Bad Travel Agent or Good Advice?
Mar 21st, 2005, 03:29 PM
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Bad Travel Agent or Good Advice?
I'm planning a trip to Germany in May. I'm spending my first 5 days in Berlin and from there I had planned to go to Munich by train, then on to Fussen. I really want to see Neuschwanstein and the Alps.
The problem: the agent (30 years in the business) said she never heard of Fussen and she wasn't sure how I would get there from Munich. She didn't seem terribly interested in helping me figure it out - she just kept advising me to stick to Munich or other big cities. She advised me against going to any of the smaller towns because no one would speak English and I would have too much trouble.
Has anyone been to Fussen (or Freiburg or Bacharach, my two other choices)? Am I crazy to want to go there? I am a female traveling alone, and I speak very limited German, but I really want to see these places.
Should I try another agent, try to go it alone, or just take her advice?
This trip has been my dream and I really don't want to be disappointed. Please help!
The problem: the agent (30 years in the business) said she never heard of Fussen and she wasn't sure how I would get there from Munich. She didn't seem terribly interested in helping me figure it out - she just kept advising me to stick to Munich or other big cities. She advised me against going to any of the smaller towns because no one would speak English and I would have too much trouble.
Has anyone been to Fussen (or Freiburg or Bacharach, my two other choices)? Am I crazy to want to go there? I am a female traveling alone, and I speak very limited German, but I really want to see these places.
Should I try another agent, try to go it alone, or just take her advice?
This trip has been my dream and I really don't want to be disappointed. Please help!
Mar 21st, 2005, 03:55 PM
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Bad travel agent!!! Please don't alter your travel plans to accommodate what she has or hadn't heard of. And who cares if you encounter people who don't speak English? That's part of the adventure and the enjoyment of new experiences.
Plan the trip without your travel agent, but don't totally "go it your own." You've come to the right place for helpful travel advice. You may want to post a separate thread in the Germany topic with your city choices in the title...I'm willing to be you will get some helpful advice in response.
Have a wonderful trip to Germany.
Plan the trip without your travel agent, but don't totally "go it your own." You've come to the right place for helpful travel advice. You may want to post a separate thread in the Germany topic with your city choices in the title...I'm willing to be you will get some helpful advice in response.
Have a wonderful trip to Germany.
Mar 21st, 2005, 04:04 PM
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Bad travel agent.
I'm envious - I wish I was going with you. Bavaria in May is a beautiful place. Warm enough to doff the winter coat, but cool enough to stay active all day without wilting. It's well before the high tourist season, so you can avoid the hordes. There are a couple of ways to explore southern Bavaria. The most popular way for American tourists is to join a bus tour, departing from Munich hotels or other central places. I'm not familiar with those myself. They'll take you to one or both of the famous castles in Fussen, Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau. The former is a beautiful sight from a distance, and the latter is nicer to tour inside. Even if you don't go inside Hohenschwangau, I recommend you at least go up to the castle and enjoy the views. The trek up to Newschwanstein is a very nice walk uphill - with UP being the operative word. There are other ways to get to the castle from the base (bus or carriage but I recommend you give yourself plenty of time, pack a picnic lunch, and enjoy the hike through the woods, not up the road.
There is a central ticket office (in town at the base of the castle) that will sell timed admission/tour tickets. Go there first and you'll have a choice of times to visit the castles with plenty of time to wander about beforehand. Fussen is about 1.5 or 2 hrs drive south of Munich - a very easy drive once you get out of Munich proper.
If you're comfortable navigating, I think a far better option is to rent a car for 1 or 2 days and set off and explore on your own. You will find parking just outside Fussen with an easy walk up to the castle area. To me, the joy of travelling is finding things on my own. Get yourself a roadmap of Bavaria and explore. Once off the Autobahn, you can navigate your way from town to town, stopping at a roadside strawberry farm for fresh picked berries (may not be ready till late May?), finding a small wood carving shop or a nice little restaurant that's not overrun with foreign tourists. Getting to Fussen is easy, as long as you can follow a picture of a castle with an arrow on it.
If you want to explore the Alps, I recommend you simply find a ski slope/mountain near Fussen (there's one just outside town if I remember right). Many ski slopes will let you buy a chairlift ride to the top of the hill (or mountain), where you can enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, take a hiking trail back down through meadows of flowers to the bottom or enjoy a beer and the view from the top and ride back down. One of my favorite pasttimes is to hop on a Summerrodelbahn, or summer toboggan run (1 or 2 person wheeled sled on a slide/track), also common on the same ski slopes. They a are a blast. When I travel with the kids, we make it a point to hit every possible rodelbahn and by 10X trip tickets. Better fun than waiting in line at Disney any day.
