Amazing Sights to See in One Week in Bavaria, Germany

14

Apr

You may have read the guest post my mother wrote about Key West, and she’s back with another post! My family went to Bavaria, Germany last summer and saw lots of amazing places. My sister Elena wrote a recap of their week here, and my mom contributed all the photos!

Last summer we had the opportunity to visit our German exchange student Maxime and her family in Bavaria, Germany! We saw some amazing cities and went hiking in the mountains (plus a river rafting adventure), and if you want to go on an awesome trip like we did, these are some incredible things you can see in one week in Bavaria, Germany!

One week in Bavaria

Amazing Sights to See in One Week in Bavaria, Germany

After getting our rental car in the Munich airport, we made a few stops on the way to our host family’s house, one of which was Hohenlinder Church. When we made it to her home we ate a second breakfast and did a walking tour of Altenmarkt, a small village in Bavaria. We saw several historic churches and breweries and beautiful German scenery and houses, including the Baumburg Abbey, the River Alz, Traun River, and fields of flowers.

Hohenlinder Church in Germany

Stained glass window in Germany

Cathedral in Altenmarkt, Germany

Cathedral in Altenmarkt, Germany

Wildflower fields in Altenmarkt, Germany

Kirche St. Wolfgang

Exploring Salzburg

Our first full day in Europe was spent in Salzburg, Austria. We walked around Mirabell Garden and that was the beginning of the “Sound of Music” tour, which included the Pegasus statue, Mozart’s “ghost,” Dom zu Salzburg, and a castle on top of a very high hill. We went to several churches and nunneries and the fancy shopping street, Getreidegasse.

Mirabell Garden in Salzburg

Mirabell Garden in Salzburg

River in Salzburg

Mosaic map of Salzburg

Walking street in Salzburg

Pretzel stand in Salzburg

We hiked around the castle, Festung Hohensalzburg, and saw many beautiful views of the city then finished with a late lunch at Augustiner Bräu, a total of 17,000 steps. We also went to the cemetery, the Sound of Music museum and Mozart’s home and birth house. We came home for dinner and went to a traditional Bavarian concert and saw a full moon on the “Bavarian Sea,” aka Lake Chiemsee, which was gorgeous. Salzburg was 10/10!

View from Festung Hohensalzburg

Festung Hohensalzburg

Festung Hohensalzburg over Salzburg

Church in Salzburg

Lake Chiemsee

Hiking in the Alps

We woke up early to get to the mountain (Chiemgauer Alpen) on time before it was too hot. We hiked up to the midpoint and got fresh milk at a hiker’s restaurant and saw a cute waiter. Some of the group stayed at that restaurant while others and I climbed up to the peak. It took two hours round trip and we ate pretzels, sausages, and carrots along the way.

Hiking in the Alps in Bavaria

Group hiking in the Alps in Bavaria

When we made it back down we ordered Bavarian cake, Auszogen, and were about to leave when my dad told us he was going to “use the bathroom,” however, instead he decided to ask the cute waiter, who we dubbed Hans, to take a picture with the “young Americans.” Some older German men were nearby when mom took the picture and began to tease him and laugh; it was mortifying. If you’re up for the challenge, hiking in the Alps is totally worth it! And tell Hans I said hi!

Hiking in the Alps in Bavaria

Hiking in the Alps in Bavaria

Group of cows in the Alps

Paraglider in the Alps

Group hiking in the Alps in Bavaria

Sunset over the water in Bavaria

Sunset over the water in Bavaria

Moon over the Alps in Germany

Exploring Munich

The next day we left for Munich, which is the English name for Munchen. We parked in Kirchseeon and took a train into the city. We walked around the markets and churches and saw the famous Glockenspiel performance at noon, which comes to life with figures telling a story while the bells chime.

Glockenspiel in Munich

Storm drain in Munich

Odeonsplatz in Munich

We went to Woman’s Church and the Jewish museum and Haufbrau House, another brewery. Next, we walked to the Resident’s Garden, the US embassy, Odeonsplatz building, Maximillaneum (an old government building), and ate at the English Gardens, where we also watched people surf on the river. Although the garden was beautiful, you have to watch out for the “nude section.”

English Garden in Munich

River surfing in Munich

Historic building in Munich

BMW factory in Munich

We then headed to a China house for beer and took the subway to the Olympic Village and the BMW Welt. They were pretty cool sites, but we definitely loved seeing the historic parts of Munich more. The family favorite was definitely city hall and the Glockenspiel performance!

