2 weeks in Germany in June 2011
 

My boyfriend and I are going to be meeting up in Frankfurt after he has been to a conference in Denmark, and we are looking for an idea of what we should do for the two weeks. We are open to renting a car and driving around, also open to popping into Austria.

We are in our late 20's, we enjoy the usual things, good food, wine, beer, a bit of live music. We are looking to just have a relaxing time, rather than speeding around seeing everything.

Any ideas would be great.

Budget is medium... not going overboard, hoping to stay at B&B's.

Thanks

Mel

My favorite towns in Germany are as follows:
Bamberg,
Würzburg (best baroque palace)
Beilstein (for its nearness to my all-time favorite castle, Burg Eltz and for the wonderful Hotel Haus Lippman)
Rothenburg, medieval city

All are in the southern part of Germany, but I've just discovered the former East Germany. Quedlinburg is fabulous, and the Spreewald is one of the most interesting areas I've ever seen.

My personal preferences tend to be the smaller cities and towns. Unless you're mad about museums, I'd avoid the larger ones. But maybe that's just me.

Berlin is loaded with cultural activities, history, and museums, but I don't think it's an attractive place. Munich is more attractive, but it still doesn't hold a candle to some of the smaller towns.

The landscape in the south and in Austria is fabulous.

Have a great time!

We really enjoyed Munich. Great food and beer. Also a relaxing city to hang out in. Also has great history with WWII. We did Free Munich Walking tours and had a great time.

Berlin is historically very interesting but is more high paced and a cultural blending pot. It has interesting Cold War history, WWII, and museums.

Based on your interests I think you would really enjoy spending time in Munich and southern Germany

We had an amazing time in the small village of Burghausen (on the Salzach River on the German/Austrian border. They have an all-night jazz festival to celebrate the solstice in June each year. Music, food and art (and beer) - all night long! Our room at Hotel Burgblick, on the Austrian side of the river, had a lovely view of the town, and we continued to enjoy the music wafting across the river all night long. On top of the hill is the castle, the longest in Europe. Burghausen is only about a 45-minute drive from Salzburg.

So many possibilities, maybe you should tell us a bit more about your preferences? Are you interested in culture? Would you like to hike or bike a bit too? Or spend some days on a beach (possible in June)? Do you prefer the beaten path or are you an adventurer?

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Elnap29 the Jazz sounds fantastic I will definitely look into that!

Karasek, Normally an adventurer but with only 2 weeks I would normally take spend a month or two in a country but don't have the luxury this time, so we are just looking to be relaxed while seeing a few sights.

Upon meeting in Frankfurt drive to ROTHENBURG. About 2 hours or less by way of Wuerzburg then south or through the countryside. Spend the first two nights there inside the walls at REICHS KUCHENMEISTER or MARKUSTURM HOTEL. This will give you a very relaxing start to your trip. Good walking city.

We also enjoy Nuremburg, Munich, Salzburg (great town), Garmisch Partenkirchen area. You can see a lot in two weeks without spending all your time in a car.

Hit my sign in Traveldawg to see some of my previous posts on Germany trips, hotels, tips, etc. We enjoy the area and get back there as much as possible. Started doing it when we were younger than you and still at it 40 years later. Have fun!

One more item: Buy the book by Karen Brown, GERMAN INNS AND ITINERARIES....paperback. Great listing of small BandBs. We originally found many of the small hotels we now use in this book. Great information. She does many, so just get the German one.

There is a lot to see in Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland (I love Munich). I've been there numberous times so it's my favorite travel destinations. Cute and charming towns and villages, excellent food, clean and neat and the Alps are awesome. It's just a beautiful area.

I've only been to Berlin and some areas along the Rhine up to Amsterdam once so my prejudice to Bavaria is pretty high.

What do you consider a 'medium budget'? $300 per day? $400 per day? I like the idea about reading up on traveling thru the area. Your (20 yo) ideas of fun would certainly be different than a 60 yo posting here.

Have fun planning and even more fun experiencing it for real!

Two routes.

The "typical American" tour:
Frankfurt - Würzburg - Bamberg - Rothenburg o.d.T. - Dinkelsbühl - Nördlingen - Augsburg - Munich - Berchtesgaden - Salzburg

The "annoyed German thinks Bavaria isn't Germany" tour: ;)
Frankfurt - Würzburg - Bamberg - Erfurt - Weimar - Goslar - Wernigerode/Harz mountains - Quedlinburg - Potsdam - Berlin - Stralsund - Binz/Rügen

Both routes offer lots of medieval, quaint towns, cosmopolitan cities and nature. In tour one you see the alps, in tour two the Harz mountains and the Baltic sea. The second route moreover offers the best autobahn in Germany to drive flat out, lol.

