Incredible beauty of winter Bavaria
Now we ourselves, without suspecting it, will go on one of the most beautiful trips in Europe - to Bavaria! A year ago, I had a corporate party in a wonderful German city on Lake Tegernsee. And one of the most vivid impressions is a mountain more than one and a half kilometers high, from which you can fly down for about 20 minutes on a sled! Already after my first descent, I realized that I could not help but share this with my family. As soon as I returned, I literally immediately took tickets for three to Munich for the next winter! The only thing is that I waited a couple of weeks so that I wouldn’t get tickets to the next possible corporate party.
I do not argue, the idea is terribly dumb, the speed on the sled (we measured) develops up to 60 kilometers. I myself flew there a couple of times from the sled so that I was afraid not to collect all the bones. So for a whole year we mentally prepared. Misha seemed to be glad about this idea, but he was noticeably worried. The second important task is to take a lot of warm clothes, including spare ones, and an extra pair of shoes, and put all this in your hand luggage. A year of moral preparation - and we begin!
The day before departure, it turns out that this is an unusually warm winter for those places, and the track is simply closed, there are no forecasts for its opening, as well as forecasts for snow. And in order to finish it off for sure, the outbreak of the coronavirus two weeks ago hit Bavaria. Or rather, one of those cities where I suggested visiting.
It seems like the incubation period just ended and there were no new cases, but still such a moment. What conclusions can be drawn: there will obviously be fewer tourists now, and with closed sleds we will specifically save on the trip)
Now adjusting the route - and forward! But just in case, they took warm clothes with them, in case the sledges were opened after all. Shortly before an early flight, I started to get pain in my side. It hurt so much that I was worried that it was a possible appendicitis. Self-diagnosis from the Internet showed that 4 out of 5 main symptoms do not match. And the fifth conditionally coincides with the presence of pain. Okay, Munich, we'll get to you anyway. Get on the plane - and vzhuh into the sky! We flew out on February 14th. The trip started immediately in a positive way, when the UIA stewardess read out to everyone a verse-wish about clouds and pleasant turbulence in our hearts. When we climbed into the sunny sky above the clouds, we were treated to chocolates. Well, not cuties? )
Then our plan is as follows: we arrive, quickly take the train and go to the city of Rottach-Egern - this is where the lake is located. It will be beautiful there even without sledges. On the way, somewhere in the storage room, we will leave things. Considering that the plane will land at 11:20, we will still have plenty of time before the end of daylight hours. Upon arrival, there was an unusually long queue at passport control. Taxi, we won’t be in time for the next train, but nevertheless the route is still feasible. While we were standing, I noticed that one of the former presidents of Ukraine was standing next to us in line. What a twist. Do even the presidents follow my actions? ) We took a selfie, he gave Misha five and shook my hand, wishing me good luck. And at that moment, something completely unexpected happened! You just won't believe it. Better sit comfortably. My "appendicitis" went away right away. Perhaps this is the first case of such treatment in the world. I wonder if it can also "heal" from the coronavirus?
It takes about an hour and a half to drive from the center. But Google is constantly confused in the testimony, then you need to go on two trains, then you need to go on two trains and a bus. Oddly enough, a train arrived at the Munich platform, on which it was indicated that it was going straight to the lake, where we needed to. Despite this, Google strongly demanded that we move. There was no stop with a lake on the train itself. We got to the stop where Google demanded a transfer from us. Get out, the next train will be in a minute. But this one is suspiciously not leaving. Returned to the train and asked if he was going to the lake. The girl said that we were next, and pointed to the end of the train. We approached the worker at the station, named the lake, he said that we urgently got into the last carriage of our own train. How is that? ! Okay, let's not argue with science. We quickly ran into the last car, and there the Tegernze we needed was on the scoreboard. We sit in complete confusion. How is it that the same train both travels and does not go to the lake at the same time. But as it turned out, in Germany it is possible. I don’t know how it was with the rest of the carriages, but after 30 minutes a gorgeous panorama of the spacious lake opened up outside the windows. We arrived. Where to start?
I want to share all the places that are already dear to me with my family at once. A man approached us and in half-English gave some more advice about what to see on the lake. The best thing about this lake is that it is absolutely beautiful in any weather. A year ago I saw it under a sunny sky, but now it is under heavy gray clouds. The picture is completely different, but no less beautiful. For example, the color of water from this only looks more saturated.
