Anniversary trip to Germany
May 2nd, 2012, 09:23 AM
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Anniversary trip to Germany
Hello All,
This Is my first post on Fodor's. My husband and I are taking a week long trip to Germany the first of June for our 15th wedding anniversary. He lived in Germany for 3 years as a young teen when his dad was stationed at Ramstein. We are flying into Frankfurt. Our plan is
Day 1-land in Frankfurt around 10:30am, collect our things, rent a car, and head down to Rothenburg ODT. We will spend the afternoon/evening exploring.
Day2-Morning in Rothenburg, drive to Munich. Check into hotel, go to Marienplatz to explore and dinner at Hofbrauhaus, a long time dream!
Day 3-Drive to Garmisch area, hotel will be here for next two nights, stopping along the way at Bertchesgaden and some lakes, hopefully take cable car up Zugspitze.
Day 4-Visit Neuschwanstein and possibly Castle Hoehnschwangau, time permitting see Tegelberg
Day 5-drive to Black Forest exploring along the way. We will be looking for a cuckoo clock here, any suggestions on towns that would have the best selections and prices? Check into B&B
Day 6-Do some hiking in Black Forest. Suggestions on areas here would be great. I saw info about Hasselhorn Tobaggan, may try that out, it looks fun. Are the Triberg waterfalls worth going to? We will be staying at Haus Erika in Wieden. Also, this is our anniversary night, does anyone have any recommendations in the area for a nice dinner. We would prefer German fare, that's part of the reason for going to Germany after all!
Day 7-driving through Ramstein area to see where my husband spent a few years of his life, exploring for a few hours, then staying in Frankfurt before our 8am flight back home the next day.
We are early risers, and I know that we will only get to touch the surface of most of the places we are visiting, but does this sound feasible? My husband wants to show me so much, he actually had more planned that I recommended, after reading on here, to cut out. Thank you for your input.
Crystal
This Is my first post on Fodor's. My husband and I are taking a week long trip to Germany the first of June for our 15th wedding anniversary. He lived in Germany for 3 years as a young teen when his dad was stationed at Ramstein. We are flying into Frankfurt. Our plan is
Day 1-land in Frankfurt around 10:30am, collect our things, rent a car, and head down to Rothenburg ODT. We will spend the afternoon/evening exploring.
Day2-Morning in Rothenburg, drive to Munich. Check into hotel, go to Marienplatz to explore and dinner at Hofbrauhaus, a long time dream!
Day 3-Drive to Garmisch area, hotel will be here for next two nights, stopping along the way at Bertchesgaden and some lakes, hopefully take cable car up Zugspitze.
Day 4-Visit Neuschwanstein and possibly Castle Hoehnschwangau, time permitting see Tegelberg
Day 5-drive to Black Forest exploring along the way. We will be looking for a cuckoo clock here, any suggestions on towns that would have the best selections and prices? Check into B&B
Day 6-Do some hiking in Black Forest. Suggestions on areas here would be great. I saw info about Hasselhorn Tobaggan, may try that out, it looks fun. Are the Triberg waterfalls worth going to? We will be staying at Haus Erika in Wieden. Also, this is our anniversary night, does anyone have any recommendations in the area for a nice dinner. We would prefer German fare, that's part of the reason for going to Germany after all!
Day 7-driving through Ramstein area to see where my husband spent a few years of his life, exploring for a few hours, then staying in Frankfurt before our 8am flight back home the next day.
We are early risers, and I know that we will only get to touch the surface of most of the places we are visiting, but does this sound feasible? My husband wants to show me so much, he actually had more planned that I recommended, after reading on here, to cut out. Thank you for your input.
Crystal
May 2nd, 2012, 09:59 AM
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Still would be a daunting pace for me....especially on arrival day and that following (hello...jet lag?). That said,
Triberg is probably the town best well-known for the clocks including the original (predating the carved wooden animal clocks) Schilduhren, or painted face/shield clocks. There are a NUMBER of stores in this town featuring clocks, along with a forested watarfall and red squirrels that beg to be fed by the tourists. I personally would cut out at least stop to better enjoy the trip!
