Back to the Alps

We first visited Berchtesgaden National Park in 2017, during our final trip to Europe before moving back to the States. The mountains left such an impression that we've been keen to return ever since — and we finally did, in May 2026.

We try to break up the journey between Leonidio and Boulder for the sake of the cats; a 22-hour travel day is rough on them. So rather than just passing through, we decided to extend our layover and spend two weeks hiking around Berchtesgaden.

Most days meant big alpine hikes with the goal of hitting a hut along the way. Huts are magical places — often perched on a precipice with stunning views, they're a welcome sight after hours of grinding uphill. We sampled plenty of traditional German mountain food: knödel, schnitzel, always a Radler (beer mixed with lemonade), and never skipping cake for dessert.

It took us a decade to make it back the first time, but we're already plotting our return — maybe just a few months away!

Being early in the season, the upper reaches still held patches of snow.

No hike was complete without a hut stop.

We also squeezed in a few Klettersteigs — exposed routes equipped with fixed cables, steel pegs, and ladders to help you through technical terrain. Progress is slow; we covered barely a mile in two hours. The early-season snow patches buried a lot of the hardware along the way, which added its own layer of excitement.

Quintessential alps. The last photo is of the small town we stayed in Austria.

We can't wait to come back and keep exploring this area!