We had incredible weather on our last day in Mittenwald! We planned the night before that if the weather was good we would be headed up Karwendel, the nearest mountain. When we were planning this trip I thought it may have been possible to hike up part of it. Seeing it from our BnB window I realized this was folly.
Karwendel
Karwendel is 2,244m (7,362ft) above sea level. Mittenwald is 913m (2,995ft) above sea level so it’s a 1,331m (4,366ft) climb to the top. We decided to take the tram up to the top. First we dropped our bags off at a storage locker at the train station and headed to the base of the mountain. Storage locker costs 4€.
Along the way to the base of Karwendel we crossed over the Isar River. The same river that the surfers got their water from in Munich.The tram up was packed. It cost 26.50€ per person for a round trip ticket. Some people buy a one way ticket and walk down or vice-verse. The tram was a little late taking off and the operator probably explained why in German but we didn’t understand. Regardless the look of panic and fear is universal and I did not see it on anyone’s face.
Once at the top there was a museum shaped like a telescope and a restaurant. We entered the telescope museum and looked around. It does offer a look down over the edge but the rest of the museum was blah. We grabbed some pictures of the town below and we were able to see the two lakes and the chair lift that we had traveled to yesterday.
There were all sorts of trails at the top going in all different directions. They even had the yellow signs pointing out that Mittenwald was 2 hours away. More like an entire day for us. We did do part of the Passami Rudweg trail.
Incredible views
We decided to hike up to one of the higher points. Stopping along the way to take pictures on the other side of the mountain. Some parts of the trail were still covered with snow. Stepping in it with running shoes gave us a reminder that snow is indeed cold and evil stuff.
We got to what we thought was the top of where we could go in our sneakers and jeans. Devin peeked over the side of the ridge and found a cable system and path to the next peak.
We made it back down without falling off the edge. Took the tram back down and after a short walk arrived at the train station. Our train’s departure was in an hour so we grabbed lunch at the restaurant in the train station.
German rail system
Speaking of trains, it would be a crime not to mention how amazing the German rail system is. There are automated kiosks that have an English language option. They also offer many reduced fair option if you book in advance. Except for the first train ride they have all been on time and the staff have been friendly and helpful.
I met Devin back at the hotel and we gathered our dirty laundry and headed to a laundry mat 10 blocks away. Simple things become hard real quick when you don’t read/speak the local language. Luckily some of the instructions were in English and Devin met a girl who was able to help us out immensely.
Laundry mat has a happy hour!
