It’s breath-taking at Mittenwald, Bavaria

View of the mountains behind Lautersee.

My mother-in law was surprised when she learned that I had never been to Mittenwald. It is a 90-minute drive (in good traffic) south of Munich but on weekends, this could stretch well over 2 hours. Mittenwald is a beautiful area close to the Alps and a popular escape destination for city dwellers to immerse in nature. It was also our pick for our weekly walking tour. The village is located right beside the German-Austrian border and focuses on tourism. In the winter, many flock to Mittenwald for skiing while in the spring and summer seasons, the village caters to walkers and hikers. The village itself is traditional with cobbled streets and a church at its center, and not to mention pretty with a view of the mountains. After a short visit to the bakery for a cup of coffee and a pastry snack (which was really tasty), we started our walk uphill to Lautersee, the first of two small lakes west of the village.

The route we took followed Lauterseeweg which was well marked with sign posts. Besides the initial uphill climb, the walk was easy and not very strenuous. Distance wise it was about 2.5km so in less than an hour, we found ourselves at the edge of the water facing wonderful (still) snow capped mountains with two hotels on the other side of the lake.

A small hut right beside Ferchensee.

From Lautersee, we walked to the second lake, Ferchensee along well marked sandy paths through forest. Here, the initial uphill climb was steep and a little strenuous but this does not extend very far before levelling out. Within an hour Ferchensee was within sight.

A small stream joining Ferchensee bringing fresh water from the mountains.

There were two establishments on opposite ends of the lake, both of which were closed at the time of our visit which was just as well – we had brought food with us and decided to sit at the water’s edge to have a picnic. With such wonderful weather, we were tempted to jump into the lake for a swim if the water had not been so cold. For a time it was quite windy and we sought shelter behind a hut. Thankfully this did not last long and we were able to walk around the lake (which was short; about 400 meters) once the winds died down. We caught sight of fish (possibly trout) in the water and at one end of the lake, there were thick reeds where dozens of frogs were spawning. There were so many eggs that it did not look like there was much water left to keep them from drying up.

We walked back to Mittenwald taking the same route we used to walk to the lakes. While the village was welcoming and a sight to see on its own, the lakes were beautiful and make an even bigger reason to visit. It is understandable that thousands of people drive for hours to this village; the prospect of swimming in a wonderful lake with a fantastic breathing view of the mountains remains hard to resist.