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Hiking without preparation - a "deadly" tour in Tegelberg

A few years back, my boyfriend and I visited Füssen. The primary goal was Neuschwanstein Castle. We were all excited about it, had the tickets booked way in advance, and also planned a trip afterwards to Salzburg – like any Germans would have done.

At the previous night, we explored the small town for German restaurants. It was our first time in Germany. We only cared about experiencing all local stuff. Finally, a cosy bar, in German Kneipe, fulfilled the mission and had us all geared up for the upcoming trip.

The big day started quite normal. At 6:30 we were already on the bus which connects the town and the castle. It cast across the valley when the houses, the trees and the grass stayed silent. The golden sunshine touched the valley tenderly, sparkling out small rainbows with the thin mist above the meadow. After turning a corner, the castle popped up in our sights, just like in a Disney film.

We picked up the reserved tickets. There was still a lot of time before the guided tour. So, we decided to take a walk in the cold refreshing autumn air, uphill till the castle. Everything went just as planned, only that the guided tour was way shorter as expected. Shortly before 9 o’clock, we were already out of the castle; the trip to Salzburg was in the evening. Suddenly, we were left with the luxury, having a whole day to waste in this dreamingly landscape.

That was the moment we stood on Marien Bridge, wondering for plans that were outside the original plan. A group of hikers passed by and told us that they were heading to the cable car station on top of Tegelberg; it would take 2 hours to reach there, but we could enjoy a beer with great mountain view. It sounded so tempting. We could not wait to jump into it.

The first two hours went by. However, the views surrounding us did not change a bit. Without any doubt, we were still in low altitude of this mountain. We grabbed someone who was about to overtake us and asked about the cable car station. He told us that it was about half an hour away. Despite not being convinced, we comforted ourselves with the thought that we probably were not fast enough. One more hour, Clock pointed to 12; the forest faded a lot around us, but there was still no sign of the cable car station. The walk was not pleasant anymore. We ran out of water and food. Well from the beginning we were not prepared at all as we did not see this coming. Sitting on a rock, I felt quite exhausted but mostly frustrated about the situation. In the last three hours, I was so sure that we should not go back but only mash towards the destination. At that moment, I seriously doubted.

My spirit must have looked like withered. It attracted the attention of a family who rested opposite to us. They were kind enough to listen to our story and to rescue us with some carrots and water. The magic words, 2 hours, appeared again. Luckily, this time it was true. Finally, we arrived at the longed cable car station around 15 o’clock. The mountain hut of Tegelberg was just beside it, offering a platform with magnificent 360-degree panorama mountain view.

It was an exciting and adventurous day for us when we sit safely in the mountain panorama with a beer in hand. The dizziness and the low-blood-sugar scene were all over. But it could have caught us in danger, though with a very low probability. Now I have moved to Germany near the Alps. In the past years, I did a lot of hiking, always prepared, with the first lesson learned in mind.