Around the lake there are several towns and places for trekking in the mountains with panoramic views. We, of course, could not miss the review. And climbed it twice. Once to admire, well, the second time to pick up a forgotten backpack. But on the lake it's normal, from such views I think we are not the first to forget our backpacks. The honor of doing the second lift fell to me as I lost the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Misha asked when we would eat at some restaurant. Misha was surprised when we explained that on such trips, most often two meals a day with snacks. Since restaurants in such places will not have enough time or money. Therefore, it is important to have a very good and hearty breakfast. But snacks can be arranged as much as you want. You just need to find a store, but there is a complete shortage of stores here. They are on the lake, but for some reason not in the places where we climbed.
Therefore, the issue of water was solved by entering a cafe and asking for drinking water. The hostess of the cafe happily agreed. When we reached the city of Rottach-Egern and got ourselves a sausage and a bun in a small shop, it turned out that they only accept cash, and, of course, there are ATMs here, but again, not at all where we got) Dasha found in her pocket one euro. The saleswoman looked at us knowingly and told us not to worry. She took a coin and gave us our order. She said that this was not a problem at all, and that "Winter is coming. " What it meant, I did not understand, but the cuties seem to be all today.
And there are free toilets everywhere. How strong is the contrast between Bavaria and Germany, where Dresden is located. It feels like two different countries. But in fact, I have already noticed such contrasts in other countries. Even if we take opposite ends in Ukraine, the mentality and conditions will be very different. And now we are really in cool Germany. And also a lake against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains, is there anything more beautiful in this world?
If we recall the best places in Europe in our experience, these are Annecy, Garda and Norway... All these places are united by lakes and mountains. And only Norway also has a clear advantage - waterfalls that pour dozens from the fjords. Why go somewhere further, just live here, and that's all, wake up every morning in this beauty. So, get together, even more of the world is not explored! Somewhere even more beautiful. Now, if it were possible to transfer this lake with mountains to the Dominican Republic, and a couple of fjords and a few streets from Annecy there... Although no, it’s impossible, the snowy peaks will melt near the mountains, and the streets of Annecy will lose their unique atmosphere of ancient France. Well, while I was talking here, it was already dark. This made it no less beautiful on the lake, now the lights came on in the towns. Although the other shore is no longer particularly visible.
We walked a route of about 10 kilometers along the lake, studied two cities in detail, and now we can return to Munich with a sense of accomplishment. We jumped on a bus that took us around the lake directly to the railway, where we transferred to a direct train. The distance between the beauties of Bavaria are located as ideally as possible. It took us an hour and a half to get back. This time is just enough to take a break from the route and get somewhere to eat. With food, the issue was also resolved quite easily. There is a huge food court right at Munich Central Station. I would not say that it is very tasty, but it is fast and inexpensive.
Innsbruck
A year ago, I discovered just the most wonderful city in Austria. Flixbuses go there, the journey takes about two and a half hours and costs 8 euros one way per person if you buy in advance. The road runs right through the Alps and already in the bus, looking out the window, you get some of the impressions. But this is, of course, if you like mountain landscapes. We were lucky to see an unusually shaped rainbow on top of the mountains. This is some kind of asymmetrical rainbow spot.
And in Europe, in addition to quality roads, quality traffic jams. If you get into a traffic jam, then it is already thoroughly, and not for a couple of minutes. So we had an extra 30 minutes of admiring the mountain landscape and an unusual rainbow. As far as I found out from the Internet, this is one of the variants of a natural phenomenon called Parhelion.
A year ago, I had a cold and snow-covered Innsbruck, it caused me a lot of delight. What sunny Innsbruck has caused us can be classified as two oceans of delight, and for everyone. Almost immediately we started climbing to the highest peak of the city. It was necessary to go by funicular and cable cars with two transfers. Well, at least now I was mentally prepared for the price. Round trip about 40 euros per adult and 20 euros per child. But in any case, you need to be financially and mentally prepared for a trip to Bavaria. We had already begun to suspect, but did not know yet, that our trip would turn out to be one of the most expensive in our experience. It took fourth place in the average cost of the day (including low-cost tickets and hotel).
Bavaria beats Japan, the Maldives, the Seychelles, China, the trip to Malaysia, which included Thailand, Singapore and Turkey, for the cost of the day. Misha was with us on this trip, but the total cost per child is very low here. Hotel, breakfast and transportation are free. If you subtract the cost of the child (including the flight), then the trip ranks 11th just on a par with the aforementioned trips. Such an interesting statistic.
On the mountain itself, a lot of snow and a hot summer sun awaited us. You could even completely take off your T-shirt and bask in the sun. Down in the middle of Innsbruck is the airport, which was easy to watch takeoffs and landings. And when you walk around the city itself, it is joyful to look at the planes right above your head.