@Karasek:

I was thinking about introducing a thread along similar lines... stand by!

Lavandula

You might want to look for "Zimmer Frei" (B&B's) These can be anything from a gasthaus type place to a room in someone's home. They will be very reasonable and almost all come with breakfast to save on one meal for the day.
If you go from Frankfurt to Rothenburg OdT to Dinkelsbuhl them I recommend you drive to Fussen or Schwangau to see Ludwig's Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles. You may want to stay at Gutshof Von Schluxen just on the Austrian side of the border at Unter Pinswang. It is a charming farmhouse B&B.
After you leave that area go to Wiesse Kirche (see ViaMichelin.com) then on to Oberammergau, Schloss Linderhof and Ettal Monastary. Then on to Mittenwald the violin makers village between Garmish and Innsbruck. I don't find a lot to see in Innsbruck but you may want to stop in Hall for a look. From there head for Bertschesgaden and on to Salzburg. The Am Moos might be a good place to stay in Salzburg or any of the hotels in the Altstadt.
After Salzburg you might want to go South to Hallstatt or East to Melk and Vienna. There is a lot to do and see in the area and being there in June you should have a wonderful trip. Have fun.

GERMANY
http://goeurope.about.com/od/germany/ About.com Germany page
http://www.cometogermany.com/ Germany The Travel Destination
http://www.loreleyvalley.com/index.html Rhine River Hotels
http://www.moselhotel.com/hotels/index.html Mosel Hotels

http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/ German/English Dictionary

Mittenwald
http://www.mittenwald.de/ Mittenwald town site

Munich
http://www.best-of-munich.com/touris...formation.html Munich Tourist Info
http://www.discover-munich.info/muni...st_offices.php Munich Tourist Info
http://www.mikesbiketours.com/14.html Mike’s Bike tours, Munich
http://www.muenchen.de/Tourismus/Acc...390/index.html Munich Tourist Info
Oktoberfest
http://www.best-of-munich.com/oktobe...toberfest.html Octoberfest Info
Christmas Markets
http://www.discover-munich.info/muni...as_markets.php Munich Christmas Markets
http://www.germany.info/relaunch/inf...003/Munich.htm past Christmas markets

Fussen
http://www.destination360.com/europe/germany/fussen.php
Neuschwanstein
http://www.neuschwanstein.de/english/
Hotels near Neuschwanstein
http://www.hohenschwangau.de/schwangauerhof.o.html Schwangauer Hotel near Neuschwanstein
http://www.hotel-hechten.com/ Hotel Zum Hechten
http://www.schluxen.com/ Gutshof Zum Schluxen

Rothenburg ob der Tauber
http://www.rothenburg.de Tourist Information Service, Has a current listing of all area hotels with prices.

AUSTRIA
www.aboutaustria.org/ About Austria
www.austria-tourism.at/us Austria Tourism
www.hallstatt.net/besucher/index.php3?lang=en Hallstatt
www.salzkammergut.at/ Saltzkammergut
http://www.oebb.at/pv/en/index.jsp Austrian Train site

Vienna
http://city-apartment.com/links/ Vienna Maps Museums Concerts
http://www.aboutvienna.org/ About Vienna
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/austria/vienna/ Lonely Planet Guide to Vienna
http://www.wien.gv.at/english/ City of Vienna
http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Content.Node2/intro.php Staatsopen City Opera House site

Salzburg
http://www.ammoos.at/ Am moos B&B recommended by a lot of Fodorites
http://www.salzburg.gv.at/en/en-index Land Salzburg site
http://www.salzburgfestival.at/index.php?lang=en Salzburg Music Festival
http://www.visit-salzburg.net/ Visit Salzburg
http://www2.salzburg.info/ Salzburg Tourist Info
Sound of Music Tours
http://www.bobstours.com/ Bob’s Tours SOM Tour
http://www.panoramatours.com/salzbur...FSGkiQodVBWmKg Panorama Tours Sound of Music Tour
http://www.viator.com/tours/Salzburg...FR27iQodoWWPOA Viator SOM Tour

Innsbruck
http://www.aboutaustria.org/capitals/innsbruck.htm About Austria Innsbruck guide

I forgot to tell you to spend some time in Munich. The hotels will be a little more expensive than the ones in the villages. We like to stay in one of the dozens of hotels near the main train station. Matter of fact if you don't mind staying the a more American style hotel there we have gotten smoking deals on the Hauptbahnhof Marriott Courtyard through Priceline. Check Biddingfortravel.com to see what people are getting during the dates you will be there.