Hi! My husband and I are planning a trip to Germany this May. Neither of us have been to Europe before. We are very excited about this trip and would like your comments and suggestions regarding our itinerary. Thanks! <BR> <BR>Day 1: Arrive in Frankfurt in early afternoon. Travel to the Rhine River area. <BR> <BR>Day 2: Explore Rhine River area. Take boat tour and possibly rent bikes. Spend the night in the Rhine River area. <BR> <BR>Day 3: Explore Mosel River area. Hike up to Burg Eltz. Spend the night in the Rhine River area. <BR> <BR>Day 4: Drive to Heidelberg and then to Rothenburg. Spend the night in Rothenburg. <BR> <BR>Day 5: Explore Rothenburg. Possibly rent bikes and tour the countryside a little. This will be a Sunday, so some businesses may be closed. <BR> <BR>Day 6: Drive to Fussen (or another town near Kind Ludwig’s castles). Stop at other Romantic Road towns along the way. Spend the night in Fussen. <BR> <BR>Day 7: Tour castles and Wieskirche. Spend the night in Fussen. <BR> <BR>Day 8: Drive to Munich. Spend the night in Munich. <BR> <BR>Day 9: Munich. <BR> <BR>Day 10: Munich. <BR> <BR>Day 11: Fly out of Munich early in the morning. <BR> <BR>We have a couple of specific questions: <BR> <BR>1. We will probably rent a car; however, my husband isn’t thrilled about trying to drive in a foreign country and understand signs/language immediately after being on a plane for eleven hours. I read in the Fodor’s book that there are car rental offices in Koblenz. We are thinking of staying in either Rudesheim, Assmannhausen, Bacharach, or St. Goar. Would it be difficult to stay in one of these towns and arrange to pick up our car in Koblenz on, say, day 2 or day 3? We might take the train up to Koblenz the morning of day 3, pick up our car there, and then use that as our starting point for exploring the Mosel. Does that sound like a good plan? Do you have suggestions for which town to stay in on the Rhine? We are thinking of spending the first two nights in a less expensive hotel and then the third night in the Schoenburg castle. <BR> <BR>2. We are thinking of cutting our time in either Rothenburg or Munich short in order to visit Wurzburg. Is this a good use of time? <BR> <BR>3. Do we need advance reservations for the night watchman’s tour in Rothenburg? I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere. <BR> <BR>4. Are tours of the BMW assembly plant near Munich still available? I have read on this forum that you need to reserve tickets far in advance; however, I have not seen the tours mentioned in any guidebook. <BR> <BR>We really appreciate your help! Danke! <BR>

We did this same thing several years ago and it remains one of the best independent trips we have taken. You will have very little trouble driveing yourself.Excellent roads. The only little problem is that the highways are not always signed by number. The destination is given instead. We had a Michelin green book and it was indispensable. A great trip. Need any other info, e- mail us.

