jaynevh

My son (15) is keen to visit Germany, my daughter (18) is keen to have holiday she does not have to pay for. I am keen to try and instill a sense of adventure in them from my backpacking days. Thinking of flying into Munich and having a two centre trip with city and scenery, using public transport. Would welcome any suggestions as to where to travel to from Munich for our second base and things the teens might like to do.

Many thanks in advance

Jayne

jaynevh

Wanted to update my post but cannot find out how to do. Thinking of Meersburg but not sure if its easy to get to without a car and also Rothenburg looked a good place - any thoughts appreciated.

flpab

Garmisch is perfect, easy to get into with the train and there are many things kids your age can do there. Rothenburg, we drove there, not sure about public transportation there.

madamtrashheap

If you want to extend your stay in Munich by a day or 2, then you could take an organised day trip along the Romantic Road for the Castles (Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, Lindau) by bus. Then you could continue on to your next base - Garmisch-Partenkichen or Rotenburg ob der Tauber would be fine. Or you could also consider heading into Austria and using Innsbruck or Salzburg as a base if you wanted to do a little light (or heavy)hiking, sightseeing, etc. Meersburg on the Bodensee/Lake Constance would be good too, depending on the time of year, so consider Lindau or Bregenz as well.

What time of year are you planning your trip?

swandav2000

Hi jaynevh,

Agree that Garmisch might be right for you. You can day-trip to Innsbruck, Mittenwald, Grainau/Eibsee, Zugspitze, Oberammergau, and a few of the castles from here easily by bus or train. There are tons of biking and hiking trails, from easy and/or flat to (much) more challenging.

Have fun!

s

Becky_McElhaney

I totally agree with everyone else about Garmisch. Its a must see. So much to do.

jaynevh

Wow, thank you so much for your prompt replies. I forgot to mention I am going in the summer (August).

I will certainly do some research on Garmisch as that is not a place I had thought of. My son and I like swimming and I think both teenagers will like - not sure what they are called but they are like a toboggan run you can do in the summer.

Thanks for your help to date. . .

swandav2000

Hi again,

There is a swimming pool in Garmisch in the center of town (the Alpspitz-Wellenbad http://www.gemeindewerke-garmisch-pa...d=42&Itemid=49) as well as an outdoor Schwimmbad (Loisachbad), the Kainzenbad nearby the Olympic stadium, and of course lots of folks swim in the Eibsee.

There is the summer tobaggan run that's located nearby the Olympic Stadium; in German, it's Sommer Rodelbahn.

Have fun!

s

Cowboy1968

What are your son's and daughter's interests?

As much as upper Bavaria is a nice and beautiful tourist destination, it could be too "quaint" for most teenagers to spend all the time among the cows and mountains.

If your time and money budgets allow you could also think about splitting your time between Berlin and Bavaria.

The nation's capital should keep both your kids entertained as there are many exciting places to visit and things to do.
Berlin can be a real budget place to stay/eat/see/do.

november_moon

Sounds like a great trip - and I love that you guys are going to go by trail. I love train travel - such a sense of freedom, and for teenagers esspecially, I think it is great to experience car-free travel.

If your kids are outdoorsy, then the alps would be a good choice. I was really into hiking, climbing, mountain biking, etc. when I was that age, so I would have loved it. But not everybody is outdoorsy

I think that Berlin is a great idea for a city destination. If you want someplace that has a decent amount going on, but isn't a large city, Nuremburg is a good choice.

We are going to Prague this summer after visiting Munich - I haven't been to Prague yet, so I can't make a direct recommendation, but you might consider it. It seems like a really interesting place.

jaynevh

thank you swandav2000 for your info on the swimming and toboggan information. Garmisch looks like a good destination.

I didn't want to move hotels too much but I thought a bit of city time and a bit of time in the mountains would work well and we do only have a week.

My original plan was to do Berlin but then I got out a map and realised its at the other end of the country from Bavaria which I was recommended so I will keep Berlin for a weekend trip another time.

Thank you to all for taking the time to reply with your thoughts and suggestions, its all very helpful.