A year ago there was more snow and trekking in the mountains was not available. Now the situation was better, but it was so slippery that we felt like the heroes of a movie about Everest. Especially when someone started to slide down. Climbing the route to the very, very peak is still half the battle. But to get off... It was both scary and fun at the same time. Misha and I tried to move out while sitting in safe areas.
But it didn't end well. Only wet and cold steel. One Indian decided to move down towards the lift, but at some point it seemed to me that he would now slide down a few kilometers below the lift.
Everyone looked at him with both horror and admiration. The fact that we got wet is not scary, now we will sit on a bench right on the mountain and warm ourselves in the sun. They made a little snowman, called him "Ben".
Moreover, Wi-Fi catches on the mountain and you can share your emotions live with your parents. It turns out that last year I had Innsbruck without the sun was an advantage. As a result, last year I got an unreal pleasure from landscapes, and this year it is five times stronger.
Although it seemed to me then, much more beautiful. Besides the top of the mountain, Innsbruck itself is no less beautiful. There is a river along which colorful houses are located. This place is also a must-see.
I would single out these houses as a hallmark of the city. And of course the city itself, against the backdrop of the mountains, is simply magnificent. As we descended the mountain, we got off at an intermediate station. There is a small town and an alpine zoo. A year ago, I discovered this beautiful route, breaking through snowdrifts and falling through knee-deep snow. This year it was the most excellent sunny forest. I can’t even believe how radically the same place can differ in different years.
And we also have a future short story writer Mishka growing up. And the following text is his first attempt at writing:
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We walked around the city 2 times. And we saw the golden roof 2 times. And we were looking for a cafe. We walked around the city. We had flixbus at 5:30pm. We arrived great. We went to that coffee where Hitler once spoke. We saw the subway in Munich. Number S1, S2, S3, S4, S6, S7, S8. S5 does not happen. Sorry sad.
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I just want to add that on the route Munich - Innsbruck it definitely makes sense to pay extra for a front panoramic seat on the bus, since fantastic mountain landscapes look best from panoramic windows on the second floor. The second day has already ended. But we could not find time to walk around Munich. But as Mishka wrote, in the evening we had an obligatory trip to Hovbrä uhaus. We sat down at a table with a German company.
As the man with the chic mustache explained to me, in order to realize that you live in Munich, you need to visit this pub from time to time. The atmosphere here, as I once wrote, is indescribable. As soon as you open the front doors, you immediately catch the shock wave of the musical orchestra and the rumble of hundreds of visitors. The first feeling is always the same: "The whole city must have gathered here" and "How did they even fit here? " Nevertheless, the visitor will always find a company to his liking, which he can join.
We ordered two healthy pork knuckles, a sea of beer and potatoes for Misha. With this dinner, we set our new record for a check for a meal of 49 euros. But it was so tasty and soulful that it was definitely worth it. For Misha, this day was one of the most significant in the history of his travels, today, at the age of eight, he discovered the tenth country! At the same time, they keep coming back to their favorite countries.
Schwangau
View from Mary's Bridge
And now our cherry on the cake. Since on the first day we managed to visit Lake Tegernsee, which was originally planned for this day, now we have a day won on the trip. The previous two days have already ranked this trip as one of the best in Europe, and now we are traveling by train along green and yellow fields, and against the backdrop of the Alps, many Alps. It takes about two hours, depending on the train. Inside the car there are large panoramic windows, which are very suitable for observing the beauties and local wildlife.
On this route we were lucky to see a hunting eagle. This, of course, is not such a catch as when we went to Dresden. There were deer and hares in the fields, but nevertheless we spent all the way at the windows doing photo shoots. At the end of the route, another lake awaited everyone, on the other side of which small houses were scattered. The train dropped everyone off at the final station Fü ssen, and from there it took 10 minutes by bus to Schwangau. All this is covered with a Bavarian card.
The bus is quite easy to find, since literally the entire train transfers to it. A couple of buses pull up there immediately, so everyone can fit in without any problems. And so it happens, you are brought to the very epicenter of beauty. You are in the city, on the edges of two majestic castles. Entrances to the castles are free without tickets. But if you want to visit the halls, then be kind, stand in a kilometer-long queue at the general cash desk. Since we almost never stand in queues, we decided to skip visiting the halls. First, we climbed to Hohenschwangau Castle.
It takes about 10 minutes to climb up. In the same place, behind the walls of the castle, you understand why it was necessary to get so much. Although this getting there is more related to the beauty of the route than just travel between cities. From one beautiful castle, views open directly to the second, even more beautiful. On the other side of the lake and themed houses next to it. Since we cannot live without lakes, the next point of the route was the lake of the Alps with dark emerald water.
