travelGEEK_live

We are trying to coordinate a trip to Bavaria - we need your travel help. Our details are:

- fly in and out of Munich

- stay 13 nights

- family of four with children 13 and 16

- focus on winter activities, historic towns/villages, woodworking, music

Our focus is on Christmas but we are looking for the beautiful Bavarian towns and villages with the old buildings and nice streets - if there is snow that would be even better. Activities of interest are:

- Christmas markets in authentic old towns, historic town centres, villages

- Castles - King Ludwig's famous royal landmarks

- winter activities - skating, toboganning, bobseld, possibly downhill skiing, walking, sled/carriage ride

- Old churches, Christmas church services

- Christmas decorations and landmarks for instance the Gengenbach Advent calendar

- Woodworking - musical instruments and cuckoo clocks

- Glass blowing - Christmas ornaments

- Music - outdoors and concerts over Christmas and New Years

The list of areas we have read about and are interested in are:

- Munich (Marienplatz, market, music, skating)

- Gengenbach and Baden-Baden area near Strasburg

- Rothenburg, Bamburg area - possibly Regensburg, Nuremburg en route

- Fussen (and the castles), Allgau

- Garmisch Partenkirchen (Zugspitze), Mittenwald, Oberagammau

- Chiemsee, Berchestgaden

Also have heard about the Euro Park - would this be good to include at this time of year? Where is this located closest to?

We do not want to be rushed yet there is lots to see and do - Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are best spent somewhere where there are still activities to do - we understand in many places things close down.

Since the Romantic Road areas like Rothenburg are in opposite directions to Gengenbach, and both of those areas are opposite to Chiemsee, it does not seem possible to do all three. Which of these areas should we chose?

Must-sees are Schloss Neuschwanstein, and the Gengenbach advent calendar if possible. We are hoping to find something unique and memorable for Christmas and New Years Eve/New Year's Day also, and the most scenic historic towns and old-timbered villages are very important to us.

Please help us focus on the best areas to focus on for our interests and family/age.

Itinerary suggestions would be great.

Thank you.

quokka

What are your exact travel dates?

CarolJean

I would rule out the Chiemsee that time of year. At the least, it will be bone-chillingly cold and at the most, cold and rainy.Something about being around water when it is cold. Believe me, I've been there. That is a great spot in warm weather.

I have really enjoyed Munich and Bamberg at Christmas, not so much Rothenburg (but I am in the minority there.)

flpab

I love Rothenburg, after the tour buses leave at night it is magical. Strasburg is really out of the way if you are focusing on Munich,Garmisch Partenkirchen and Mittenwald. Are you driving or taking the train?

CarolJean

But if Gengenbach is a must, then Strausbourg makes a lot of sense. And, I'm backtracking on Rothenburg. The kids would love walking around the wall and the criminal museum. And there is an atmosphere of Christmas. Also, all would enjoy the Nightwatchman's tour.

flpab

Then forget Chiemsee, Berchestgaden. You could do a loop of sorts and see everything else. Can you fly into Frankfurt and our of Munich?

quokka

Please tell us your exact travel dates, or we cannot answer your questions. Many of the attractions on your wish list are not available during and after the Christmas holidays because they terminate by Christmas Eve.

ganick

Just back from 12 days in s. germany. Fantastic trip. Started in Munich and stayed at the Sheraton near the Oktoberfest grounds which we went to 3 times, and did marienplatz at 11 a.m. for the chimes etc. Went on a tour bus to schloss Neuschwanstein.We then went to Rothenburg Ob Du Tober which is a must see and stayed there. Definitely stay there and do the Night Watchman tour, it's really fun. Gegenbach wasn't so good after seeing Rothenburg. On to Strassburg where we stayed at the Best Western in the old part city center. You want a church, you have to go there (plus lots of other stuff). You could get a hotel just off the island because it is all walking distance. We walked the whole island and did the boat tour. While there we did a chauffered wine and castle tour towards Colmar which is where we stayed the next day. Off to Triburg to see cookoo clocks and stay at a real nice hotel. Then we went through Switz. south of Constanz (stayed one night) through the alps to Innsbruck and back to Munich. All told we put about 900 miles on the beautiful Mercedes we rented after leaving Munich. By the way, the castles between Strassburg and Colmar were more impressive than Neuschwanstein except for the beauty of seeing Neusch. from the road.

ganick

Should also mention that Triberg has a waterfalls with a medium hike that was beautiful. However at Xmas time they light up the falls I guess all of them all the way to the top. Don't remember how many falls but it is right there in the town. Look it up and definitely stay there one night if you can. Park Hotel Wehrle was the hotel, not expensive, very nice and very large. I think it's 800,000 lights they put on the falls.

travelGEEK_live

Our dates are: fly into Munich 21st Dec. and arrive around noon.
Return home (from Munich) on January 3rd - around noon departure time.

Tried to get a flight for Frankfurt and this would have been much better but I did not think of this (regrets) - so focused on most discussion which pegs Munich as the preferred city to visit.

We will skip Chiemsee and save it for summer, fall or spring and appreciate this advice.

This leaves:
- Nuremburg (Regensburg on way)
- Bamburg, Gothenburg
- Gengenbach (Advent calendar before Christmas if possible)
- Strasburg (sounds great - had hoped to focus on Germany but if we're that close...)
- Fussen, Allgau area and the castles
- Zugspitze and the mountains near GP and Ober., Mittenwald
- Munich (at the end for sure - and not sure if we should stay at the beginning too for the Christmas market and maybe some skating, trip to Residenz etc.).

