Walking in the Bavarian Alps. Grant Bourne

      Platters of smoked ham and cheese at Wimbachgrieß Hut (Walk 60)

      The Oktoberfest in Munich is of world renown but beer can be enjoyed much more cheaply and in a more relaxing way in a local beer garden. Here, lager beer (either dark or pale) can be ordered in a Maß (litre mug) and guests are served by waitresses in Tracht (folk costume). Weizenbier (wheat beer) is also popular and there are various kinds of Starkbier (strong beer). Besides beer, restaurants serve German wine and various types of local schnapps. At both beer gardens and traditional restaurants the meal is often accompanied by live folk music.

Language

      German is spoken in Bavaria and Austria, although it is often flavoured by the various local dialects which can make it difficult to understand even for those who are otherwise fluent. However, English is widely spoken and visitors will usually have no trouble finding someone who speaks at least a little English at ticket offices, hotels, restaurants and so forth. The staff at tourist information offices are generally quite fluent and can help with advice on English-speaking doctors, timetables, accommodation and other matters. Nevertheless, a good phrase book will help clarify any communication problems that might arise (see also Appendix E).

Expenses

      Holiday costs in the Bavarian Alps are noticeably lower than in other regions in the European Alps, in particular Switzerland. This differential soon becomes obvious in terms of restaurants, shopping and accommodation.

      For those on a walking holiday, camping is the cheapest and most flexible form of accommodation. There are plenty of campsites spread along the fringes of the Bavarian Alps, and it is often possible to leave your car at the campsite, and to just pay for your empty tent (leeres Zelt) if you are walking from hut to hut. Pensions or bed and breakfasts are also quite reasonably priced and ideal if you intend to base yourself in an area for several days (most offer discounts for a stay of a week or more) and are not planning to stay in the mountain huts. Every tourist office has a Gästeverzeichnis (accommodation list), and it pays to get hold of a copy.

Using this guide

      In this book the Bavarian Alps are divided into six mountain groups, described from west to east. The divisions are more or less in accordance with those stipulated by the Alpine Club (AV).

      The routes have been grouped around base towns in order to make planning a walking holiday as easy as possible. A brief portrait of each town has been included to help walkers choose the most suitable place to stay. Apart from the mountain routes, which are described in detail, the authors have also included some shorter valley walks. These walks are generally no longer than 3hr in length and suitable for all ages.

      At the start of each route is a box with information to help you plan your route, including the distance, total ascent and descent, grade of difficulty, recommended map, accommodation in huts and so forth. Contact details of the huts are given in Appendix C under the mountain group where the route is located.

      Details of transport to the starting point of each route (by bus, cable car and so on) are given, with information on how to return to the start at the end of the day. Where a route starts in the base town and can be reached on foot or by local bus from, say, a nearby village where you may be staying, ‘local bus’ is noted. Parking details are also given.

      To aid orientation, places and features shown in bold in route descriptions correspond with those included on the route maps.

      The German and Austrian Alpine Clubs have initiated a long-term plan to implement uniform signposting throughout the Eastern Alps. The new signs now indicate the degree of difficulty to be expected along the various mountain trails. A blue dot indicates an easy trail. A red dot indicates a moderately difficult trail and a black dot a difficult trail – here ‘difficult’ means that dangerous passages may occur quite frequently and sections of the track might require some ‘easy’ scrambling. This new grading roughly corresponds to the 1–3 grading in this book and should be taken into account. A fourth category, ‘Alpine Route’, goes beyond the scope of ordinary mountain walkers.

      Grading of routes

      The following grades are only intended as a rough guide to the difficulty of the individual routes. How hard or difficult a route is for any given person at any given time depends on such variables as the weather, track conditions and personal fitness. None of the walks described requires climbing skills or experience in snow or ice conditions – although snow may sometimes be encountered on the higher routes, especially in early spring or late autumn.

      The walking times given are only approximate and do not take into account refreshment stops and so forth. Bad weather or track conditions can also prolong a walk and these factors should always be taken into consideration. As a rough guideline you could add 1–2hr for ‘enjoying the scenery’.