Königssee - Karlingerhaus - Saletalm

We reached our stop, near the little church of Bartholomew. I so wanted to go for a swim; the water was such an incredibly beautiful color. And I also really wanted to cool off. Along the path by the lake, we walked farther in, where there were almost no people left, got undressed, and into the water!

We walk along the lake

Near the shore the water was warm, but just a little deeper it was really very cold. But how pleasant it was to take a dip! New strength appeared to keep going - at last our ascent into the mountains began.

There were almost no people on the trail, only lone travelers were heading down — apparently hurrying to catch the boat. But we did see wild mountain goats. Some of them turned out to be completely fearless.

A real break with lunch (or rather, to be honest, with dinner) was finally taken quite late in the evening. From the very start of the ascent, Volchy had been dreaming of a bun with meat, but there was never any beautiful, suitable place for lunch. After a long, very exhausting climb, we came out into open terrain. We chose a large rock for our break.

From our dinner spot to the cabin where we were going to spend the night, it was just over an hour’s walk.

Our little house on the horizon

We were probably among the very last to arrive at the hut. I had booked 2 places in a large room, for a lower price. But the girl at the reception said that since we arrived very late, only places in 4-bed rooms were left, and they were more expensive. I showed her our booking, she agreed that it was their mistake, and we got places in a 4-bed room at the price of a large room. At first there were just the two of us there, but later another girl arrived.

We sat on the veranda in front of the house, drinking tea with cookies. How good it was that Volchiy brought a stove and we managed to buy gas! After 10 p.m., the hut staff began actively asking guests to go to sleep. In the mountains, it’s important to keep to the schedule — lights out and silence at 10 p.m.

It was so joyful to sleep in the mountains, yet with comfort and warmth.

Our room in the cottage

It rained all night. And it hadn’t stopped by morning. We had to have breakfast not outside, but in the dining room. On the table near the reception there was a barrel of hot water, though there was almost no water in it. Many travelers had already left. The others were busily getting ready to go. It was clear that we had come for breakfast last. I asked the lady in the kitchen for some hot water; she grumbled that breakfast time was already over, but she poured some into the barrel anyway :) That’s how we managed to have tea before setting off (we didn’t want to use the stove indoors).

I fill up with water for the road, thanking the house for its coziness and warmth

If you keep walking for some time under a steady drizzling rain, you get used to it. The rain would sometimes intensify, then stop, but only for a very short while. Our path led downhill to the lake, to another station, from where we planned to return to the parking lot by boat.

Initially, we planned to descend to the lake by the shortest route. But at the next fork, Volchy said he had an idea. The idea was to take another, longer route, which by our rough estimates would take 2-3 hours longer than the original one.

By that time, we were already quite tired. Volchy agreed to make me some tea, knowing that it would be harder to persuade me to take the long route on an empty stomach. Sheltering from the rain under a spreading tree, we heated water and finished the cookies. Tea and cookies had a beneficial effect on me. I rested, regained my strength, and it was decided to take the longer route. Of course, we had no idea what was waiting for us there :)

We saw a salamander. It was sitting motionless. I even began to wonder whether it was alive. But then it finally blinked.

We came out to a small mountain lake. Apparently, the rains had washed away the proper path, and we made our way along little logs.

I was surprised that, despite the rain, I really like it in the mountains. It was so beautiful all around. Trees wrapped in clouds. Quiet, warm. The greenery seemed even brighter because of the gray clouds. We kept walking and walking.

Very beautiful. And no one around. Just us.

Ahead of us lay a steep descent, we knew that. However, the descent turned out to be even steeper than we had thought. The path ran along the mountainside, and often iron cables were stretched along the mountain, which were convenient to hold onto so as not to fly into the abyss.

Several times the path was crossed by waterfalls, which was fun.

But we were rewarded with a very, very beautiful view of two lakes.

The lake farther away is a glimpse of Königssee, and the one closer by is the small lake Obersee.

This view, and this trail in general, was the best thing that could have happened to us on this hike.

I was so grateful to Volchy for persuading me to make the “detour”.

Finally descended into the valley

Because we were descending slowly, it seemed to me that we would not make it to the last boat. This thought made me a little nervous, because it was unclear what to do in that case. But then I somehow even managed to relax and almost stop worrying. I thought — I still can’t go faster than I’m going. It will be what it will be. We’ll deal with problems as they come.

When we descended into the valley, we saw tourists strolling around idly. It became clear to us that we would make it to the boat — all these people in shorts and T-shirts couldn’t possibly stay here overnight. And so it was; apparently I had mixed up the time of the last boat. We made it comfortably. What a relief it was to get on the boat!