Summer Sunrise on the Breitenstein

Having already scouted a perfect spot for the sunrise during the evening tour of the Breitenstein, after the trip to Alsace, nothing stood in the way of another visit to the Bockstein summit.

To be on the summit in time for the start of twilight means getting up particularly early around the summer solstice. Fortunately, the ascent is relatively short, with around 800 metres of elevation gain and a 3.5 km distance. So, I left the hiking car park at 2 AM and reached the summit cross at 1,575 m just in time for the first light.

The weather forecast predicted a cloudy sky, so there was some uncertainty as to whether the sun would be directly visible today. If it was, it promised an even more dramatic, colourful sky with clouds illuminated by the sun. The first light in the east during the early twilight already looked very promising.

The sunrise on the Breitenstein was then a fireworks display of colours, from the blue of twilight through purple and crimson to the golden first sunlight. My gaze swept over the Farrenpoint and Mitterberg in the Jenbach Valley, the Inn Valley and the Chiemgau – in the distance, Simssee and Chiemsee sparkled in the sunlight. This was exactly the composition I had hoped for!

After this sublime start to the day, before leaving, I once again paid a visit to the monastery in Fischbachau. There, with St. Martin and Maria Schutz Church, the cemetery, and the baroque, three-winged monastery complex, stands an architecturally interesting ensemble of sacred buildings amidst the magnificent mountain scenery of the Leitzach Valley, inviting contemplation and inner reflection.