Bavaria

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Apr 7th, 2001 | 08:56 AM

Richard

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Bavaria

We are considering visiting friends living in/near Mannheim. This will be in May. Would rental car and about five days in Bavaria or environs be worthwhile. Some comments I see on Forum make me wonder about advisability of doing this. This is our first visit to Germany. I will appreciate any pertinent comments. Feel free to contact me directly via e-mail. Richard

Apr 7th, 2001 | 09:11 AM

Betsy

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Richard What comments on the Forum are making you wonder? We have visited Bavarian several times--my husband's genes are 100% Bavarian. We always rent a car and have a wonderful time. It should still be cool (?cold) in May. We were in a snowstorm once in the Black Forest in June, but this was at a higher elevation, of course. Do a search of Bavaria on the forum. If any turn up authored by a guy named Wes, play close attention. He's knows a lot about the area. I have filed a copy of an itinerary that he recommends, and if I can find it I'll post it here. Bavaria is a beautiful area and an expensive one due to the great exchange rate. I wouldn't hesitate for a second--go!

Apr 7th, 2001 | 09:15 AM

Betsy

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Here is an e-mail from Wes to me: Here's one of the responses I forwarded to a Fodor reader such as you. It probably tells you more than you want to know! Nevertheless..... I gather you've seen some of the stuff I've posted to Fodor's forum. I‚ve been recommending a little inn in a small village southwest of Munich that‚s convenient to most of the major sites in the area. I was pleased to receive a highly favorable response from folks who stayed at the inn based upon my recommendation in the Fodor forum. Prices have risen of course and now are in the $80 to $95 a night range. Here's the information on the area, the village and its inn: You'll be enchanted by Pfaffenwinkel! Say, where? Pfaffenwinkel, German for "Pope's Corner" is truly one of the most delightful areas of Europe and one I think you would thoroughly enjoy. It's located off the Romantic Road in upper Bavaria to the south and west of Munich and just north of magnificent alpine mountain ranges and pristine lakes, all of which are in view. It gets its name from the vast number of beautiful baroque and rococo churches in even the tiniest of its villages. What does the area offer? Magnificent views of the Alps and Alpine lakes. Three Bavarian castles (two of mad King Ludwig's castles including Neuschwanstein the original Disneyland castle). Munich, with its magnificent museums, palaces, town hall and shopping promenades. Extraordinary churches with austere exteriors and unbelievably ornate, baroque interiors most of which were designed and created by two sets of brothers, the Zimmermans and the Asams. Awakening to the sound of cowbells in the morning. Seven hundred-year-old towns with well preserved perimeter walls and ramparts. Superb and inexpensive dining on native dishes that may include trout from alpine streams or chamois, an alpine antelope. Church graveyards that look as if they are maintained by skilled Japanese gardeners. Immaculate villages. Verdant rolling pasturelands. Nine years ago, we stayed in a family owned inn in a small farming village called Hohenfurch. Our immaculate room, with bath, refrigerator, sink, two burner stove, king sized bed, dining table and chairs and furnished private balcony cost $36.00 a night and included a generous breakfast of meats, cheeses, breads and superb coffee. The inn's dining room featured Bavarian specialties, as well as trout taken from a lovely but frigid alpine stream that flows through the center of the village to the river Lechs about a quarter of a mile away. On the weekend, the restaurant featured live Bavarian music provided by locals in a wonderfully relaxed and informal atmosphere. A number of Fodor correspondents to whom I recommended this inn have come back to me pleased with their accommodations but advising that room costs are now in the neighborhood of $80 to $95 a night. We discovered later that Hohenfurch caters to German skiers in winter but rarely sees American tourists, if ever. The hotel is the Landgasthof Schonach-Hof operated and owned by the Haslach family. Address Kapellenstrasse 22, D-8928 Hohenfurch. Tel: 08861/4108. The village is small but charming. A trout laden alpine stream and lush lawns and most attractive homes with lovely gardens and windowboxes laden with geraniums or petunias border its one main street. The village church is typical of the region; austere from the outside with red roof, stuccoed walls that set off a mural of a religious figure and no stained glass windows. The interior is breath taking, as is the small graveyard beyond the church. St. Ursula's, a small chapel built in 1492, sits on a knoll amidst cow pastures just to the south of the inn. The village has a small grocery store and bakery and despite the name Bahnhofstrasse (Railroad Station Street), no train station. The village is an ideal place to stay since it is so central to most of the major attractions in the area. The entire Pfaffenwinkel area is criss-crossed with hiking trails, all of which offer superb views. Hiking routes appear in the Pfaffenwinkel brochure available at the tourist office in the village. Hohenfurch is situated on Route B17, the German Romantic Road, so named because it courses through a number of charming, delightful, historic towns and villages from Wurzburg in the north, through Rothenburg o.d. Tauber, Augsberg, Landsberg (where Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" while imprisoned there), Hohenfurch, Schongau and Fussen. Drive to the Wieskirche near Steingaden, about 12 miles from Hohenfurch to see the epitome of rococo artistry. Drive 10 miles to Rottenbuch and visit another rococo masterpiece, the parish church; (you'll see its bell tower from the road). Drive to Peiting about 8 miles from Hohenfurch ascend Hohe Peissenberg and get a stunning view of the Alps and eleven alpine lakes. Drive to Schongau, only 3 miles from Hohenfurch, have a meal at the Alte Post Inn, then walk the 700-year-old ramparts that encircle part of the town. Drive 25 miles south to Schwangau and visit mad King Ludwig's fairy tale castle, Neuschwanstein. Visit his more sedate castle Hohenschwangau in the same village. Take the Tegelberg cable railway to view the German and Austrian Alps. Drive a bit further to Oberammergau. Many of the residents will remind you of New Testament figures. A passion Play is staged in Oberammergau every ten years (next in 2000) and the citizenry make up the play's cast. Oberammergau, while famous for its Passion Play, is equally famous for its huge population of wood carvers and for the murals on the exterior walls of most of its homes and shops. Great place for souvenir hunting! Don't even think of driving to Munich! While it's only about 40 to 45 miles from Hohenfurch, there's no place to park once you get there. Drive to Herrsching on the Ammersee (it's about 35 miles northeast of Hohenfurch). . Make a detour just before Herrsching. Stop in Andechs and sample the beer! It is one of the world's premiere beers, brewed in the monastery in Andechs and available in Andechs and no where else! Sidetrack to the Starnberger See, the lake where Ludwig, the mad king drowned. Accident, suicide, assassination? No one knows. Back track to Herrsching. Park the car at the train station and ride the train to Munich. Munich's train station is ideally located. Get a city map and list of events from the tourist office at the station. It's located opposite Track 11. Exit the station and walk the long and wide pedestrian promenade (Neuhauserstrasse) to the Marienplatz and the impressive Gothic style town hall built at the turn of the century. Pass sidewalk cafes, formal restaurants, beer halls, fashionable boutiques and department stores on the way. Stop at "Augustiner" at 16 Neuhauserstrasse for lunch and the best beer in Munich. Eat and drink in the beer garden to the rear or at the sidewalk cafe in the front. Look for signs between the "new" Gothic town hall and the "old" 14th Century town hall that point the way to the "Viktualienmarkt" an open air market laden with fresh flowers, vegetables and meats. At the new town hall at 11 AM, noon, 5 and 9 PM, a glockenspiel, with dancers and jousting knights on a merry-go-round perform for delighted tourists and children. Come back another day and visit two superb art museums or the fascinating science and technology museum (Deutsches Museum). Visit the Residenz, an impressive palace not far from the new town hall. Visit Dachau, about 10 miles north of Munich and approachable by train From Munich‚s station. Visit the town of Dachau, as well as the concentration camp. Dachau was once the Bavarian center for the arts, subsequently surpassed by Munich. Do check out the 16th Century castle in the old part of the town. In the area southwest of Munich, described above, contact the following tourist offices for information: Tourismusverband Pfaffenwin kel Bauernasse 5 86956 Schongau Tel: 08861/7773 Fax: 08861/200678

