Germany/Austria Trip Report: April/May 2007
Aug 18th, 2007, 03:27 PM
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Germany/Austria Trip Report: April/May 2007
A few months late but better late than never! We were gone April 27 – May 5th of this year.
For reference sake, my mother and I were traveling together alone for the first time (I’m early 30’s, she mid-50’s) and our goal was to see a nice range of cities/areas, which is why we were on the move so much. I wouldn’t have changed our schedule at all but boy, were we tired by the end of it! This style of travel is admittedly not for everyone, but this was a once in a lifetime trip for us and we wanted to “see it all”.
Cities we visited: Munich, Salzburg, Fussen, Rothenburg ob de Tauber, Heidelberg
Highlights/comments of each:
Munich: this was probably our least favorite part of the trip for a few reasons. Jet lag took it’s toll on us both, and we had an unusually long and exhausting Mike’s Bike Tour our 2nd day that wore us out. I’d recommend Mike’s but we saw a lot and I can’t remember half of it. We did have some great meals (see below) but I’ll need to come back here again someday.
Salzburg: oh, how I love Salzburg! I’d been here briefly before but spending hours walking through the Getreidegasse was so wonderful. Went in Mozart’s Residenz, which was ok but my previous visit to the birthplace was much more enjoyable – I would pick the birthplace over the residenz if I had to choose only one to see. I bought a handful of painted eggs and the stores and stores of these beautiful things had me enraptured.
We did the Sound of Music Tour on our 2nd day, and it was so, so fun for fans of the movie. We took Bob’s Tours and I cannot recommend it enough. Even besides the sights and scenes from the movie, you get such an incredible tour of the Austrian countryside and our tourguide gave us a true glimpse into everyday life in the area. We did the luge, which was a highlight for sure – the view was to die for. It was May Day, which was so special – each town had their May Day poles up and citizens were milling around in their traditional costumes for the holiday. Very special to see such an Austrian tradition that didn’t feel “fake” or staged for tourists in any way.
On the drive from Salzburg to Fussen, we stopped at Linderhof Castle which we both truly enjoyed. The drive from Linderhof to Fussen is unbelievable – a winding lakeside road below the edge of the mountains that just defies words.
Fussen is adorable – it was a quick stop for us, but there’s ample shopping and restaurants and is a solid choice for an overnight stay before heading to King Ludwig’s castles.
Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau took us almost a full day, but it was probably my favorite day of the trip. We had perfect weather, and arrived very early for one of the first tours (tickets reserved ahead of time, but turns out it wasn’t necessary for that time of year when you arrive so early. However by the time we were halfway through the first castle, the tour buses were all arriving!) Thoroughly enjoyed them both, and am so glad we did both tours which are short but ample time.
We took the bus up to Neuschwanstein, and I wish we had known to walk a short distance to Marie’s Bridge right when we got off the bus since it’s very close. Instead we hiked down and up some steep (but paved) hills to get to the castle, did our tour, and wanted to take the horse-drawn carriage back down to town. But you have to hike way back to the bridge, doubling back and then all over again to the carriages.
Had a delightful lunch below the castles, and hit the road to Rothenburg mid-afternoon.
Rothenburg is what we all picture traditional Bavarian towns to be and my mother absolutely fell in love. We were unfortunately too wiped out to do the Nightwatchman’s Tour that evening, but we saw him with the group and it definitely looked interesting – next time! We spent the following day shopping, wandering around, and taking it all in. I would have stayed here an extra night if I’d had the time – we could have used it! I’m so, so glad we added this city in at the last minute – we really would have missed out on a beautiful little town otherwise.
Last but not least: Heidelberg!
Our hotel location cannot be beat – more on that below. But trying to get their in our car was not easy! We were lost for a good hour before we figured out how to pull up front of the hotel. At least we got a good feel for the city in the meantime!
We took the tram up to the castle – again, very worthwhile and an unbeatable view. We also took a mid-afternoon river cruise, which went about 2 hours and was incredibly relaxing and a great way to wind down after a hectic week. There are endless shops and places to eat on Hauptstrasse, and it’s excellent grounds for people watching especially with the masses of students milling about! This city is absolutely beautiful and a must see.
