Königsee

Today we headed into Germany for an outing to Königsee. About 25 minutes from Salzburg, Königsee is a fjord-like lake not far from Berchtesgaden. It is the deepest lake in Germany, some 192 meters (630 feet) in depth. Lying within a national park, Königsee in inaccessible by road and only has limited hiking paths on one end of it. To experience the lake one must travel by boat, much to Nikolas’ delight.

For a hundred years, people have been traveling on Königsee by electric boat. You board the boat in Schönau, a settlement which is not really a town but mostly a collection of gift shops and restaurants. In Schönau the lake is lined with historical boat houses still in use by the fleet of electric boats that transport tourists around today. The lake water is crystal-clear and greenish and completely calm, the boat making the only ripples in the water. The mountains run right down into the water, making for spectacular scenery along the journey. I'm not sure about the phenomenon captured in this photo, but the reflection in the lake seemed to be making a reflection of the reflection...

About half way across the lake, the boat stopped across from a sheer cliff face, and the tour guide took out a trumpet. An ‘echo wall’, the trumpet plays a song only a few notes at a time, each series of notes echoing back to the boat as loudly and clearly as they had just been played. It was truly astonishing, these vibrant notes playing and then repeating themselves across this silent, silent lake.

Not long after that, the boat docked in St. Bartholomä, also not really a town but rather an outcropping of historical buildings. The main landmark in St. Bartholomä is a Catholic chapel named after St. Bartholomaeus the protector of the alpine farmers and milkmaids. It was founded by the Prince Provosts of Berchtesgaden in 1134, and its red onion-dome roofs contrast strikingly with the surroundings. There is also an inn in what used to be a hunting lodge for the Provosts and Kings of Bavaria and a busy restaurant and fisherman’s ‘hut’. We brought a picnic lunch with us and so settled on the lakeside to eat. Throughout the meal we could hear strains of trumpet, off and on, traveling down the lake as other boats stopped at the echo wall.

After testing out the water (cold!), feeding the ducks, making a shelter for a bright green beetle, making friends with a lady bug, and simply wandering around, we climbed back on a boat for the 35 minute return trip to Schönau. It was a terrific outing indeed!