Our furthest destination from home was Zell am See in northern Austria, some 1600km or 1000 miles away. This location was chosen to complete the transition from the fairytale castles around Füssen to the mountains hosting Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's nest) in Berchtesgaden, to the true alpine scenery in Zell am See with the Schmittenhöhe Mountain and its views of over 30 mountain peaks over 3000m.

The journey from Berchtesgaden to Zell am See was relatively short at 80km and should only have taken an hour and a quarter but there were some admin hurdles to overcome in crossing into Austria. A 'vignette' is needed if you drive on an Austrian autobahn and there are some particularly notorious speed cameras en-route to our destination. Some very careful planning therefore had to be carried out to ensure that our route avoided autobahns (and other special tunnels) and that the locations of speed cameras were carefully identified in advance.

So far, so good but on entering a small village along the only road to our destination we came to a standstill. Only a few minutes ahead of us a truck had left the road and was perched precariously at about 30 degrees to the vertical. The emergency services were called who closed the road and it took 3 hours to clear it. In the meantime, I struck up an interesting conversation about British cars with a Swiss resident who was driving back from a 'Mini' convention (the International Mini Meet), this year in Poland.

Eventually we arrived in Zell am See, which as its name implies is a town on the lake Zell and as we discovered, is a massive winter ski resort with some 60 ski lifts, a small number of which operate during the summer for hikers, paragliders and general tourists. We only had one full day here which required a trip up the Schmittenhöhe Mountain, followed by a tour of the relatively small town. Even in the summer, this is absolutely full of tourists with the town centre mainly composed of hotels, restaurants and tourist shops. Still, it has history dating back well over 1000 years, is very pretty, especially when the sun comes out, and 3 times a week, the local council puts on a free music and water show on the edge of the lake. It also happened to be a religious holiday and some locals were out in traditional costume, though unfortunately the opportunity to capture these with the camera didn't arise.

Images of Zell am See and the views from the Schmittenhöhe Mountain can be seen here.

Gallery quick links:

• Rossfeld and Eagle's Nest (Berchtesgaden National Park)
• Salzburg
• Königssee

Rossfeld, Eagle's nest and the Berchtesgaden National Park

After the Ammergau Alps, our journey took us some 350km due east (including a detour to Munich due to a closed road) to the Berchtesgaden Valley, pretty much along the German/Austrian border. This picturesque alpine region in the Bavarian Alps is part of the broader Berchtesgaden National Park in southeastern Germany.

The reason for choosing this location was to take in some more Alpine scenery and to visit the Eagle's Nest (Kehlsteinhaus) which is a building situated atop the Kehlstein, a rocky promontory above Obersalzberg near Berchtesgaden. Completed in 1938, it was commissioned by the Nazi Party for official and social functions and was visited by Adolf Hitler on at least fourteen documented occasions. Now it is a prime tourist location attracting 250-300 thousand visitors over each summer season. 

Following a week of hot sunny days, the weather turned to rain for some of this visit - and was apparently the same across most of Europe. With a little help from Google AI however we constructed a plan which fitted the best of the weather, taking in the Eagle's nest, a scenic Alpine drive, a bus trip to Salzburg (60 minutes away across the Austrian border) and a boat trip on the Königssee.  The gallery is here.

Salzburg

For a trip to southern Germany, it may seem odd to include a day-visit to Salzburg (Austria) but the borders in this part of the world are open and transport links connect various destinations in both countries, including Salzburg. In fact, visitors to Shonau am Konigsee (our destination in Germany) are provided with a guest card which gives free local transport (including rail transport to Salzberg) or to the border by bus. A further payment of 7 Euros enables a return bus journey all the way: a round trip of 60km.

With the assistance of AI, the main sights of Salzburg are relatively easy to see in one day. They include: 

1. Mirabell Gardens (Do-Re-Mi Steps)
2. Makartsteg Bridge (Views of Fortress)
3. Getreidegasse (Mozart's Birthplace)
4. Residenzplatz (Residenz Fountain)
5. Domplatz (Salzburg Cathedral)
6. Kapitelplatz (Golden Sphere & Fortress View)
7. St. Peter's Cemetery
8. Nonnberg Abbey (Maria's real-life convent)

Much is made of the city being the setting for the Sound of Music with tourists wanting to see the iconic locations such as Mirabell gardens (where the 'do-Re-Mi' song was performed) for themselves and of being Mozart's birthplace with the composer lending his name to a variety of goods from chocolates (the round marzipan balls) and fashion to (of course) music. And in May, there were a lot of tourists, many doing the traditional group tour led by a loud guide carrying an umbrella. On this particular occasion, the umbrella was needed as it poured - not unusually for Salzburg we understood from a waiter. The gallery is here.

