The Chiemsee is the biggest lake in Bavaria, so big that Bavarians call it the Bavarian Sea, and from the shore near Gstadt and Prien it looks like one, a wide pale expanse with the Alps behind it. Two islands sit in the middle. The Herreninsel carries the palace that Ludwig II began building in the 1870s as his copy of Versailles, never finished, and the smaller Fraueninsel has a Benedictine abbey that was founded in the eighth century and is still occupied by nuns. The islands are reached by ferry from Prien, and on the road to the pier, a little steam railway runs from the town to the harbour, an old-fashioned way to start an excursion.
For a rider the shore is more an interlude than a thrill. Roads around the lake are flat, with roundabouts and long straight stretches between villages, and in the summer season traffic can be heavy with holidaymakers. But the views are lovely. Reed beds, sailing boats, the white sails and, to the south, the long serrated line of the Chiemgau Alps with the Kampenwand as the best known peak make a classic Bavarian postcard. Prien am Chiemsee, with ten thousand inhabitants, has petrol, supermarkets and lakeside cafes, and Gstadt is a quiet village on the north shore.
The lake is good for swimming, and in July and August the water gets warm enough for a proper dip, with public bathing places along the shore. A towel in the pannier is cheap insurance. The fish of the lake, particularly the Renke, a kind of whitefish, are served smoked or grilled in the island inns and the lakeside restaurants, and it is a speciality worth trying, with a pretzel and a glass of apple juice spritzer.
Bear in mind that on fine weekends the area gets very crowded and parking by the shore is difficult. If you want the lake at its best, come on a weekday evening in early summer, when the day-trippers have gone and the water reflects the pink light on the mountains. In autumn the fog often lies over the lake in the morning and the sun burns it off by noon, which gives photographers a very good hour.