Sara, <BR>I can appreciate your husband's concern about renting a car immediately upon arrival in Germany, but consider this. The Frankfurt airport is located southwest of the city, as is the town of Assmannshausen on the banks of the Rhine. The drive from the airport to Assmannshausen is under 40 miles the bulk of which is via autobahn; the drive time is only 50 minutes or so. To allay your husband's concerns, take a look at the website: <BR>www.ideamerge.com/motoeuropa <BR>Click on the "Online guide" in the left hand frame. In the columns now appearing on your screen, you can see pictographs of European road signs, by clicking on "Germany" see rules of the road and common German phrases seen on signage, i.e. "Eingang" - entrance; "Ausfahrt" - exit, etc. <BR> <BR>For a reasonably priced hotel in Assmannshausen, go to <BR>www.assmannshausen.mittelrhein.net and click on the photo for the Hotel Cafe-Post. Double rooms with bath are between $65 and $85 dollars. The hotel is family owned, riverside with sloping hillsides to the rear. Assmannshausen is far less touristy than Rudesheim. <BR> <BR>Here’s an itinerary that encompasses part of the Mosel Valley and part <BR>of the Rhine Valley that may be of interest to you. It encompasses slightly less than 150 miles. <BR>Assuming you may be staying in or near Assmannshausen, drive south on <BR>Route 42 to the ferry to Bingen on the western shore of the Rhine. In <BR>Bingen take Rte A61 about 11 miles to Rheinbollen where you’ll pick up <BR>Rte 50 to Bernkastel. Bernkastel has a lovely town square surrounded <BR>by timber-framed houses and an interesting wine museum. Continue north <BR>on Rte B53 on the banks of the Mosel River to Traven-Trarbach and drive <BR>up to the ruins of the fortress Grevenburg where you’ll get a superb <BR>view of the Mosel Valley and the town below. Continue on to Cochem, <BR>where you’ll be deep in the heart of wine country. Pick up Rte B49/B416 <BR>to Moselkern and Burg Eltz, one of Germany’s truly spectacular river <BR>fortresses. It’s a steep drive and you have to walk the last few meters <BR>or take the shuttle bus. The guided tour is well worthwhile. Backtrack <BR>to Moselkern and turn left on B416 to Koblenz. Koblenz was flattened in <BR>WW II and has been restored. Look for the signs for the Felsenfestung <BR>Ehrenbreitstein, (the Rock Fortress), accessible by chair lift. The <BR>largest fortress in Europe offers impressive views of the city below and <BR>two mountain ranges, the Eifel and the Hunsruck. <BR> <BR>Take Rte B9 south from Koblenz to Boppard. You’re now alongside the <BR>Rhine. Boppard has the reamins of Roman fortifications – walls some 20 <BR>off feet high and in the Alte Burg (Old Castle) there’s an interesting <BR>museum devoted to the region’s folkways. <BR> <BR>St. Goar is about 9 miles south of Boppard on Rte B9. There’s an <BR>interesting church – the Stiftskirche. Its interest comes about due to <BR>the diversity of its architectural style with a Romanesque crypt and <BR>architectural embellishments from the 15th, 16th and 17th century. St. <BR>Goar, too, has a castle fortress, the 13th century Burg Rheinfels. <BR> <BR>Bingen, 20 miles south of St Goar on B9 has yet another fortress that <BR>dates back to Roman times. It’s the Burg Klopp. On the ferry back to <BR>Assmannshausen, you might notice a tower on an island in the Rhine. It’s <BR>the Mauseturm (Mice Tower) and dates back to the early 1200s. <BR> <BR>If you'll Email me directly, I can provide similar itineraries for Upper Bavaria as well as a recommendation for a charming inexpensive inn with an excellent restaurant.

Sara, Sounds pretty close to something we did in 1999. We arrived in Frankfurt, stayed two nights on the Rhine, headed to Munich, two nights there, visited Herrenchiemsee and Salzburg, headed down to Garmisch and stayed in Oberammergau, back up to Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg, closing out back in Frankfurt. We had a great time. <BR> <BR>Your itinerary sounds good. On the Rhine, I recommend the Hotel Cafe' Post in Assmanshausen. Great location right on the river making it easy to get to the entire region. <BR> <BR>Check out the hotel recommendations for Munich by doing a search at this site. There will be many good ones from fellow Fodorite's. <BR> <BR>In Oberammergau, we stayed at the family-owned Hotel Alte Post right in town. Again, a great hotel, reasonable and within easy reach of Gamisch, Ettal, Linderhof Castle, the Weiskirche and Neuschwanstein. <BR> <BR>Don't worry about the autobahn, just remember a few things: Slower traffic moves right; don't run out of gas and wear seatbelts or they will fine you; don't pass on the right; if your car breaks down, pull over and remove the warning triangle from the trunk, on the roadside are white poles with black arrows, walk in the direction the arrow indicates, there you will find a phone, pick it up and say "auto kaput!", someone from the autoclub will be out; obey the right-goes-first rule in traffic, stop at pedestrian crosswalks when someone steps into it; the yellow diamond inside the white diamond sign means the traffic has the right-of-way; don't let the call idle unless you are in taffic or at a light. How's that? I took the driver's test because I lived there for awhile. <BR> <BR>I'd rent your car right at the Frankfurt airport. If you alert the Hoetger's (Hotel Cafe' Post, Assmanshausen)previously, they will try to have your room ready and you can nap for an hour or two when you arrive. Assmanshausen is about 40 minutes from the airport, if you book with them, they'll send directions. Also, you can ferry your car across the Rhine easily for a few bucks and don't miss Bacharach. <BR> <BR>I've gotta go, I need to find my own hotel in Amsterdam and I don't have much time! Have fun!

