The Geroldsee

The mountainous region of southern Bavaria, Germany, is awash with alpine lakes or “sees”. In the tiny hamlet of Gerold lies the Wagenbrüchsee, also known as the Geroldsee. It has become a bit of an icon of the Bavarian landscape, hitherto relatively untrampled but now firmly on the map. It’s not hard to see why: an alpine meadow, dotted with cowbarns, rises above a lake in the shadow of the spectacular Karwendel and the Wetterstein mountain ranges, which divide Austria and Germany. At sunrise, the valley is prone to fog, which completes the scene of bucolic bliss.