We find that this beautiful area of Germany
has an incredible amount to offer the roving photographer
If you’re thinking of a short photography
break, then Bavaria makes the perfect destination. It’s less than two hours to
Munich from London, the flights are regular so you can pick the best time to
arrive and depart then, once you arrive in this marvelous centrally-located
city, you’re perfectly placed to enjoy the wider area. And Bavaria is big too,
so you’re probably not going to do it all in the space of a few days – even a
couple of weeks there and you’ll have barely touched the surface if you plan to
explore all points of the compass.
The
Neuschwanstein Castle was built during the 19th century on a hill in Bavaria,
Germany
It’s therefore a good idea to set your
sights on a few specific locations, which is exactly what I did recently with
the help of the super-efficient German National Tourist Office and Bavarian
Tourism folks. They managed to put together an itinerary for me in a very short
space of time, but amazingly it managed to showcase much of what Bavaria has to
offer and it’s not all just about beer, sausages and Lederhosen either. Over
the course of four days I went from the incredible Munich airport with its
mini-city feel over to the city itself and then down towards the Bavarian Alps
making full use of the excellent train and bus network.
Considering all this was during some of the
heaviest snowfall I’ve seen in Germany, the schedule went perfectly to plan and
proved incredibly enlightening. What I also found was that Bavaria is a
two-visit location for photographers too, in that during wintertime it offers
snow covered mountains and frozen lakes with temperatures well below zero,
while summertime promises gorgeous greenery and flower-covered hillsides, plus
temperatures that can get into the thirties.
Getting started
The trip gets off to a great start as
Munich airport is modern and efficient, so you’re through it and on the train
into town before you know it. What’s more, one of the best ways to squeeze
maximum value out of the train network is to buy yourself one of the Bayern
Single tickets. At the time of travelling I paid $27.1 and, boy, do you get a
lot of travelling out of this piece of paper if you’re so inclined. Of course,
if you’re only on a short photography break then time might well be tight, but
this is a quick and easy way to get around the rail network and you can also
use it on local buses too.
The
elegant Munich skyline
I only get a fleeting glimpse of Munich
itself initially because I’m heading south towards Traunstein, a journey that
will take less than two hours but will offer up some great views of the
Bavarian countryside along the way. It’s not long before I’m heading through the
snow-covered scenery and one thing that transpires during the journey is that
there are quite a lot of lakes in this region. In fact, considering the area is
a long way from the sea the Bavarians seem to be quite an aquatic lot –there’s
even a part of the river in Munich that they have tweaked sufficiently to
provide year round surfing.
Prien and Lake Chiemsee
I get off the train at Prien am Chiemsee
station and am met by Josef Kohlpointner who works for Chiemsee-Schiffart, the
local 160-year old ferryboat company that has routes crisscrossing Lake
Chiemsee itself. Summer or winter, a visit to Lake Chiemsee is an essential
part of any visit and it’s a spectacular location, which was formed some
15-20,000 years ago. It’s the biggest lake in Bavaria, although when I’m there
it’s actually so cold that much of it has frozen over. In covers an area of 80
square kilometres and normally the fleet of different sized boats ply the
waterways on a daily basis and there are numerous vantage points around this
location that provide superb photo opportunities. Now though, the boats are
mainly stuck in the thick ice – we even see a man with a chainsaw trying to
extricate his vessel from the frozen waters. Nevertheless, there is still much
to see here, with the main two attractions being a pair of islands – one is the
Frauenchiemsee and the other Herrenchiemsee.
The
most unforgettable memory of Prien am Chiemsee is the steam tram going from the
city center to the marina, still functional
Unfortunately, we’re not able to make it to
Herrenchiemsee on this occasion. But, if you head to this region then be sure
to make it a photographic priority because the island, covering some 240
hectares, is not only naturally beautiful, it also has the castle
Herrenchiemsee to shoot as well. This wonderfully extravagant exercise in
architecture was built in the late 19th century by King Lidwig II
and it was styled on the Palace of Versailles. Take a tour of the grounds and
also prepare to be wowed by the ornate interior too.
Herrenchiemsee
Castle
Meanwhile, our boat crunches through the
ice and manages to make it to Frauenchiemsee, which is all but deserted due to
the extreme cold. It makes for some good shots though, with highlights being
the Alps in the background, the Benedictine Abbey Convent and St. Michael’s
Chapel, which dates back 1,200 years. It’s a quirky little location that’s easy
to get round, has some decent cafes and restaurants and you can also stay there
too. If you visit the area when the weather is more welcoming then you should
also take some time out to go on the Chiemseebahn steam railway. Built between
1887 and 1888, the cute little train is a great way to get around the Prien am
Lake Chiemsee area. It departs from the central train station and drops you off
right at the ferry harbour, so it’s easy to make a whole day of your visit to
this idyllic location.
