The Bavarian Alps (Germany)

*Blog post up-to-date from September 2025*

Table of Contents

• General Information
• Food & Drink
• Oberammergau
• Garmisch-Partenkirchen Region:
  • Am (Lake) Eibsee
  • Zugspitze Mountain
  • Partnach Gorge (Partnachklamm)
• Füssen Region:
  • Schloss (Castle) Neuschwanstein
  • Am (Lake) Alpsee
  • Branderschrofen Mountain
  • Schloss (Castle) Hohenschwangau

General Information

• Language: German. Interestingly German is also an official language in Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In most of the touristy areas most people speak at least some English, and some restaurants offer English menus.
  • Hello = Hallo
  • Thank you = Danke
• Currency: European Euro (€). 1 European Euro is worth 1.17 USD at this time.
• Peak Season: June through September

The Food

German food is known for sausage, sauerkraut, schnitzel, and soft pretzels. Schnitzel is typically made from pork, but at some establishments you can also find turkey or chicken varieties. Most dishes are served with fries, or occasionally other forms of potato.

The variety of sausage is overwhelming, and when navigating and expansive menu only in German it can take awhile to figure out what everything is. Most sausage is made from pork, though beef and veal is also common. The only sausage I obstinately avoided was Blutwurst, or “Blood Sausage,” is a pork sausage filled with blood that is cooked with fillers until it forms a firm structure. It seems to be an acquired taste; my dad enjoys it and he grew up in Hungary where it is common. Less intimidating varieties include currywurst, a grilled pork sausage with curry-flavored ketchup, and Nürnberger, short and spicy girl pork sausage from Nürnberg, among many others.

Some dishes that I didn’t get to try but would like to in the future are:

• Käsespätzle: German macaroni and cheese made with spätzle – German dumpling or egg noodles – and cheese, topped with crispy onions.
• Kohlrouladen: Cabbage rolls stuffed with minced meat

~Breakfast~

German breakfast is dominated by cold cuts with cheese, rolls, jam, and butter. Müsli (Muesli), an oat-based cereal with nuts and dried fruit similar to granola, but not as crunchy and less sweet, paired with yogurt or quark is also a common breakfast option.

The Drink

The average German drinks about 25 gallons of beer each year. We were there during Oktoberfest, and made a point of trying to primarily dine at biergärtens/bierhäuser (beer gardens/beer houses). German beer is dominated by lagers, with the most popular being pilsners, and if you ask for a simply “a beer” this is what you will typically be served. Helles bier is similar to a pilsner, but with more malt and is similar to American-style beer. Märzen is another pale lager that is known for being the “Oktoberfest” beer. There are also dark lagers, which include Altbier, bock, and schwarzbier. My favorite German beer though is the Weissbier, or wheat beer – named as such for the large proportion of wheat relative to barley used – such as Hefeweizen. Popular non-alcoholic drinks include Spezi – a mixture of orange soda and cola – and Apfelschorle – a mature of apple juice and sparkling water.

Am (Lake) Eibsee is a beautiful lake directly at the foot of Zugspitze Mountain, the tallest mountain in Germany at 9,718 feet. If you are driving by car, there is a parking lot directly adjacent to both attractions. On the Zugspitze website, it recommended arriving to the parking lot before 10am in order to guarantee a spot. We visited end of September, and arrived about 20 minutes or so after 10am, at which point the parking lot was still quite empty. However by the time we left around noon it was full. For ~2 hours that we spent there, parking cost €9. Alternatively, you can also take a bus or train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the base of the mountain.

Hiking to the top of Zugspitze is not for the faint-hearted. Many of the hikes are quite long, with the shortest still taking 7-8 hours and some of the longer ones taking 2-3 days to complete, with over 2K meters of elevation gain. There is also a 10 minute cable car ride or 45 minute cogwheel train ride that you can take to the summit from Eibsee, which cost 75 euros roundtrip or 44 euros one way.

For more casual hikers, there is a relatively easy, partially paved 4.4 mile long trail that wraps around Am Eibsee. This trail was quite popular, full of visitors of all ages. It is a beautiful trail, offering dream-like views of the bright blue and emerald lake with mountains in the background. Along the lake there are also boat rides and rentals available.

