Rotwand Sunset

Not wanting to get up early to head to the mountains after Oktoberfest the evening before, we decided to head out for a sunset hike up the Rotwand. As we set off from the car park the weather was looking pretty ominous and we were certainly not optimistic for the sunset conditions.

As we made our ascent the conditions started to improve and we enjoyed wonderful views with the landscape intermixed between sun and shade which created a lovely contrast. As we made good time on the walk we decided to head to the Rotwandhaus for a pre-sunset dinner, which was certainly better than the sandwiches that we had packed.

As sunset approached we headed up to the Rotwand from the Rotwandhaus, and by this point most of the clouds had vanished which meant that we had excellent views in every direction. The highlights were the view towards the Großglockner, in the soft golden hour light with the rising moon above it and the view directly towards the setting sun over the Bavarian Alps.

As there were no clouds left after sunset to catch the afterglow, we headed off early to make the most of the light for the descent. The descent was long but very easy down a track back to Spitzingsee. As we were walking around the lake, the view with the reflected lights and the moon was too good not to capture, despite it being late on a Sunday evening.