Sunday, August 18, 2013

Tegelberg Hike

Last Thursday was a public holiday in Bavaria, so we both took off Friday from work to make it a four-day weekend. After enjoying two relaxing, sunshine-filled days in Munich, we decided to head out to the mountains on Saturday for some hiking. Since Kristin had never seen “the castle,” it seemed like a good opportunity to combine our hiking plans with admiring the castle from a comfortable distance (read: seeing it from a bridge to avoid the throngs of tourists).

Neuschwanstein castle was built in the mid-1800s by King Ludwig, who is notorious for spending astronomical amounts of money on various castles throughout Bavaria. After King Ludwig's suspicious drowning death (he was known to be a good swimmer), Germany discontinued the completion of the interior of the castle after his death. Thus, with only a few rooms furnished, the most impressive part of the castle by far is the exterior. Many of you may recognize that the castle looks vaguely familiar - Disney used it as a basis for Cinderella's castle. This, along with its proximity to Munich and various other reasons, have made it one of the most popular tourist sites in Germany (more than 1.3 million people visit it annually). However, given that it is a bit overrated and very crowded, we chose to skip touring the castle in favor of just visiting the Marienbrücke (bridge) for a picturesque view:


Leaving the tourist crowd behind us, we moved on to the hiking trails behind the castle. Our real destination was Tegelberg at 1720m in elevation. Although because of our starting point, the total ascent was only 920m. It was supposed to take 3.5 hours, but since we’re practically professional hikers at this point, it took us only 2.5.







Rock climbers!

The weather was perfect and the hike was a great way to spend the day. We had a picnic at the top of the summit and also had a unique surprise: apparently, Tegelberg is known as a hang gliding haven. While we were eating, we had people shouting as they launched themselves off a small peak above our heads. It was really crazy.




While taking the cable car back down was tempting, we opted for a return trip on the same hiking trail. Our total distance for the day was 9.8 miles. The trip was a perfect way to balance seeing the castle with feeling like we accomplished something with our day and getting a good workout. We’re just glad this hike wasn’t as adventurous as our last outing…


Bis gleich,
Matt and Kristin
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2 comments:

  1. ValOctober 30, 2013 at 1:11 PM

    Hi! I found your blog by Googling "Tegelberg Hike." My friend and I are planning a trip in a little over a year, both of us bringing our teenage daughters, and Tegelberg is on our bucket list. We were wondering if being complete novices at hiking makes the more direct route from Tegelberg to Pollat Gorge too dangerous, or if we should take the longer, more roundabout bridle path.

    Thanks! Your life looks amazing--what a grand adventure!
    Val in MD

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    1. Kristin and MattOctober 30, 2013 at 2:50 PM

      Hi Val,

      Is Pollat Gorge the name of the gorge right next to the castle? If so, Marienbrücke (where you have views of the castle) is right above it. We haven't gone down into the gorge, but if I remember correctly there are paths down right near the bridge. For our hike from Tegelberg to the bridge, there was nothing too dangerous. It might be a bit tiring and there are some parts where you have to use your hands, but it's pretty safe. I would say go for it. It's also pretty well marked along the way so there's not too much to worry about. Hope this helps!

      Have a good trip!
      Kristin

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