This Quaint Town is a Hidden Gem in Germany

At first glance, did you think this was from a lake in Italy or Switzerland? If you've guessed either well I'll have you know it's actually in Germany! Not what you would usually expect when the first thoughts that cross your mind about Germany seem to be beer, brats, castles, and medieval towns. Of course, there is so so much more to Germany than those awesome four features so let me introduce you to this town in the Alpenregion of Germany.

This lake town is called Tegernsee and it's located near the Alps, a little over 45 minutes away from Munich by car. Sure, I've been to a few lakes and beaches (yes, beaches) in Germany but they don't compare to this one. Sorry Eibsee and Walchensee! Although they're wonderful lakes to visit, I loved the atmosphere and that strolling-on-the-boardwalk feel Tegernsee gave me.​

I truly stumbled upon this town on a beautiful Sunday as I only had intentions to hike around the outskirts of the lake on that day. There were many hiking trails ranging from easy to difficult. Some trails were able to be completed under two hours and some well over four hours. I decided to do part of a trail called the Panorama Wanderweg am Tegernsee in which I started at the Strandbad Parkplatz near Gmund. Parking was 3 Euro for the day (until 1800 hrs) and it's right by the train tracks. The portion that I hiked was fairly easy with small inclines, a hike that children are welcomed on. I passed by a few families with kids and older couples who often greeted me with the traditional "Grüß Gott" or "Servus".

Once I hiked into the town, I realized Tegernsee seemed to be the chill spot during warm sunny days in Southern Bavaria. If you weren't hiking, you were out sunbathing and jumping off the diving board into the aqua blue water! And if you don't want to actually be in the water, I found that others were renting small boats, rowing their paddle boards, or taking a cruise tour to the different points of the lake. This timetable shares the times and cruise lines that are offered during the year. There were also museums, the Rathaus and Spielgolf (they said not to call it mini golf, so I won't for this blog post, but essentially that was what it was).

Since I didn't bring any swimwear or a towel, I opted out of the sunbathing and swimming and decided to just take it all in. There was not a cloud in sight and the aqua blue water seemed to glisten a little more as the sun started to go down. I made it a point to just pick one of the many lakefront cafes and relax for a bit with a local Weißbier. My favorite part of this town, aside from the lake itself, was the beer hall or Bräustüberl and seeing everyone dressed up in their traditional dirndl and lederhosen clinking their maß biers!

Don't have anything to do on a beautiful Sunday? I strongly encourage a day trip or even a weekend trip to Tegernsee.

Travel time by car from Grafenwöhr- 2,5 hours; Hohenfels- 2 hours; Garmisch-Partenkirchen- 1 hour