Cathy

We are visiting Bavaria in September. Does anyone have good experiences in B&B's in this area. Also we will be there during Octoberfest. Since this is not very far from <BR>Munich should we make reservations in advance. We have made reservations in Munich the night before our flight out Sept. 21 but it looked like there were so many Hotels and B&B's in this area we thought it would be nicer to choose a place when we got there.

wes fowler

Nine years ago, during Oktoberfest,we stayed in a family owned inn in a small farming village called Hohenfurch. Our immaculate room, with bath, refrigerator, sink, two burner stove, king sized bed, dining table and chairs and furnished private balcony cost $36.00 a night and included a generous breakfast of meats, cheeses, breads and superb coffee. The inn's dining room featured Bavarian specialties, as well as trout taken from a lovely but frigid <BR>alpine stream that flows through the center of the village to the river <BR>Lechs about a quarter of a mile away. On the weekend, the restaurant <BR>featured live Bavarian music provided by locals in a wonderfully relaxed <BR>and informal atmosphere. A number of Fodor correspondents to whom I <BR>recommended this inn have come back to me pleased with their accommodations <BR>but advising that room costs are now in the neighborhood of $80 to $85 a <BR>night. <BR> <BR>We discovered later that Hohenfurch caters to German skiers in winter but <BR>rarely sees American tourists, if ever. The hotel is the Landgasthof <BR>Schonach-Hof operated and owned by the Haslach family. Address <BR>Kapellenstrasse 22, D-8928 Hohenfurch. Tel: 08861/4108. <BR> <BR>The village is small but charming. A trout laden alpine stream and lush <BR>lawns and most attractive homes with lovely gardens and windowboxes laden <BR>with geraniums or petunias border its one main street. The village church <BR>is typical of the region; austere from the outside with red roof, stuccoed <BR>walls that set off a mural of a religious figure and no stained glass <BR>windows. The interior is breath taking, as is the small graveyard beyond <BR>the church. St. Ursula's, a small chapel built in 1492, sits on a knoll <BR>amidst cow pastures just to the south of the inn. The village has a small <BR>grocery store and bakery and despite the name Bahnhofstrasse (Railroad <BR>Station Street), no train station. The village is an ideal place to stay <BR>since it is so central to most of the major attractions in the area. <BR> <BR>The entire Pfaffenwinkel area is criss-crossed with hiking trails, all of <BR>which offer superb views. Hiking routes appear in the Pfaffenwinkel brochure available at the tourist office in the village. <BR> <BR>Hohenfurch is situated on Route B17, the German Romantic Road, so named <BR>because it courses through a number of charming, delightful, historic towns <BR>and villages from Wurzburg in the north, through Rothenburg o.d. Tauber, <BR>Augsberg, Landsberg (where Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" while imprisoned there), Hohenfurch, Schongau and Fussen. <BR> <BR>Drive to the Wieskirche near Steingaden, about 12 miles from Hohenfurch to <BR>see the epitome of rococo artistry. Drive 10 miles to Rottenbuch and <BR>visit another rococo masterpiece, the parish church; (you'll see its bell <BR>tower from the road). Drive to Peiting about 8 miles from Hohenfurch ascend <BR>Hohe Peissenberg and get a stunning view of the Alps and eleven alpine <BR>lakes. Drive to Schongau, only 3 miles from Hohenfurch, have a meal at <BR>the Alte Post Inn, then walk the 700-year-old ramparts that encircle part <BR>of the town. <BR> <BR>Drive 25 miles south to Schwangau and visit mad King Ludwig's fairy tale <BR>castle, Neuschwanstein. Visit his more sedate castle Hohenschwangau in the <BR>same village. Take the Tegelberg cable railway to view the German and <BR>Austrian Alps. <BR> <BR>Drive a bit further to Oberammergau. Many of the residents will remind <BR>you of New Testament figures. A passion Play is staged in Oberammergau <BR>every ten years (next in 2000) and the citizenry make up the play's cast. <BR>Oberammergau, while famous for its Passion Play, is equally famous for its <BR>huge population of wood carvers and for the murals on the exterior walls of <BR>most of its homes and shops. Great place for souvenir hunting! <BR> <BR>Don't even think of driving to Munich! While it's only about 40 to 45 miles from Hohenfurch, there's no place to park once you get there. <BR> <BR>Drive to Herrsching on the Ammersee (it's about 35 miles northeast of <BR>Hohenfurch). Make a detour just before Herrsching. Stop in Andechs and <BR>sample the beer! It is one of the world's premiere beers, brewed in the <BR>monastery in Andechs and available in Andechs and no where else! Sidetrack <BR>to the Starnberger See, the lake where Ludwig, the mad king drowned. <BR>Accident, suicide, assassination? No one knows. Back track to Herrsching. <BR>Park the car at the train station and ride the train to Munich. <BR> <BR>

