Monday morning started with twilight, at least when the alarm went. Koenigssee is in a very narrow valley, with high mountains both to the east and west, so "sunrise" is actually quite late. But we got up at our usual time (7:30 a.m.) and looked out onto the tranquil lake and the docks from which the boats leave for the trip up and down the lake. After breakfast we headed off to the docks a few metres away, bought our tickets for both lake and mountain (a combination ticket that lets you travel to the furthest end of Koenigssee and back, and also take the cable cars up to the summit of the Jenner mountain (the latter any day within the season), at a modest saving over the individual fares.
We left on the second of the boats to travel up the lake to the furthest away (south) landing for the short walk to Obersee, a small Alpine lake which is one of the sources of water for Koenigssee (and a note on the name, King’s Lake is the literal translation Koenigssee, but apparently the original name in Middle German was Kunigsee, Kunig’s (a local person) Lake). The lake is about 7.7 km long, at it’s widest about 1.7 km (just about a mile), and has an average depth of just short of 100m, with a maximum depth of about twice that. Basically, the lake is a flooded alpine valley, between the Jenner mountain on the east, and the Watzman range on the west. That said, it is also probably the most beautiful lake in Germany, if not in much of Europe; and certainly some of the views on this lake are the most painted and photographed views in German tourism.
The boats on this lake are probably unique. Since 1909, most of the boat travel on this lake has been electrically driven, to preserve the purity of the water (today only emergency boats, and those used for official business, such as border patrols, are allowed to use gasoline motors, and those are strictly checked for emissions and oil leakage). Thus the tour boats, carrying perhaps 60 to 100 passengers, are almost totally silent, and non-polluting. They have enough batteries for a day’s operation, and are charged overnight. (And as the on-board guide cheerfully explained, because everything below where you sit is effectively lead-acid batteries, they are very stable in modest waves; on the other hand, if they ever get swamped by higher waves they will sink like a rock - so pay attention while I tellyou where the life-jackets are!)
As the boat carries on up the lake (south, towards Austria), at the widest part of the lake, the boat comes to a stop, and the guide on board plays a slow tune on a trumpet, which is echoed back from both sides of the lake; on a day with perfect conditions one can hear two or three echoes. Usually it is one or two. After that it is customary to tip the guide, perhaps 50 Euro cents or a bit more! Unless there is a requested stop at one of the hiking trail heads (a request from someone on the boat, or a flag hung by someone on shore who wants to be picked up) the first scheduled stop is the pilgimage chapel of St. Bartholomae (St. Bartholomew), probably right up there as one of the most painted and photographed spots on earth. We chose to continue on to Obersee before getting off.
At Obersee, it is a short, about 10 minutes, walk to the interior lake, about a square kilometre in size, that is one of the feeds of water to Koenigssee. At the far end, visible but not accessible because the trail was still unsafe after Winter, is an almost 500 metre waterfall of glacial and snow-melt water feeding this lake, which then feeds Koenigssee. The scene is almost stereotypical (ie. unreal!) in its mountain scenery beauty.
After the walk to Obersee and back to the landing we took the next boat to St. Bartholomae. The chapel itself is quite plain, and on our visit the outside was marred by scaffolding because some of the roofing was being repaired, but nevertheless it has been the goal of many pilgrims over more than 200 years.
After visiting the chapel, our plans were simpler - have lunch!
Easier said than done - looking at the menu posted on large chalkboards all around the only restaurant at this site, we chose Muenchener Weisswurst, etc. (Munich white sausage, a veal sausage, seasoned and spiced, usually boiled and served with a bun, or kraut, or potato salad). No way our waiter said, it is past noon ( 12:05 p.m., to be precise) and you cannot serve weisswurst after noon. That is the folktale, in Munich, that weisswurst has (have?) to be consumed before they hear the noon church bells. They ignore that in Munich; I have had weisswurst for supper there! But, here on the Koenigssee, they obviously took the rule seriously (my cynical side is suspicious, what are they going to do with the left-over weisswurst; my guess is, serve it the next day, before noon!)
But, rule of travel in Germany, don’t argue with a German waiter, they rule, so we ordered something else.