Triberg is probably the town best well-known for the clocks including the original (predating the carved wooden animal clocks) Schilduhren, or painted face/shield clocks. There are a NUMBER of stores in this town featuring clocks, along with a forested watarfall and red squirrels that beg to be fed by the tourists. I personally would cut out at least stop to better enjoy the trip!
May 2nd, 2012, 10:44 AM
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Especially if you are driving around the Ramstein area that last day consider to stay in Mainz or Wiesbaden that last night and then drive to the airport in the morning. Both are enjoyable cities with nice available accomodation (I recommend Hotel Klemm in Wiesbaden) and both are on your way back from Rudesheim to the airport as close to Frankfurt airport to as actual Frankfurt city. The alternative would be to still drop your car at the airport the night before and train into any of the three cities to stay the last night and then train back the next morning too.
May 2nd, 2012, 12:51 PM
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Hi Crystal -
Doable but a bit rushed but you seem OK with that. Remember that in June you will have nice long days.
There are some who may tell you that you should not / cannot/ are crazy if you drive from FRA to Rothenburg right after a long flight. But you can. I did and it was fine. Stopped along the way in Wertheim for lunch. Nice little town.
I can very highly recommend Hotel Gerberhaus if you need a recommendation. Inside the walls but very convenient to a parking lot just outside the walls.
Having the car in Munich could be tricky.
Since it's a lifelong dream, sure, go to the Hofbrauhaus, but be prepared. There's a good brewery restaurant just down the street - Ayinger.
If you don't feel like taking the Autobahn the whole way from Munich to GP, a beautiful alternative route is via Kochelsee and Walchensee.
If you have sun in GP when you get there, go immediately to the Zugspitze.
I think Berchtesgaden is too far away given the time you have in the GP area.
It's a little out of the way but after Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau you could drive up to Wies on your way back to GP. You could also see Linderhof.
Sorry - can't help with the rest of your trip.
Have fun!
Doable but a bit rushed but you seem OK with that. Remember that in June you will have nice long days.
There are some who may tell you that you should not / cannot/ are crazy if you drive from FRA to Rothenburg right after a long flight. But you can. I did and it was fine. Stopped along the way in Wertheim for lunch. Nice little town.
I can very highly recommend Hotel Gerberhaus if you need a recommendation. Inside the walls but very convenient to a parking lot just outside the walls.
Having the car in Munich could be tricky.
Since it's a lifelong dream, sure, go to the Hofbrauhaus, but be prepared. There's a good brewery restaurant just down the street - Ayinger.
If you don't feel like taking the Autobahn the whole way from Munich to GP, a beautiful alternative route is via Kochelsee and Walchensee.
If you have sun in GP when you get there, go immediately to the Zugspitze.
I think Berchtesgaden is too far away given the time you have in the GP area.
It's a little out of the way but after Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau you could drive up to Wies on your way back to GP. You could also see Linderhof.
Sorry - can't help with the rest of your trip.
Have fun!
May 2nd, 2012, 01:36 PM
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Crystal:
WOW! In reading your ITN it's actually a 9-day trip, and really ambitious. Your ITN is just over 1,000 miles. If all of your logistics went without any hitches at all you could drive your ITN but wouldn't have but a few hours total to 'smell the roses'. You're going to be there in high tourist season and the various venues you plan on doing will undoubtedly be very crowded. Last year we were at Neuschwanstein around the same time and heard people bemoaning the fact that they couldn't get tickets to see the castle until the following day and it was then only around noon!
Your Day-1 and Day-2 are doable and reasonably safe time wise. After that your schedule starts to get really ambitious! Could you possibly stretch your ITN to 9 days? I've done all of those places many times and would hate to see you over-plan and end up with a disappointing anniversary.