First, I am envious. It's been years since I was in Germany. Your trip sounds fine to me. Munich is nice but I would use one of the days to visit Wurzberg. Don't worry about driving. Get an International drivers licence from your local AAA. You don't necessarily need it but it has the international road signs in it. It costs $10.00 US if you are a member and It has most of the major European languages in it in case you have a proble. DO read up on the international road signs. They are completly visual but will help a great deal. No problem driving in Germany. Stay to the right when on the Autobahn. If you are passing (always on the left) If you see a car coming up behind you with its headlights flashing mover over to the right and let it pass. German drivers are quite good but do drive quite fast. <BR>While in Fussan try to visit both Newschwanstein, Hohenswangau and Linderhof. Also if you have tiem stop in Oberammergau for a couple of hours, its a charming town and has lots of schulptures. I have always regretted not picking up a wood carved chess set while I was there. I'm sure that they are much more expensive now though. <BR>Can I go with you???

You are getting some pretty good advice from above posters. We have done your type trip about five times plus lived in Germany in the Army. A few tips: <BR> <BR>No reservations needed for nightwatchman's tour in Rothenburg. Just show up at around 8pm and look for English tour. The tour is free, your host works for tips at end of tour. Great way to learn about the city. <BR> <BR>Great hotel in Rothenburg is Reichs Kutchenmeister. Central location. Good restaurant. Next to St Jacobs church and a few yards from main town square. I would spend extra time in Rothenburg instead of Wurzburg. Just personal opinion for someone on first trip. The town is touristy, but historic and great for walking. The criminal museum is interesting as is the main Kathe Wolfahrt Christmas shop. After many trips, we found Kathe to be fairly priced and excellent service to ship things home. If you see something there you like, get it as the prices will not be that much better anywhere else. <BR> <BR>I agree on getting car at Frankfurt. Short drive to Assmannhausen and this is good town to get on a boat for a cruise on Rhine. We have stayed at the Krone in Assmannhausen. Not cheap, but great old place right on the river and across from the peir for boat tours. <BR> <BR>Cochem on the Mosel is another quaint town. The Alte Thorndecke is nice quaint place to stay. We in fact enjoy the Mosel area more than the Rhine after having done both a few times. <BR> <BR>The autobahns are great to drive on. Just know the rules as one poster mentioned. Germans do not drive in the left lane except to pass. Once they pass on the left, they return to the right lane as there will be someone waiting to pass them at high speed. Get a map with international road signs in it and you will be okay. While the Germans do not have speeds on the autobahns, they do have posted speeds near cities and in the cities and they do enforce these.