Map of Munich

Olympic park in Munich

Rafting adventure on the Alz

We celebrated my mom’s birthday in the morning with mimosas and then got ready for rafting on the Alz for a “relaxing day.” First, we stopped at a nearby village that had ancient Roman ruins and a marina for some beautiful landscape.

Boats on the Alz

Stone church in Germany

Historic church in Germany

When we arrived at the dock, we walked around and then began to inflate the boats. I even swam in the gorgeous, clear water, which was frigid. This was everybody’s favorite day of the whole trip and we had a blast on the water with lots of laughter! Although it was not too relaxing due to the constant paddling, we all had a great time soaking up the sun while seeing more of the countryside.

Rafting on the Alz

Swimming in the Alz

House on the Alz in Germany

Historic church on the Alz

Exploring Bavarian lakes

We ate lunch in the mountains and walked to Taubensee Lake in Bischofswiesen. Our next destination was Hintersee, where we walked around, ate some ice cream, and saw wooden puppets at a farm in the Magical Forest (Zaubenerld).

Lake Konigssee

Lake Konigssee

Lake Konigssee

We then went to Ranasau and saw Pfarrkirche St. Sebastian, the church where Silent Night was written and the site where the most popular German postcard was taken. We saw Eagle’s Nest from a distance and walked up to Berchtesgarden Hills and entered a village. We went inside a church and then finally, we stopped at Edelweiss, a restaurant, for water and coffee. Then we walked back to the car and Lake Konigssee before dinner at a traditional Bavarian restaurant.

Historic church in the Alps

Visiting Burghausen

Our next adventure was to the longest castle in the world, Burg zu Burghausen, on the Salzach River!

Burghausen by the river

Chapel in Burghausen

Clock tower in Burghausen

Chapel in Burghausen

View from Burghausen

Houses in Burghausen

Most of the buildings within the castle are private homes today. Some parts were built as the Celtic fortification in the first and second centuries BC. We saw the gardens of the castle and then explored the surrounding village. We only explored for a half day so that we could get some rest.

View of the town from Burghausen

Church tower in Burghausen

Fresco on Burghausen

Burghausen bridge

Touring Dachau

While we were in Germany, we wanted to pay our respects to the Holocaust victims, so we went to Dachau to tour a concentration camp. It was awful to hear about the way that the Jews and other outsiders were treated. The gate said “work brings freedom” and the Nazis tried to convince everyone that the camps were learning institutions. The gas chambers there were never used. The tour took about three hours and was well worth it.

Gates into Dachau

Guard tower in Dachau

Barracks in Dachau

Beds in Dachau

Picture in Dachau of Holocaust victims

Visiting Herrenchiemsee Castle

We drove to a lake to tour Herrenchiemsee Castle, which is a replica of Versailles. We learned that all of the gold had been painted on and that only 10 pounds had been used in the entire house although it appeared as if 60% of the house was solid gold!

Herrenchiemsee Castle

Herrenchiemsee Castle fountain

The palace belonged to the last king of Germany and was never finished because it was intended as a mini Versailles and the people did not like that he spent so much money. Next we ate lunch (pretzels, carrots, pepperoni, and Kindercards) and walked through museums. And of course, bought some cool souvenirs there! Next stop: Woman’s Island, where we saw a convent and the lake. It was so beautiful and a nice place to walk around.

Herrenchiemsee Castle map

We had such an amazing week getting a tour with Maxime’s family! If you have one week in Bavaria, I can’t recommend all these incredible places enough 🙂 Be sure to eat lots of great food and tell Hans I said hi!

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Blog, Europe, Germany, Photography, Travel

  1. Amazing! I know nothing about traveling all over the country, what a wonderful looking place to explore.

  2. Juleen Meets World says:

    Oh this a nice list. I unfortunately haven’t spent much time in the Bavaria region but when I finally do I’ll be sure to visit some of these places, particularly the castles

  3. Tessa says:

    I’m a bartender at a local german bar so I love seeing pictures of authentic german food. Those pretzels look amazing. I will need to check this city out. Love towns that look like fairytale villages!

  4. Farrah says:

    Bavaria looks like such a beautiful place! I’d love to check out the Sound of Music museum and Mozart’s home! Your photos are gorgeous!

  5. Chelsea says:

    Omg! Just your photos alone are stunning!!!! I have also wanted to go to Bavaria!!!

  6. Francesca says:

    I love Bavaria, especially Munich. Salzburg is one of my favorite cities in the world! Dachau was so heatbreaking to visit but I do think people should visit it. Now I want to visit the Bavarian lakes!

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