Chocolate and art in Bernried

Bernried on Lake Starnberg, with its monastery and onion dome, carefully restored country houses and old lime and oak trees, is an ancient Bavarian town. In 2007, it was awarded gold in the "Unser Dorf hat Zukunft" (our town has a future) competition for being the most picturesque town in Germany. This is partly due to the sites, for which the town gets its reputation. Chocolate manufacturer Clement Chococult is located in the old brick-walled station building, right next to the platform. This chocolate delicatessen store attracts a vast number of travellers, who often stop off just to stock up on handmade pralines. All the walls are made of glass, so that you can watch in awe as the chocolatiers create their exquisite products with the utmost love and precision: exotic pralines, filled carées with Bavarian motifs, and slabs of chocolate with rose petals.

Next, we recommend visiting the Buchheim Museum (around a 20-minute walk), which is situated right on the shore of Lake Starnberg. On a sunny day, the views from here over the Alps are truly sensational. One part of the museum is built into a slope and it is often referred to as the "Museum der Phantasie" (museum of fantasy). This is where the artist and writer, Lothar-Günter Buchheim, housed the colourful pieces of art that he amassed throughout his life. The museum has four different collections. The first one comprises Buchheim's collection of Expressionist paintings by artists like Emil Nolde and August Macke. The second one contains artwork from around the world. The third one is Lothar-Günter Buchheim's own works of art. And the fourth collection comprises alternating exhibits, which you can find out more about on the website, along with details about upcoming events. There is also a section dedicated to ethnology.
If you visit the museum with your children, you can leave them to experiment in the "imagination lab": At the weekend, children from the age of six (or younger if accompanied by an adult) are granted free admission to the museum open workshop, where they can let their creativity run wild with a paintbrush and ink, pottery, and wood and lino printing. Help is at hand from experts. This gives parents a chance to explore the museum in peace, perhaps followed by a stroll through the museum park among the old trees and sculptures, or with a coffee in the museum café, Café Buffi.

Our tour continues with a bite to eat at restaurant Drei Rosen in the centre of Bernried – around a 15-minute walk from the museum. It also has a beer garden, which in the summer is a particularly inviting place for a Bavarian feast. They serve a good and affordable selection of dishes, including "Krustenbraten" (crispy roasts), ox goulash, and "Kalbsgeschnetzeltes" (sliced veal). On your return home with the Werdenfelsbahn cable car, all you have to do is just relax. Or maybe just let one or two of the pralines from chocolaterie Clement melt away slowly in your mouth.

Directions: The chocolate shop is right next to the platform at Bernried station. For more information and opening hours, click here. Follow the signposted path to the "Buchheim Museum" (around a 20-minute walk). Show your DB Regio or regional day ticket for Bavaria and you'll receive a EUR 1 discount. The current entrance fees and opening hours can be found here.To get to the restaurant "Drei Rosen", go down "Am Yachthafen" and "Seepromenade" past the lake and towards the centre. From there, turn left down Dorfstraße and keep walking. After 100 metres, you'll see the restaurant on the left-hand side.