Day 20 – Crossing To Mittenwald Germany

Feb 2, 2024

Today’s Adventure

Cindy and I were determined to get back out on the trails for Day 20, with or without sunshine. Our goal was to hike across the border into southern Germany, a feat that we had wanted to accomplish during our 2012 visit but had to cancel due to a pesky blizzard and some annoying avalanche warnings. But before I talk about today I should probably get you caught up on our first two days in Austria.

Today was cloudy but there was no rain in the hourly forecast and supposedly it would become sunny later in the day (it never did!). That sounded fine so off we went. We started with a quick Deutsche Bahn (DB) train ride from Seefeld north to the Austrian town of Scharnitz. We got off the train around 10:15 and headed into town to find the trailhead for today’s planned invasion of Bavaria.

Along the way we passed a surreal classic car restoration shop and dealership with a showroom packed full of iconic sports cars (and even an awesome VW bus). Finally on the trail after wiping Stuart’s handprints from the showroom windows, we picked up today’s trail and headed north into Germany. The trail took us five miles northeast through a forest and beside the river Isar to the scenic tourist town of Mittenwald.

Mittenwald is the quintessential Bavarian tourist town complete with beautiful mountain scenery, intricately painted buildings, lots of small shops, and even a cable car to easily access a nearby peak. The town is 80 kilometers south of Munich and lies on the valley floor between the Karwendel and Wetterstein mountains. Think ‘Garmisch’ but with far fewer tourists and a lot less traffic.

Upon arriving in Mittenwald we instinctively headed for the town center. We found our restaurant, La Viola Pizzeria, just a block away from the main square. It was rather amusing to find this authentic slice of Italy in the heart of Bavaria after spending so much time in the Dolomites, a strongly Germanic region of Italy.

We ordered a pair of lagers from the local Brauerei Mittenwald and decided to split a pizza, their Quattro Stagioni or ‘Four Seasons’. Their version of this pizza featured ham, salami, mushrooms, and artichokes. We asked for some chili-infused olive oil to go with the pizza expecting, as usual, bottles of some retail product. Instead the waiter delivered small ramekins containing two of their own in-house oils – one was a rather anti-social garlic blend while the other was an eye-watering red chili concoction that deserved warning labels. The latter was stellar, but inevitably led to us order a hazelnut ice cream dessert to help tame the fire!

After lunch we strolled through the old town and marveled at the intricate frescoes painted on so many of the buildings. This trademark regional artwork, known as ‘Lüftelmalerei’, has to be seen to be believed. The themes are often religious, but the art may also depict ordinary farming tasks, family history, and even trompe-l’œil architectural details.

On the way back to the trailhead we just happened to walk past the Brauerei Mittenwald’s production facility, which included an outlet store and gift shop. We felt compelled to stop in and buy a souvenir, so now we can honestly say that we came, we drank, we got the T-shirt.

Today wasn’t a short hike – we covered 10.6 miles on a mix of pavement, fine gravel, packed snow, and even some tricky ice in less than 4 hours. Tomorrow we’re planning a shorter hike but with a lot more elevation and reportedly some of the best views in the area – we’ll see if that’s true!

For Innichen’s main page click here.

For Seefeld’s main page click here.

For the entire trip’s main page click here.