While many see summer as the prime season for hiking, it can be hot and lately more often than not, particularly if you are doing a walk out in the open, exposed to the strong summer sun. Spring can be lovely, especially if timed to coincide with wildflowers but there is something about hiking in autumn which seems to make it perfect. Generally, temperatures are moderate and while it can rain, you seem to escape the downpours of spring thunderstorms. All that and it’s mushroom season in Bavaria.
hiking in autumn can be magical, especially if you spot some mushrooms
The Upper Palatinate is an area of Bavaria often missed by non-German tourists despite it being home to some fine hiking trails including quite possibly the most stunning section of the Goldsteig, which runs through the Waldnaabtal Nature Reserve. Most of the few English speaking visitors that do make their way here, are more likely to come to check out one of the most interesting and still relatively undiscovered brewing culture: Zoigl.
classic Zoiglstuben, Zoigl & Geräuchertes (smoked ham)
I’ve been exploring this wonderful region for a few years now and was keen to include some hikes in my new book Beer Hiking Bavaria, so I spent a few days there this spring collecting GPX tracks, elevation profiles and honing some turn-by-turn directions for it. My wife couldn’t make the trip so I was looking forward to showing her the new routes and since she’s a keen mushroom fan, we made our way there in mid-October.
as you can see, there was no shortage of mushrooms!
Though the weather wasn’t quite as nice as was forecast, it was nonetheless perfect for hiking and much of our route was in a dense verdant forest anyway. It would have been a great outing even if we hadn’t seen so many incredible mushrooms on the route but that we did. My wife was ecstatic and if that weren’t enough, Zum Roud’n had their equally amazing potato pancakes so it won’t be hard to talk my wife into another Beer Hiking trip in the Land of Zoigl again. I was also happy to try a new for me Zoigl at the Lingl Zoiglstuben.
tasty potato pancakes with a great Zoigl
The area is only a couple of hours away from Munich by car and can be easily reached by public transportation in a little longer. There are some very nice places to stay as well as simpler accommodation at some of the Zoiglstuben. For more details on it as well as 50 great beer hiking trails and breweries, please consult my new book, Beer Hiking Bavaria oder auf Deutsch: Bierwandern Bayern.
More Zoigl.
