Blog Posts in Category: Bavaria

Unternberg Hike and Fly

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Paragliding Short Link

Following our Hike and Fly up Vorderunnütz, we were keen todo another hike and fly, however fitting this in with Oktoberfest was proving difficult. However after a restrained Sunday afternoon at the Weisn we were feeling good the next day so decided to go for a Hike and Fly at the Unternberg to make the most of the conditions before meeting up with some friends who were visiting Germany. The walk up the Unternberg is relatively short and very easy as it is just up forrest tracks to the summit. This does mean that most of the ascent is fairly dull, but the views as you emerge from the forest are pretty enjoyable. In the summer the Unternberg will work pretty much every day with good weather due to the Bavarian wind, so given its proximity to Munich is certainly somewhere we will come back to. The flight down was a short glide which was enjoyable as ever, these small wings are so much fun! After landing, in the unfortunately slightly damp meadow, we went for a swim in a lake on the way to see our friends for dinner.

Hochmiesing and Rotwand Nordgrat (Kriegersteig)

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

With a morning weather window before a lot of rain was forecast, we decided to stay local and head to the Spitzingsee area as it was an easy train ride from Munich. Given the short weather window, we decided to take the Taubensteinbahn up and down to keep the day short, and make the most of the clearer weather in the morning. This time we decided to head to a peak which we hadn’t previously climbed, Hochmiesing which is just north of the Rotwand, is much less climbed but has a really spectacular view. It was great to be away from the hustle and bustle of some of the busier Bavarian peaks and we managed to get to the top before too much high cloud came in. Unfortunately the view south was very hazy so it was hard to make the peaks out, one to come back to on another day. We decided to head up the north ridge of the Rotwand (otherwise known as the Kriegersteig) after descending from Hochmiesing. After going slightly wrong at the start, the rest of the route was very straightforward, just fairly steep with. Read the full article…

Jochberg

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Walking Short Link

With a fairly uncertain forecast we decided to head to Jochberg for Rich’s last day in Munich. Given my poor nights sleep and the rain on the approach, it is safe to say that I wasn’t convinced about the idea. However by the time we had met Rich in Kochelsee and driven to the start of the walk it was looking much better. The ascent was relatively quick up through the forest, and when we emerged we were greeted with a wonderful atmospheric view over the Walchensee. The views from the ridge up to the summit were very enjoyable and we were pleased to be at the summit in 1h15mins, the sign at the bottom said 2h15. After enjoying lunch at the summit we made the day out a loop by descending via the Hütte and then continuing on down to the Walchensee. The descent was definitely quieter than the ascent, and when we arrived at the beautiful Walchensee we were regretting not packing towels. A short walk back along the lake and we were back at the car in time for a cold drink and some ice cream.

A short cross country flight from Brauneck to Eschenlohe

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Paragliding Short Link

I headed to my local site of Brauneck for my first proper XC flight over the year, after a very very slow start due to terrible weather throughout May. It was an enjoyable flight with absolutely stunning views, unfortunately it ended earlier than necessary as I left a thermal earlier than necessary as I thought it was certain that I would find more lift on the ridge, which did not materialise and meant that I dropped into the shady north side which was also in the Lee, which meant that there was no hope of climbing back up. I did however manage to land right next to a train station, and caught a train 2mins after I arrived at the platform, so my journey back to Munich was very easy. It was great to be back in the air on a proper XC flight for the first time this season, and it was great to have finally had a good flight from Brauneck.

Mountain biking in Regensburg

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Mountain Biking Short Link

Having ridden my mountain bike once in the last 4 years, I was persuaded to go to a bike testival at Regensburg by a friend. This was a fairly harsh re-introduction to mountain biking as it was all technical trail riding, with the brakes the wrong way around! We did three bike tests from the test centre, two of which were with lightweight e-bikes and the third with normal bikes. The lightweight e-bikes were barely heaver than my normal mountain bike! I now certainly understand e-bikes for this type of riding, as my heart rate average was very similar for all three outings, just with the e-bikes we covered an awful lot more ground and there was much less anaerobic use of the legs, which meant less time recovering at the top before the descents. Unfortunately lightweight e-bikes are somewhat out of my price range at the moment, but the day out certainly made me want to repair my mountain bike so that I can actually use it.

2023 in 100 Photos

Alastair Begley100 Photos, Austria, Bavaria, Dolomites, General, Germany, Italy, Landscape, Mountaineering, Paragliding, Rock Climbing, Scrambling, Ski Touring, Skiing, Slovenia, Via Ferrata, Walking, Winter Walking Short Link

All to quickly it was once again the end of another year and time to reflect on the year. This year we really started to settle into our routine of living an hour from the Alps, with travel being much easier and having settled into Munich life, both professionally and socially. Unfortunately at the start of the year Becky had an accident and badly broke her wrist which was also misdiagnosed which delayed her recovery. This significantly impacted our year as we were unable to climb, klettersteig or ride our bikes for most of the year. The highlights of the year for me have to be Becky’s continued progression at skiing with her initial foray into ski touring, my ski mountaineering adventure on the Ruderhofspitze, my continued paragliding progression with my first flight over 100km, our wonderful holiday together to Slovenia and a beautiful walk near munich with a combination of snow&autumn colours. Winter Winter continued with lots of weekends away skiing with family, friends from the UK and friends from Munich, it seemed like we had a constant stream of visitors which as wonderful. Becky’s progression continued and she. Read the full article…

Autumnal Eibsee

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Landscape Short Link

With a very difficult forecast we decided to head to the Eibsee, not really knowing what to expect. When we arrived there was cloud just above the mountains which was blocking the sunlight and facilitating nice light for photography. While the cloud was there we certainly made the most of it, with a beautiful mix of autumnal trees and snowy mountains. As the day progressed the cloud thinned out and it turned into a beautiful sunny day, which was lovely for the scenery, but terrible for photos. So once the sun came out we just enjoyed the walk around the lake before heading back to make (unsuccessful) plans for sunset.

Munich U-Bahn Stations

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Landscape Short Link

When the weather is bad and one has a friend visiting with the purpose of photography, ideas on what to do can be somewhat challenging. We ended up deciding to go exploring some of the more interesting U-Bahn stations in Munich, as it turns out they can be quite varied and interesting, just not the ones which I normally. We ended up spending two days underground taking these photos, they end up taking a lot longer than you might expect. As finding a moment with nobody in the photos can be very challenging, and when you have to wait 10mins between trains, the photos with trains in can take a while to get right. The photos are in the order in which we visited them, which was purely logistical. It was certainly a fun way to spend a few days, and I will certainly go back for another go at some stations, perhaps in the less sociable hours of the night in an attempt to capture trains and no people. Marienplatz Oberwiesenfeld Olympia-Einkaufzentrum Westfriedhof Böhmerwaldplatz Candidplatz Josephsburg