When Matt and I were planning our honeymoon, we knew we wanted to be on a pretty lake in the mountains in Europe (it was August and I didn’t want to be sweltering on a beach!). We ultimately decided on staying near Wilder Kaiser in Austria to see Hintersteiner See, but after I saw pictures of Lake Königssee during my research, I knew I wanted to visit during our honeymoon! It’s such a gorgeous lake in Bavaria, and we had a lovely day exploring Lake Königssee 🙂
One day in Lake Königssee
Lake Königssee was more of a tourist attraction than the lakes we visited in the Wilder Kaiser area, and the parking lot was pretty full by the time we got there. You can go hiking in the mountains, or you can go see the lake like we did. The area is also known for having Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, his retreat house. You can take a bus there, and the house has been turned into a restaurant. We didn’t have much interest in that, so we just went straight to the lake! It’s about a 10 minute walk from the parking lot area to the lake, and there are lots of shops and restaurants along the way.
The only way to get across the lake is by boat, and you can go to a few different places. We got tickets to get off at the first stop, St. Bartholomew, and it is 16 euros for a round trip ticket. There was a bit of a wait before our scheduled boat time, so we went for a short hike to get better views of Lake Königssee!
Boat ride around Lake Königssee
We took the ferry on Lake Königssee, and the views are so pretty! The lake is a dark green color, and the Alps as the backdrop makes for the perfect picture. It is a natural alpine lake, and the name translates to “king’s lake” (although since there haven’t been any Bavarian kings in recent history, it isn’t clear why it was named that). The lake is one of the cleanest in Germany, and to keep it that way, only paddleboats or electric powered boats are allowed on the lake.
Lake Königssee is surrounded by cliffs, and there’s a spot in the lake where you can hear a loud echo. The driver of our boat stopped and played the bugle, and we could hear a perfect echo for the whole song!
St. Bartholomew’s stop
We took the ferry to St. Bartholomew’s, which is where most people got off. You can see the church, and there’s a beer garden where you can get some beer and food. We had heard of the Bavarian dish of white sausage and decided to try it, and it was actually pretty good! You’ll see in the picture that it doesn’t look very appetizing or flavorful, but we enjoyed it and I recommend giving it a try. We also got spaetzle and a pretzel, and both were great.
The area was busier than we were expecting, but we still had a wonderful day exploring Lake Königssee! If you’re in Bavaria, you can’t miss visiting this beautiful lake 🙂
Lake Königssee looks amazing! What a great place for a honeymoon!
I agree! 🙂
So beautiful! I have never heard of this destination , but it looks like something I would enjoy! I love the cobblestone path and the views are breathtaking! Thanks for sharing
I hope you can go soon! 🙂
The lake with mountains rising from it is just stunning! I would love to hike here. And the German architecture is so charming.
It’s such a beautiful place to go hiking!!
wow I need to remember to travel to lakes when in other countries, not just cities – beautiful!
It’s one of the prettiest spots in Germany!
Wow, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking! I love your photos!
Thank you! 🙂
I’ve visited Austria to do a cycle tour along the Danube River, and some of the scenery was similar to your photos, but a lot of your photos are about 20 times better than what I saw as well. I obviously need to go back and check out Lake Konigssee! I had no idea that Hitler had a place in Austria, although it makes sense given the history.
I hope you can go back, it’s such a beautiful area!
I love the European lakes especially in Austria and Switzerland however I am yet to experience this one. Great photos.
Thank you! 🙂