A couple of tips from lots of experience . . .
In Rothenburg, go on the Nightwatchman's Tour at 8 PM http://www.nightwatchman.de/index.php?&sprache=ENG
At the Hofbrauhaus . . . go through the doors to the left of the ground level beer hall and go up the staircase to Fest Hall. Get there early for best seating and be assertive about wanting to be down front near the stage for the entertainment. The buffett is not too bad so load up! Stay for the entire show; sometimes it gets pretty rowdy later in the evening. Don't leave the HB without walking through the ground floor Schwemm from the entrance to the far end. Check out the 'cages' where locals lock up their valuable steins.
If you plan on going to the Eagle's Nest, you may encounter wait time there for the bus to the Kehlsteinhaus. If it is cloudy up there the whole expereince is underwhelming, as the otherwise fantastic views are obliterated. A little known but more surreal experience is to go down into the tunnels and bunkers under the Turken Hotel, only about 100 yards from the station where the Eagle's Nest buses depart. Very few people ever discover this place and it is virtually untouched since the infamous days of the NSDAP in that area. This is the only privately owned property on the Obersalzburg and the owner, Frau Ingrid Scharffenburg, has a small kiosk on the side of het inn from where you can go down into the bunkers and roam around the well lit tunnels virtually alone! http://www.hotel-zum-tuerken.com/index.html
If you should happen to get to Lake Konigsee, you can drive right down to the waterfront instead of making the long walk from the main parking lot!! The narrow 'street' with all the little tourisy shops will be wall-to-wall people for about 2 blocks but they'll move with a little nudging! Directly acros the street from the Schiffmeister Hotel, at the waterfront http://www.hotel-schiffmeister.de/ there's a small parking area, within 50 yards of the boat landing to go out to St. Bart's.
The waterfalls in Triberg are a bit underwhelming IMO. A safe choice for a clock would be http://www.hausder1000uhren.de/about.php?lang=en They are perhaps the largest retailer of quality clocks in the Black Forest. They have a store on the main street in Triberg but he larger store is a couple of KM north of the town on route B33. I've had many clocks shipped back by them and have been very satisfied in all respects.
Stay your last night in Waldorf, which is literally around the back side of the Frankfurt Airport and you will not encounter any stressful traffic getting to the terminal in the wee hours. There are several nice places to stay in Waldorf and the drive to the car return in the terminal will only take about 15 minutes. If you stay in Frankfurt, Mainz, Weisbaden, Rudesheim, etc. you'll have to figure the drive time plus the risk factor of encountering hectic traffic; not so if you stay in Waldorf.
Paul
WOW! In reading your ITN it's actually a 9-day trip, and really ambitious. Your ITN is just over 1,000 miles. If all of your logistics went without any hitches at all you could drive your ITN but wouldn't have but a few hours total to 'smell the roses'. You're going to be there in high tourist season and the various venues you plan on doing will undoubtedly be very crowded. Last year we were at Neuschwanstein around the same time and heard people bemoaning the fact that they couldn't get tickets to see the castle until the following day and it was then only around noon!
Your Day-1 and Day-2 are doable and reasonably safe time wise. After that your schedule starts to get really ambitious! Could you possibly stretch your ITN to 9 days? I've done all of those places many times and would hate to see you over-plan and end up with a disappointing anniversary.
A couple of tips from lots of experience . . .
In Rothenburg, go on the Nightwatchman's Tour at 8 PM http://www.nightwatchman.de/index.php?&sprache=ENG
At the Hofbrauhaus . . . go through the doors to the left of the ground level beer hall and go up the staircase to Fest Hall. Get there early for best seating and be assertive about wanting to be down front near the stage for the entertainment. The buffett is not too bad so load up! Stay for the entire show; sometimes it gets pretty rowdy later in the evening. Don't leave the HB without walking through the ground floor Schwemm from the entrance to the far end. Check out the 'cages' where locals lock up their valuable steins.
