Berchtesgaden - Germany's other alpine playground
Watzmann, Königssee, the Eagles Nest, the Huberbuam - all names springing to mind when thinking about the region and mountains around Berchtesgaden. From climbing to history this place has a lot to offer. However you have to deal with the crowds.
Outdoor adventures, history and culture in the southeastern pocket of Germany
Maybe best known for the almost cliche scenery of the deep blue Königsee flanked by mountains on three sides and its questionable honor to be home to the Kehlsteinhaus (aka the Eagles Nest) there are also almost innumerable things for the avid outdoorist to undertake here.
The town of Berchtesgaden is tucked away in the southeastern corner of Germany and the touristy center of the region. From here many of the more mainstream attractions both the well known attractions and the outdoor enthusiast objectives are within close reach.
Definitely the most famous alpine adventure here is the Watzmann traverse: A fairly serious and long scramble over the three Watzmann peaks and down into the Wimbachgries. A close second might be the Watzmann 1.800m east face that has developed into an epic for quite a few parties.
For easy to moderate alpine climbing the Blaueis hut is an excellent base camp with many multi pitch routes and even some sport climbing areas close by.
If you are looking for harder and longer multi pitch climbing the Untersberg a bit further north has been the playground of famous German alpinists Alexander and Thomas Huber for a long time. Even the moderates here are not to the trifled with due to their sheer length and the hard routes can get very hard (up to French 8b+!).
Several well equipped Via Ferrata are also close to Berchtesgaden. For example the Grünstein Via Ferrata is not just fun on the way up but the view from the top is world class.
Hikers can find everything from flat lake side walks to serious peaks like the Hochkalter.
As per usual with the Alps: Any area this well developed does draw a big crowd. In this case most of the tourists are focused on the Königsee, the town of Berchtesgaden and the easy to reach trails. However even more adventurous areas can be chock full of people especially during weekends and German holidays.
In summary I do think the area is very much worth a visit - however try to get your timing and selection of activities right to get the most out of it and avoid the rush.
Adventurers: Jochen and Bengt