The Überking castle is closed. You struggle 900 metres up the mountain in the sweat of your brow - albeit with an electric tailwind - and then you find yourself standing in front of closed doors. Instead of a beer, a deckchair and a tour of the castle, there's an acute case of whingeing among the kids. My wife rolls her eyes meaningfully. And I spontaneously feel like some primal scream therapy. The Schachenschloss - the least known and, for me, most beautiful building of the Bavarian fairytale king Ludwig II - is closed due to corona. And the hut next door too. Fantastic! But right from the start ...
The plan was a very simple one: a weekend in a mountain hut with the family. Pack up the two kids on Saturday, bike up from Garmisch to the Schachenhaus, a proper evening in the hut, an early night in the dormitory and back down and home again on Sunday after breakfast in the mountains. So far, so theoretical. Because, firstly, everything turns out differently. And secondly, things turn out differently than you think: our big girl suddenly doesn't feel like it and prefers to visit the other 14-year-old puberty animal in the neighbouring monkey circus. The little one, Sophie (12), wants to take her favourite cousin with her instead. Antonia is nine. She loves riding the ponies Flori and Nori, but hasn't been riding her Cube for that long. What's more, the little cousin doesn't want to spend the night without her own bed. So another change of plan: a day trip! The girls are both sporty, my wife Tanja is anyway, and we have e-mountain bikes. At least the older ones do. I borrow a lady bike in XS for Sophie, but Antonia will have to ride her usual 24-inch children's bike for better or worse. The plan: I give her a short leash.
Murphy must be a railway passenger. Deutsche Bahn has two peculiarities. Firstly, it likes to be late. And secondly: if it's not, it leaves exactly to the second. Just like us. When we arrive at the platform in a hurry, the red tail lights of our train are only the size of a pinhead in the distance. "But the next train will be here in an hour," Sophie says cheerfully. And she's right. Compared to a train compartment with children, skittles and e-bikes on a sunny Saturday towards Garmisch, a sardine tin is a ballroom. But the car wouldn't be an alternative in our case. Our car would have been hopelessly overloaded with three e-bikes and a normal bike. Not everyone has a Sprinter as a family coach.
E-bike tour to the Schachenhaus: firstly different, and secondly more than you think
Murphy, the second: the path along the Ferchenbach is closed. I actually wanted to go from Garmisch into the Reintal and through the back door to Schloss Elmau and on to the Schachenhaus. But Murphy has something against it. The warning sign doesn't allow any negotiations, and the internet also knows: no way. What to do? We roll back to the railway station in Garmisch and take the train to Klais. It would have been a laugh! Three hours later than planned, we're finally in the saddle on Saturday afternoon. I click on my borrowed TowWhee tow rope - and off we go on a wild ride! Antonia behind me cheers like she's on a merry-go-round. Everything's going to be fine now! I'm amazed at how well the bungee cord works. No jerking when starting off. And at our travelling speed of a good 10 km/h uphill, I hardly notice that my niece is hanging on the rope. Until now, I've always helped myself with a cut-open inner tube when towing. Never again in future, guaranteed. And Murphy can go fuck himself from now on!
The tour from the hikers' car park at the G7-Schlosshotel Elmau up to the Schachenschloss is quite bland at first. An overly wide forest track winds its way through the dense Schachen forest to a small pass. Behind it, however, a well-hidden little paradise suddenly opens up: the Wettersteinalm. Normally, dozens of bikers and hikers bustle around here on sunny Saturdays. In summer, the rustic mountain hut is run by Sophie's former ski trainer Muggi. But today it's dead calm. I have a bad feeling as we continue up towards the Schachenhaus. At least the two girls are having a great time. We take our time, taking breaks from time to time. Tanja has made provisions - and conjures up the best distractions in the world from her rucksack: apples, dates, Cliffbars in all possible and impossible flavours - and vegan snacks.
flavours - and vegan jelly babies. This keeps the kids happy. And the grown-ups can take in the view from the "Brotzeitbankerl" on the "Steilenberg" - twice nomen est omen: A good 1000 metres below, the windows of Garmisch-Partenkirchen glimmer in the afternoon sun. In the distance, you can see Murnau and even Lake Starnberg in the far distance. This is where the Kini perished 136 years ago. Nobody knows whether it was suicide or murder.
