base for a few days first of December
 

Hi All, I'll be working in Germany and my husband is going to join me once my work is done. We will only have about about four days. He will meet me at the Munich airport and will take a train directly to our base for four nights. Our goal for the trip is to visit some small Christmas markets and towns and enjoy the beautiful countryside. We will be purchasing the Bayern Train tickets so need a base that is convenient to/from the airport but also to some of the small towns doing the four days. As I look at the train network I'm thinking maybe somewhere along the line that Murnau is on. Does anyone have suggestion for a great base for us? Murnau? Oberau? Garmisch? Uffing? I know people will say we just must visit the markets in Rothenberg, Nuremberg, etc... however, we really don't want to be where the crowds are. We prefer more off the beaten path areas. Thanks so much for the help.

If you choose Garmisch I can highly recommend Hotel Hilleprandt. It's a chilly 3-blocks walk from the train station. Center of town is more like a 10 min walk but they provide free bus passes. Exceptionally clean (but small) rooms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw49fADEKJo

Hi wug,

Garmisch is convenient to Mittenwald, Seefeld (Tirol), Innsbruck, Oberau, Oberammergau, Ettal, Linderhof, Füssen/Neuschwanstein, and Murnau. It's not that bad from Augsburg and the Munich airport. And of course there are some mountains just outside of town -- Hausberg, Alpspitze, Kreuzeck, Wank, Kramer, and Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze. The Christmas market is very, very small, but it goes on daily and of course at night. Of course, Garmisch is very much ON the beaten track, though.

Mittenwald is an amazingly lovely and charming little town, but it's quite small. It's about 30 minutes south of Garmisch, and it's convenient for Garmisch, Innsbruck, Seefeld (Tyrol), and the Karwendel mountains and Garmisch's mountains. It would probably be great for just a few days, but if you don't hike, you'll likely run out of things to do after a few days. I believe (not sure) that its Christmas market only operates on the weekends during Advent season.

Murnau is a lovely little town on a lake; it has a lovely pedestrian zone and a nice museum (it was the home of the German Blau Reiter group). Murnau is off the beaten track, and it's convenient to Oberammergau, Ettal, Linderhof, Füssen/Neuschwanstein, Garmisch, Mittenwald, Seefeld (Tyrol), maybe Innsbruck. Not sure about its Christmas market.

The good news is that you really can't go wrong. I love all these towns (I live in Garmisch).

Have fun as you plan!

s

I totally agree with swandav2000. Murnau has a great brewery/hotel if you stop there. I am not sure about their Christmas market but with that nice pedestrian zone I bet they have something. Oberammergau at Christmas is wonderful.

Thank you to all of you so much for the great information! I looked up Christmas Markets and it looks like Murnau has a smaller one all month and a larger one just over one weekend, which happens to be the weekend we are there. I'm looking at hotels and/or apartments rentals there. Does anyone have a suggestion for a place to stay that is convenient to the train station?

Hi again,

Murnau is only about 20 minutes from where I live, so, no, unfortunately, I don't know of any hotels there. No one I know has stayed overnight there.

But the entire town is very close to the train station, maybe 10 minute's walk, at most. Just find a hotel in the pedestrian zone or nearby it.

Have fun!

s

Sorry, forgot to say --

Don't take the hotel's word that it is central or near the pedestrian zone; here in Garmisch, I've seen some hotels advertise they are "central," and they are really farther on the outskirts imo. Also don't take a booking agency's word for it either.

Make sure you map the hotel using google maps so you can see exactly where it is. In fact, I usually use google maps to find hotels when I am beginning my hotel search. Just pull up google maps and then do a search for "hotels, Murnau, Germany," and begin there.

s

Thank you, swandav2000. I appreciate the advice and information.

Do check the Christmas Market days of the week and dates in the villages you want to visit. Mittenwald has a Christmas Market that is held on just one weekend, not every weekend. Many villages and smaller towns have them only on weekends or Thursday to Sunday. Salzburg, Innsbruck, Munich have them open daily and every night. We loved visiting Innsbruck's markets in early Dec. 2010 and 2013.