If you plan on going to the Eagle's Nest, you may encounter wait time there for the bus to the Kehlsteinhaus. If it is cloudy up there the whole expereince is underwhelming, as the otherwise fantastic views are obliterated. A little known but more surreal experience is to go down into the tunnels and bunkers under the Turken Hotel, only about 100 yards from the station where the Eagle's Nest buses depart. Very few people ever discover this place and it is virtually untouched since the infamous days of the NSDAP in that area. This is the only privately owned property on the Obersalzburg and the owner, Frau Ingrid Scharffenburg, has a small kiosk on the side of het inn from where you can go down into the bunkers and roam around the well lit tunnels virtually alone! http://www.hotel-zum-tuerken.com/index.html
If you should happen to get to Lake Konigsee, you can drive right down to the waterfront instead of making the long walk from the main parking lot!! The narrow 'street' with all the little tourisy shops will be wall-to-wall people for about 2 blocks but they'll move with a little nudging! Directly acros the street from the Schiffmeister Hotel, at the waterfront http://www.hotel-schiffmeister.de/ there's a small parking area, within 50 yards of the boat landing to go out to St. Bart's.
The waterfalls in Triberg are a bit underwhelming IMO. A safe choice for a clock would be http://www.hausder1000uhren.de/about.php?lang=en They are perhaps the largest retailer of quality clocks in the Black Forest. They have a store on the main street in Triberg but he larger store is a couple of KM north of the town on route B33. I've had many clocks shipped back by them and have been very satisfied in all respects.
Stay your last night in Waldorf, which is literally around the back side of the Frankfurt Airport and you will not encounter any stressful traffic getting to the terminal in the wee hours. There are several nice places to stay in Waldorf and the drive to the car return in the terminal will only take about 15 minutes. If you stay in Frankfurt, Mainz, Weisbaden, Rudesheim, etc. you'll have to figure the drive time plus the risk factor of encountering hectic traffic; not so if you stay in Waldorf.
Paul
May 2nd, 2012, 02:16 PM
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Sounds like a great trip. I would love to come with you. You might want to spend some time on ViaMichelin.com to get travel times and distances from point to point. Bertschesgaden is a fair distance from Garmish so check that out. If you do go to B'gaden also consider Salzburg which is only a few miles away. IMHO I would opt for Salzburg and probably cut out the black forest to make the time.
Be sure to make time for Hohenschwangau. It is just across from Neuschwanstein and is a very interesting tour to see how people actually lived in castles. Neuschwanstain was barely lived in so it it a little like a movie set. Your ticket will admit you to both of them.
I agree that the Bavarian Folk evening upstairs at the HB Haus is a lot of fun. You might want to ask your hotel to call ahead and make reservations because it can fill up with Tour busses full of people.
When you are in Garmish you are 10 miles from Mittenwald. if time permits. It is the violin maker's village.
Have fun.
Be sure to make time for Hohenschwangau. It is just across from Neuschwanstein and is a very interesting tour to see how people actually lived in castles. Neuschwanstain was barely lived in so it it a little like a movie set. Your ticket will admit you to both of them.
I agree that the Bavarian Folk evening upstairs at the HB Haus is a lot of fun. You might want to ask your hotel to call ahead and make reservations because it can fill up with Tour busses full of people.
When you are in Garmish you are 10 miles from Mittenwald. if time permits. It is the violin maker's village.
Have fun.
May 3rd, 2012, 03:50 AM
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Wow! Thank you so much for the info. I really don't think DH would be ok taking anything out. One nice thing is since we are driving, if we decide to change things up a bit, we can. I really appreciate all the thoughts!
May 3rd, 2012, 06:18 AM
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Crystal:
These are the mileages between the stops on your ITN. They are best case scenario, no stops and using the 'preferred route'.
Frankfurt Airport to Rothenburg . . . 116 miles, 1 1/2 hours.
