Forest Walk to Starnberg

Having climbed Zugspitze (2962 m) the week before, I was eager to downscale my ambitions a bit. As part of my "Hiking Web" project, I wanted to connect my previous walks in the Munich area with Starnberg. I hoped this would be a relaxing walk to the lake with a swim at the end.

The route started at Munich's main train station, where I headed south on foot through the city. As usual, everything was under construction, making sightseeing pretty pointless.

Soon, the dense residential area gave way to smaller buildings and more greenery. I passed through Sendlinger Wald park, going past locals enjoying the day. I was surprised to see the neighborhoods having unique features among them. You could easily tell when you entered a different district.

I knew that most of the hike would be forest paths and agricultural land, so I was getting impatient to leave the city behind. After crossing the A95 highway, I finally reached the outskirts of Munich. The path led me through a mix of fields and small woods of Forstenrieder Park.

The forest walk was refreshing at first, with birds chirping and a cool breeze. I was quickly traversing the area under the shade of tall trees. However, the bugs were relentless. I found myself swatting away flies and mosquitoes every few minutes. It was a constant battle to keep them at bay.

For some unknown reason, I decided that the best way to reach Starnberg was to follow the A95 walking on the side of the road adjacent to the highway. This was a terrible mistake. With a pretty high speed limit and no sidewalk, I was constantly on edge, dodging cars and trucks whizzing past me. The noise and exhaust fumes made the walk unpleasant. I regretted not taking a more scenic route through the countryside, with a gravel road running in parallel through the forest.

Thankfully, after what felt like an eternity, I finally reached Unterschorn, a small village along the way. From there, a paved asphalt sidewalk led me safely away from the highway. I even walked near the Munich International School, which looked like a nice campus. We had a similar school when I was a kid in my hometown, but there it was a mediocre place for privileged kids to hang out. I wondered if the Munich International School was any different. At least the campus is 95% carbon-neutral nowadays.

The last stretch of the hike went by quickly. I passed by a lady looking for her child on a bike that got lost along the way. Unfortunately, I didn't see the kid, but I hoped they found each other soon.

When I arrived at the lakefront in Starnberg, I was relieved to be done with the hike. I was very thirsty, so I got a drink and headed for a swim. I also messaged David to come join me, which he promptly did, coming by bike in less than an hour.

To sum up, I wouldn't recommend this as a hiking route. The urban start and the highway stretch were not enjoyable. If you want to explore the forests and fields south of Munich, there are definitely better paths to take. At the very least, I got a refreshing swim in the lake to end the day and got to join this route with my previous trip between Starnberg and Tutzing.