Nice trip. Very doable. Here are a couple of thoughts. <BR> <BR>Burg Eltz is a marvelous experience, especially if you do the hike. Don’t miss it. However, this will eat up a good part of your day and leave you little time to se the Mosel. I suggest you take Bob’s advice and overnight in Cochem, 2 nights if possible (that’s <BR>“Alte Thorschenke”, by the way) so that you can absorb a bit of the very special ambience that survives here. Then, you’ll have a day to explore the little towns of Zell, Beilstein, Ediger-Eller, Traben-Trarbach, or several others, which can be done by bike, boat, or train (in the case of E-E and T-T.) The biking around here is superior to the biking on the Rhine because of the scenery and reduced road traffic. Much of the area is accessible by a paved bike path that is completely separated from the road. Cochem’s Castle and old town are terrific too. Here is a page with a few highlights along the Mosel: <BR>http://www.mosel-reisefuehrer.de/mos...ightsengl.html <BR>Also, I’d suggest St. Goar or Bacharach over Assmannshausen (more central to the Rhine Gorge sights; St. Goar has a ferry, unlike A-hausen, and another town on the opposite bank for exploring, St. Goarshausen) especially if you’ll be doing this by train -- A-hausen is on the “wrong” side of the Rhine for getting to the most interesting towns. <BR> <BR>I wouldn’t hesitate to do this by train, then pick up your car in Koblenz after leaving Cochem by train on day 5. Daypasses for up to 5 people in this region will cost you only $14/day total and get you almost everywhere, and departures very frequent. What days <BR>will you be there? There are a couple of “auto-free” days on the Rhine and Mosel this summer, one in June and one in July, that could seriously interrupt your plan to explore this area by car. <BR> <BR>I’d shave one night off Rothenburg, spending most of day 6 there, then head south to Füssen to overnight and continue as otherwise planned. <BR> <BR>Würzburg is great too. Maybe another time? <BR> <BR>You are welcome to e-mail me about this if you wish. <BR> <BR>Russ

My 2 cents:Trier on the Mosel is an incredible place and on the same train line as Cochem, Kiblenz et al. In fact its the last stop before Luxembourg. Trier has incredible Roman ruins, unlike any other in Germany well worth a diversion while on the Rhine/Mosel (Its on the Mosel)There are many nice hotels within the city center. The Romischer Hotel is right at the Porta-Negra the old ROman gate into the city. The rooms in '98 were $110 a night. Large, clean and comfortable with a nice restaurant and wonderful breakfast (included). You could visit St. Goar, Bacahrach and others from here or see Trier from there.

I did a similar trip: arrived in Frankfurt, rented a car and went directly to Assmannshausen (stayed at Hotel Cafe' Post ) on the Rhine. Spent 3 nights and did day trips along the Rhine and Mosel Rivers. We stopped in several towns and visited Trier too. Then we headed to Rothenburg via a ½ day trip to Heidelberg. Spent 2 nights in Rothenburg. Headed to Bavaria via the Romantic Road and spent 3 nights in Hohenfurch (near Schongau). Visited the castles towns such as Fussen, Ober. and Mittenwald. We also went to the Wieskirche. Headed to Munich for a few nights and saw some sights there. Also did a ½ day visit to Dachau and a day trip to Bertchesgaden and the Eagle’s nest. You can read my journal at http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/home.html which can give you ideas of times and how long it took us to see things and get to places. I also have my hotel information as well as restaurant information and photographs from the trip. (On my links page under Germany, there is a web site for Driving in Germany – good to learn the road signs. Both Wes and Lee provided me information for my trip. You mention that you might rent bikes and tour the countryside around Rothenburg. However, there is a lot to see in the town itself. We did the night watchman’s tour, which was very interesting and entertaining. We also went on a wine tour just outside the town walls. That was a lot of fun! There are many places to visit in Germany. I personally wouldn’t cut Munich or Rothenburg for Wurzburg. I’d save it for a future trip!

Sara <BR>This sounds like a well planned trip. We did a similar one, but in reverse order of yours, starting in Munich. We flew into Munich, spent the night and the next day and night, then picked up the car, drove to Fussen for Ludwig's castles, etc, then drove through Austria into Lichenstein and on to Luzern, Switzerland for a couple days, then a nice day drive to Rothenberg, then from there to Rhine valley and area and finally flew home from Frankfurt...go for it and DO NOT be afraid to drive - just remember to stay in right lane except for passing on the Autobahn - VERY IMPORTANT!!!

"Auto-free" days on the Mosel and Rhein? Help! How does one find out which days? <BR> <BR>Also (excuse me, Sara, for butting in on your thread) - is an economy size car (Ford Fiesta or similar) sufficient for 2 on the Autobahn, in terms of power and acceleration?