The lake has at least two places for beautiful views. The first is straight from the shore to the snow-capped mountains that look out among the forests at the opposite end. The second point is on a hill to the right. To get to the viewpoint, you need to take a little walk up the forest. I liked the second review precisely because the water takes on the green color of the neighboring mountain.
What beautiful places are there in Europe, but how can you find out in advance where exactly such places are? For example, I didn’t even know about this place a week ago, and now I mentally put the trip on a par with the most beautiful trips in Europe.
Then we went deep into the forest to see what was hidden behind the swan lake. But I will say right away: in winter it is definitely not worth wasting time on it. Although two swans still swam there) A hurricane clearly walked through the forest, we met a lot of fallen trees on the way))) From the swan lake, the return to the city goes along the road from which the main entrance goes. And it is from here that the whole power of Hohenschwangau Castle opens.
Apparently, its location protected this particular road. From this side, he is impregnable in every sense of the word. I was even glad that I was just a traveler and not a knight who had to conquer a castle. Now we are back at the beginning, at the crossroads between the two castles. You can go explore the second one. But first, refresh yourself. An excellent pleasantness of a small town turned out to be that there are inexpensive prices in a local cafe. They also serve food right away. True, the maximum that you can count on here is french fries and similar dishes, but for efficiency, a solid five.
With the second castle, you need to do this: first go to the castle until it closes, and then go to the panoramic bridge of Mary. We did the opposite and ended up not having time to go inside the castle. Since in winter it works two hours less than in summer. Until 16:00. Climbing the bridge, of course, is not as easy as it could be. This is if you show courage and climb the paths straight. You can, of course, and on an asphalt road. But it looks somehow long and dull, plus you have to breathe the smell of horses all the time. And here is clean forest air, a mountain and a snowball, a lot of snow! What else is needed for happiness.
It seems like you can also take a bus for 3 euros to drive up. But this is already completely without romance, without horses and without a forest. And now we come out onto the bridge… Under us there is an abyss about a hundred meters down, at the very bottom there are several powerful waterfalls, but the most beautiful thing is the view of the castle. It's not just some castle view. This is the most beautiful view of a man-made object we have ever seen. Lakes with mountains already flew out of my head. I just wanted to stand here and take endless pictures, then look endlessly, and then take endless pictures again, and finally, look again endlessly. Better yet, all at once! Moreover, the entrance to the bridge is absolutely free. Why do they take money from people to look at some paintings in museums, but here beauty is millions of times stronger, just for everyone and for free. We also saw in the reviews on Google that this bridge was closed for repairs a month ago. We were afraid that we would find it still closed, but we were incredibly lucky.
Well, now how to move further along the route, if it is impossible to break away. I made a couple of attempts to take my eyes off the panorama. No, it just didn't work. I really have already seen such beauty, but in dreams. And here for the first time ever. So, you still need to pull yourself together and force to go further. And then there are several views from which the castle is already opening like you are on a helicopter. It is not necessary to climb to the topmost ones, there the views are plus or minus the same. But such as in the board game Carcassonne. Here you have lakes, and mountains, and cities, and endless fields. While looking at the photos on the Internet, we thought that these were photos taken from drones, but here it turns out that the mountain is so well located.
As I wrote earlier, in vain we left the castle at the very end, when we went inside, we only managed to get to the toilet and everything was closed. The guard, of course, assured and reassured that all those who did not have time could come in tomorrow. But you won’t fly here again tomorrow from Kyiv for the sake of the castle) But the beauty, of course, is fantastic.
Well, it's time to head back to Munich. The last train in winter leaves around 6 pm. If you do not have time, then the way back will be full of adventure. The bus schedule to the train is well chosen. There were buses both from the first train and to the last one. Although it’s less than an hour to walk to Fussen, but after these mountain castles it’s already a joy to sit at the bus stop for an extra 30-40 minutes. Or maybe in old age) Misha kept a cucumber on the routes. Every day he had an evening tasty reward for endurance on the routes. But it looks like his stamina is getting higher than ours. It is a pity that on the way back it was already dark and it was impossible to once again admire the panoramas outside the window. It was our third evening and we didn’t manage to get to walks around Munich itself again.
