat easily. The Klamm itself was cool, but I enjoyed what came after the Klamm more. Hiking to and through the Klamm is good for families as it’s not too intense.

  It costs 5 euros to walk through, but if you wanted to skip the Klamm and visit just the Hütte there is an alternate route. 

  

  

  We stopped for a moment to enjoy some lunch at the end of the Klamm before walking the remaining 45 minutes or so to the Hütte. The Hütte is a popular destination for those hiking the Zugspitze, Germanys tallest mountain. Hikers often do this hike in two days, stopping at a Hütte along the way for a night.

  I would love to stay in this Hütte just to explore the area! 

  

  Lunch views.

  

  After my roomies enjoyed a beer, and I enjoyed the view, we made our way back home. I couldn’t have asked for a better day off with two of my favorite girls. I enjoyed the Höllentalklamm a bit more than the Partnachklamm, but either one is a great choice for an adventure in Bavaria.

  

  Q: Would you rather camp along the way on a multi day hike, or stay in a mountain hut? 

  

  | 5 Comments Tagged Bavaria, Brittanys Life Abroad, Germany, Gorge, Hiking

• Biking in Bavaria – Pt. 2

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on September 30, 2019

  I’m halfway through my contract for my current job working in Germany, which has me thinking about what I will miss most when I no longer live in Bavaria. I still have plenty of time here, and there is the possibility to extend my time should I choose to do so, but for now I plan to leave here next April.

  There are many, MANY things I love about living here, but one of the main things I love are all of the BIKE PATHS!

  

  My weekends quickly switched from: “where can I rush off to outside of Germany for two days,” to: “where can I ride my bike to for two days.” Trying to travel too much is a thing, and I quickly learned after a few months here that weekends need to be savored, even when living in Europe.

  Hiking seems to have taken a back seat to bike rides, but I’m just going with what feels right. 

  

  My go to bike path the last few months has been towards a town called Farchant. Once I reach Farchant, the possibilities are endless for not only biking, but for hiking as well. It only takes about 25 minutes to bike to Farchant, and a few weeks ago I was wanting to explore further.

  I found a bike path that hugs the Loisach river and decided to follow it for a while.

  I ended up biking to a town called Eschenlohe, which is only about 11 miles away. I wanted to go further, but needed to be back to Garmisch for a movie night and started too late in the afternoon. I ended up biking for about four hours this day around Bavaria.

  

  

  There is something magical about discovering new places on a bike. It’s less intimidating than hiking for me, because I am still nearby civilization should something go wrong, and I move quicker covering more ground in less time. Eschenlohe is a small and quaint town, similar to most towns in Bavaria.

  I first went into the town church, which is one of my favorite things to do in a new Bavarian town. 

  

  

  The church was beautiful, as are all European churches, but that chandelier was what caught my eye first. I sat and savored the warm inviting ambiance before heading outside to enjoy my lunch by the river. I wish I’d had more time to explore, but I will return soon for this exact bike ride. Maybe next time I’ll get some gelato.

  

  

  A few weeks later I embarked on another worth while bike ride (they’re all worth while, but some more memorable than others) in a similar direction, just a slightly different path. The bike paths here are like a labyrinth at times, and no two paths are the same. They might lead to the same destination, but they are all different.

  Sounds a bit like a life metaphor if you ask me…

  

  While trying to find the same bike path I had ridden to get to Eschelohe, I made a wrong turn and found myself on a walking path. I didn’t realize it was a walking path until I came face to face with some locals enjoying their lunch and scratching their faces on the benches.

  

  

  The brown cow has the most beautiful colors, and was blocking the path with two of her friends. Admittedly I was intimidated by those three ladies, and one of them was walking towards me quite briskly. I went out of my way to go around them, as I felt slight PTSD from my time in Yellowstone when hiking near Bison.

  These cows could have cared less that I was there, but I gave them space nonetheless.

  It won’t be long before these cows are no longer on the hiking paths enjoying grass and saying hello to the passersby. The weather is changing and these big beauties will soon return to their barns where it’s much warmer during the cold winter months. I will miss hearing their bells rinding through the hills of the mountains.