Sara, It looks like you hit the jackpot on this one with Wes, Monica, Russ, et al. <BR> <BR>To Gluck: I must have driven the Rhine Valley 30 times, but don't remember any "auto free" days, but it wouldn't surprise me nonetheless. <BR> <BR>In '99, there were five of us and we had an Audi station wagon, but in '97, my wife and I had an economy Opel Astra (1.6L) and on the autobahn I typically drive 100+, but the little car didn't have much problem cruising long distances around 100 MPH. At those speeds, you don't watch the speedometer, you watch your engine temperature. It topped out around there. The Audi managed 115 MPH easily. The gear ratios and higher horsepower get you more high end output than most comparable American cars.

Your trip sounds perfect. All the places I would want to see. The only change I'd make is to try to swing over to Oberammergau on your way up to Munich from Fussen. From Fussen head south into Austria, when you reach Reutte, take the road towards the Plansee. It'll take you through some beautiful pine forests and serene mountain lakes. It'll remind you of the Great Escape and Sound of Music. You'll cross back into Germany. Just over the border will be Ludwig's castle at Linderhof. It's well worth a visit. Proceed down the road to Oberammergau. Lots of kitschy souvenirs to ring home plus a simply charming town. If you still have time, head over to Ettal. The abbey there is absolutely stunning, especially with snow. I'd try to stay one night in this area and then visit Garmisch the next day. You don't really need that much time in Munich. In Garmisch there's a neat little restaurant right down the street from the Holiday Inn (I don't remember the name) that has good food and Bavarian dancing entertainment. It's been a couple years since I've been there, but maybe someone else will remember the name. The owner of the place used to run from table to table with this big long pole that held shots for the guests. He'd deliver two or three to each table, then take one for himself. By the end of the night, he was better than the slap dancers. <BR> <BR>You could pick up your car in Koblenz if you want to pay more. Like the others said, it's no big deal driving to your hotel in Assmanshausen. The only problem I ever had was getting out of the stupid airport, but I have that problem everywhere I fly. <BR> <BR>You might not need all that time in Rothenburg. You can see most everything in half a day. That'll give you more time to check out Dinkelsbuhl and Nordlingen along the Romantic Road.

We did an almost identical trip. A few personal observations...we enjoyed the Mosel far more than the Rhine. There were less tourists and the small towns seemed to be just that, towns where people lived rather than towns filled with buses and shops. Trier is wonderful. We took an walking tour of the city for a nominal price. Hated Rudeshime, but if you go, make sure to go up to the monument to Germania. The view from there was great. If the day is clear when you are in Garmish, go to the top of the Zugspitze. I didn't think I would like Rothenberg, but I loved it. Make sure to go to the City Museum (I'm not sure if that was the name of it). This museum has many lovely and very old pieces. We liked this museum better than the crime museum. Seeing all the torture devices got a little old after a while. Driving was not a problem.

Sorry I didn't have those auto-free dates handy before. This year, it's June 10 for the Moselweinstrasse (The entire road along the Mosel between Cochem and Schweich (near Trier) and June 24 for the B9 and the B42 between Bingen and Koblenz (both sides of the Rhine.) Here's a list of the other 35 autofree events in Germany and Austria: <BR>http://www.upi-institut.de/upi37.htm

I.do.not.believe.this. <BR> <BR>We were planning to drive along the Rhein near St. Goar on - you guessed it - June 24, 2001. <BR> <BR>Oh well, at least we know. Thank you very much Russ for warning us in advance, says Gluck (looking heavenward and wondering if lightning is about to strike....)

Russ, I checked out the web site you suggested - although in German, I was able to guess my way through most of the dates listed. <BR> <BR>Does car-free mean not even being able to sidetrack in from the Autobahn and into a Rhein town? Surely they can't imprison tourists staying overnight in these places and make it impossible for them to leave! My Michelin map shows me minor roads leading from the ABahn to the towns which would not involve driving the B road you mentioned, except as it actually passes through the towns themselves.....

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Hey, Gluck, some bad "Glück" for you, I guess! No, the access roads are open, but you CANNOT drive on the roads listed -- every intersection is blocked off and police cars stationed nearby. <BR> <BR>Ride a bike that day! Sei umweltfreundlich! <BR> <BR>Russ