One of the unavoidable views, it occupies about half the view westward, at St. Bartholomae is the Grosser Watzman Ostwand (the great Watzman East face), all 2000 vertical metres of it. The Watzman mountain range forms much of the western boundary of Koenigssee. There are nine peaks, two of them quite a bit larger than the other seven, and one of these two much larger than the other. Named, they are the Grosser Watzman, the Kleiner Watzman, and the seven Watzman Toechter. (Literally, the larger Watzman, the smaller Watzman, and the Watzman daughters.) Before I go on, note that the Watzman East face is a very challenging climb, and to date (May 15, 2009) has killed 99 climbers (no doubt someone out there is preparing to be #100).
That brings up the Watzman legend. The Watzman family (father, wife, and seven daughters) was said to be a local monarchy, or lord of the manor, or whatever. They were very impious, and after being challenged by God to at least stop bowling on Sunday, and refusing to do so, they were turned into stone. But, they continue to bowl, as can be heard whenever a thunderstorm is growling in the mountain range.
And, after that excursus, and after lunch, we took the next boat back to Koenigssee, and a pit-stop at our (very convenient) hotel. Then on to the Jennerbahn, the cable car system that goes nearly to the Jenner peak, on the north side of Koenigssee.
The Jenner is nearly 1900 m high, and the cable car system takes you from the Koenigssee parking lot to perhaps 100 m from the peak, to the mountain station, which claims to have the highest self-service restaurant in Germany (questionable, or at least debateable - there is a buffet on the Zugspitze, and a self-serve patio, at almost 3000 m.) However, the cable car with its two-person gondolas is a remarkable engineering achievement. It is in two parts, with a middle switching station. In skiing season it is possible to purchase a ticket to either the middle or the summit, with the middle station allowing acces to easier ski slopes, while from the summit one accesses more challenging slopes. Both are served by other smaller lifts, chairlifts and tows, so that one can ski an entire day from one of these two altitudes, and then return to the valley by the main gondola lift.
At the middle station there is an almost 90 degree change in direction of the cable car system, and depending on one's ticket, the system either directs you to an area where you can exit the gondola, or it switches your car onto the next cable section, which takes you up a much steeper slope to the summit station. The whole ride, from valley to summit, takes about 30 minutes, and is quite beautiful, scenically.
There is a good view from the summit station's balcony which wraps around about 270 degrees, but for the full view one has to proceed on foot, up a path that goes about 100 or so metres higher. June doesn't "do" slopes, so I went on alone. It's not a difficult climb, but at this time of the year some of the path is still snow-covered, and one has to proceed carefully, as there is a rather steep slope on one side, and the mountain face on the other. The last 10 or so metres are up stairs cut into the rock, and then a few more feet of scrambling up rocks takes one to the very peak, with it's customary cross. The view is staggering. Northward, one can see the Chiemsee, Germany's largest lake, with sail boats quite visible. Eastwards one sees Berchtesgaden, the Salzberg with Kehlsteinhaus at the top (Hitler's Eagles' Nest) and beyond into Austria one can see Salzburg. Southward the Koenigssee is spread out more than 1000 m below, and in the distance is the Steinere Meer (the Stone Ocean), a part of the Austrian Alps that looks like the waves of the ocean, complete with white-caps. And to the east, bordering the lake, is the full Watzman range, with the higher peaks considerable above one's level on this mountain. It is well worth the extra effort of the climb up.
Walking back down to the peak station, I joined June who had found a small bottle of wine at the buffet, picked up a beer for myself, and we just enjoyed the view and the crows who fly at this level, trying to steal food from the visitors' plates. And then, the cable car trip in reverse, back to the valley level.
By then it was later afternoon, but still enough time to drive to the western side of the Watzman range, into a valley which has a small lake and town, both called Hintersee (Back Lake). It's largely unknown, and very pretty. The Watzman mountains are much less imposing on this side, and hikers in good shape can walk most of the way to the peaks. The lake is very pretty, and is a fishing destination, having both lake trout and fresh-water salmon. And, there are conveniently located lake-side hotels with restaurants serving both, to one of which we went for supper.
We started out on the patio, but as often happens in the mountains, an early evening thunderstorm moved in, and we finished a very fine meal of salmon inside. By the time we were finished the shower was also, and we drove back to our hotel in the gathering dusk just in time to get inside when the thunderstorm started there. From our balcony we watched the downpour and lightening flashes, and then a small drama began as a mountain rescue boat, an ambulance boat, and a water police boat roared up the lake (emergency boats are allowed gasoline power, and these moved!). We waited a while, but nothing came back, and we never did find out whether this was an actual emergency such as a hiker or climber in trouble, or a training exercise.
And so to bed, to rest up for the morrow.
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