In summation: I still can’t even think about spaetzle because I ate so much of it on the trip, but I cannot emphasize enough how impressed we were with almost every single meal we had. The food was incredible – either we had really good luck in selecting restaurants or you really can’t go wrong. Renting a car through gamut.com was very easy and we received a free upgrade and superior service – everything was as it should be and our little Opal served us well!
Hotels:
Munich, 2 nights - Saturday - Monday.
Marriott Munich
http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/MUCNO
Due to BAUMA, all other hotels in our price range were full so I used Marriott points to secure our room here. It’s a bit off the beaten path in a quiet residential area, but very, very nice and just 100 yards away from the u-bahn station, 10 minutes into the heart of town.
Salzburg, 1 night - Monday - Tuesday.
Hotel Auersperg
http://www.holidaycityeurope.com/aue...burg/index.htm
Definitely recommend. Not in the old town, but across the river – a 10-15 minutes walk but well worth it. Lovely room, friendly and helpful staff, adorable breakfast areas both inside and out, and close to many, many restaurants. Parking on site.
Fussen, 1 night - Tuesday - Wednesday.
Hotel Sonne
http://hotel-fuessen.de
Perfectly location, parking on site, the best bathroom/shower we had the whole trip, comfy beds, and friendly staff.
Rothenburg, 1 night - Wednesday - Thursday
Hotel Kloster-Stuble
http://www.klosterstueble.de
Beyond description – it’s so unique and full of character, with enormous rooms. It was easy to find parking nearby (although not nearly as easy to actually find the hotel!) and the owners were gracious and welcoming. Definitely in the heart of things, even if you can hear a bit of noise throughout the night.
Heidelberg, 2 nights - Thursday - Saturday
Hollander Hof Hotel
http://www.hollaender-hof.de
The view! We easily had the best room in the city – looking out our corner room over the Old Bridge was priceless. The shower was awful and no matter what we tried, the entire bathroom would floor each time. But the hotel staff went out of their way to help us with any little question we had. Parking not incredibly close but easy enough. Recommend if you want to splurge a little for the view and location!
That’s all! If you have any questions, fire away! I feel like this was so high level but it’s already novel length. Thanks to all the Fodorites whose advice was invaluable during the planning stages!!
For reference sake, my mother and I were traveling together alone for the first time (I’m early 30’s, she mid-50’s) and our goal was to see a nice range of cities/areas, which is why we were on the move so much. I wouldn’t have changed our schedule at all but boy, were we tired by the end of it! This style of travel is admittedly not for everyone, but this was a once in a lifetime trip for us and we wanted to “see it all”.
Cities we visited: Munich, Salzburg, Fussen, Rothenburg ob de Tauber, Heidelberg
Highlights/comments of each:
Munich: this was probably our least favorite part of the trip for a few reasons. Jet lag took it’s toll on us both, and we had an unusually long and exhausting Mike’s Bike Tour our 2nd day that wore us out. I’d recommend Mike’s but we saw a lot and I can’t remember half of it. We did have some great meals (see below) but I’ll need to come back here again someday.
Salzburg: oh, how I love Salzburg! I’d been here briefly before but spending hours walking through the Getreidegasse was so wonderful. Went in Mozart’s Residenz, which was ok but my previous visit to the birthplace was much more enjoyable – I would pick the birthplace over the residenz if I had to choose only one to see. I bought a handful of painted eggs and the stores and stores of these beautiful things had me enraptured.
We did the Sound of Music Tour on our 2nd day, and it was so, so fun for fans of the movie. We took Bob’s Tours and I cannot recommend it enough. Even besides the sights and scenes from the movie, you get such an incredible tour of the Austrian countryside and our tourguide gave us a true glimpse into everyday life in the area. We did the luge, which was a highlight for sure – the view was to die for. It was May Day, which was so special – each town had their May Day poles up and citizens were milling around in their traditional costumes for the holiday. Very special to see such an Austrian tradition that didn’t feel “fake” or staged for tourists in any way.
On the drive from Salzburg to Fussen, we stopped at Linderhof Castle which we both truly enjoyed. The drive from Linderhof to Fussen is unbelievable – a winding lakeside road below the edge of the mountains that just defies words.
Fussen is adorable – it was a quick stop for us, but there’s ample shopping and restaurants and is a solid choice for an overnight stay before heading to King Ludwig’s castles.
Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau took us almost a full day, but it was probably my favorite day of the trip. We had perfect weather, and arrived very early for one of the first tours (tickets reserved ahead of time, but turns out it wasn’t necessary for that time of year when you arrive so early. However by the time we were halfway through the first castle, the tour buses were all arriving!) Thoroughly enjoyed them both, and am so glad we did both tours which are short but ample time.
We took the bus up to Neuschwanstein, and I wish we had known to walk a short distance to Marie’s Bridge right when we got off the bus since it’s very close. Instead we hiked down and up some steep (but paved) hills to get to the castle, did our tour, and wanted to take the horse-drawn carriage back down to town. But you have to hike way back to the bridge, doubling back and then all over again to the carriages.
Had a delightful lunch below the castles, and hit the road to Rothenburg mid-afternoon.
Rothenburg is what we all picture traditional Bavarian towns to be and my mother absolutely fell in love. We were unfortunately too wiped out to do the Nightwatchman’s Tour that evening, but we saw him with the group and it definitely looked interesting – next time! We spent the following day shopping, wandering around, and taking it all in. I would have stayed here an extra night if I’d had the time – we could have used it! I’m so, so glad we added this city in at the last minute – we really would have missed out on a beautiful little town otherwise.
Last but not least: Heidelberg!
Our hotel location cannot be beat – more on that below. But trying to get their in our car was not easy! We were lost for a good hour before we figured out how to pull up front of the hotel. At least we got a good feel for the city in the meantime!
We took the tram up to the castle – again, very worthwhile and an unbeatable view. We also took a mid-afternoon river cruise, which went about 2 hours and was incredibly relaxing and a great way to wind down after a hectic week. There are endless shops and places to eat on Hauptstrasse, and it’s excellent grounds for people watching especially with the masses of students milling about! This city is absolutely beautiful and a must see.
In summation: I still can’t even think about spaetzle because I ate so much of it on the trip, but I cannot emphasize enough how impressed we were with almost every single meal we had. The food was incredible – either we had really good luck in selecting restaurants or you really can’t go wrong. Renting a car through gamut.com was very easy and we received a free upgrade and superior service – everything was as it should be and our little Opal served us well!
Hotels:
Munich, 2 nights - Saturday - Monday.
Marriott Munich
http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/MUCNO
Due to BAUMA, all other hotels in our price range were full so I used Marriott points to secure our room here. It’s a bit off the beaten path in a quiet residential area, but very, very nice and just 100 yards away from the u-bahn station, 10 minutes into the heart of town.
Salzburg, 1 night - Monday - Tuesday.
Hotel Auersperg
http://www.holidaycityeurope.com/aue...burg/index.htm
Definitely recommend. Not in the old town, but across the river – a 10-15 minutes walk but well worth it. Lovely room, friendly and helpful staff, adorable breakfast areas both inside and out, and close to many, many restaurants. Parking on site.
Fussen, 1 night - Tuesday - Wednesday.
Hotel Sonne
http://hotel-fuessen.de
Perfectly location, parking on site, the best bathroom/shower we had the whole trip, comfy beds, and friendly staff.
Rothenburg, 1 night - Wednesday - Thursday
Hotel Kloster-Stuble
http://www.klosterstueble.de
Beyond description – it’s so unique and full of character, with enormous rooms. It was easy to find parking nearby (although not nearly as easy to actually find the hotel!) and the owners were gracious and welcoming. Definitely in the heart of things, even if you can hear a bit of noise throughout the night.
Heidelberg, 2 nights - Thursday - Saturday
Hollander Hof Hotel
http://www.hollaender-hof.de
The view! We easily had the best room in the city – looking out our corner room over the Old Bridge was priceless. The shower was awful and no matter what we tried, the entire bathroom would floor each time. But the hotel staff went out of their way to help us with any little question we had. Parking not incredibly close but easy enough. Recommend if you want to splurge a little for the view and location!
That’s all! If you have any questions, fire away! I feel like this was so high level but it’s already novel length. Thanks to all the Fodorites whose advice was invaluable during the planning stages!!
Aug 18th, 2007, 03:35 PM
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Thank you for posting your interesting trip report. I just returned from a 4 week home exchange in Austria. I also did a 3 night trip to Budapest and visited the Hallstadt area as well.
I still haven't been to Salzburg!
