We were actually supposed to be in Hawaii at this time of year, on our honeymoon – but due to the current pandemic, we postponed everything by a year and were lucky enough to be able to travel to Bavaria in a rented camper this year. So, for the first time in our lives, we're venturing into the world of mountains and lakes to experience nature a little.

Bühl am Alpsee is our starting point

Our starting point is also our campsite by the large Alpsee lake, so we walk the first 2 km through Bühl, past wonderfully rustic houses, country inns, and a few holiday apartments, until we reach the first hiking trail shortly after the school camp in the village. Not even 100 meters along this trail, we "village kids" are surprised by the first Allgäu cows with their original cowbells and are absolutely delighted. We immediately seize the opportunity and take some photos of the cattle leisurely chewing the grass; an Instagram story is, of course, a must.

Even after just a few kilometers, a slight turn towards the path already traveled offers a view of the large Alpsee lake and the landscape beyond, allowing you to observe the interplay of light between the sun and clouds on the surrounding mountains. A truly positive sign for the journey ahead.

Fog, clouds and sun on the higher stretch of track and our first little snack break

After about 4 km, we reach the first alpine hut, which is unfortunately closed at this time. However, given the wonderful weather, we decide to take a short break and have a few snacks (nuts and sweets). We sit on a picnic blanket we brought along, sitting in the grass and reflecting on the beautiful scenery and how lucky we are to have embarked on this hike. The hut (Alpe Gschwenderberg) we can see looks very rustic, and we're a little sad that we can't enjoy a refreshing beer there.

We continued on our way, passing the Hornklause mountain hut and the Rabennest alpine pasture, where we encountered our first unfenced, very relaxed-looking cattle. We had heard them long before, as the bells around their necks ensured we knew exactly where these peaceful animals were. We gave free rein to our enthusiasm, taking every opportunity to photograph and film the cows.

It should definitely be said at this point that the pictures in this report do not reflect the feeling and the landscape of the hike by any means, but can only give an idea of ​​how great it is in the mountains.

Deviation from the planned route onto a steep shortcut.

Our route takes us into the woods on the hillside, across a small stream with an accompanying waterfall, and is interrupted again by incredibly curious cows (and beautiful photo opportunities) after about 6.5 km total distance at the Kassel-Alpe – of course, it's easy for us to take a short break here to photograph and film the animals.

Here we decide to shorten our route somewhat and take the steeper path, which will lead us directly to the summit of the Immenstädter Horn. On the rather strenuous, shorter route up, we notice how many butterflies there are. Apparently, the colorful butterflies feel right at home in the healthy Alpine air…

Over the next two kilometers of our hike, we see a glider, almost at eye level, which we had previously seen from far below. This experience is particularly impressive because this is our first mountain where we climb over 600 meters in altitude.

The shortcut, besides being a shorter route, also offers wonderful views of the Bühl below us, the paths we've already traversed, and the distant peaks where we can even make out some snow. Standing before these grandeurs, we feel a little humbled and are glad that we're embarking on this adventure together.

Finally at the summit, followed by an instructive realization.

After almost 8 km and a little over 3 1/2 hours, we finally reached the summit of the Immentaler Horn. At the top, we spread out our picnic blanket again and enjoyed the provisions we had saved for the summit. We took some photos and filmed some more video footage for our social media channels. We looked down at the large Alpsee lake, our campsite, Bühl, and the expansive landscape beyond the lake.

As we set off again towards Bühl after this break, our journey ahead was accompanied by a very important realization: hiking poles are helpful, we can say that with certainty, as we didn't have any and were sometimes rather clumsy on the path. And: the really strenuous part isn't the ascent, but rather the descent. When we arrived back at the large Alpsee lake, our legs were quite wobbly, and we had walked, hiked, and slid around 15 km in over 7 1/2 hours. We treated ourselves to a (really delicious) ice cream at the lake and arrived at our campsite just as it started to rain – lucky us!