My wife and I (both around age 30) will be flying into Frankfurt for two weeks in late June and Early July. I've never been to Europe, though she spent a summer in Germany in college.

About us: We enjoy hiking and nature, though we don't usually "rough it", preferring instead to stay in B&B's, inexpensive hotels/motels, or park lodges. Our last two summer trips were 6 days in 3 national parks in southern Utah, and last year, a 16-day road trip from Chicago to the Black Hills, Yellowstone/Grand Teton, and up to Glacier N.P. in Montana. Covered 4,400 miles (7,000+ KM) in those 16 days, but we're not "car people" -- we still did many, many walks, long hikes, boat trips, tours, photography, and other activities during that time. Just trying to show how much ground we're willing to cover (though the driving was a bit of a grind towards the end). Sorry for all the detail, but I know it's important to know what type of traveler one is advising.

So far we've thought of heading down from Frankfurt to Munich/Bavaria, then some time in Austria (Salzburg?), and Switzerland (perhaps Berner Oberland area?), and then back up to Frankfurt. My ambitions are to see even more of Europe -- perhaps a sojourn into Italy or France. But that could be too much travel, based on comments I've seen/heard. Currently we have nothing set but our flights -- no clue whether to use trains, rental cars, or some combination of both. The "night train" idea is intriguing -- love the thought of saving a travel day that way.

So, after all that, can anyone please provide any ideas on possible itineraries? I have a feeling we'll enjoy every place we visit, but I just need some help with putting a general trip outline together.

(Final notes: We are from a big, flat city and more likely to be impressed by mountains and countryside, though we do have a strong appreciation for the culture and history cities offer. Also, we're flying using AA miles, so we don't have the "open jaw" as a possibility that I know of.)

I know how hard it can be to come up with an itinerary - we were at exactly this point a few months back. We too are going late June/ July, but for us it is a three week trip. I spent hours reading Fodor's threads and finally came up with the following.
Day 1: Dinkelsbuhl (not far to travel from Frankfurt, and hopefully time to recover from jetlag.)
Day 2-3: Prague (we did not initially plan to go outside Austria and Germany, but the rave reviews of Prague made us squeeze it into the trip)
Day 4: Cesky Krumlov
Day 5-7: Durnstein (Wachau Valley on the Danube - hoping to do some cycling)
Day 8-11: Vienna
Day 12 - 17: St Gilgen (outside Salzburg - I gather great opportunities for hiking, mountains and lakes)
Day 18-23: Garmisch-Partenkirchen (about 80km south of Munich - once again I gather some fantastic mountains and walking opportunities.)
We are hoping that we can enjoy the mountains and countryside, adding in some of the city sights this way.
I must add, we did travel to Switzerland (Bernese Oberland) and Italy (Lake Como) last year. We loved being out of the big cities, and Switzerland was the absolute highlight!!
Enjoy your planning, and I look forward to hearing what you finally come up with!

Pfogarty14,

As you know, the possibilities are endless. In my opinion, the first thing you need to decide is if you want to try and see as much as you can in the two weeks, or if you want to concentrate in one region, or country.

Since you are flying into Frankfurt, I would think Germany would be the target, with possibly Switzerland.

In Germany I would hit Bamberg, Munich and Berchtesgaden, all in Bavaria. Those are my three favorite German places, and each one provides an entirely different experience. You can research them and see why.

In Switzerland I would concentrate on either the Bernese Oberland, or the Luzern area. Both would provide breathtaking scenery, the best in Switzerland in my opinion.

Take the train everywhere. Get a German twin pass for Germany. Go point to point in Switzerland. LarryinColorado can tell you if that is the best way to go once you have identified your final itinerary.

That's it for starters. Have an awesome trip. Note: I think southern Utah has the most stunning scenery I have ever seen. You have seen that. Enjoy the awesome cities, history, food, and culture in Europe which are in my opinion the real reason for going.

We had a similar situation last summer - my first trip to Europe, my husband had been stationed there when he was in the army. We used FF miles in and out of Munich, 2 weeks between arrival and departure. How to decide where to go? Want to see everything, but don't want to rush around everywhere.

We chose to stay in Bavaria - 3 locations, Munich, Nuremberg, Alps (near Fussen). That way we didn't spend a lot of time moving around and made sure we had enough time to see things. We took day trips from each place as well as exploring the places themselves.

It worked out well for us. We didn't see everything we wanted to, but we had a great time seeing what we did and we know we can go back another time to see other areas. Actually we figure that we can manage an international trip about every 2 years and I am already thinking about where to go the next time

For transportation within Germany, we did a combination of trains and a rental car. Trains are very convinient - we travelled from Munich to Nuremberg on the train and also used them for day trips. We used a car for the alps - picked it up in Nuremberg and drove south, then used the car to poke around in the mountains. That worked out well too. The car rental was not cheap though, so I am glad we only had it for a few days.

