erawleigh

We are still trying to figure out where we want to spend Christmas in Germany over our honeymoon. Someone suggested the Zum Baeren (sp?) in Meersburg. We emailed them and were told that they are technically closed for Christmas but that we can stay in the hotel alone from dec 24-26 while the family is away on holiday. What does this mean? Is this sketchy? Any thoughts on Meersburg in general? We have no idea what we're doing!

CarolJean

The hotel is lovely and small, as is Meersburg. I would not stay there under those circumstances. Even on your honeymoon you would be lonely on Christmas. Don't really have an alternative but a larger town would be more festive, I think. Have a great trip. CJ

Frances

We have spent two short breaks in Germany in the past two years. This last Feb we ended up in Meersburg but the zum Baren was closed. We ate one night in the Weinstube Lowen which is opposite the zum Baren and wished we had stayed there- although we didn't see the bedrooms. It was very cosy with a wood lined restaurant and the location was great. However Meersburg was deserted in the mornings and evenings and it was only day trippers that caused the town to fill in the day. Having said that we were there during what seemed to be a general holiday as many of the businesses had signs up saying that they were closed for that particular week.
We had travelled there from Gengenbach where we had also stayed on the previous occasion. Gengenbach was a living town and we very much liked the Hotel Benz which we found through a recommendation on this board. This is a large chalet type hotel which was very cosy with good food . It is in the middle of good walking country and very picturesque.
I would suggest you find out if the Hotel Benz has a Christmas programmeand then take it from there.

DAX

I agree with previous posters, Meersburg is not as great as I had expected, actually I was quite disappointed. The only highlight was our meal in Zum Baeren indeed. I stayed in Konstanz at the Steigenberger Hotel which was a special lakefront resort hotel. The rooms are almost like Four Seasons but not quite. Still the entire Lake Constance(Bodensee) is not that spectacular to me. I would recommend Salzburg for christmas. You can go to Hallstadt in the nearby Salzkammergut lake area. There is also a special lakefront hotel in Fuechsl to overnight in. Have a great honeymoon!

Suspaul

We stayed at the Zum Baren in Meersburg but it was September and the weather was wonderful. At that time of the year there were lots of things to do but during the holidays I'd think that the whole town would be pretty dull. Since it is on the Bodensee I think it would be very cold and damp. This is only my opinion but maybe I would look at another area to enjoy your honeymoon during that time of year. Frances mentioned Gengenbach and that too is a beautiful town, maybe you'd like to check further, I'd try doing a google search for Gengenbach. Where ever you end out it should be memorable. We too will be in Germany for 3 weeks beginning Thanksgiving week-end. Enjoy.

kitty

We stayed at the 3 Stueben this past June right around the corner from the Zum Baeren. 3 Stueben was very nice but it is a modern clean design instead of antiques. Lovely hotel with a very nice staff and great breakfast. Highly recommend.

However, this is a very quiet town after daytrippers leave and I would expect the town to be dull during the holiday season unless there are planned festivals going on. We loved the town and would stay there again but I think Christmas would not be a great time to be there due to the weather and the quietness of the town.

I'd agree that you'd be better served in a larger town during the Christmas time period.

jmw44

If you're still considering the Bodensee, you might want to look into Lindau. It has a beautiful old town and a lovely harbor. It's big enough, I think, to be active at Christmas. J.

treplow

I agree with JMW44 that Lindau may be a more suitable place for what you are looking for. It is only a good hour's drive from Meersburg and also just across the border from Bregenz (Austria). It has an active lake boat harbor (as long as the lake isn't frozen over). I would recommend the Hotel Reuteman-Seegarten, right overlooking the harbor. Have stayed there several times. The more expensive Hotel Bayerischer Hof is owned by the same family and has the same reservation FAX and phone number (FAX 49-8382-915591)

erawleigh

Thanks for the suggestions. I think we have decided to go to Hallstatt, Austria instead. We're planning to stay at the Gastauf Zauner - have heard great things about it.

bettyk

Hallstatt is one of my favorite places in Europe. I will be making my 3rd trip there in May. I have a calendar that has some fabulous winter pictures of Hallstatt -- lots of snow. I think it's a magical place, especially when there aren't as many tourists.

zozozo

We visited Salzburg last December and was wonderful. Meersburg is lovely but pretty quiet in December. I was going to suggest Fussen as we have visited there during winter and was really quiet romantic. We visited castles in the snow and were driven by horses up most of way to the castles then walked the rest of the way. It was wonderful in the snow. Fussen is not very far by train to Munich. Are you going before Christmas? If you are there are Christmas markets in both Salzburg and Fussen. Salzburg also has its town market and is lots of fun. I did not make it to Hallstadt but I think it is is about 1 hr or 1 1/2 from Salzburg driving.

adeewebstr

We were in Meersburg at the zum Baron in the summer of 2003 and loved it - in particular because the daytrippers did leave and the town was quiet, but then it was for my husband's 50th birthday - so we had a whole different outlook on things!