The Free State in the south of the republic offers manifold possibilities for an active and restful winter holiday and awaits you with charming landscapes and luxurious hotels. Winter sports and wellness offer the option of exerting yourself physically and letting the soul dangle at the same time. Between Oberstdorf and Aschaffenburg imposing mountains, crystal-clear lakes and babbling river meadows await you.
Sporting exertion in Bavarian climes
Winter sport has a home in Bavaria and can be pursued in manifold ways across the state's regions. Whether you want to experience alpine skiing on the Zugspitzplatt or to build your stamina on the kilometres of cross-country trails between Reit im Winkl and Ruhpolding, a great many possibilities are open to you.
In the Bavarian Forest National Park the park centre of the so-called “Lusen”, one of the highest peaks of the forest, invites you to hike and offers a two-hour circular trail for watching native animals in spacious enclosures. Snowshoe hikes around the climatic health resort of Bischofsmais enchant just as much as the Franconian Jura with its wildly romantic rock formations around Pottenstein. With a little luck you will experience how, every seven years, the Königssee in Berchtesgadener Land freezes over with a thick layer of ice, letting you walk in warm clothing on foot to the peninsula of St. Bartholomä.
Wellness oases and modern-rustic hotels
In keeping with the holiday places mentioned above, Bavaria has a great many well-appointed spa hotels that promise you relaxation and recreation at the highest level. Light culinary pleasures, paired with regional delicacies, are tuned precisely to sporting activity and to the treatments in the wellness areas. Hay and mud baths contribute to recreation on a winter holiday in Bavaria, as do drinking cures. Lomi Lomi massages, sauna rounds and warming whirlpools round off the day and provide the right finish after hiking in the Berchtesgaden National Park, for example. While the scenic impressions flatter your eyes, the treatments offered in the hotel promise regeneration from the stress of everyday life.
Bavaria's merits
Scenic diversity and a good tourist infrastructure make Bavaria an attractive destination for sports enthusiasts and those seeking recreation. If you value the fusion of both holiday styles, a broadly fanned-out offering is laid before you in which you will certainly see your wishes and needs fulfilled — and start entertaining the thought of never having to leave the land between the Chiemsee and the Main again.
Image: By Crux (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons