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| Konigssee Ferry to Rothbach Falls Germany, WW | |
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| | Konigssee Ferry to Rothbach Falls Germany, WW | | | |
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Konigssee Ferry to Rothbach Falls Germany, WW
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| Hiking | 21.71 Miles |
3,141 AEG |
| | Hiking | 21.71 Miles | | | |
| 3,141 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Konigssee is an amazing alpine lake in a German national park and is often paired with a visit to the Eagle's Nest. You can take a ferry across the lake and get dropped off at a trailhead that leads to Rothbach Waterfall--the highest waterfall in Germany.
Salzburg sits on the Austria-German border, so the drive was only about a 40 minutes from where we were staying.
Konnigssee has tons of public parking (a rarity in Europe). After getting our bearings, we headed over to the dock and purchased tickets for the ferry, which was just getting ready to leave. We hopped on, and were off. (note: route includes the ferry ride)
The Konniggsee is, like many of the lakes we saw in Austria, absolutely stunning. Super clear, aqua blue water and beautifully calm. Because it is in a national park, no other motor boats are allowed on the lake, so it was very peaceful.
At a certain point, the ferry turned off its electric engine, and we floated in silence for a bit. Then, one of the deckhands pulled out a bugle/trumpet and played a tune to highlight the amazing echo acoustics created by the sheer mountain walls surrounding the lake. It was quite impressive.
Song done, we continued our ride and made an intermediate stop at St. Bartholomew--where there was a church, some restaurants, and the jumping off point for several other hikes, and swimming. We planned to visit on our way back.
While ferrying, the guide provided some commentary in German, which included several jokes. We, of course, understood nothing, but appreciated the vibe.
When we arrived at the far end of the Konnigssee (about 30-40 minutes after embarking on the ferry), we hit the restroom and then headed off on the trail to the waterfall. In the meantime, it had started to drizzle, so we donned our rain gear for a bit, but the rain didn't last long.
Along the way to the waterfall, we hiked along another lake--Obersee--which had its own shades of amazing color. I try to capture the beauty of this lake in my photos, but it's difficult to do it justice. If we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, we'd be tempted to think that the pristine color and clarity of the lake is not real.
Past the Obersee, the towering waterfall came into view, and we stopped to eat lunch while admiring its plunging cascades. We also noted that it was paired with another, smaller waterfall on the opposite canyon wall.
While Rothbach Falls is impressive due to its height (1550 feet), the flow is not that strong, so it's more of a ribbon in places.
After lunch, we continued our approach to the falls, passing a number of cascades that tumble down below its base. As we climbed higher towards the base of the falls proper, most of the tourist traffic ceased, and we enjoyed relative solitude. At a certain point, climbing further up to the base of the falls required some off-trail scrambling. At this point, Kristine decided to wait for me as I explored higher. From there on, I hiked alone, and upon reaching the base of the falls proper, had the place to myself. The falls were even more impressive up close.
After my obligatory photoshoot, I returned to Kristine and we started the trail back to the ferry dock. Along they way, we stopped at a somewhat secluded spot on the banks of the Obersee and jumped in for a swim. Kristine was a little reluctant at first, but agreed that it was pretty amazing once she got in.
As far as swimming goes, this is about as idyllic as it gets--crystal clear and calm turquoise water, surrounded by towering mountains and forests/grasses in all the shades of green. We just swam/floated for 20-30 minutes or so and literally soaked it all in.
After our swim, we finished our return hike and caught the ferry back to St. Bartholomew. After a brief pitstop, we hopped back on the ferry. We chatted with a German guy sitting behind us and swapped travel stories, with him telling us about his 3-month trip cross country in the U.S. after high school and before entering college. And we thought WE were on a long trip .... |
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