Southern Germany/Austria border late Jan/Feb

[mmmarmalade]

I bookmarked a place on Google maps a few years ago but have lost the website where I saw the holiday booking but I'm sure I can find something. I thought Christmas would be too expensive but I wanted to experience a wintery landscape but not go skiing - we will want to do some walking though. I wondered if anyone else had been to this region for a holiday and enjoyed it. It's Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/83486+Ramsau+bei+Berchtesgaden,+Germany/@47.5988637,12.6793566,10.5z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x4776f1ebbdeca7a7:0x41d25a40937b7d0!8m2!3d47.6057005!4d12.9105875!16zL20vMDdsMHN6?authuser=1&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgxMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

I haven't been, but are you aware of the Eagle's Nest close to Berchtesgaden? It was Hitler's bolthole, and is supposed to be fascinating in terms of history, but also very beautiful.

I do know that Berchtesgaden itself is supposed to be a lovely little resort town (did quite a bit of research for a visit we never made).

Oh, also- unless you're driving or hiring a car, maybe Berchtesgaden itself would work better, as it has a station?

I visited Ramsau last summer. Not much to do, a small town strung out along one road, but a nice base particularly if you will have a car. Berchtesgaden maybe better if no car. We stayed nearby at a little village called Hintersee, overlooking the lake of the same name, which would be lovely to see in winter with the high mountains behind it. You can walk around it and (in the summer at least) walk through the woods and along the river to Ramsau. The whole area is very beautiful, quite traditional and undeveloped, steep mountains but no ski resorts as it's a national park. In winter you could go on a boat trip on Konigsee and get the Jennerbahn cable car up to the viewpoint. I didn't visit Berchtesgaden old town but understand it's pretty. Salzburg is quite nearby too.

We had a week in Garmischpartenkirchen last year. It was summer so hot and we did lots of hiking but there were cable cars and things and our hotel had an indoor spa so it could be a great winter destination. It was very beautiful.

Oh yes, Garmisch or Grainau nearby would be great. Very beautiful but with more services and choice of things to do. Look up the Zugspitzbahn and Eibsee.

TBH I didn't realise - I know the place you are referring to. I'll look it up - not sure I feel inclined to want to visit TBH even if it is open to the public although... I can have my mind changed.

Actually this makes a lot of sense - I think I'll look closer at that. Thanks for pointing that out. I have at most 7 night between work - I wish it was a few days longer but no holidays left after Christmas.

I wasn't thinking of hiring a car - I was just hoping to keep it simple and get around on foot or snowshoe - I always think you can't see everything in one visit and it ruins it trying too hard to see everything - plus I'm going for the snowy scenery and I'm maybe not so excited about driving in it.

You paint a nice picture - I'm all for a quiet week - wandering around - I've done enough sight seeing in my time not to feel the urge to see buildings and museums, etc - I just want quite downtime in a beautiful place.

This is what I'm dreaming of - lots of walking and the cable cars would expand the possibilities.

Thanks - this is worth thinking about. I'm glad I posted!

I've not been round there but have done summer walking holidays in the Austrian Tyrol. AFAIK, the cable cars are mainly in areas where there is winter skiing - so I am not sure how much walking you'd be able to do in winter using them (as you'd basically be on ski slopes, though there are often cafes at the top stations). The hotels often have nice spas but again are set up for ski-ers in winter. So I would check what the walking in the valleys, if any, is like, and what other non-ski activities there are, and pick your location accordingly. It is all absurdly beautiful 😀.