From the walkers’ car park near Elmau Castle in Garmisch-Partenkirchen the Königsweg trail leads across the lush green meadows of the Wetterstein Alm and up to the Schachen. The ascent to this popular viewpoint in the Wetterstein mountains takes three and a half to four hours. After ten kilometres, walkers arrive at their destination at an altitude of 1,866 metres. On a plateau just above the tree line, surrounded by rugged mountain peaks, they see the warm honey colours of the royal mountain cabin of Ludwig II: the King’s House on Schachen. Here, in the heart of the natural scenery of the Northern Limestone Alps, visitors enter a different world. They are on the trail of Bavarian nobility, and at the same time find themselves in a fairy tale from A Thousand And One Nights.