I’m working on putting the final touches on a vacation plan for this summer. I’ll have about 5 to 7 days to venture from Munich to Zurich to catch my flight back to the U.S., and I’d like to find some fun things to do in the German/Austrian/Swiss alps as I’m passing through.
Anyone that’s been in that area in mid-summer (late July, early August), what kind of adventures can I find? I’m thinking things like hikes, trail runs, rafting, zip lines, etc., and new things I haven’t tried in the mountains.
Just a little background – my fitness level at high altitudes is very high (having completed the Leadville 100 Trail Run and hiked most of the 14,000ft mountains in Colorado), so I’m not worried about things being too strenuous. My budget is mid-range (not restrictive, but not luxurious), and my level of German language skill is just one notch above ‘tourist’.
I see there are a lot of things to do, but I’m having trouble narrowing it down or finding a good town with lots of things to base myself out of for a few days. I’ll be lugging my photography stuff along, so I’d like to find some unique landscape photo opportunities, too.
I don’t know about activities; but for a good town for a base camp, my son did a post-graduation tour of Europe last summer, and really liked Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Funny you mention that city. I spent a couple days there (got away during the weekend while on a business trip to Munich) a few years ago. It was a very neat city, but it was rainy the entire time, so I missed out a lot of stuff. But I did get to relax in the hotel spa where I was staying! Sadly I was unable to go up Der Zugspitze due to the weather. I will keep this on my list as I’m looking for things to do.
I hadn’t heard of that before. I’m looking into this city, too.
Looks like a very small town in Switzerland, which would be perfect. I’ll dig into the details of there, too.
We just spent a week skiing in the St Anton region of Austria and it’s amazing terrain. They have a great hiking and mountain biking trail network that could offer days and days of entertainment. Lodging isn’t cheap, but I imagine things are a bit better in summer. I remember seeing a trail race posted somewhere but I don’t know the specifics, but you could certainly string together some great days with lots of elevation and spectacular scenery.
The nice thing about Switzerland is that you won’t really be able to go wrong, but Murren was definitely our favorite town. We ended up staying there three days instead of two because we liked it so much. Random tip: the restaurant at the top of the funicular was surprisingly good. We ended up a several hour hike there and were too hungry to wait to get back to town, so we thought we were settling, but it was excellent. Mrs. Giraffe had a smoked salmon sandwich on fresh pretzel bread that we still talk about.
The Eagle’s Nest at Obersalzberg is worth seeing, but you won’t get to do much hiking. The ride to the top is via bus, but the views are amazing.
Another recommendation is to climb the Wolfsklamm in Stans, just outside Innsbruck. It’s a hidden gem – not a particularly challenging hike, but the river cascading through the gorge is quite spectacular.