Rothenburg to Munich . . . 156 miles, 2 1/4 hours.
Munich to Berchtesgaden . . . 97 miles, 1 1/2 hours.
Berchtesgaden to Garmisch . . . 134 miles, 2 1/4 hours.
Garmisch to the Castles . . . 36 miles, 3/4 hour.
Garmisch to Triberg . . . 219 miles, 3 3/4 hours.
Triberg to Ramstein . . . 170 miles, 2 1/2 hours.
Ramstein to Frankfurt Airport . . . 98 miles, 1 3/4 hours.
The times do not include potty breaks, refueling stops, sightseeing, etc. They do assume safe driving speeds, which you had best adhere to when driving on unfamiliar routes.
The preferred route from Munich to Berchtesgaden is A8, which is a heavily traveled Autobahn. To reach Berchtesgaden a GPS will route you via A10 near Salzburg, then south for a short distance and then onto local roads B160 (Austria) and B305 into Berchtesgaden. When you're on A10 and part of the A8 you'll be in Austria, and you'll have to stop and buy a tax vignette for your rental car BEFORE you cross into Austria. The fine is steep if you are stopped by the police on an Autobahn without one. One way to avoid buying the vignette is to get off the A8 at Piding (still in Germany and just before the border) and take the local road B20 the last few miles into Berchtesgaden. B20 is a short very picturesque drive, which takes you through Bad Reichenhall, Bishofsweisen and Strub. The vignette only applies if you're on an Autobahn.
These are the mileages between the stops on your ITN. They are best case scenario, no stops and using the 'preferred route'.
Frankfurt Airport to Rothenburg . . . 116 miles, 1 1/2 hours.
Rothenburg to Munich . . . 156 miles, 2 1/4 hours.
Munich to Berchtesgaden . . . 97 miles, 1 1/2 hours.
Berchtesgaden to Garmisch . . . 134 miles, 2 1/4 hours.
Garmisch to the Castles . . . 36 miles, 3/4 hour.
Garmisch to Triberg . . . 219 miles, 3 3/4 hours.
Triberg to Ramstein . . . 170 miles, 2 1/2 hours.
Ramstein to Frankfurt Airport . . . 98 miles, 1 3/4 hours.
The times do not include potty breaks, refueling stops, sightseeing, etc. They do assume safe driving speeds, which you had best adhere to when driving on unfamiliar routes.
The preferred route from Munich to Berchtesgaden is A8, which is a heavily traveled Autobahn. To reach Berchtesgaden a GPS will route you via A10 near Salzburg, then south for a short distance and then onto local roads B160 (Austria) and B305 into Berchtesgaden. When you're on A10 and part of the A8 you'll be in Austria, and you'll have to stop and buy a tax vignette for your rental car BEFORE you cross into Austria. The fine is steep if you are stopped by the police on an Autobahn without one. One way to avoid buying the vignette is to get off the A8 at Piding (still in Germany and just before the border) and take the local road B20 the last few miles into Berchtesgaden. B20 is a short very picturesque drive, which takes you through Bad Reichenhall, Bishofsweisen and Strub. The vignette only applies if you're on an Autobahn.
May 3rd, 2012, 01:56 PM
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If you take PEF1234s suggestions above you might consider this.
The road from Garmish to Schwangau (Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau) goes by the Ettal Monastary which is worth a short stop, then by Schlos Linderhof if you want to see it, then through Oberammergau a charming village where they do the passion play on the 10's (years that end in 0) and then goes by Wiesekirche, a beautiful roccoco church.
That is a memorable drive even though it taks a little longer to make all those stops.
The road from Garmish to Schwangau (Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau) goes by the Ettal Monastary which is worth a short stop, then by Schlos Linderhof if you want to see it, then through Oberammergau a charming village where they do the passion play on the 10's (years that end in 0) and then goes by Wiesekirche, a beautiful roccoco church.
That is a memorable drive even though it taks a little longer to make all those stops.
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