German & Austrian Alps
 

We are thinking of heading to the German / Austrian Alps for two weeks in early October...

Would greatly appreciate your guidance / suggestions...We would like to see a bit of Munich then spend 90 percent of our time in the mountains... Would like to find beautiful peaceful places with great local food,nothing fancy or too expensive, and would like to avoid any "too touristy" places.... Some light hiking, sun terraces and beautiful scenery are what we are seeking.

One additional thing..we would love to travel by train and avoid the hassle of having to drive....is this practical for this area ?

Once again, thank you for your thoughts.

Areas around Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Zugspitze will give you hiking (of different levels) and scenery galore. Into Austria, pick anywhere in the Tirol and you can't go wrong. Places to look at are Achensee (Achen Lake), Karwendel (national park area), or look up the Eagle Walk (Adlerweg)and see if parts of it interest you. It's a "long distance" trail that covers the Tirol, but you can do sections of it as you please.

Make sure you do a daily weather report, particularly the night before you hike and again that morning as the weather in quite changeable in October.

We loved Achensee and you definitely won't see any other Americans.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/288...11574650RxTYIH

You should also consider the beautiful Zell am See.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/258...11574650RFkmrF

Hi Wengenlover,

I live in Garmisch and don't have a car -- it's quite easy to get around where you'd want to go by train or bus. Though there are a lot of tourists here (German, American, British, Norwegian, Czech, etc), you can find many peaceful spots once you head off on a trail.

Can you tell me what you would consider "light" hiking? Do you mean under two hours, or under one hour? Or, do you simply mean flat?

There are many nice biking trails, too, if you'd like to try one of these -- many are flat, too.

Have fun as you research!

s

Thanks folks..to clarify on the hiking I am thinking about 2 hours or under... Danke

I would also consider Garmisch. Yes, because of it's beauty and hiking, there will be some other tourists there besides you. Sometimes the beaten path is well beaten because it's such a worthwhile place to visit.

I would also consider a car once you have left Munich. Driving in the Bavarian countryside is NOT a hassle and would allow for the best trip. As mentioned, you can go some places in the mountain areas without one, but having a car fir the 2nd part of your trip will make it a 100x more enjoyable.

Wengenlover-Could you share some highlights from your October trip?