Brian

My wife and I will be starting a trip in Germany and Austria from Decmeber 14 through January 3. We will be in Germany from Decmber 14 through December 23 starting in Frankfurt and then going over towards Oberwesel for a couple days. From there we head over to and down the romantic road to Fussen. For that part of the trip we are looking for good places to eat and what sites should be seen. We then spend 5 days in Vienna. We're staying downtown and again what sites should we see and where should we eat. The next 5 days are in Hof Bei Salzburg. Again, looking for the places to eat and the sites to see. I was born in Germany but moved to the US when 11 months old and this is my first trip back. For food, we're looking for good, out of the way places. Any recommendation for pubs and evening fun would be appreciated.

Rex

Someone is sure to say that this is merely a &quot;plug&quot; for www.travel-board.com - - and in a way, it is - - but the ability to post a picutre/image (specifically a map) there would help this question a lot.<BR><BR>I have some ideas about places along your way (for example, Ulm?) - - but I am not actually sure where IS Oberwesel, nor how it connects to Fussen and I am not motivated to go look on viamichelin.com to get a better grasp on your itinerary.<BR><BR>Some questions would do well to post an accompanying map when asking for &quot;things along the way&quot; advice.<BR><BR>On www.travel-board.com you could &quot;screen capture&quot; your route from viamichelin and post it with your question and it might go a long way towards getting you answers.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

zootsi

Here are some recommendations for Austria: A small, out of the way restaurant we enjoyed in Vienna was the Goulash Museum - strange name, but great food in a small, quiet setting in the old city. If you are into jazz, 'Jazz World' in the Bermuda Triangle area of Vienna is the place to go - the quintessential smokey, brick walled, intimate pub that attracts world class talent. In Salzburg, we loved the 'Faithful Ape', a big, noisy beer hall and restaurant with a real local feel.

Russ

Oberwesel is very tiny and you will find it very much deadsville at that time, I think. You may find more going on in Boppard and in Koblenz, both to the north. Braubach, just south of Koblenz on the Rhine and not too far from Oberwesel, is the home of Marksburg Castle, which you can tour through 12/23, I think. Trier and Cologne, further afield, might both be worth your while as well.

Mike

I traveled extensively to southern Germany and Austria two summers ago. The very best places we found to eat where the recommendations made by the locals and the staff at the B &amp; B's we stayed at. I wouldn't worry about that ahead of time. Play it by ear and talk to the locals.

bettyk

Brian, are you planning to stay at the Auf Schoenburg Castle Hotel in Oberwesel? We stayed there in May and loved it. They have a wonderful gourmet restaurant at the hotel. Unfortunately we were only there 1 night so didn't get to sample any of the other local restaurants.<BR><BR>In Vienna, try the Griechenbeisl, a nice historic restaurant not far from St. Stephan's. For something different, try breakfast at the Gloriette at Schoenbrunn Palace. Not sure of their winter hours but you should be able to find it on their website. <BR><BR>If you ever see Mohr im Hempt or Palatschinken on a restaurant menu, try them, especially if you love chocolate. They are both fabulously sinful desserts!<BR><BR>As far as what to see in Vienna and Salzburg, a quick search of this website should give you lots of info.

Up

topping<BR>

Maybe

I guess maybe you had some very chocolate Palatschinken. But it's a alittle bit misleading to tell others that when they see Palatschinken on a menu that they they can assume a wonderful chocolate dessert. Wouldn't even have to be a dessert at all.<BR><BR>Palatschinken are crepes, simply put. Or they can be &quot;galettes&quot; as they say in Normandy and Brittany. Which are still crepes to me!<BR>

