END OF ALLGÄU ALPS, LEAVING GERMANY
VIA ALPINA DAY 34 – SATURDAY 25 JULY 2026
OBERSTDORF –> BORDER POST 156
DISTANCE HIKED: 23.75 km
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,890 m
TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 856.45 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 43 ,610m
It was a beautiful Saturday morning for getting back into the mountains. The staff at our hotel in Obetsdorf were really nice and with a smile and a handshake wished us well for our remaining travels when we were checking out. Hammer is getting used to the top notch breakfasts at the German and Austrian hotels. Lucky we have a flat start to the day before approaching the serious climbs as our bellies were groaning.
On the way out of town we stopped to have a look at the Maria Loretto Chapel, which dates back to 1617. A very simple unadorned building. Hammer is not sure if it’s related to the Loreto order back home.
We followed the Ghillach river upstream, passing by a Nordic ski run where some kind of childrens roller ski race was on. It is such an unusual sport for us, I really wanted to stop to watch. Or I really wanted to delay the grind that was awaiting us after we pass the Faistenoy chairlift carpark. Before reaching the carpark we went past a ski jumpers training facility which was a bit of a tourist attraction. It was named after Sepp Weiler who was a local plumber and was one of the worlds best ski jumpers in the 1940s and 50s.
When we reached Faistenoy ski lift it was a surprise to find it’s big car park was almost full with lots of people getting their hiking gear organised. Most people went up in the gondola to reach hiking trails We left the carpark to start the long uphill grind to the Mindelheimer Hut. We were in a cool forest with a rushing stream, following the ski slopes up.
We were passed by two runners and apart from that saw nobody else until very late in the day when we were approaching the hut. We were hiking through a Nature reserve Allgäur Hochalpen where camping and bivoucing was strictly prohibited.
While the continual climbing was sweaty work we were rewarded by increasing spectacular views of the surrounding peaks. The peaks were quite extraordinary because of the green grass covering their steep slopes. We even had glimpses down into the valley floor toward Obersdorf.
We were pleased to reach Mindelheimer hut which sits at 2,058m elevation and stop for a drink. It was surprising to arrive at the hut and find so many people especially since we seen hardly anybody on trail.
Since the weather was so nice we decided to continue on from the hut and to walk out of Germany and back into Austria. We passed a border post dating back to 1884 and soon after found a great campsite.
The late afternoon hiking from the hut was magical. It was very quite and still and with the low angle of the setting sun illuminating the ridgetop adding to the majesty of the landscape We are feeling quite privileged to have this experience. Rain is predicted for tomorrow, so this will probably be our last views of the Allgäu Alps.
