Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of time for a spot of shopping and to visit some of the city's lesser known sights such as
the Olympiapark and BMW Welt. If there's time, make a dash on the S-Bahn for
gobsmackingly beautiful
Starnberger See
to enjoy a relaxing stroll along the pebbly
shore. Pretty
Oberammergau
, famous for its once-a-decade passion play, is just over
two hours (with changes) on the train from Munich's Hauptbahnhof and makes a superb
base for visiting King Ludwig II's Schloss Linderhof, an easy going 12km hike. Then it's
time to stand on the roof of Germany: the
Zugspitze
above Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the
Bundesrepublik's highest peak. If you don't have your own wheels you'll have to back-
track all the way to Munich to reach the pleasant spa town of
Bad Tölz
, the heart of the
Tölzer Land and home to Alpamare, the region's best water park. Heading east, more train
connections will have you on the shores of the
Chiemsee
in no time. Water sports are one
of the big draws here, though most come to ogle at another of Ludwig II's palaces,
Schloss Herrenchiemsee, set on an island (the Herreninsel) in the lake and accessible by
ferry from the town of Prien. After a day of messing around on the
wasser
, it's back into
the mountains, this time the ranges around
Berchtesgaden
in Germany's extreme south-
eastern tip. Drawing in many visitors is the area's intriguing Nazi history, particularly
Hitler's mountain perch, the Eagle's Nest, now a seasonal restaurant. For an equally pho-
togenic escapade, take one of the electric boats from Berchtesgaden along the stunningly
picturesque Königssee, surrounded by the Berchtesgaden National Park. From Berchtes-
gaden it's a short bus ride across the border into Austria and a day or two of
Sound of
Music
-mania in achingly beautiful
Salzburg
.