If you want a true taste of the Alps with sweeping views into Austria head over to Garmish-Partenkirchen, about 1hr from Fussen. There you can take either a railway or cable car to the top of the Zugspitze. It's pretty much an off the beaten track all day affair, so unless you're seriously into heights and views, I would stick to enjoying the hills or small mountains near Fussen or environs.
Stay in the big cities because noone would speak English? I say get a new travel agent. Everybody in Bavaria speaks English. Everybody. And if you know even a little German, you'll be 2 steps ahead of just about every tourist, and it will be appreciated. In May, there will be no problem finding a free room on a weekday. Pick a small town to arrive in mid afternoon, find a small Gasthaus, enjoy dinner and a beer in the Gasthaus or nearby restaurant and have some fun, then spend the night with your window open, snuggled under a feather blanket.
Enjoy!
I'm envious - I wish I was going with you. Bavaria in May is a beautiful place. Warm enough to doff the winter coat, but cool enough to stay active all day without wilting. It's well before the high tourist season, so you can avoid the hordes. There are a couple of ways to explore southern Bavaria. The most popular way for American tourists is to join a bus tour, departing from Munich hotels or other central places. I'm not familiar with those myself. They'll take you to one or both of the famous castles in Fussen, Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau. The former is a beautiful sight from a distance, and the latter is nicer to tour inside. Even if you don't go inside Hohenschwangau, I recommend you at least go up to the castle and enjoy the views. The trek up to Newschwanstein is a very nice walk uphill - with UP being the operative word. There are other ways to get to the castle from the base (bus or carriage but I recommend you give yourself plenty of time, pack a picnic lunch, and enjoy the hike through the woods, not up the road.
There is a central ticket office (in town at the base of the castle) that will sell timed admission/tour tickets. Go there first and you'll have a choice of times to visit the castles with plenty of time to wander about beforehand. Fussen is about 1.5 or 2 hrs drive south of Munich - a very easy drive once you get out of Munich proper.
If you're comfortable navigating, I think a far better option is to rent a car for 1 or 2 days and set off and explore on your own. You will find parking just outside Fussen with an easy walk up to the castle area. To me, the joy of travelling is finding things on my own. Get yourself a roadmap of Bavaria and explore. Once off the Autobahn, you can navigate your way from town to town, stopping at a roadside strawberry farm for fresh picked berries (may not be ready till late May?), finding a small wood carving shop or a nice little restaurant that's not overrun with foreign tourists. Getting to Fussen is easy, as long as you can follow a picture of a castle with an arrow on it.
If you want to explore the Alps, I recommend you simply find a ski slope/mountain near Fussen (there's one just outside town if I remember right). Many ski slopes will let you buy a chairlift ride to the top of the hill (or mountain), where you can enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, take a hiking trail back down through meadows of flowers to the bottom or enjoy a beer and the view from the top and ride back down. One of my favorite pasttimes is to hop on a Summerrodelbahn, or summer toboggan run (1 or 2 person wheeled sled on a slide/track), also common on the same ski slopes. They a are a blast. When I travel with the kids, we make it a point to hit every possible rodelbahn and by 10X trip tickets. Better fun than waiting in line at Disney any day.
If you want a true taste of the Alps with sweeping views into Austria head over to Garmish-Partenkirchen, about 1hr from Fussen. There you can take either a railway or cable car to the top of the Zugspitze. It's pretty much an off the beaten track all day affair, so unless you're seriously into heights and views, I would stick to enjoying the hills or small mountains near Fussen or environs.
Stay in the big cities because noone would speak English? I say get a new travel agent. Everybody in Bavaria speaks English. Everybody. And if you know even a little German, you'll be 2 steps ahead of just about every tourist, and it will be appreciated. In May, there will be no problem finding a free room on a weekday. Pick a small town to arrive in mid afternoon, find a small Gasthaus, enjoy dinner and a beer in the Gasthaus or nearby restaurant and have some fun, then spend the night with your window open, snuggled under a feather blanket.
Enjoy!
Mar 21st, 2005, 04:15 PM
#5
Bad travel agent.
That said, I know nothing about Germany but I don't believe that because she had never heard of a town and was not familiar with various transportation options, is any reason for you to change your plans.