What I do know is that my battery is slowly but surely giving up the ghost. Perhaps I shouldn't have taken the issue of power management lightly? Maybe I should have used Eco mode rather than Turbo mode more often? Maybe the 900 metres in altitude - plus the 200 from Klais station to Elmau - are just too much for my heavyweight towing service? I stare at my battery bars like a rabbit at a snake. The uphill sucks juice like a bee sucks nectar. At Schachensee - the castle already in sight - I make a bargain with myself: If the battery lasts to the top, there'll be ice cream for everyone in Garmisch later. It holds. With hanging and choking.
Unexpectedly, the Schachenhaus is closed
And then this: the Überking's lock is closed. No beer. No deckchair. No tour of the castle. No "Turkish hall" with golden water pipes from a thousand and one nights. Instead, acute whingeing and eye-rolling. Murphy, so he's back. But we make the best of the bad: A snack in front of the castle. With no hikers around us. Just the four of us and the royal aura. "Come on, let's go over there to the viewpoint," Sophie suggests to her little cousin. And they are gone. The Reintal valley cuts into the Wetterstein limestone like a giant's laugh line. At the far end is the Reintalangerhütte. Decades ago, my wife and I vowed to cycle up there once every summer. We didn't keep our vow, but what the heck. Antonia and Sophie are already back from their little excursion. Not a trace of displeasure, quite the opposite. They hop around the castle like Pippi and Annika and are very "full of life", as Sophie likes to say. "Next year we'll spend the night here!" Antonia decides. "But then Magdalena has to come too!" Let's see if Sophie's big sister can be persuaded. And let's see how we can get the whole family electrified. Cousin included.
E-bike family tour to the Schachenschloss
The tour: 21.2 km - 950 m elevation gain - 2:30 h
Start at the hikers' car park at Schloss Elmau at an altitude of 1000 metres or, for rail travellers, at Klais station (plus 13.5 km/250 m return). Without warning, the road leads high above the Elmauer Bach stream to the Bannholzweg trail and through the Wetterstein forest to the managed Wettersteinalm (1464 m). After the refreshment stop, the trail becomes steeper and bumpier around the Steilenberg. Once you reach the Schnitzbankerl bench, the Schachenweg trail flattens out and takes you past the Schachensee lake with its panoramic views to the Schachenschloss castle, which can be seen from afar, with its catering facilities. Schachenhaus (1866 m). Must-see programme: the nearby Schachen Castle of King Ludwig II and the Botanical Alpine Garden. The descent follows the same route. Rail travellers cycle further down to Ferchenbach at the hiking car park and reach the railway station in Garmisch via Graseck and a very steep asphalt descent.
Tips for parents & kids
- Well prepared is half the battle! The number one source of frustration on family trips is solid tour planning. Clarify important W-questions before the start of the trip: Who is coming along? What does everyone expect? How fit is everyone in terms of fitness and riding technique? What challenges await us? What will the weather be like? Where are the refreshment stops, shortcuts, points of no return and first aid packs?
- Less is always more on family tours. So shift down two gears. In every respect. Fewer kilometres, fewer metres in altitude, but more breaks, more fun, more entertainment programme. Less makes sense, especially when it comes to weight: the lighter the children's bike, the better. And the child's rucksack should weigh a maximum of ten per cent of their body weight. Very important: lose time, don't gain it!
- The group is as strong as the weakest, which is usually the youngest child. You should therefore give them special support. Keyword: tow rope. With bungee systems, such as the market leader TowWhee (115 g; 50 euros), you can quickly click two bikes together and simply tow the child away. The tow rope works absolutely smoothly.