Partnachklamm is a gorge-ous gorge formed by the Partnach River spanning 702 meters long and over 80 meters deep, located only about a 15 minute drive outside of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. If driving, you will need to park at the at the Olympic Skistadium, the site of the 1934 Olympics. There is plenty of parking there for a small fee (€5 for the day, less if only there for a few hours in 2025), and there are restrooms by the parking lot that cost €1. From the stadium, it is about a 25 minute walk up to the gorge, but you can also pay for a horse-drawn carriage to carry you up. There is a hotel by the gorge itself, with parking reserved for hotel guests.

The gorge is open from 0800-2000 from June to September, and to 1800 from October to May. The last entry allowed in is 30 minutes before closing time. Tickets cost €10 for adults, which you can either buy online (Partnachklamm) or at the kiosk near the gorge entrance. The gorge is extremely gorgeous, attracting a lot of people, so if you would like to avoid the crowds I would recommend arriving close to opening or closing time. Walking through the gorge itself does not take long – even with us stopping multiple times along the way, it only took about 25 minutes. You can re-use your ticket to go back through the gorge as many times as you would like. Then from the exit of the gorge, for a more exerting hike you can take an hour long loop that traverses up through a good amount of elevation through the woods, offering views of the gorge from above. There is also a restaurant, Partnachalm, along this hike, though we did not stop there. Along the road back to the parking, there are also several Biergartens serving food and beer if you need a post-hike pick-me-up.

Schloss Neuschwanstein is a 19th century castle built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, intended to serve as his private residence, though he died before construction was complete. Shortly after his death, it was open to the public and today is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It also served as inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland.

To enter the castle, you must purchase tickets for a tour ahead of time. Tickets are sold here Tickets Link and cost €23,50. When we looked online, tickets were sold out a couple of weeks in advance when we went during the end of September. To get to the castle you can either hike up from the parking lot on a paved road not open to cars, or purchase a trip on a horse-drawn carriage.

There are numerous trails around the castles and surrounding area. One of the most popular is the Neuschwanstein Castle Trail which starts at the parking lot, passes Neuschwanstein Castle, Panoramablick Schwnagau (a look-out point of Schloss Hohenschwangau, Lake Alpsee, and surrounding areas), and Pöllatfall (a waterfall under a suspension bridge, with a view of Neuschwanstein). This on its own is a 2.5 mile hike there and back with 748 feet of elevation gain, taking about 1.5 hours to complete. It is also a paved trail, and is quite crowded, with tour buses stopping at Pöllatfall to release flocks of tourist for the view from the bridge. Past Pöllatfall the trail morphs into a more narrow and less populated dirt trail which heads into Branderschrofenn Mountain and beyond, if you have time for a longer hike.

Am Alpsee

Easily accessed from the parking lot is Am Alpsee. It isn’t nearly as striking as Am Eibsee, but still pretty. The Alpseebad or “Alpsee bath” is an area of the lake that you can pay a €3,50 to use, open 1100 to 1800 from May to September. There are also boat rentals available on the Lake, and a 3.3 mile loop around the lake you can hike if you have extra time.

Branderschrofen Mountain

Situated just east of Schloss Neuschwanstein is Branderschrofen Mountain at 6,171ft. There are numerous trails that hike up through the mountain, that we did not have time to explore. AllTrails shows a loop that is 9.1 miles, with 3,608ft of elevation gain that starts at the parking lot and traverses past Neuschwanstein.

Schloss Hohenschwangau

Schloss Hohenschwangau is the less popular of the two castles, but is quite magnificent. It was first mentioned in records in the 12th century, but was destroyed partially in various wars and rebuilt in the 19th century by King Maximilian II, father of King Ludwig II.

To enter the castle, you must book a tour ahead of time. During the end of September, the tickets were still available online just a day or two before the planned date of entry, but earlier during peak season they can fill up far in advance. Tours cost €26,00 and last about 30 minutes. You can buy tickets here: Tickets Link