My alarm clock rang at 6 a.m. and at shortly before 7:30 a.m. I had packed everything up and ate an apple and one protein bar to start the day. At first I could enjoy the way down the hill I cycled up and rode along the „Weiße Traun“ until Traunstein where I ate my breakfast at the playground where nobody was on public holiday. I had to cycle hills up and down again but I could cycle them today and did „hike and bike“ only for some minutes. So this morning was misty and there was something magical, mysterious mood in the air that I absorbed crossing only small villages with hardly any people on the roades, just me and my bike. I stopped in Teisendorf for a short toilet stop in the tourist office and as I reached this part of the trail of Berchtesgaden (that is way more touristic) many people were on the road again and the sun has come out and there was a blue sky ☀
After some uphill and crossing by a beautiful lake and the monastery „Höglwörth“ on gravel roads and some forest parts I reached „Anger“. The mountain ranges of Berchtesgaden fully which were breathing!! ✨
I the next kilometers were so lovely because of the wonderful descent and the view, the weather, my bike tour songs I then knew by heart and sang them out loud to myself 🙂 🗻 After the village Piding the gravel road was along the river „Saalach“ and with the mountsin range was glorious! On a bridge I met a man who cycled exactly the same trail with his bike and we chatted for a bit. In Bad Reichenhall I enjoyed my lunch at the „Ortenaupark“ on a bench and I could truly understand why this is a health resort and why queens and kings built castles in this region. What waited in front of me was a long ascent, probably the most challenging one of the whole tour and I hiked and biked! Firstly there was such a strong wind that I looked again into the weather forecast if there was something mabye even dangerous – yet I was up to 800 meters above sea level and the real gale-force gusts were not forcast until 1500 meters above sea level and there were other people cycling too. So I was ready to climb the last ascent – at least one kilometer I pushed the bike but I made it without the wind blowing me away.
Cycling down in this scenery with this weather was marvelous and somehow felt like dream – I felt the end of this tour coming slowly. I listened to my favorite biking songs and was just present in this moment that felt like a gift. As I reached Berchtesgaden I saw grey clouds appear on the horizon, rigth were my destination was. I called my parents to look at the forecast again and they said there wasn’t rain until 6 p.m.. Cycling through Berchtesgaden was a bit strange because there were almost no cycling roads, very touristic and the locals looked stressed and annoyed, diffrent from my vibe and mood at this moment that was a great rollercoaster of emotions. The last kilometers I cycled along the „Königsseer Ache“, a beautiful river.
1000 meteres before the destination I met the man I had chatted with at the Saalach again who had already made it to the Königssee. We said farewell and mabye our life paths will somehow cross again.
I was so nervous, there were many tourists and I arrived.There I couldn’t believe to stand in this place directly on the Königssee, where the path ends, just to be there, to have made it there in 6 days. It was so emotional, I felt such proudness, all the wonderful memories of the trip replaying in my heart and also the deep sorrow that this trip was going to end. I stood there, I took pictures, ate some sweets and looked around this lovely place. I cried. I cried because I felt such a happiness fulfilling my heart, that I have not felt for a very long time✨✨❤️❤️
4 hours later I was back in Munich because I had decided to take the train back this day to be home for Easter. Such a hard decision. Reaching the destination, beeing back some hours later felt all more like a daydream than reality because today I had experienced so much. I ate dinner with my family again and told them stories of the trail and they updated me about their life.
Looking back, doing this tour was one of the best decisions I’ve made so far this year. I’ve wanted to do a multi-day tour like this by bike for more than 2 years and setting off right from my front door was a wonderful idea. I cycled along the foot of the mountains that I can see from my balcony, which I can see from the Olympiaberg. It was probably a bit naive to think that I could easily ride over 4000 meters in altitude with my bike and heavy luggage. I felt that too, especially in the first few days. Nevertheless, I made it, even though there were many points where I didn’t think I would make it to the Königssee. It’s also important for me to say that there were a lot of downs. This constant riding up the hill or even pushing up was hard, really fucking hard. But I listened to myself and my body and even skipped small parts of the route on the first two days. I am very proud of myself that I managed to know where my own endurance limit is and to make a decision that is positive for the tour in the long term. One of the best things I have learned is that after every low comes a high. My lows were mostly up mountains, but when you get to the top, there’s always a downhill. And riding back down each of those mountains, the high afterwards, was the greatest reward.
Seeing how beautiful the landscapes are on your own doorstep, driving along the foot of giants. Good weather all the time, if then only drizzle, no freezing cold nights, always bearable and comfortable with a hot water bottle, breathlessness and even breathing, lying in bed and knowing what you’ve done, experiencing as much in one day as you would at home in three. I met so many nice, open people, had so many wonderful conversations and, above all, the three days with Anna were such a unique, unforgettable time. The first two nights in my life alone in a tent, cycling alone for three days, was a challenge and at the same time I proved that I could do it. For myself. That I can cycle up and down mountains under my own steam. That I can motivate myself and cover such a long distance in such a short time under my own steam. And, above all, that I enjoy it, even alone, even as a couple and probably then almost certainly in a group.
I now know that I also want to do this for 50 days at a time, that this is a way of traveling that fulfills me, that I want to see the world with. I’m grateful for how well this tour went, how well my old favorite bike rode, which you wouldn’t actually ride on a tour like this, and what a wonderful time I had.