Munich
At this point, I begin to notice on the map that the rails on which the train runs cannot lead us to the airport at all. They asked a local nearby, he said that the airport is the final one. Moreover, he said this in Russian, and then it turned out that he did not know any other words in Russian. Phew, take a breath. Yes, and on the train it was written that he was going to the airport and at the station on the scoreboard the sign of the plane. I asked if there was only one airport. Got the answer that one. Exhaled again. People can be seen that, too, with things to travel. Five minutes later, the guy says in English that he made a mistake and this train really does not go to the airport. How the hell is that possible? ! Okay, we'll find out in Kyiv. What to do? We just won't be able to catch the plane right now. And the main question is why everything is developing in such a way that we do not have time? It becomes somehow uncomfortable. What to do. A quick survey of passengers and the guy showed that you need to get off at the nearest city and take the bus.
Judging by the uncertain faces of those who came out with us, they were no less surprised. The bus ride takes about 20 minutes, and he will come for us in 15 minutes. So we will ideally arrive 40 minutes before departure. Fortunately, there is free Wi-Fi at the bus stop, so I urgently order an Uber. He will drive faster, but he will pick us up from the airport in at least 15 minutes. Again not an option. Achtung! Or as they say in Germany. Think, you need to think something urgently. Oh, google suggests some unknown taxi. We urgently install the application, register at the speed of light. The fare is 25 euros. It doesn't matter what the tariff is. The car was right next to us. Got into a taxi and got roaming internet.
Arrived at the airport. Quickly to the scoreboard. We don't have a flight. Yes, what is it! We ran up to some worker, he called which gate we should run to. We're moving at the speed of light. By some miracle, there was not a single passenger at all controls. We reach the gate, just in time to board the plane. We did it! There are still less than 10 minutes before the end of boarding. And that means it's time to eat. Satisfied, they took out salads, which they bought in the morning in the market, and began to eat. The flight went well and smoothly. Not counting the strange rumble in the landing gear area at the time of landing. On the way, we worked out dozens of situations, trying to guess why the train, which, according to all the criteria, was going to the airport, and moreover, we definitely saw such a train on the airport scoreboard when we chose what to ride on at the beginning of the trip. The most logical version was a time loop. Or a more complicated version - two time loops at once. Most likely, the missing connection to the Internet hit exactly at the moment when we got to the time when this branch had a different end, and the mobile Internet simply did not exist.
Already at home, I began to sort through the Internet and, to be honest, I did not find the answer right away. In the case of the missing Internet, the explanation is simple - Kyivstar, it seems, dropped the server at that moment and restored roaming. But with the S1 branch, the story is more interesting. This is the only branch among S that has a bifurcation at one of its ends. Two stations to the end. The cars are disengaged and the train turns into two different ones. The car with the airport mark on it will go to the airport, the rest will go to another city, the return journey from which will take at least 40 minutes. I don't know how the designers of the Munich subway schemes came to this. But we have not seen such stupid decisions in any of the countries we have traveled, this is to some extent a victory over the problems in the logic of the subway of Japan itself)))
Although, speaking between us, if we had not flown away, then the extra days in such a beautiful place as in Bavaria would not have been superfluous.
Trip Information
Date of travel: 01/01/2020 – 01/05/2020
Duration: 2 full and half days
Flights: Wizz
Hotel: Booking
Excursions: All by yourself
Trip difficulty: 4/10 (Below average)
About transport in Bavaria and technical details of the route
Before the trip, I registered an account on German Railway website.
Two applications need to be installed on the phone:
DB-Navigator – to display Bavarian maps without internet
MVV-App- to buy online and display local tickets online
Every time we needed to buy a day pass or another Bavarian card, I did it online and presented it to the controllers from the phone screen. The Bavarian card when bought online is cheaper by a couple of euros than at the box office.
We traveled as part of a husband, wife and our 8 year old child. To travel from the airport to Tegernsee (via Munich), we bought a Bavarian card (aka Bayern card) for two adults, since a child of 8 years old in this case travels for free. Thus, all regional and local transport in Bavaria, including trains and buses, was available to us. It seems that this map does not include some intercity, but we did not come across them on the route.
We traveled by regional trains BRB or BOB. Both of these trains were included in the Bavarian map.
If the train is going in the direction you need, you need to make sure that this direction is indicated exactly on your car or inside it. Since some of the cars can disconnect and go in a different direction. So it was with the direction Munich - Tegernsee and Munich - Airport on the S1 branch.
Important. You cannot drive to Innsbruck using the Bavarian map. The cheapest option we found is Flixbus.
If you do not need to travel outside of Munich, then it makes sense to buy a group day pass. But you need to buy it online exactly on the day you plan to use it. Since it will be immediately composted.
In order to get to the airport, the airport day ticket is ideal, which will also cover all transport in Munich.
