wrenwood

We stayed in Weggis and took the boat ride around the lake and into Lucerne, and also did Mt Rigi from there. Loved it.

PalenQ

Possible day trips from Munich -

Dachau (well 1/2 day as it is a short S-Bahn/bus ride out of town

Rothenburg - one of Europe's finest walled towns

Fuessen and Mad Ludwig's castles

Herrenchiemsee - Mad Ludwig's imitation of Versailles sitting on an island in the lovely Chiemsee, hemmed in by pre-Alps

Nurnberg - neat town with on its outskirts the most complete relics of the Third Reich - the Nazi Parade ground with stands still standing where Hitler reviewed thousands of goose-stepping troops - parade ground goes for a few miles and stones still there

Salzburg

for starters so five days in Munich is easy to fill - a few for the town itself - check out the Chinese Pagoda beer garden in the middle of the vast Englischer Gardens, which on a warm day will also be full of stark naked folks lying right along the footpaths - a la many German public gardens.

PalenQ

Salzburg also offers the experience of sliding down in a salt mine - the salz in salzburg i think meaning Salt like Salt City- just a few miles south of town are some old mines tourists now i think still slide down on slides - and there are similar mines in Berchetsgaden (sp?), just over a mountain from Salzburg and linked to Salzburg now by frequent S-Bahn trains (S-Bahns are free with railpasses as they are run by the state railways i believe but U-Bahns, run by local authorities are not - S-Bahns and U-bahns in towns like Munich may travel even on the same underground or above ground tracks)

Berchtesgaden is an easy day trip by train from Munich as well and you could also include Hitler's infamous Eagle's Nest (now a plain cafe that disappoints just about everyone who goes there - at Keilstein (sp?) - a short bus ride from Bercetsgaden - but the views of course are the same as you see Hitler taking in in old photos.

vict4ia

Thanks, again, for all of the great ideas! We have lots of ideas to think about, that's for sure. Concentration camps/third reich/Hitler-centric sites are out of the question for us, I'm afraid (it's a promise I made to my husband when we started planning this trip). The rest sounds great.

PalenQ

I can sure understand your point about those type of places!

Dukey1

Just coming back from Switzerland what I would recommend is this: go from Chur to Luzern and stay there. If you want a real "mountain top" trip (yes, you'll love the Bernina Pass trip and as much as I like it I would NOT do the Glacier Express trip right afterward even though those switchbacks into Andermatt are about as dramatic as it gets, not to mention the spiral tunnels)..anyway, from Luzern you can EASILY take the trip up to Engleberg (about an hour and on the so-called "zentralbahn" a narrow ga. railway which is basically like suburban rail) and your passes will be good.

Beautiful countryside and the last segment is rack-assisted. Once IN Engleberg it is a short walk over to the three-segment cable car system taking you up to the top of Mt. Titlis (10,000 feet). And you get a 50% discount with the railpass.

The last segment is in the so-called "rotair" cable car..an Italian brainstorm which has a rotating floor so you get a 360=degree view on the way up.

You can easily do this whole thing in half a day and IMO it is worth the time and effort.

Have a great trip.

PalenQ

dukey - And you get a 50% discount with the railpass.>

OP will have a Eurailpass not Swiss Pass - are you saying Eurailpass gets 50% or were thinking of the Swiss Pass. TMK Eurail will pass right up until Engelberg 100% but no discounts past that. But maybe this is new?

thanks - Engelberg i agree is a special special journey from Lucerne and an easy one too.

PalenQ

The Eurail Map that comes with passes does not indicate any discount for conveyances above Engelberg (as it does in the Jungfrau Region where passes get 25% off trains above Interlaken) so i think Dukey was referring to a Swiss Pass, which does give 50% off conveyances above Engelberg.

vict4ia

Thank you again, everyone. I appreciate all of the help and input very much. I'm definitely excited now.

PalenQ

Bon Voyage and be sure to report back - most folks do not but it is always interesting to hear what you actually did after getting there!

PalenQ

MT PILATUS CLOSURE

For the OP if doing Mt Pilatus after Oct 24, 2010 note that the dramatic cogwheel railway will close Oct 25 and no reopen it seems until Feb 26, 2011 - and after 11/22/10 the summit of Pilatus will be closed period - apparently until 2/26/11