Berchtesgadener Land

Last Saturday we travelled to Berchtesgadener Land, the gorgeous little southeast corner of Germany (it's actually very close to Salzburg, Austria). We got lucky and were invited to go with some good friends--which meant we got travel by car! It seems like such a luxury to us here. :)

We started out by hiking up the Almbachklamm, a very cool gorge, and then we continued our hike up a forested mountain. It was a much steeper climb up the mountain than we had expected, so I was very grateful that once we hit the top we found one of the perks of Alpine hiking--an Alm! Mountain pastures here often have small restaurants for weary travellers and whether it was due to flavor or exhaustion, I had the most delicious potato soup of my life at this one.

After we finished our hike, we drove (!) over to the Koenigssee, a mountain-lined lake that is the most famous sight in Berchtesgaden--and with very good reason, as you'll see in the pictures. We took a boat ride from one end of the lake to another.

I would love to go back spend more time at this beautiful place! It's days like this that remind me how cool it is to live in Europe (as opposed to the rainy days when I have to walk a half-mile in the rain with two kids to get to the grocery store...).

Here are the pictures! There's lots.

A view of the town of Berchtesgaden. The Koenigssee is in the valley at the far back left of the picture. The cool mountain is called Watzmann (and it's what our street is named for!)

Hiking up the Almbachklamm. I discovered later that the pictures we took on our hike were done with my camera's "food" setting, so the backgrounds are not as sharp as they should be. Sorry!

Owen hiked quite a bit on his own--we were impressed.

Sam and me.

Not the greatest picture, but hopefully you make out a cute sleeping Sam and a big waterfall in the background.

Near the end of the hike up the mountain, David ended up carrying both kids...good thing I married an endurance athlete! :)

At the end of our uphill climb, we were greeted by this picturesque 18th-century church. I promptly collapsed on the grass in front of it.

Getting much-needed sustenance at the restaurant/Biergarten next to the church.

A view from the top of our climb.

A look in the other direction. I am nearly certain that this mountain is the Untersberg, the mountain Maria Von Trapp sings on in The Sound of Music.

Another scenic family picture from the top.

Owen hiking down the mountain.

The Koenigssee, taken near the beginning of our boat ride.

Owen loved riding on the boat.

Sam enjoyed it, too.

You can see the extremely picturesque Sankt Bartolomae church along the shore.

Looking the other direction, you can see the mountain where Hitler had his mountain retreat, the Eagle's Nest. We could see it clearly from our boat.

Sam and David enjoying the ride.

Sam wanted a closer look.

Owen and his friend Lotte. You can see Owen turning a crank to open/shut the window. Owen was convinced this was actually what powered the boat and he spent quite a bit of time cranking it, telling us how fast he was making the boat go, and occasionally calling out, "I'm going to catch those scurvy pirates!" (which is a Backyardigans reference).

A closer look at the church. It was built in the 18th-century, but a church has been at this site since the 12th-century.

Looking back at the church as we continued down the lake.

At the other end of the lake, we left the boat to take some pictures for a while.

While Owen and Lotte hung out on the big rock, Sam chatted with his pal Pepe.

Another family picture!