This is how "overtourism" works. A bridge crosses the Pöllat Gorge above Neuschwanstein Castle, probably Bavaria's greatest attraction. And this bridge offers a sensational - or even the only true? - perspective of the castle.
More than 350,000 people have posted their Neuschwanstein photo on Instagram so far. The "Marienbrücke" location is hard to beat. Even those who simply want to look down the valley from the bridge are thwarted on weekends by a revolving door with a digital display and two security guards. Want a view? Please join the queue! And watch out for the pile of selfie sticks!
How fortunate that the modern bicycle with its chain drive was invented at the same time as Neuschwanstein was built at the end of the 19th century. Anyone travelling on a contemporary version of it will have already inhaled so much beauty on the way that the supposed "fairytale castle" at the stage stop in Füssen can be dispensed with. The castle is pretty much the westernmost corner of the Ammergau Alps. Although they are not exactly undiscovered, they are so inhospitable that their core area has remained almost uninhabited. Even on the well-maintained cycle paths around and in the centre, some things look as exaggeratedly Bavarian as the motif of a savings bank calendar.
Ammergau Alps - Seaward on gravel
Just a few kilometres after the start, the Loisach flows in milky turquoise from a valley that seems to aim straight for the almost 3000 metre high limestone mountains around Garmisch. The fact that the main road runs only a hundred metres away at times goes unnoticed. It is obscured by dense foliage. And when the eye is so overwhelmed by Bavarian splendour, the ear obviously has a break. The agricultural roads in the Loisach Valley soon utilise the entire, wide valley floor to wind their way southwards on an almost perfectly flat surface.
But just as the Garmisch ski jump comes into view, the Loisach takes a bend to the right and turns off to where the mountains come together. A visual change of programme. The river, which was just knee-deep a moment ago, washes boulders the size of fridges round with impressive waves. A few kayakers with colourful, absurdly short plastic boats find their line in between, but the hustle and bustle of Garmisch has long since seeped away somewhere.
Directly on the German-Austrian border, the cycle route temporarily leaves the populated area behind. The gravel path up to Plansee is shared by mountain bikers and touring cyclists, hikers and pensioners on folding e-bikes. Gravel crunches, breath wheezes. Late summer splendour with yellow sycamore leaves, dark green fir trees and a long, clear lake that has long been too cold for swimming. It's a good thing the excursion boats are still running: Motorbike noise roars through the valley from the lakeside road. You are allowed to ride there, just like the motorcyclists. But it would be a shame to let a few kilometres of road with an anxiously tense neck spoil your indulgence in beauty. Instead, your head circles on board the small boat to scan the Ammergau panorama as completely as possible.
Our second day in the Ammergau Alps
The second stage takes it easy anyway. The shores of Lake Forggensee are perfect for rolling in. Flat undulating terrain, grazed by grey-brown cows, with the shady northern sides of several Allgäu and Tyrolean mountains jutting upwards as you look south. Sailing boats wait for the wind, stand-up paddlers hope it doesn't come, cyclists sit on the grass and marvel: Forggensee is Germany's largest reservoir, built in the 1950s. But it looks as if it has always been here. The Lech, the western border of the Ammergau Alps, flows through it. And that means: back to the east, back to the Loisach.
The line of Ammergau rocky peaks ends at Forggensee. The Lechtal valley widens northwards into the model railway landscape of the Ostallgäu. The mountains ripple out, almost without forest, but velvety green. But down there, there would be more roads, more people, less peace and quiet. In the middle of a cow pasture, the gravel road turns right uphill, back into the mountain forest, back into the greenery. Perhaps 50 metres above the Lech valley, we close the last cattle gate. Looking back: another page for the savings bank calendar. Very small, at the very back and light grey in the dark fir: Neuschwanstein. Where they will be queuing again to take their photo.
The route of the short trip through the Ammergau Alps
Ammergau Alps - Info
Arrival
Conveniently by train. The starting point in Eschenlohe is on the Munich - Garmisch railway line and is served every hour.
Best time to travel
May to the end of October. The tour climbs up to around 1000 metres. The snow can remain there for a long time. The Plansee boats run from the end of May to mid-October.
Accommodation
Old Kings Design Hostel, Franziskanergasse 2, Füssen, Tel. 08362/8839115.
They speak (mainly) English: a handful of rooms in a modern, renovated, ancient house in the car-free old town are the "Old Kings Design Hostel". If you can do without a private bathroom, you can stay here cheaply (from 20 euros!) and casually.
Bike service
Zacherl and Müller, Kemptener Straße 29, Füssen. Tel. 08362/3292.
Food & Drink
In a town like Füssen with 1.5 million overnight stays, there are probably no insider tips. The "Il Pescatore" in the old town is more than just a simple pizzeria and is rightly full every evening. Make sure you book! Franziskanergasse 13, tel. 08362/ 924343.
Map
The official leisure map covers almost the entire area: Bayerisches Landesamt für Digitalisierung, Breitband und Vermessung UK 50 "Werdenfelser Land/Ammergauer Alpen", 1:50,000
Tour character
Even though the stages are moderately long, this Ammergau tour is more of an advanced tour. It leads over longer stretches on gravel roads with a medium gradient. It is not a mountain bike tour, but a gear ratio suitable for mountain biking and tyres at least 40 millimetres wide are recommended.
Ammergau Alps - Day 1
Eschenlohe - Loisach cycle path - Garmisch - Plansee - Reutte - Alpsee - Füssen
74 kilometres, 650 metres in altitude, approx. 12 per cent Maximum gradient
Track condition: Alternating between tarmac and fine gravel. One steep gravel climb between Griesen and Plansee, a second from Pinswang to Alpsee. Boat passage across the Plansee: Hotel Forelle to Seespitze six times a day, 7 euros per person/5 euros per bike (www.fischeramsee.at).
Between Eschenlohe and Garmisch, the Loisach cycle path has no alternative but to enjoy the views: the Zugspitze and Alpspitze are in our line of sight. After Garmisch, we leave the cycle path and stay on the north side of the Loisach for as long as possible. This is nicer, but also much gravelier than the cycle path along the main road. Great passage through the Neidernach valley up to Plansee. The boat passage to the Hotel Seespitze is beautiful and avoids the motorbike-infested lakeside road; the south bank is a rooted hiking trail. If you are already weakened in Reutte, follow the cycle path in the Lechtal valley to Füssen. The "Fürstenstraße" on the north side of the Alpsee is more beautiful (150 metres extra elevation gain, view of Neuschwanstein Castle).
Ammergau Alps - Day 2
Füssen - Forggensee - Trauchgau - Bad Kohlgrub - Grafenaschau - Eschenlohe
54 kilometres, 450 metres in altitude, 10 percent maximum gradient
Track condition: Alternating tarmac and fine gravel. Almost traffic-free cycle path along the shore of Lake Forggensee, then uphill on a forest road to Grafenaschau. After relaxed cruising along the shores of Lake Forggensee, the route crosses the main road and gradually climbs up into the forests of the northern Ammergau Alps on the other side. This takes place on designated cycle routes and is also suitable for gravel-sceptics. If you want to take in a tourist highlight, take the cul-de-sac to the Wieskirche, a famous Baroque centrepiece. A very scenic rest stop, the Café Habersetzer in Grafenaschau, is waiting just before the finish. The Murnauer Moos nature reserve is easy to explore on foot from there.