Another reason to ditch her is that lousy piece of advice about "no one would speak English"... first off DUH, you are in Europe. And even in large cities don't count on people speaking English. You can still get by. I have easily enough.
So to better answer your question, either try another agent (give them this exact set of criteria and see what they do with it) or go it alone with the help of a guidebook, the internet, and this BB. I would most certainly not take her advice because it is basically useless.
That said, I know nothing about Germany but I don't believe that because she had never heard of a town and was not familiar with various transportation options, is any reason for you to change your plans.
Another reason to ditch her is that lousy piece of advice about "no one would speak English"... first off DUH, you are in Europe. And even in large cities don't count on people speaking English. You can still get by. I have easily enough.
So to better answer your question, either try another agent (give them this exact set of criteria and see what they do with it) or go it alone with the help of a guidebook, the internet, and this BB. I would most certainly not take her advice because it is basically useless.
Mar 21st, 2005, 04:17 PM
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Hi jeb,
>...the agent (30 years in the business) said she never heard of Fussen and she wasn't sure how I would get there from Munich. <
A travel agent, no matter how good, can't go everywhere.
Let's be kind and say that Germany isn't her area of specialty.
>...the agent (30 years in the business) said she never heard of Fussen and she wasn't sure how I would get there from Munich. <
A travel agent, no matter how good, can't go everywhere.
Let's be kind and say that Germany isn't her area of specialty.
Mar 21st, 2005, 04:18 PM
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Jeb
Bad Agent. There IS such a place as Fussen, you can reach it by train from Munich and can plan this even if you are traveling alone. There have been several posts here on the castles and how to get there, so do a search for Neuschwanstein. It is a small town but a big tourist spot so places like hotels, restaurants, and cashier will speak English if asked. There are even English guided tours through the castle. Sticking to the big cities you miss all of the charm of Germany, so go for it!
Clea
Bad Agent. There IS such a place as Fussen, you can reach it by train from Munich and can plan this even if you are traveling alone. There have been several posts here on the castles and how to get there, so do a search for Neuschwanstein. It is a small town but a big tourist spot so places like hotels, restaurants, and cashier will speak English if asked. There are even English guided tours through the castle. Sticking to the big cities you miss all of the charm of Germany, so go for it!
Clea
Mar 21st, 2005, 04:43 PM
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Thank you all for your advice, I feel so much better! Special thanks to J62 for all the details! One question: does anyone know how often the trains run from Munich to Fussen? Is it something I would need to book in advance, or is it more like a local train?
Mar 21st, 2005, 04:55 PM
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here are some handy web sites
http://www.hohenschwangau.de (follow the English link) for Neuschwanstein info and
For Deutsche Bahn train schedules.
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
A quick query shows hourly departures (51 min past the hr) from Munich Hbf for the 2 hr ride to Fuessen (Füssen), with most (but not all) requiring a change of trains in Buchloe.
The trains are on time and very handy, so the change is no big deal. No advance purchase required - this will be a local train.
http://www.hohenschwangau.de (follow the English link) for Neuschwanstein info and
For Deutsche Bahn train schedules.
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
A quick query shows hourly departures (51 min past the hr) from Munich Hbf for the 2 hr ride to Fuessen (Füssen), with most (but not all) requiring a change of trains in Buchloe.
The trains are on time and very handy, so the change is no big deal. No advance purchase required - this will be a local train.
Mar 21st, 2005, 05:07 PM
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Really bad travel agent. It sounds like she has never been to Germany - and should stick to selling packages to orlando.
I would never work with a travel agent who has not spent at least some time in your destination.
We have traveled all over in Germany - including numerous small towns - and have never had a problem with people not speaking english. Of course - not everyone is fluent - but there's always someone who knows a little - and English and German are so close its easy to muddle along.
Many of these towns are hotbeds of tourism - and are very easy to maneuver - either by train or rental car.
Don;t hesitate to go exactly where you want.
I would never work with a travel agent who has not spent at least some time in your destination.
We have traveled all over in Germany - including numerous small towns - and have never had a problem with people not speaking english. Of course - not everyone is fluent - but there's always someone who knows a little - and English and German are so close its easy to muddle along.
Many of these towns are hotbeds of tourism - and are very easy to maneuver - either by train or rental car.
Don;t hesitate to go exactly where you want.