Königssee

Our accommodation location is called Schonau am Königssee and indeed, nestled in the Berchtesgaden National Park, Königssee is famous for its emerald-green alpine water, dramatic fjord-like cliffs, and pristine environment. In fact, we were surprised to find that outside of our village location the lake boasts a very significant tourist centre offering lake boat rides, a fairly large number of tourist shops and restaurants, a cable car and a permanent artificial ice track for bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton (whatever that is!)

The lake itself is enclosed on all but one side by high mountains. It spans 8 kilometers in length, 1.2 kilometers in width, and reaches a maximum depth of 190 meters - reputedly Germany's deepest lake. At the far end (Salet) there is a waterfall considered to be Germany's highest. The lake was carved out by massive glaciers during the last ice age and since 1909, only electric-powered boats, rowing boats, and pedal boats are permitted to preserve water quality.

Having decided to stay in the area, we were determined to see the lake but the weather forecast on our designated day was cloudy in the morning with thunderstorms in the afternoon. There are 2 possible tickets: one to Salet at the end of the lake and one to a location with an isolated church (St. Bartholomew) about 2/3 of the way (35 minutes). At €29 to Salet return, the tickets are not cheap, so given the weather forecast we opted for an early start to St. Bartholomew only. 

On the morning at 7am, the entire valley was shrouded in cloud/fog but by 8am, it started to clear and in fact it turned into a bright sunny day with no rain or thunderstorms in sight. Whilst it is another tourist machine, the pictures of the lake were worth it and can be seen here. Included in this gallery and some images from the nearby villages of Schonau and Ramsau with its picturesque church.

Following a request, I an providing links to the galleries in this blog up front as well as in the text below:

Füssen

Hopfen am See

Oberammergau

From Würzburg to Füssen is about 305km due south and Füssen in the Allgäu region was chosen because it is considered to be the romantic soul of Bavaria and for its proximity to the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles (see previous blog). The journey there was punctuated by direction signs to fascinating town names such as Nesselwang, Fuggerstadt and Wolfschlugen.

Füssen is actually a popular tourist destination in its own right with a compact and well-preserved pedestrianized Old Town (Altstadt). The skyline is dominated by the Hohes Schloss (High Castle), the former summer residence of the prince-bishops of Augsburg, a remarkable piece of architecture with painted decorations on the outside walls and free to visit.

Füssen is surrounded by a number of small towns so rather that stay in the centre, we booked accommodation about 8km away in the town of Hopfen am See which as its name suggests is built around a picturesque lake and is a magnet for German holiday tourists and cycling, swimming and camping activities. A nice touch is that visitors to the area are given a free card which provides free local bus transport.

The sights of Füssen can be seen here

Hopfen am See can be seen here

Places which include our hub in Hopfen am See, the castles of Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, the town of Füssen with origins back to the year 750 all tend to be included in an area called the Ammergauer Alps. Our last place of visit in this area was Oberammergau, best known for its 10-year cycle passion play. Another picture postcard town in the region, it is also celebrated for its painted houses and woodcarving crafts.

The difficult-to-find tourist office (because there is no sign which actually says 'Tourist Office') is very helpful once located and provides a useful walking map of the main sights around the town, including many of the old painted houses and the stunning interior of the St. Peter und Paul Catholic church. A half day is sufficient to see most things and earlier in the day is better to avoid the tourist coaches which appear later. 

An early start also allows a visit to the nearby Wieskirche. This church with perhaps an even more stunning interior is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As its website states: "The sanctuary of Wies, near Steingaden in Bavaria, is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared."

It is always challenging to take good shots of church interiors, partly because the light is usually low but often punctuated by bright window areas, especially if the sun is shining outside; partly because other tourists are wanting the same shots; and partly because the architecture is usually tall and narrow forcing a thin portrait format which often does no justice to actually being there. For the churches in both Oberammergau and Wieskirchen, the art extended all the way over the extensive ceiling so I experimented with a number of stitched shots. See what you think in the Oberammergau gallery here.