This is still a lot - perhaps it is doable - but I am not seeing how we could do it on the map.

Questions:

- how do Bamberg and Strasburg compare
- if you can only see one, which would be more impressive - Rothenburg or Gengenbach?

Is there a way to work this itinerary so we land in Munich, manage to see Gegenbach before Christmas, see Rothenburg (based on comments above) and still experience both while the towns are feeling much like Christmas? Is it possible to do all this and still see Fussen and the castles, and end up at the Zugspitze for say, NY EVE? Where could we spend XMAS?

Also does anyone have any comments on the Euro Park at this time of year (or any time of year)? As well, tips on the location and how to fit it in would be good.

Again, itinerary help would be super - Ganick's trip sounds like a success - would be nice to include Triberg if we are going to be anywhere near there.

flpab

Where could you spend Christmas? I would pick a larger village or city where you can count on things being open. I am leaving on Thursday for Bavaria so can see what is open there for Christmas in Garmisch. I would think with the skiing more might be open. I think your children will like Rothenburg more.

tomboy

Would you be totally disappointed if your trip to Zugspitz was in inclement weather, such that you could see NOTHING from the peak?

swandav2000

Hi travelGEEK,

You may want to know that there is a **huge** ski jump competition held every year on 1 January in Garmisch. You may find hotels already sold out.

s

travelGEEK_live

Thank you of the replies.

It sounds like Rothenburg would be a better bet than Gengenbach - is this correct?

Any tips on Euro Park? If not going to Gengenbach, then we would skip Strasburg and the Europark altogether assuming they are all similarly located.

No worries about the weather in GP - we are from Canada and can cope with wind chill and temperatures to -50 or -60 celsius (and we still have to send the kids to school).

If we skip Gengenbach, perhaps Christmas in Heidelberg, Nuremburg, or Wurzburg? Would any of those work? We found a hotel in Baden-Baden (thinking we might go to Gengenbach) and they had a horse and carriage ride - we would love that. Can a similar experience be found along the Romantic Road or the three cities noted here?

Another question - I've been trying to find information on the alpine route but it is unclear. Is there a way to work that itinerary (and the famous bridge crossing) into an itinerary?

Any possible itineraries that might work?

flpab

Swandav2000 is the best for Bavaria, she lives there so will know more than any of us that just visit. I forgot about the big ski jump comp. New Years Eve will be booked there for sure.
Make sure you take the kids to the Gorge in Garmsich, close to the Olympic ski jump.

swandav2000

(thanks for the nice note, flpab!)

Yes, I concur that the Partnach Gorge is a great thing to see, probably at its best as a nighttime torchlit hike in winter when the frozen ice falls are magnificent.

More information:

http://www.gapa.de/Garmisch-Partenki...Partnach_Gorge

(See the bottom of the middle column).

s

musictub

If you stay in Fussen, the Ludwig castle I would recommend is Linderhof. The castle is beautiful. You can walk around the grounds and see fountains, gardens and the Grotto. You can see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle from the outside.
We stayed in Fussen at Hotel Zum Hechten in a beautiful new large suite that was quite resonable in price. Although they have a good German restaurant in the hotel, we asked for a recommendation for Italian food and he recommended Michelangelos, a very elegant and relaxing place around the corner from the hotel.
Enjoy your visit!

travelGEEK_live

Great suggestions and I had not heard Linderhof or the gorge before now. I appreciate this.

Is it possible to see GP/Oberagammau/Mittenwald/Zugspitze/the castles all from a single destination, e.g. for five nights? Based in either Fussen? Or GP? How much driving is there?

Now for the question everyone asks - if this was your only chance to visit Germany (and it probably will be for our family) how would you prioritize the following areas for inclusion in your trip itinerary?

- GP/Oberagammau/Mittenwald/Zugspitze
- Rothenburg/Dinkesbuhl, Bamberg
- Gengenbach and advent calendar/Black Forest e.g. Triberg & clocks, theme park
- Berchestegaden/Ramsau (avoiding Chiemsee in winter)

Not sure about the Theme Park - we are really going so we can visit Germany, so...

We just have too many destinations - I think we are going to have to look at these choices:

1) cutting time in the city
2) seeing Fussen, GP, Mittenwald all from one base (Fussen and GP are our choices currently)
3) choosing one fo the four destination areas above.

Any replies, suggested itinerary ideas, or comments about the trip would be great - thanks!

swandav2000

Hi again,

Yes, it's quite easy to see Garmisch (Zugspitze), Mittenwald, Oberammergau, and Füssen from one base. I think Garmisch would be the best base, as it is central and has great transport links to each of these areas. You can see how easy it is to travel between them using the German rail site

www.bahn.com

Oberammergau is about 45 minutes by bus, Mittenwald is about 30 minutes by train or bus (I prefer the bus; though it's slower, the ride is more fun as you wind in and around some local villages), and Füssen is about 2h by train/bus.

Have fun as you plan!

s

musictub

We saw two of King Ludwig's castles: Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. We came to the conclusion that for us, seeing both castles was redundant. There are just too many other things to see and do in Germany. We both recommend Linderhof (see my comment above), although we did not tour the famous Neuschwanstein Castle because we read many comments that the tour was rushed and crowded with long lines. Maybe someone else who has been to both could give you their opinion about which one to tour.