k_traveler

Thoughts on whether Germany is better end of May or end of August?

Our basic itinerary is:
4-5 days Mosel/Rhine River Valleys. Most looking forward to spending one of the days doing a long (~55mi!) bike ride on the BernKastel -> Cochem Stretch, and otherwise seeing castles and scenery, walking/hiking the valley, and drinking wine!
4-6 days Bavaria. Some combination of Wurzburg, Bamberg, Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Munich, Mittenwald ... mostly walking whichever towns we choose, and hopefully a day trip to hike in the Alps.

I can either go the last couple weeks of May, or last couple weeks of August. I'm concerned about possible flooding/rainy weather in May, or overcrowding and hot weather in August. Thoughts?

PalenQ

Flooding can happen as well in August - I led bike trips thru the Mosel valley for years and we had more flooding in summer than in spring - the Mosel is a popular vacation spot for Europeans, especially the Dutch, and August is much more crowded in cities like Bernkastle and Cochem than May when you have the place practically to yourself - that said May weather can be fickle.

Always bike down the Mosel or you may have a strong wind in your fact typically going upstream.

Bavaria too has a lot more crowds in August than May.

Cochem is my favorite base - especially if taking public transporation - one of the few riverside towns with rail service on a mainline - Trier is one of the most fascinating cities in Europe and one of its oldest with arguably the finest Roman relics north of the Alps - with the Porta Negra gate IMO being the finest intact Roman relic north of the Alps.

If interested in learning about Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wine Trier has, behind its Roman theatre, a Wine-Teaching Path.

Burg Eltz of course is one of the most famous castles in Europe - gtake a train or bike there from Cochem and do a lovely uphill walk thru a forest to the castle brooding high above the Mosel Valley and one of the few not decimated by marauding armies thru the ages.

From Cochem itself there is a nice walk up into the hills and also to a ruined castle high above the Mosel that few people stumble onto.

Andrew

Not to tag onto someone else's thread too much - but, PalenQ, what would you say about Cochem in early April? If it has say rained for the last week, is taking a walk up in the hills above Cochem going to be impractical due to mud, etc.?

pja1

We did a similar itinerary in Oct. 2007. Flew into FRA. and spent 4 nights based in Cochem (actually Valwig across the river), 2 nights in Rothenburg and 4 nights based in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. Between late May and late August, I'd go with late May. We usually travel in Oct., but did a trip to Germany and Austria in late April/early May and had pretty nice temps. Late May should even be better.

If interested, we have a trip report at:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ith-photos.cfm

soogies

Hmmm... I've been to Germany (and other countries) in August and May. I prefer May, even with the unpredictable weather, rather than larger crowds which will be a for sure in summer.

We spent time in All the areas you mention in May several years ago. No floods but unexpected torrential downpours and pretty chilly - 40s. But if you're prepared fr that, it's not so bad. Insted of hiking up to Burg Eltz we took a cab, for instance.

I prefer to avoid crowds as much as possible, so putting up with weather is my trade off.

PalenQ

July is actually the worst month IME for crowds in Mosel towns - August still busy but not as bad as July.