Just a few minutes behind the German border, close to the village Erl in Austria, there is a beautiful hiking area in the Chiemgau mountains.

This trip was a birthday gift for a friend who usually doesn’t go on hikes in the mountains and who grew up in the flat city of Hamburg, almost as far away from the Alps as you can be in Germany. So we decided to take it easy on her.

We drove up Erlerberg to a small parking area. From here it took us about 45 minutes across beautiful pastures to Spitzsteinhaus, which lies at about 1252m above sea level. Spitzsteinhaus offers a beautiful view across the mountains of Zahmer Kaiser. The restaurant at the Spitzsteinhaus serves delicious Austrian food. So for today we decided to stay there for lunch and to just relax.

If you want to hike a bit longer Altkaser-Alm (at 1279m) is just a few minutes further and offers an even better view of the Alps. (The hut is closed on Mondays).

We had started out on this hike mid morning and it was a pleasant day out in the mountains. Definitely to be repeated!