
Most of our other time in Ruhpolding, where we were based at the very agreeable Hotel Maigerschwendt, was spent walking and swimming. The hotel's meals were so unreservedly excellent, not to mention brilliantly varied, that exercise was most definitely required if we wished to return home with the same sized waistband we'd arrived with. We swam every day possible in the marvellous Vita Alpina swimming pool and gradually built up from zero to a respectable twelve lengths of their Olympic-sized open-air pool. Vita Alpina is really a swimming complex; it contains various outdoor pools to satisfy the requirements of all its visitors - swimming, diving, fun etc; its indoor facilities include a massive slide, wave pool, several pools for families with small children, and our favourite - the Wellness Pool. This is accessed from inside but is in the open-air, it's heated to something like blood temperature and contains all kinds of fountains, waterfalls and jacuzzi-like offerings - bliss! We generally finished off with ten minutes in the steam room before reinvigorating ourselves under the cold shower before leaving Vita Alpina in search of a coffee like a couple of inanely grinning Telly-Tubbies!
The remarkable thing about holidaying in Ruhpolding is that all this was absolutely free, because if you're a guest of one of the hotels you are given an Extra Card, which gives free daily entry to the pool and free bus travel as well as use of the local chairlift and cable-car - other things are free or at a reduced price too. I imagine this must make it a particularly appealing destination for families with children. We had some great walks, probably my favourite being a five hour round-trip along an old smugglers' route to Austria where you actually walk underneath a waterfall.