I did, however, get to some of the sites around Salzburg such as Berchtesgarten.
I have been to Fussen and some of the other places you visited on prior trips.
Your report brought back pleasant memories!
I still haven't been to Salzburg!
I did, however, get to some of the sites around Salzburg such as Berchtesgarten.
I have been to Fussen and some of the other places you visited on prior trips.
Your report brought back pleasant memories!
Aug 18th, 2007, 04:48 PM
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Great report - nycgirl1. We love the area you and your mother visited. Thanks for the links. What a great mother/daughter vacation! We took the Nightwatchman's Tour, which was fun.
Did you visit Käthe Wohlfahrt's Christmas store in Rothenburg? Even my husband loved that place. I've got real painted Easter eggs from Prague. Is that what you bought, too?
Did you visit Käthe Wohlfahrt's Christmas store in Rothenburg? Even my husband loved that place. I've got real painted Easter eggs from Prague. Is that what you bought, too?
Aug 18th, 2007, 04:56 PM
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oh, yes - lots of time spent in the Christmas stores (both of them!) I bought quite a few ornaments and spent waaaay too much money in there. I'm a sucker for anything Christmas related. 
I don't know if they're the same as in Prague - I don't remember seeing them when in Prague years ago, but maybe. They're hollow eggs and intricately painted in literally thousands and thousands of different patterns and designs. They're incredible!
I don't know if they're the same as in Prague - I don't remember seeing them when in Prague years ago, but maybe. They're hollow eggs and intricately painted in literally thousands and thousands of different patterns and designs. They're incredible!
Aug 18th, 2007, 04:59 PM
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Good report, thanks!
I was just thinking of the "Umlaut" thing, that would make it perfect
Fussen (always) is spelled Fuessen
Stuble (always) Stueble
Hollander (always) Hollaender
ü can be written as ue, never u
ö as oe, never o
ä as ae, never a
ß as ss
Quite easy and helps a lot reading it. Thanks!
I was just thinking of the "Umlaut" thing, that would make it perfect
Fussen (always) is spelled Fuessen
Stuble (always) Stueble
Hollander (always) Hollaender
ü can be written as ue, never u
ö as oe, never o
ä as ae, never a
ß as ss
Quite easy and helps a lot reading it. Thanks!
Aug 18th, 2007, 05:14 PM
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nycgirl1,
Thanks for sharing your report. We followed you later in May, not to all the same places but spent some time in Bavaria.
I agree completely about the local celebrations not being "staged" or "faked" for tourists. We were very fortunate to witness a Salt miner's parade in Berchtesgaden while we were there in late May, a most impressive sight.
MvK
Thanks for sharing your report. We followed you later in May, not to all the same places but spent some time in Bavaria.
I agree completely about the local celebrations not being "staged" or "faked" for tourists. We were very fortunate to witness a Salt miner's parade in Berchtesgaden while we were there in late May, a most impressive sight.
MvK
Aug 24th, 2007, 02:26 PM
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SALZBURG! One great city to visit!
We had always done Salzburg on day trips from Berchtesgaden. This summer we stayed there for 4 nights. Great decision! Beautiful city to stay in and explore.
HOTEL BRISTOL: We highly recommend this hotel close to the river across the walking bridge from Old Town. Nice rooms, great staff to help you. Highly recommend. Part of the main stars from SOUND OF MUSIC filming stayed here and are pictured in one of the hallways.
We had always done Salzburg on day trips from Berchtesgaden. This summer we stayed there for 4 nights. Great decision! Beautiful city to stay in and explore.
HOTEL BRISTOL: We highly recommend this hotel close to the river across the walking bridge from Old Town. Nice rooms, great staff to help you. Highly recommend. Part of the main stars from SOUND OF MUSIC filming stayed here and are pictured in one of the hallways.
Aug 24th, 2007, 03:27 PM
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It was fun to read your report to remind me of areas I really love - love too. It sounds like you had a great time. I had no trouble reading it without the umlauts. My computer doesn't have those either.
Aug 24th, 2007, 03:39 PM
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Umlauts are important. It's like the difference between Dusseldorf (translated =village of the stupid) and Düsseldorf (translated =vilage at the river duessel). The umlaut makes a difference, doesn't it? It's a different letter in the alphabet.
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