Mustangs81

Last fall we traveled all through Bavaria without reservations, but lodging during Octoberfest would be challenging. We very much enjoyed staying in Ruette, Austria while touring southern Bavaria. We had no trouble finding zimmers and found Ruette to a convenient home base and Austria was good on our budget. This was at the suggestion of Rick Steves's guide, check Ruette out on your map.

Doug

Listen to Wes!!! We did and stayed at the Schonach- Hof in Hohenfurch and it was the highlight of our trip this past New Year's Eve. Ask for the Pfaffenwinkl suite. The rate was 140 DM per night for our family of 4. With today's exchange rate that's only about $75 per night. Like all German gasthofs, the breakfasts are great and substantial. The restaurant serves reasonably priced gargantuan platters. For a good time, let the innkeeper and locals in the place think you're a Bayern Munchen soccer fan. The innkeeper is the president of the fan club for their cross-town rivals, 1860 Munchen. We know nothing about soccer and speak only a few sentences in German while Herr Haslach and company speak no English. Nevertheless, we had a great time teasing each other about the other's "favorite" teams. Later they sat with us after dinner and brought out maps and pens to plan our sightseeing itinerary for us. We didn't understand anything they were saying, but we just smiled the whole time and nodded. That night the little town of Hohenfurch set off almost an hours worth of fireworks to usher in the New Year. It's a great base for venturing into Bavaria and the Alps. First chance we get, we shall return.

kate

We are going to that area next month, so I'm enjoying reading the previous posts. A series of travels books I learned about from this forum, Karen Brown, has wonderful out-of the-way charming inns and gasthauses to stay in. Almost every place we are staying during our 2 weeks is from her books. (She's on the web too-- www.karenbrown.com) Delightful reading. Good luck!

Denise

Dear Wes, I just printed out your wonderful itinerary and I must say you are incredible...I'm still planing our trip in Oct. Concentrating primarily on The Rhine, Bavaria, North Austria and Munich in 14 days. I was thinking of staying the first 2 nights after landing in Frankfurt at Schoenburg Castle, then driving to Rothenburg de ober for 2 nights at Hotel Hornburg. after that maybe driving to Garmisch and spending 3 nights, then driving near Saltzburg area for another 3 nights and winding up in Munich for the remainder of our trip. Any advice would be very much appreciated......Thank you all for this wonderful forum!

topoftheworld

Good advice from able travelers. <BR> <BR>I have a off the beaten track type of <BR>suggestion, not a small town, but a great farm, about 5 km from Reutte, an hours walk thru the woods from Neuschwanstein and Schwangau, a fifteen minute drive from the Fussensee: <BR>The Gutschoff Schluxen, complete with horses, cows and chickens, fresh milk, fresh eggs and produce and friendly, helpful austrian hosts. <BR> <BR>I did. Last year. <BR> <BR>I watched the mighty waters of the Fussen See turn from steel to ink in <BR>the fading light of day. It is a magnificent sight. Fall is the best time to see Austria. The colors in the foliage, give you some insight as to what must have inspired Impressionism. <BR> <BR>The Gutschoff is wired. Visit it. <BR>http://www.online-service.de/schluxen <BR>

