The One with Königssee, Germany

Our last stop was Königssee (King's Lake) in Berchetsgaden, Germany. When we first moved here and I became instagram friends with my friends I looked through their pictures to find places we should visit and found Königssee. A definite "must see!" It's only 15 minutes from Salzburg so we added it to our trip for the last day. We left the apartment we stayed at in the morning and drove the short way to the town of Schönau am Königssee. We parked and then walked where everyone else was walking cuz we didn't really know where we were going. We passed through the cutest Bavarian town.

You don't see buildings like this everyday! Well, I guess in Germany you do, but not back home! Except in Leavenworth, WA :)

Chris bought our tickets and then we waited for our boat.

Königssee is Germany's 3rd deepest lake. Located at a Jurassic rift, it was formed by glaciers during the last ice age. It stretches about 4.8 miles in the north-south direction and is about 1.1 miles across at its widest point. The lake is noted for its clear water and is advertised as the cleanest lake in Germany. For this reason, only electric-powered passenger ships, rowing, and pedal boats have been permitted on the lake since 1909. Due to its picturesque setting, the lake and surrounding parklands are very popular with tourists and hikers.

Oh my goodness these two. They were quite rambunctious on the 35 minute boat ride.

A little island with a statue and bench.

Supreme waterfall.

In the middle of the lake the boat suddenly stopped. I wondered what was going on. Then a worker busted out a trumpet and started playing! Apparently the lake's position surrounded by sheer rock walls creates an echo which is known for its clarity. So on boat tours it has become tradition to stop and play a flugelhorn or trumpet to demonstrate the echo. Formerly demonstrated by shooting a canon, it can be heard to reverberate up to seven times. Somehow the stars aligned and Fox and Jane were pretty quiet during the routine.
Neato :)

I spy St. Bartholomew's Church way out there!

What a setting for a church!

Fox and Chris. Me and Jane. Riding a boat.

We made it! Oh what a pretty place!

We wanted to catch the next boat back to the mainland so we hurried over to the church.

St. Bartholomew's is a Roman Catholic pilgrimage church and is named after Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, patron of alpine farmers and dairymen. The first chapel at the lake was built in 1134 by the Provosts of Berchtesgaden. In 1697 it was rebuilt in a Baroque style with a floor plan modeled after the Salzburg Cathedral, two onion domes and a red domed roof. The church features stucco work by the Salzburg artist Joseph Schmidt and a three-apse choir. The altars in the apses are consecrated to Saint Bartholomew, Saint Catherine, and Saint James respectively. Near the chapel lies the old hunting lodge of the same name. The lodge, which was first erected in the 12th century with the church, has been rebuilt several times. Until 1803 it was a private residence of the Berchtesgaden Prince-provosts; after their territory had been incorporated into the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1810 the building became a favorite hunting lodge of the ruling House of Wittelsbach; today it is an inn. Our family at St. Bartholomew's on Monday May 26th, 2014.

Angled mountains with snow in the crevices. | A teeny little cabin jutted up against the mountain.  Soooooo pretty.

The top of St. Bartholomew's. | Inside the boat on the way back.  We got on the retuning boat and waved goodbye to St. Bartholomew's!

Snack time! Jane loves apples. She eats them whole.

Fox loves them too, but he doesn't eat the core.

View of Schönau am Königssee.

Back on land we walked up the streets and got some sweets like ice cream and sugared waffles.

We had plans to go to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, but we were out of moola and kinda tired from the trip so we just drove home. It's not too far away, we can come back and give it a good lookover. 

Another wonderful trip!