  

  I eventually found the path I was looking for, after a 40 minute detour. It was no bother though, as I mentioned above I enjoy discovering new paths by bike. I also now look closer for the “no bike zone” signs so I don’t make the same mistake as I did on this adventure. Makes sense now why some of the German walkers were giving me weird looks as I attempted to ride my bike up a decently steep hill.

  

  These calm weekend bike rides quickly became one of my favorite things to do in Bavaria, and are a great recharge after a long work week. Thankfully I don’t have to think about my weeks without these paths for a while. If there is anything that could keep me longer in Germany, these bike paths are at the top of the list.

  

  Q: Would you leave your life behind wherever you are, and move to a different country for a while?

  

  | 21 Comments Tagged Bavaria, Bike Path, Biking, Brittanys Life Abroad, Cow's, Germany, Mountain Cow

• Bavaria Adventures

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on August 23, 2019

  Since moving to Europe I’ve been posting mostly about my trips outside of Germany, but life in Bavaria continues to happen in between my travels. Bavaria is a lovely state to live in, and being so close to the alps is a blessing to say the least. Most days after work I am useless and become one with my bed, but sometimes I have the energy to go for a local adventure.

  

  

  One of my local adventures was to a lake near where I live called Eibsee. The word “see” means lake in German. The first time I visited Eibsee was in March, and I’ve since been back a few times. The photos in this post will be from my first trip, hence the snow. I think the snow added a magical look to the surrounding mountains.

  

  Eibsee is one of the more popular places for people to go during the summer, the lake is cold and offers a nice reprieve from the warm summer air, however I prefer walking the 5 mile loop around the lake opposed to swimming. On the backside of the lake there are less people, and less people is always good in my book.

  I seem to get along better with animals.

  

  I took my dad and my step mom here the day they arrived in Germany (after a full day of travel) and put them through the torturous 5 mile loop. The loop itself isn’t difficult, but when you’ve flown halfway across the world and your body is stuck in a timezone 9hours behind it proves to be a bit of a struggle.

  I think they forgave me though, at least after they saw the reflection of the alps in the lake. 

  

  

  Another local adventure I went on was with one of my roommates back in April. The train system in Europe is amazing, and in Bavaria there is a train pass called the Bayern pass which allows you to pay one price and travel all over Bavaria on regional trains as many times in one day as you’d like.

  The more people you add to the ticket the cheaper it gets.

  

  I had been wanting to buy a Bayern pass and take the train to random stops for a while on one of my days off, and my roommate decided to tag along. My end location goal was a town called Kochel, to visit Kochelsee. If you remember the above German lesson you’ll know this meant I wanted to visit the lake in Kochel.

  What can I say, I have a think for lakes.

  

  Kochel was beautiful, and the walk to the lake brought us through farmlands. Farms speak to my soul on a personal level, and there is something so warm and comforting about a European farm. There is also something warm and comforting about a European cemetery. That sounds really bizarre, but the churches associated with the cemeteries are elaborate and eye-catching, and the energy at these cemeteries is comforting.

  

  We stopped in one other town on this Bayern adventure called Murnau. It was a sunny spring day, and we were enjoying our time outside. We wandered into town, stumbled upon a farmers market, found a church, and then found another cemetery. Go figure.

  

  

  

  We thought about possibly going to Munich after visiting Murnau and Kochel, but traveling is exhausting and we decided to head back to Garmisch after a few hours of exploring. The travel time, waiting for the train, and walking the towns made the time go by quickly and before we knew it the day was almost over.

  

  Each town I’ve visited in Germany has its own beautiful church accompanied by a cemetery. Of all the cemeteries I’ve seen in Bavaria, and Europe as a whole, nothing compares to the cemetery in Partenkirchen near where I live. I discovered this cemetery while riding my bike one day, and had to stop and sit in the gardens for a while.

  It might sound odd to think of a cemetery as a place to meditate, but this place brought a wave of peace to my soul.

  

  Germany is beautiful, and I have officially been living here for seven months now. Time is an odd concept here. Some days I feel like I just got here, and some days I feel like I’ve been here for years. I’m at a place now where it is starting to feel odd when I think about life after Germany.

  I’m halfway through my contract with my job, and I plan to make the most of the second half. It’s not always butterflies and rainbows here, and some days are a struggle, but overall this has been an amazing experience. Just when I think I can’t do it anymore when I have a stressful day at work, I have my weekend and go for an adventure like these, or for a hike and I am reminded why I’m here.

