Arriving in Schliersee
It is holiday season in Germany and this year this means, it is very hot. To get away from the heat at least a little, the younger one and I decided to go for a hike in the nearby mountains. Equipped with our Deuter Kid Comfort III child carrier, a lot of water, sunscreen and uv-protection wear we were good to go. We took the morning BOB (Bayersiche Oberlandbahn) towards Bayrischzell. The one-hour train journey is very pleasant. The scenery along the way is nice and there is always something to see. Thus, the journey does not become boring and my kid entertainment skills were not yet necessary. A good thing, because I was sure, they would be required later during the day. After around one hour we arrived at the beautiful Schliersee. There was hardly any cloud in the blue sky.
The Ascent
High above the majestic lake was our first destination – the Schliersbergalm. The roughly three kilometers climb is steep. The younger one in the child carrier meant about 20 additional kg to carry. In this sun, I felt every single kg! The good thing about the Deuter Kid Comfort III is that it has an integrated sun cover. This kept the younger one from melting like a snowman. Indeed, he felt so comfortable he fell asleep soon after we started our ascent to the Schliersbergalm. Along the way up the hill there are many places that figuratively urge you to take some picture of the valley with the lake Schiersee in its centre. I could not resist that temptation and stopped several times.
Reaching the Schliersbergalm
We reached the Schliersbergalm within one hour and the younger one was still asleep. I figured this would be my only chance to eat in peace. The Schliersbergalm has a hotel with a restaurant and a self-service Biergarten. Whenever I go there I see several people in the open-air area of the restaurant. However, the self-service Biergarten is definitely my preferred choice. The food variety may not be the largest, but there should be something for everybody. Even vegetarians will find something – which is not always the case in Bavaria. What makes the Schliersbergalm such a great place to go with kids is the fairly large playground. The older one already liked this playground a lot in the past and this time it was the younger one who did not want to leave this place anymore. There even is a toboggan run for the summer.
The Mountain Path towards Neuhaus
We stayed for almost two hours. Then we had to move on, because I decided, that we take the mountain path towards Neuhaus. I had never walked this path and therefore I was very curious. The first sign indicated it would take us around 1¾ hours. I figured that should be ok for both of us. Surprisingly the next sign we reached indicated it would take 2¼ hours from there. That was somehow awkward as I was sure, we did not circle around. A look at the GPS later confirmed my assumption. The story continued with signs and durations until Neuhaus that seemed to be chosen a bit randomly. However, even though there my kid entertainment skills were required, the walk was definitely worth it. It is a beautiful scenery and a very calm and peaceful atmosphere.
The Descent
When Neuhaus was finally in sight – after around 2¼ hours ;), I decided to take a shortcut to Fischhausen. After walking for some hours in this heat it was time for a refreshing jump into the lake Schliersee. With this in mind we descended having once again a beautiful view over the lake. These views alone are worth the effort. Arriving at the lake we did not lose any time to get into the water. For the younger one it was a bit cold. For me – well, after carrying him for more than three hours up and down the hill, there are no words to describe how good it felt! We spent another hour at the lake, before it was time to head on to the train station and take the BOB back to Munich.
Summary
The trip to the Schliersbergalm is good and easy day trip. In case you only go up to Schliersbergalm you can do that easily with younger kids and even a stroller. On top of that, there is a cable car from Schliersee to the Schliersbergalm. I have never used it, but it looks marvelous. The mountain path, however, I would not recommend for smaller kids, because it is a bit long (10 km). You can definitely not use a stroller on some parts of the mountain path.