Nick

Hi<BR>for restaurants en route in Germany, you may want to go into a book shop and have a look at Marcellino's guide (a bit like Zagats) and scribble down a few. In F&uuml;ssen there is 1 place really highly recommended in Bad Faulenbach for German food(part of F&uuml;ssen but the sanatorium suburb if you like). Cannot remember the name off hand but it is in Marcellinos and that is very good. Check out the web site for Bad Faulenbach as it has a lot of hotels and is very pretty area. Alternatively some very nice places on Hopfensee just outside F&uuml;ssen.<BR>I now live in Vienna. For food - pizza, I suggest Regina Margherita in Esterhazy Palais - quite upmarket, most expensive pizza is Euro 9.90. I would not go for the other dishes as not nearly as good value. Japanese restaurants are quite strangely very good value and generally reliable- we have had our best Japanese meal at Yugetsu in the centre. One of the busiest places which is outstanding value at lunch (Euro 6.70 for 3 course, set menu) is Bettelstudent - (but desserts are pretty mediocre). Do &amp; Co is good but perhaps over priced. Schwarzenberg Palais - beautiful location with gardens in front, but perhaps more a summer place, but do suggest a relaxing afternoon tea there - can read English papers in comfort and quiet.<BR>I have unfortunately had a lot of awful or simply foregettable meals since living here - highly recommended to avoid: Die Wienerin in Wallnerstrasse (3.5 bites of fat, 1.5 bites meat); Esterhazykeller - see my review in Fodors Vienna guide, truly horrendous; Che - a trendy bar near the Bermuda triangle area - what a rip off - these were the worst three. Some of the traditional cafes are I think tourist traps and can offer awful service. My sister liked Cafe Diglas, but when I went there, I was about to hit the waiter for his attitude - &quot;customers are scum&quot;. Segafredo is trendiest place for coffee - God knows why, but it is the same case in Miami Beach. Sky Bar above Steffl is trendy and popular bar, and Bar Italia is very popular on Mariahilfer Strasse - again not quite sure why, but it is busy, and is close to the Ring. Christmas markets here are very nice - Freyung is cosier than the one outside the Rathaus.<BR>Baden is a nice day trip - go by train (30 mis or so) as faster than tram (over 45 mins).

bettyk

To &quot;maybe&quot;, even during the 2 years I lived in Vienna, I never saw any Palatschinken on a menu that weren't desserts. But you are correct that not all Palatschinken are filled with chocolate. I have had some filled with vanilla ice cream that were also delicious and there are some I believe that are filled with apricot or other preserves. <BR><BR>It was not my intention to mislead -- only to inform.

cova

Hi Betty,<BR>about the Palatschinken, there used to be a place (I don´t know if it´s there still) around the corner from the Salzamt, in the Bermuda Triangle. The full menu was composed of palatschinken, from starters to the dessert. Granted, it´s more usual to see the palatschinken as a main course in less formal places (maybe cafes with a small menu at lunch time or student places ...). The palatschinken filled with spinachs and cheese are some of the best I have had.<BR>About cafes, I like places like Braunerhof or Alt-Wien, but the list can be infinite.<BR><BR>Brian, enjoy the Christmas markets.<BR><BR>Cova

Liz

There's a place called, I think, Palachinken Haus, in the Naschmarkt in Vienna. All kinds of fillings, savory and sweet.

ambrose

Response to Rex: You mentioned a web site www.travel-board.com. I can't bring it up. Did you give the correct web site?

Bert

I can't access Travel-board.com either.

Rex

REgrettably, it seems to have died, with no explanation.<BR><BR>On a vaguely related note, I got a reminder mailing from virtualtourist.com today reminding me that it exists, and inviting to &quot;come back&quot; and give it another look.<BR><BR>Like Fodors it DOES have a &quot;pan-Europe&quot; forum, and it seems to carry some good questions and answers. Of course, you can post anything you want there, on your own page that they provide - - but interestingly enough, you can NOT make reference to your own page or promote any website in any way there. They say they will not allow any posting that it is not strictly a travel question (or answer) - - not even any trip reports. That's what your own personal page is for. You just can't direct others to read your page.<BR><BR>It's a lot of work to get into there world there, but I might give it a try.<BR><BR>and of course, there are the various Yahoo! groups. You can post pictures there, but you have to be a member to post. And they have nothing like message &quot;threads&quot;.<BR><BR>Still searching for anything as good as - - or better than - - this forum.<BR>

Rex

Point of clarification: I guess it's more accurate to say it's a &quot;pan-world&quot; forum - - if you want to filter it down to just a Europe forum, you can do that, but you don't have to - - just like here, you can filter THIS forum down to &quot;just&quot; a Spain forum, but most people don't. I guess by the same token, you can make Virtutaltourist country-specific, or maybe even city-specific, if you want to do it that way. It's all one big database, and you look at the portion of it YOU choose.<BR><BR>Interesting.<BR>