  

  Hometown Church in Garmisch.

  I’m soaking up as much of the summer in Bavaria as I can before the weather starts to turn. It’s been rainy here lately, but I love the rain. It feels like home. Snow on the other hand…I’m not looking forward to when the snow is back in Garmisch. I don’t know how I will fuel my brathendl addiction when I can’t ride my bike to the grillstube…

  

  I love Germany.

  Q: Would you ride a train to random locations for a day?

  

   

  | 14 Comments Tagged Bavaria, Brittanys Life Abroad, Explore, Garmisch, Germany

• Biking in Bavaria

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on May 28, 2019

  There are few places I find more beautiful than the Pacific Northwest, but Bavaria has quickly topped the list of most beautiful places I’ve lived. I love having a European launch pad for traveling, but I’m trying not to neglect the adventure and exploration within my “home” country of Germany. I took the plunge and bought myself a bike three weeks ago, and life hasn’t been the same since.

  The freedom that a bike provides is nothing short of magical.

  

  The bike paths here are amazing and endless. The paths connect between multiple surrounding towns and are at the base of the alps. I often have to remind myself this is indeed real life. I have ridden my bike nearly everyday since I bought it, and have quickly forgotten about my bike back home.

  

  

  

  I bought a mountain bike so that I could ride anywhere. Some of the trails I hope to ride on will be a bit rugged, and a mountain bike will allow me more opportunities than a road bike would. One of my go to spots for a quick adventure is Farchant, a town about five miles from where I live. It doesn’t take long, and there are lots of hiking trails around.

  It’s just enough to feel like I’m getting away from Garmisch for a bit.

  

  

  I went on a post work bike ride a bit ago while headings towards Farchant, and stumbled upon something I had wanted to see for a while. There are some old castle ruins nearby, but still far enough away that it would be a commitment to walk to. I didn’t plan to find the ruins on that post work bike ride, but I did! It was such a fun discovery, and this is exactly why I enjoy going for bike rides without a specific destination.

  I went back again a week later with my roommate to enjoy the view. 

  

  

  

  Another bike adventure I went on led me back to the Partnachklamm in Partenkirchen, where last time I visited I had to take a bus. I parked my bike at the entrance, walked through the gorge, and wandered past the gorge on one of the trails that leads to Kaiserschmarrn-Alm, another awesome mountain hütte. The hütte gets its name from a Bavarian dessert called Kaiserschmarrn which is a shredded fluffy pancake with powdered sugar and is accompanied by things like apples or cherries. 

  One of these days I will eat some, until then I’ll enjoy the view.

  

  

  

  The final town I will share in this post is in the opposite direction, called Grainau. The bike path leading to Grainau is beautiful, and the town is adorable. Grainau is a bit smaller than Garmisch, but the church and cemetery in Grainau has a better backdrop. Grainau is home to a beautiful lake called Eibsee, which I will have a separate post about soon!

  

  

  Church backdrop.

  

  Life in Bavaria is lovely, but it’s been even better with a bike. If I have a hard day, or I’m just feeling anxious or emotional I hop on my bike and ride. I used to be able to use running as my outlet, but that’s no longer an option for me so biking is a less stressful option for my body with similar mental relief results. It helps living in such a picturesque location.

  

  Having an outlet is so essential for stress relief, or even just to distract my mind from itself. I am thankful for the opportunity I have living in Germany, but I still have days where I struggle. Life happens no matter where you are, and eventually the honeymoon phase of a new place wears off and life just becomes life again.

  It’s important to continue to do self improvement no matter where you are in the world.

  I’m excited to explore more of Bavaria as the summer months approach, and to continue to grow as I explore.

  Q: Do you enjoy biking in new places? 

  

  | 24 Comments Tagged Bavaria, Bike, Biking, Brittanys Life Abroad, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

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• BRITTANY- Self proclaimed minimalist "granola" striving to maintain a balanced, healthy life with good food, long hikes, strong relationships, exploration, lots of broccoli, and laughing like it's my J.O.B. Currently living and working in Germany, join me on my adventures abroad!
• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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