Advice on Germany, Switzerland and Austria!
 

You have left out one major detail . . . What time of year?

For visiting small towns a car is more efficient than public transportation. If going from city to city, the train is a better option. We did a tour of the central part of Germany, going from Frankfurt (just the airport) to Görlitz and then on to Berlin. While we also saw major cities such as Leipzig, we would have missed many places such as this one;

https://flic.kr/p/fmbT9u
if we had used public transportation. Not that we could not have reached the location by public transportation, but because of the time loss other locations would have been left out given our own time constraints.

I wouldn't go anywhere in most of Europe at that time of year and plan to wing it. Do you want to forfeit a few hours every day to searching for accommodations? It was easy 20 years ago; now, not so much.

If "super-cute quaint towns" is your goal, you'd best have a car.

I would narrow it down to where and what you want to see in each country and sort of base yourself for at least two or three days and do day trips by train, bus or car. You would not need a car in certain places and parking can be a real pain. I like rome2rio for planning or at least google the distance between each destination. The tourist season will be in full force then and in southern Bavaria, the passion play is 2020 so accommodations will be scarce.

Both have their strengths ... train is easy, efficient, relaxing and you can eat, go to the toilet, stretch legs and so on. Car can be a bit white-knuckle but is definitely better if you want to visit places off the beaten track. The problem for me while driving (and I don't drive in Europe, my husband does) is the autobahn. You have to be well-disciplined while driving and there is rarely an appealing view from the road (unlike road trips in other places or from smaller roads). The autobahn forces you into one of three lanes: the slow lane for trucks and buses, driving at 80km/hr, the middle lane, which is about 150km/hr and the fast lane, which is about 200km/hr. The fast lane is really only for overtaking and if you are in a car which can't handle the speeds then don't get into that lane, because fast cars like Audis and Mercedes come up in that lane very fast and need you to be out of the way. You will probably spend most time in the middle lane. Keep right; don't move between lanes unless you intend to overtake and don't make a mistake about the lanes, it can be a deadly mistake. But if you are confident with right-hand drive it can be a very efficient means of travel. You can also select B roads (smaller roads) if you want to minimise autobahn time but of course it will take you longer to get to your destination!

Which area are you thinking of exploring? Bavaria? The Rhine? The Fairy Tale Route? North Germany? Thuringia and Saxony?

Lavandula

Sorry, but just to get this straight:
The German autobahn is a very safe motorway network where you are not obliged to drive like crazy.
One third of the network has speed limits anyway.
None of the lanes is reserved for any speed or any type of vehicles (with the exception of trucks).
The usual travel speed on the center lane is more likely to be around 120-130 kph.
When you pass you are obliged not to force faster cars in the left lanes to hit the brakes.
But you are also not required to drive 200 kph to use the very left lane and you definitely don't have to be "out of the way" once a faster car approaches.
You are just not allowed to hug the passing lanes but rather finish your overtaking procedure in due time.
Actually, every vehicle has to use the right lane except to pass.

Thank you Cowboy - but you are only safe if you are disciplined and obey the rules, which you might not know if not for forums such as this. It is not for Sunday drivers!

Lavandula

German autobahns are about to have set speed limits according to last night's Swiss news. 130km/hr. People (some at least) are up in arms about it!

Whether to have a car or not -- in Germany a car is an asset until you get to a large city. In Switzerland it is an expensive piece of sculpture that sits in an expensive parking lot. Otherwise put - rent a car for the time you are in Germany and Austria but NOT here in Switzerland. Our public transport is totally "meshed" - trains, buses, trams, post buses and even lake boats all operate on a schedule that permits them to connect one with the other. Connections are made, generally, in 4-5 mins. You can ship luggage from A to B as well. Since intra country drop charges are high (like €800 or more in some cases) rent in one country and drop in the same. But do not rent a car here in switzerland...

Dear Hambagahle,

I have to respectfully disagree with you-- after living in a small German town without a car for 10 years. A car, even in towns, can be a nuisance, as parking is still a problem and fuel costs are high. Autobahns always have construction, speed limits on highways are low, particularly when cruising through towns, and roads are very dense with traffic, causing frustration and delays.

I finally broke down a 2 years ago and bought a car (one reason was to make it easier to take my cat to the vet), but in 2 years, it has less than 5,000 km on it. I still usually take the train or bus.

s

" We want to see super cute, quaint towns with lots of history. "

Tell us WHICH towns in order to make it possible to tell you whether these places are reachable by puiblic transport every 30 minutes, every hr or only every few hrs.

Bonus for the bus and train. Boxing day the parking lots were full for the Zugspitze. We just cruised up to the door in the bus. Today leaving Garmisch on the train the roads were at a standstill, accident or just people wanting to ski I don't know but was nice not to be in a car. The trains were very full but it is painless.