Lakes & Mountains - Hintersee

Although we had stopped briefly at Cheimsee on our way south my first real experience of Bavarian lakes and mountains came when +Silvia Antlady and I walked around the lake known as Hintersee. Not the biggest of lakes by any means, but a lovely place to visit and an excellent lake to circumnavigate and soak up the scenery and colours.

We parked at the south eastern corner of the lake and stepping out of the car, this was my first proper view. Low cloud covered the mountain tops, but in some ways I felt that just added to the moody atmosphere.

A short walk along the southern shoreline from east to west offered views across the lake of a youth hostel and couple of other buildings catering to the tourist, including the Gasthaus Seeklause where we stopped for some lunch.

You may notice the Hintersee water has a definite green hue. Some of this is no doubt due to the reflected light from the surrounding tree covered mountains, but natural salts also have a colouring effect.

Hintersee water colour

I think you probably have to see the lake yourself to appreciate just how green the water appears, although this panorama may help a little.

Hintersee Panorama

I mentioned in a previous post the recent heavy rain that had fallen across parts of Germany and you can see from this normally quiet stream just how much water is draining from the higher ground into the Hintersee.

Mountain Run-off

Walking among the trees you can't help but be impressed by the number and variety of wild flowers.

From the delicacy of the blues to the depth of the purples and the variety of greens, the eye is treated to a feast of colour. No point asking me to identify the flowers because I can't.

The bee population are happy too. :)

The weather was kind to us and the rain held off during our visit, but you can see how threatening the building clouds were and indeed it did rain later in the day.

We made one more photo-stop before dropping into the Gasthaus Seeklause for a late lunch and I made use of a fellow tourist to add a little extra interest to this shot of the lake.

Enjoying the Hintersee

Lunch was another first for me; I sampled Kasnocken for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it too.

Kasnocken

I'm not sure where the dish originates, but I've seen it described as Austria's answer to Mac & Cheese. While the meal does primarily consist of  pasta and cheese, Kasnocken has a different texture and in my opinion a depth of flavour you don't find in macaroni and cheese thanks to the addition of caramelised onions.

Thinking of visiting Berchtesgadener Land? Make sure you take time to include the Hintersee in your tour.

A little more from Ramsau

There were several other buildings that caught my eye in the sleepy little village of Ramsau, but these two in particular peaked my interest. The first is Ramsau's second church, almost totally ignored by the touring public but still picturesque in my opinion.

Ramsau's less famous church

The second is bit of a step back in time and interests me because the owners have preserved the environmentally friendly power source of water. This is the Ramsau Sawmill.

Ramsau Sawmill

Terrific amounts of rain fell in parts of Germany immediately prior to and during my visit and water levels in the rivers were extremely high. The canal used to channel river water to drive the saw was very full. Cleverly the designer of the millrace had allowed for this with the overflow system you see to the left of shot where gallons of very fast flowing water are allowed to spill back into the river thus preventing flooding of the actual mill. The shoot to the right of centre is 'used' water from the wheel-drive also returning to the river.

Overspill

I wish I'd taken a bar of soap... this would have been a great place for a refreshingly cold shower!

Ramsau Kirche

There's a famous little church in the village of Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden that I have seen in various catalogues and tourist guides so naturally when the opportunity arose to photograph it I gladly accepted. Sadly the weather wasn't exactly kind to us the day we were there, the Alps, which form the backdrop to the church, being completely hidden by low cloud. Nevertheless I did capture a few images of the church.

Approaching Ramsau Church

Conveniently there are several small bridges crossing the river that allow the photographer to capture the church.

Ramsau Church

And looking back on the church...

Ramsau Church

This monochrome is a copy of a black & white photograph displayed in the local Tourist Office and gives some indication of what I was unable to capture.

Ramsau Church with Bavarian Alps in background

On a good day the view would be nothing short of stunning. Try your luck by following this link to the Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden webcam.