Apr 7th, 2001 | 09:17 AM

wes fowler

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Brace yourself Richard! I'm Emailing you four itineraries for Bavaria that will have you seeing three Bavarian castles, two monastery churches, the definitive Baroque masterpiece Wieskirche, eleven Alpine lakes, panoramic Alpine vistas and some charming small villages. Feel free to Email me if you've any questions.

Apr 7th, 2001 | 09:17 AM

Betsy

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And another gem from Wes: We arrived in Frankfurt and rented a car, heading over to Assmanshausen on the Rhine. We stayed there for two nights visiting the Lorelei, Koblenz, Boppard, St. Goar, Bacharach, Mainz and Rudesheim. Great time! We then headed (early morning) to Munich, stopping first at Dachau. We arrived at our hotel, checked in and headed down (U-Bahn) to the Marienplatz and the Frauenkirche and then the Hofbrauhaus for dinner, beer, pretzels and omm-pah-pah. Fun! The next morning, we headed east to Prien and to see King Ludwig's castle at Chiemsee. We finished early and continued east to Salzburg, where we walked throughout the old town, churches and ate up in the fortress for dinner. It was spontaneous and it turned out really well, heading back to Munich later that night. The next day, we headed to Garmisch and took the cable car to the top of the Zugspitze, absolutely beautiful! We drove over to Oberammergau and stayed there for a night. We left the next day and headed to Ettal to see the basilica, Linderhof Castle and on to the Weiskirche near Steingaden. We left late in the day, driving by way of Neuschwanstein, driving all the way to Dinkelsbuhl to spend the night. We spent the day there, heading nearby to Rothenburg and staying there. We left the following day, heading west to Frankfurt and had dinner in Sachsenhausen. The next day we visited the Romerplatz, St. Bartholomew's, the Hauptwache, Alte Opera, etc. We stayed one more night there, heading to the airport and home the following morning. There were five adults with one station wagon and no problems. We booked all hotels over the web in advance. We had been there previously and I lived in Frankfurt in the 80's, so we knew what we wanted to see. That's one plan, there are many variations, but I think that gives you a flavor for it. Good luck!

Apr 7th, 2001 | 09:18 AM

Betsy

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Wes! Great! Just when we needed you. Go for it.

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