Jan

Doug/Wes, We will be flying into Frankfurt in Sept. How far is Hohenfurch from Frankfurt and is it necessary to make advance reservations at the Schonach-Hof B&B? Thanks.

wes fowler

Jan and Denise, <BR>I'd strongly recommend you make reservations at Hohenfurch if you're arriving in late September because of the influx of tourists to Oktoberfest. The driving distance from Frankfurt to Hohenfurch is about 430kms (250+miles) and involves about 5 hours driving time. I'd recommend splitting your journey by a stop , not in Rothenburg but in Dinkelsbuhl. If you scan the Forum here, you'll find that everybody and their brother recommends staying in Rothenburg which is in fact a lovely town but with all the American tourists, seems like a visit to the German pavilion at Disney's Epcot. Dinkelsbuhl and Donauworth, a bit further down the road, are equally charming and far less congested. I'll have a bit more to say in another posting later today.

wes fowler

I may be wrong but I truly believe that from May to October Rothenburg, Fussen and Garmisch have larger American populations than most small towns in Ohio or Georgia! My travel planning usually attempts to avoid staying in places inundated by tourists; one, to avoid tour buses and crowds; two, to avoid tourist oriented pricing in hotels, inns and restaurants; three, to enhance the prospects of better capturing the ambiance and atmosphere of the region I'm visiting; four, to find an excuse to adventure forth on back roads on the way to the popular tourist sites and finally to have a refuge from the frenetic pace of travel. Thus a Hohenfurch in preference to Fussen or Garmisch, a Dinkelsbuhl or Nordlingen in lieu of Rothenburg. (I was taken aback some years ago with my first visit to Garmisch. As I drove into town, the first sign I saw was for a U.S. Army golf course and R and R center! In contrast, Nordlingen is unique among German towns in that it is still completely enclosed by walls and gates erected in the 14th century.) <BR> <BR>The cities, towns and even the smallest villages along Germany's Romantische Strasse all have tourist information offices, as do those in Pfaffenwinkel and the Allgau. I'd strongly suggest you contact them for information and suggestions both for scenic sights and accommodations. Email me directly and I'll provide you with some resources. <BR>

Doug

Jan - <BR>In the past we often flew into Frankfurt and then drove down to Bavaria (cheaper airfares to FRA). We stayed in a little castle in Jagsthausen on a number of occassions. It was the home of a German Knight who's become a legend in Germany. When he was hopelessly surrounded in battle, his enemy asked him if he wanted to surrender. He replied "You can kiss my a--!". You gotta love a guy with that attitude. Anyway, Jagsthausen is North of Heilbronn, only a couple hours from Frankfurt. It's a great area to start your trip down the Romantic Road. The castle is full of armor and weapons. It has a museum dedicated to the "Black Fist", the warrior hero. See this link for more info: <BR> <BR>http://www.germany-castles-hotels.co...urg/index.html <BR> <BR>It's in German but has links to other castle hotels. If you have kids, they'll love this place. It's got a moat, high walls, and long dark halls. A little spooky, but lots of fun.

maryann hensinger

my husband and i were in fussen in april visiting the castles before driving to austria. we stayed in pfronten which is right next door to fussen. we chose The Burghotel Falkenstein out of one of karen browns bed and breakfast books. the hotel is atop a mountain with spectacular views. there are only 9 very lovely rooms in the hotel, which included a small kitchenette. actually, the rooms are like a small suite and they also have a porch area for enjoying the view. our trip to the hotel was a bit hairy though, as it was snowing and the road to the hotel is quite narrow and has many hairpin curves. we actually had to abandon our car on the way up and walk the rest of the way!! we woke the next morning to a foot of new snow. tony, the owner, was wonderful. had we known we would have difficulty, we could have arranged for him to pick us up at the bottom in his 4 wheel drive vehicle. i highly recommend this hotel. it is in the 100.00 per night price range. i can't wait to go back. please e mail me if u have any further questions.