Meme5

We will be taking a Danube River cruise on Viking next May. It is from Budapest to Nuremberg, so my husband has decided to let our friends fly home, and the two of us will continue to travel through Germany to see more sights. We would like to go to Munich,Dachau, Eagle's Nest, Bavaria, the Romantic Road, Rothenburg, and then take a Rhine River day cruise, go on to Frankfurt and fly back home to Illinois. That's just some of the general sights we would like to see- explore Munich for 2-3 days, see castles along the way, see some of the Black Forest, and just enjoy getting to know Germany. We will have already been gone almost two weeks, so we are thinking perhaps another week to 10 days is all we have to see as much as possible without wearing ourselves out. We are up for either driving or taking the Rail or both. Any suggestions as to sights not to miss, castles that are worth exploring, beautiful landscapes, and picturesque villages. Thank you for any and all suggestions. Melissa Troutman Pekin, IL

Russ

"We would like to go to Munich,Dachau, Eagle's Nest, Bavaria, the Romantic Road, Rothenburg..."

FYI: Bavaria is the state within which you will find ALL the destinations you've named here - not some small area in southern Germany, but most of it, really. Bavaria (Bayern) is the creme-colored state in the southeast on this map:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...ed=0CDcQ9QEwAg

The Black Forest is in the southwest corner of Baden-Württemberg (west of Bavaria, green.)

traveldawg

Melissa: Click on my Traveldawg name and it will bring up quite a few of my postings on Germany. You may be able to pick some good tips from there.

We have been going there off and on for 40 years after living there during my time in the Army 70-71. I would get a car and explore if you are comfortable with that. Germany is easier to drive than the US as the Germans follow the rules. (It is against the law to drive on the left lane unless passing).

Munich is a great city as is Salzburg/Berchtesgaden area.
Grab a beer at the famous Holbrauhaus downtown Munich.
Also Garmisch and the Ludwig castles nearby....Neuschwanstein (Disney castle) and Linderhof. You can also visit the town of Oberammergau for wood carvings and Ettal Abbey. All of these are close to the Garmisch area and fun to drive to with a car.

Salzburg has turned into a favorite for us. It is an easy drive from Munich and Ludwig's Herrencheimsee castle is on the way. We nejoyed the Bristol Hotel on last visit to Salzburg in 2007. You can stay there and drive over to Berchtesgaden or vice versa. Both very close. You have the Salt Mines (great for a rainy day as the tour is in a mine) in Berchtesgaden as well as electric boat rides on the Koingsee Lake and trip up the mountain to Hitler's Eagles Nest. Very beautiful area. In Salzburg you have the Old Town area and the castle. The Sound of Music Tour sounds hokey but is really great fun as you see a lot of the scenery outside of the town. Watch the movie again and you will have a good feeling for the beauty of that area.

Dachau will be depressing. We did it in 1970 and again in 2001 as friends wanted to see it. Be prepared to not leave there in a "festive" mood. It is a suburb of Munich.

Rothenburg is another long time favorite. It is touristy, but unique. Be sure to take the Nightwatchman's Tour while there. He usually leaves the town square around 8 pm to do the English version. Great fun and good way to see the city. We enjoy staying at the Reichs Kuchenmeister Hotel there. In fact, we will be there in November for the Christmas markets.

Nuremburg still has the main podium where Hitler stood to make the speeches to the Nazi troops and the stadium nearby. Amazing that they still have it but worth seeing as you have seen it before in WWII movies.

You can use this site to click on someone's name and see their other posts. Do that on some German posters and you will get some good information.

One tip: Try not to change hotels every single night. Stay around and smell the roses. It sure beats getting in a car and spending too much time traveling just to go there for a short visit.

neckervd

1 day Rhine cruise (Ruedesheim/Bingen - Koblenz is the nicest leg):
http://www.k-d.com/en/kd-scheduled-c...ine-timetable/

Meme5

Thank you so very much for your information- We will certainly peruse through it and I know it will prove to be very helpful- exactly what we were looking for. I appreciate it so very much. I am sure my husband can drive in Germany- a few years back we flew from London, where our son was living, to Venice and drove a car down to Florence and drove all through Tuscany so if he can do that........ We are very excited!! Thanks again.