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Obersee lake near Königssee, with steep Alpine cliffs reflected in clear water and a wooden boathouse on the shore.

Bavaria, Germany

Travel Greener, Explore Deeper

Real trips. Real hikes. Real photos. Smarter ways to experience Bavaria.

Explore Bavaria

Obersee beyond Königssee — clear water, steep cliffs and the wooden boathouse reflected in the lake.

Haki, the Haki Travels mascot in lederhosen, holding a beer stein

Hi, I'm Haki

I walk every route before I write about it.

Haki Travels is my free, personal guide to Bavaria. It started on top of a mountain, when I thought someone else should see this — so I began sharing my trips with family and friends, and it grew from there. Good weather on a day off, backpack and boots on, a Deutschland-Ticket in hand — and I'm on a train before 9. I'm Martin, though on this blog I go by Haki — and if I say I've been there, I've been there.

More about me

Themes first

Explore Bavaria

Start with a theme. Every guide below is somewhere I have actually stood.

Munich & Day Trips

Munich & Day Trips

The city itself, plus every trip that starts at Hauptbahnhof.

Hikes & Nature

Hikes & Nature

Every hike I have walked in Bavaria, with a full Hike DNA breakdown.

Lakes

Lakes

Swim stops, lakeside loops and boats you can reach by S-Bahn.

Food & Drink

Food & Drink

Beer gardens, barrel-tapped Helles and the meals worth the detour.

Fresh from the trail

Latest from Haki Travels

Destinations
Panoramic view from the Karwendelbahn summit down to Mittenwald, with the Lautersee and Ferchensee lakes and the Wetterstein range in the background.
Bavaria WanderlustMittenwald, Karwendel

Karwendelbahn: Germany's Second-Highest Cable Car, Its Own Brewery, and a Trail Full of Sheep

The first time I rode up the Karwendelbahn, fog swallowed the summit whole — I could hear the wind and not much else. This time I waited for a clear forecast instead, and it turned out patience was the only thing I'd been missing. From the top terrace, the Wetterstein range lines up on one side and the Austrian Karwendel on the other, and somewhere in between, a herd of sheep has the best view in Bavaria and doesn't care who knows it.

About 2 h by train from München Hbf to Mittenwaldhigh crowdsHaki 8.3
The Wallbergkirchl chapel with cows grazing on the ridge above Tegernsee.
Bavaria WanderlustRottach-Egern, Mangfallgebirge

Setzberg via Wallberg

I set out for Risserkogel. By the time I reached the top of the Wallbergbahn it was already clear the clock wouldn't allow it, so I took the shorter ridge to Setzberg instead — three hours at the top, more than 25 paragliders in the air at once, and a chapel with its own herd of cows on the way.

About 1h05 by direct BOB regional train (RB57) to Tegernsee, then bus 356 (stand 1) to the Wallbergbahn valley stationmedium crowdsHaki 8.3
An oval sign reading 'Freistaat Bayern' mounted on a railing at the Zugspitze summit, with a panorama of snow-covered mountains behind
Bavaria WanderlustGrainau / Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Zugspitze: How I Got to the Top of Germany Without Really Hiking at All

Two visits, six months apart — one buried in March snow, one packed with September crowds. Here's how to get from Munich to Germany's highest point by train and cable car, why I never made it to the actual summit cross, and why you should build in more time than you think you need.

1 h 30 min by train to Garmisch, then the cogwheel train (about 1 h) or the cable car up the mountainhigh crowdsHaki 8.5

Sustainable Bavaria

Bavaria Without a Car

Day trips and hikes you can do with a Bayern-Ticket and a bit of planning.

no car needed🥾 hiking beer Alps

Boots on the ground

Hikes I've Done

Every hike below has a Hike DNA breakdown, because 'moderate' means nothing on its own.

Panoramic view from the Karwendelbahn summit down to Mittenwald, with the Lautersee and Ferchensee lakes and the Wetterstein range in the background.

Karwendelbahn: Germany's Second-Highest Cable Car, Its Own Brewery, and a Trail Full of Sheep

Mittenwald, Karwendel · 1.2 km · 160 m · ~2 h

Fitness
2/5
Technical
2/5
Exposure
2/5
Navigation
1/5
Views
5/5
Crowds
4/5
Family-friendlyDog-friendly

About 2 h by train from München Hbf to Mittenwald

Panoramic view along the narrow Rotwand summit ridge, with hikers on the trail and layered mountain ranges in the background.

Rotwand from Spitzingsee: Up on Foot, Down by Cable Car, and a Käsespätzle in Between

Spitzingsee, Mangfallgebirge · 8 km · 790 m · ~4 h 15 min

Fitness
3/5
Technical
3/5
Exposure
3/5
Navigation
1/5
Views
4/5
Crowds
3/5
Family-friendlyDog-friendly

About 1 h 45 min by train and bus from München Hbf

Wendelstein summit complex in the Bavarian Alps, with the Wendelstein-Haus restaurant terrace, cable car station, and the summit chapel perched on the rock spur.

Wendelstein: A Real Alpine Hike, One Train Ride from Munich

Osterhofen, Mangfallgebirge · 12 km · 1030 m · ~3.5 h up / ~2.5 h down

Fitness
3/5
Technical
2/5
Exposure
2/5
Navigation
1/5
Views
5/5
Crowds
4/5
Family-friendlyDog-friendly

About 1.5 h by train (BRB, München–Bayrischzell line) to Osterhofen, or about 1 h to Brannenburg (München–Rosenheim–Kufstein line) for the rack-railway side

Taste of Bavaria

Eat & Drink

Large Bavarian Brotzeit platter with sausages, cold cuts, radishes, bread, pretzels and Bavarian flags at Oktoberfest in Munich.

Food & Drink in Bavaria: What to Actually Order

Bavaria, Germany · Bavarian, with Franconian and Swabian dishes that show up on local menus everywhere ·

I've eaten my way through the Bavarian classics by now (Weißwurst the proper way before noon, Schweinshaxe, Kaiserschmarrn at a mountain hut after a hike, Obazda with a fresh Brezn) and worked through most of the beer list too, from a Helles straight out of the barrel at Augustiner to a Maß of Festbier at Oktoberfest. Here's what's worth ordering, how the beer gardens work, and why the rules are stricter than they look.

Between the posts

Save an itinerary

Practical day trips from Munich to save for later.

Wendelstein day itinerary from Munich in EnglishWendelstein alpine hike guide in EnglishKarwendel day itinerary from Munich in EnglishKarwendel and Mittenwald day trip guide in English

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