Dear P:

Since you are flying into Frankfurt, I would head over to the Rhine & Mosel and explore for at least 3 nights. The Mosel River is charming with Burg Eltz castle, small towns, vineyards & wineries. Trier is the oldest city in Germany, with Roman ruins.

You could then head down to Wurzburg, Rothenburg and the Romantic Road to Munich/Bavaria.

Search this site and maybe check out a Rick Steves book on Germany to help you start planning.

Good luck & have fun,

MY

The Rhine is a good place for lots of things including festivals. The Rhine in Flames event on July 7:

www.firework.rhine-river.com/

Mainz' Johannisnacht in the last week of June:

http://www.mainz.de/WGAPublisher/onl...5tveyh.en.html

"We enjoy hiking and nature, though we don't usually "rough it", preferring instead to stay in B&B's, inexpensive hotels/motels, or park lodges."

The Rhine and Mosel towns are generally close to one another and connected by trails along the cliffs and by paved bike paths along the river in spots. You'll find hiking between towns pretty simple here, and if you prefer to daytrip rather than pack everything, trains and river boats offer you a way back home. Many hosts offer simple B&B accommodations and often bikes for their guests. Look at possibilities between Bingen and Koblenz on the Rhine, between Cochem and Bernkastel on the Mosel, for some of the best scenery.

PS: Along the Mosel, in the town of Krov is an international folk festival the first weekend in July. We stumbled across this about 7 years ago. Very fun & interesting. We were the only Americans. Dance troups were from Switzerland, Holland, other parts of Germany, Slovenia, and Mongolia!! There was a huge tent set up and also a stage on a barge out on the river. Very cool!!

Lots of options.

MY

It's sounds as though you already have a pretty good plan. If you like mountains- you're gonna love southern Bavaria.
The first time my husband and I went to Germany we had quite an ambitious schedule. Within a couple of days we threw it out the window and just enjoyed the country. It's a very relaxing place to go; although there is a lot to do. We just keep going back.
There's a lot of opportunity for hiking and nature walks as well as historic sites and awesome art.
The tourist board for the romantic road will send you lots of info if you go to their site and click on the brochures.

Two years ago, my husband and I, and his elderly parents did a 14-day drive-trip starting from Frankfurt. We went counter-clockwise, through many little towns and sleeping in:

Eisenach/Weimar
Dresden
Potsdam (explored big city Berlin)
Braunlage (countryside boonies here, great hiking)
Koln (visited Dusseldorf from here)
and then back to
Frankfurt

We stayed about two nights in each place, exploring the surrounding areas. For example we explored Berlin for a day while at Potsdam taking the 4-hour walking tour (which was wonderful! The American guide who does it is fantastic but walked so fast, we were aerobic most of the time! haha. Inlaws sat this one out)

Driving in Germany was a great pleasure and we had time to chat and bond in the car, but still explored lots of the area on foot.

We stayed at nice, charming B&B's and the two that stand out in my memory are

Romantik Hotel Zur Tanne in Braunlage
Weishaus Zum Krug in Hattenheim-Eltville (40 mins from Frankfurt).

Our last day driving up and down the Rhine, and picnicking by the banks was a nice experience. I think we were there over a wine festival of sorts and everyone was guzzling white wine while live bands played--this all in the afternoon!

We just stuck to Germany this trip because we wanted to focus on one country and immerse ourselves in it.

One stop that you might consider is Schwangau, where Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau palaces are located. We used to stay in Schwangau-Alterschrofen near Schwansee (Swan Lake)in what has become Hotel Waldman.

http://www.hotel-waldmann.de/

We loved the walks around the lake and through the woods to the backside of Hohenschwangau palace. There were many walks through the area, especially nice was a walk around the lake at Hohenschwangau's base. Even walking into Füssen by wooded trails was a possibility.

The area around the castles is heavily touristed but if you take to the extensive woods around these tourist magnets, you will often find yourself on your own. Yet there are many hotels and restaurants in the area, especially for ones willing to walk.

I have seen many a Rehbuck (deer), Swans and even once a Chamois. I shared my experienced my seeing the Chamois with a lederhosen clad German who kept encouraging me to take a picture of the distant, shy animal.

There used to be row boats for rent at the base of Hohenschwangau as well. The lakes are clear and peering into water is sometimes rewarded with view of the fish.

All of this and views of the castles.

Regards, Gary