Mar 21st, 2005, 05:15 PM
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I am sorry about the "advice" you got from your travel agent. Not true what he said. It is such fun to see the country side and visit some of the smaller towns. 20 years ago I was driving and spoke "kein" very little German. After visiting Fusen I was asking someone for the "weg to Garmish". I thought he kept saying Zurich and I kept say "Nein, Garmish". He then pantomined turning the steering wheel. I learned a new word, "Zuruck" Turn around. You will have a wonderful time in Germany and some great adventures. Have gotten lost a few times and stopped in the first town I came to. Was such a wonderful little town (can't remember the name now)that my next trip to Germany included that very town. That is the reason I travel.
Mar 21st, 2005, 05:28 PM
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Well, maybe it's because we've done a lot of traveling in Germany, including Bavaria, but we've found a lot of places where English speakers are very rare. But we do get off the beaten tourist path quite a lot.
Many museums, palaces/castles, and other sights do not have much information in English, so do try to get on English-speaking tours, or have a good guidebook like the Michelin Green Guides.
However, where you are likely to go, you should not have any language problems.
If you do rent a car, and I agree it is the best way to go in Bavaria outside of the the big cities, you might stay right in the village of Hohenschwangau where the castles and ticket center are located.
We stayed in a very nice pension right under Neuschwanstein castle 2 years ago--Romantic Pension Albrecht--they must have just changed their name. It was Romantic Pension Neuschwanstein when we were there. It was 64 euro double with a modern bath, breakfast, parking all included. Within walking distance of the ticket center and the castle trailheads.
http://www.albrecht-neuschwanstein.de/index2.html
There is a good Bavarian restaurant at Alpenhotel Meier--just a few minutes drive from the pension.
http://www.alpenhotel-allgaeu.de/engl/e-index.htm
Many museums, palaces/castles, and other sights do not have much information in English, so do try to get on English-speaking tours, or have a good guidebook like the Michelin Green Guides.
However, where you are likely to go, you should not have any language problems.
If you do rent a car, and I agree it is the best way to go in Bavaria outside of the the big cities, you might stay right in the village of Hohenschwangau where the castles and ticket center are located.
We stayed in a very nice pension right under Neuschwanstein castle 2 years ago--Romantic Pension Albrecht--they must have just changed their name. It was Romantic Pension Neuschwanstein when we were there. It was 64 euro double with a modern bath, breakfast, parking all included. Within walking distance of the ticket center and the castle trailheads.
http://www.albrecht-neuschwanstein.de/index2.html
There is a good Bavarian restaurant at Alpenhotel Meier--just a few minutes drive from the pension.
http://www.alpenhotel-allgaeu.de/engl/e-index.htm
Mar 21st, 2005, 05:28 PM
#13
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You can easily take the train from Munich to Fussen and to Salzburg. How a travel agent wouldn't know that is beyond me.
Trains leave frequently all day to and from. The Bayern Pass is about 32 EU for round-trip train fare and bus transport in town, for up to FIVE people. Maybe you'll make some new friends and you can share the expense! I think it's about 2 hours each direction. Our family did it last June. It's very easy to get the ticket in the morning before you go. We had absolutely no language problems in either Fussen or Salzburg. Both are very nice towns in beautiful scenery. Don't miss seeing the mountain towns somewhere. One caution, double-check the train schedule, as ours had a typo and it could have caused us to miss the last train back to Munich and our hotel. Check two sources just to be sure.
Trains leave frequently all day to and from. The Bayern Pass is about 32 EU for round-trip train fare and bus transport in town, for up to FIVE people. Maybe you'll make some new friends and you can share the expense! I think it's about 2 hours each direction. Our family did it last June. It's very easy to get the ticket in the morning before you go. We had absolutely no language problems in either Fussen or Salzburg. Both are very nice towns in beautiful scenery. Don't miss seeing the mountain towns somewhere. One caution, double-check the train schedule, as ours had a typo and it could have caused us to miss the last train back to Munich and our hotel. Check two sources just to be sure.
Mar 23rd, 2005, 09:44 AM
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I'm glad you came here for advice too. Hooray for you for not just blindly following her lousy adivce!! The Fodorites collectively know more than any travel agent, even one who has been in the business for 30 years.
Mar 23rd, 2005, 09:51 AM
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I wouldn't necessarily say she is a bad travel agent, but I don't think she is giving you all of your options or properly researching what you want. I've been a solo female traveler in the past who has worked with travel agents, and they too have suggested staying in bigger cities and such. It had more to do with what they considered safe. A lot of travel agents, especially those who are older, want to do. But what is safe? Stick to your guns - that's what I had to do in the past - and she will probably find you exactly what you need.
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