Very nice pictures. The water in that lake is so clear, I bet it is perfectly drinkable. Did you start your tour from South Tyrol or Trentino?
Vielen dank! Water very clear. (Edit: there were 'gopher' type ground dwelling mammals around that lake. Forget the correct name. Was very funny. Could have played 'whack-a-mole' with them!) I filtered water through a Milbank bag while there if needed. Some Refugios, up on the peaks, just have a lake to draw from. Only took water as high up a slope as possible for health reason. Am still alive. (Northern Norway the lakes are 100% potable and tastes sweet! Life as it should be in a perfect world.)
Trentino.
My route was something like:
Bolzano, Rosengarten, Puez, Fanes, Tures, Laveredo, Cortina then back to Bolzano.
Most of it on foot but a few buses to jump off and only one cable car, down. Some days we would push on to climb up into a new range at end of long day to get to a refugio ready for next day. Think one day we must've done about 30km and up to 3km altitude. Very tired but boy...what lovely beer/lemonade/anything at the end of the day! We even had some nights out in Cortina after to meet the locals!
Fanes was probably my favourite area. Big area. It is a natural 'bowl' and so hard to get into so you appreciate being there, meet interesting people. Very peaceful. Very beautiful.
Stone Roses - Sawmills Footage - Recording of Fools Gold - YouTube
Allgäuer Alpen are beautiful, however, there is only one tiny glacier there. If glaciers (called Ferner in Bavaria and Tyrol) are what you're after, the Stubaier Alpen are a great place. I can recommend the Westfalenhaus, a large hut at 2300 meters, reached by bus (takes one hour) from Innsbruck to Praxmar (tiny village, 1600 meters) and then a 3 hour easy walk. From there you can walk right up to and even unto a glacier, go up the Zischgelesspitze (3004 meters, one of the easiest 3000 meter peaks in the Alps, no climbing equipment required) and reach several huts within a few hours, with spectacular views on the way. All in all, an easily accessible area with great opportunities!I second Jumping Jack's suggestion about the Karwendelgebirge and Mittenwald being a good place to start. My mum is from southern Bavaria, and I spent a lot of time there as a child, and still have aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. spread out from Munich to Füssen to Mittenwald. However, the greatest number of huts can be found in the Allgäuer Alpen, thus it might be easiest to find accommodation there. Some of the huts listed under Allgäuer Alpen will be located in Austria due to the nature of the border.
Allgäuer Alpen are beautiful, however, there is only one tiny glacier there. If glaciers (called Ferner in Bavaria and Tyrol) are what you're after, the Stubaier Alpen are a great place. I can recommend the Westfalenhaus, a large hut at 2300 meters, reached by bus (takes one hour) from Innsbruck to Praxmar (tiny village, 1600 meters) and then a 3 hour easy walk. From there you can walk right up to and even unto a glacier, go up the Zischgelesspitze (3004 meters, one of the easiest 3000 meter peaks in the Alps, no climbing equipment required) and reach several huts within a few hours, with spectacular views on the way. All in all, an easily accessible area with great opportunities!
We should start an Arrse Hiking Club for ex geriatric hikers - this will give us an excuse to A. Get out of the house and B. Spend money on shiny hiking things.
Youth hostels are generally a good, safe, clean, and inexpensive choice. You really can't go wrong. Most even include German breakfast, but you can always get some excellent pastries, rolls, etc. at a local bakery if the breakfast offering does not meet your personal standards. No bacon, baked beans, and grilled tomatoes though, I am afraid .
@Murse,
Ordnungsliebe -- you really have to let that one roll off your tongue. You might even combine it with Pünktlichkeit. Ordnungsliebe und Pünktlichkeit -- lovely. Agree with you about DB though, although I haven't had bad experiences with National Rails and Heathrow Express.
Cheers,
Hespera (who made Kedgeree for breakfast today)