Will have car and we are looking for some small towns or villages to vist. We will hit Mittenwald and Oberammergau. We would appreciate some other suggestions. We stay away from large cites and like to experience the culture and talk to the people.

thanks,
Orrin

We stayed at the Gasthof Fraundorfer in Garmisch and had an enjoyable dinner and Volksabend in the dining room. There was oompah music and a couple of young guys that did a folk dance--the Schuplattler, I think it's called.

The place was full of Germans, a group of American (soldiers?), and a French bicycling club. We shared a table with two German couples, but neither spoke English. I speak German, so we enjoyed talking with them.

You won't be far from the Bodensee (Lake Constance) and one of my favorite towns, Meersburg. There's a great walking/biking path along the lake that can take you to Lindau. You can take a boat to Mainau, the flower island. We were there in September, when there were still plenty of flowers in bloom.

One of my favorite very small towns is in the southwest corner of Germany--Staufen, near Freiburg. It's not far from the French border. The main street is pedestrians only, and it's quite charming. There's a round outdoor bar at one end of the street. I've seen lots of people having a glass of wine, relaxing at the bar.

Agree that Meersburg and especially Mainau Island are gorgeous. We visited both last September. At Mainau, they have 12,000 dahlias in bloom in September as well as countless other flowers.

http://www.mainau.de/htdocs/en/0101.htm

www.meersburg.de

Berchtesgaden was also very nice. You can take a boat trip on Koenigsee and visit Hitler's Eagles Nest.

http://www.berchtesgaden.de/en/startseite.html

http://www.eagles-nest-tours.com/EN/...ex.php?navid=2

The fall colors were lovely.

You might like Bad Tolz - especially if you make it over to Berchtesgaden.

Thanks, great suggestions. Was in Meersburg last year and we are spending our jet lag recover nights there this year.

Hi,

We love Mittenwald. The Berchtesgaden area is beautiful also. Our recent pic's are at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel11.html

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

While not in Bavaria, Hall in Tirol, Austria, one of our favorite old towns, is about 1 hour from Mittenwald.
The Italian border (about an hour or so away from Mittenwald) and the very charming old towns of Sterzing/Vipiteno and Brixen/Bressanone are very worthwhile. If you have a night or two, the Dolomites are spectacular and not far from where you'll be in Bavaria.

Paul

Thanks Paul. Been to Bresenone and Merano before. Looked at pictures of Hall and Sterzing and have put them on our list to see. Been to Lago di Garda several times which is right by the Dolomites and we have driven all around the area. Going to Lake Garda again at the end of the trip.

Paul:

Looked up Hall on Mapquest and it is a 3 hour drive near a place called Eisenerz. Do I have the right "Hall"? Will still go to both but want to make sure I have the right place. Vipiteno looks like an hour drive from Mittenwald.

Orrin

,

Orrin, I think you need to specify "Hall in Tirol". It is only a couple of miles east of Innsbruck.

Hi O,

Lindau, on Lake Constance is a nice old town.

We stay at www.hotel-schreier.de/

Not far is Stein am Rhein in Switzerland. It has gotten very good reviews.

While you are in Oberammergau, plan to see Ludwig's Linderhof Palace and the Weis Kirch.

Hi again Orrin,

Hall in Tirol, Austria (not simply Hall) is less than 1 hour from Mittenwald. As bettyk stated, it's just a few miles east of Innsbruck. Yes, Sterzing/Vipiteno is probably an hour or a bit more from Mittenwald. I know we drove from Hall in Tirol to Sterzing/Vipiteno in roughly a half hour.

Paul

I loved Stein am Rhein. I'd forgotten it until Ira mentioned it.

My wife's cousin's live near Hall in a town called Mils. Stayed at a lovely Gastehaus!

You have to pay a visit to Hallstatt about 1 hour from Salzburg.

Thanks to all. Yes I did find Hall by going to the town website. I don't know what was with Mapquest.
Amongst others we do have Hallstadt on our list. Can you drive there and are there other towns in the area worth visiting? Is Hallstadt good to use for a home base. We don't stay up late but does Hallstadt close down early in the evening?

Orrin

I would not use Hallstadt as a base. Too Isolated, reason why it is so beautiful!

The area around the Dachstein Mts and Gossau Lake was nice to explore.

Others have recommended staying outside Salzburg in St. Gilgen as a base.

We were in St. Gilgen last September. I would highly recommend a stay there. It's on Wolfgangsee and you can take a paddleboat to St. Wolfgang which is also a lovely town. If you are interested you can catch the steam train in St. Wolfgang up to the Schafberg Mountain.

http://spz.logout.cz/uzke/at_schafbe...schafberg.html

From St. Gilgen you can take a cable car up to the top of the Zwoelferhorn

Sorry, I posted too soon.

Here's some info on Zwoelferhorn:

http://www.12erhorn.at/

as well as Wolfgangsee:

www.wolfgangsee.at