My Fiance and I will be driving from The Netherlands where we live to Germany and want to visit Munich and surrounding area. Take into account where we live is about 9 hrs.drive to Munich. The tentative plan so far is to leave on a Friday evening and drive to St.Goar and spend the night there and see the sights in the morning (Sat.) We would like to be in Munich by Sat. eve. We don't want to spend all our time in Munich. Does anyone have suggestions where to go after Munich. We are interested in seeing small towns and countryside-nothing too touristy!! Some places we thought of are Fussen, Garmish, Lake Constance, Baden-Baden. Is this too much?? We need to back in The Netherlands by the following Thurs evening. All suggestions are welcome!

If you really want to avoid "touristy" areas, then you probably don't want to go to any of the places you named, because they are big tourist attractions. It also sounds as if you have pretty well defined your trip TO Munich, and are simply asking about what to do or where to go on your return trip to Holland.

If that is the case, you might consider going through Freiburg, Strasbourg, Trier, Maastricht, and on to your home in the Netherlands. Good luck.

In spite of their touristyness the Bavarian alps are hard to beat. If I had 5-6 days after Munich I might do HerrenChiemsee on the way to Salzburg. After a day in Salzburg I would head for Bertschesgaden (sp) then to Oberammergau, Mittenwald from Garmish to Reutte to Fussen. If I had time left I would head North to Rothenburg before heading home to the Netherlands.

Salzburg is very touristy, Fuessen likewise. Avoid Rothenburg like the plague if you don't want to join the tourist swarm. Garmisch (heavily visited) and Mittenwald (adorable) are nice, not too kitschy mountain towns. Other interesting, less touristed towns to consider and google up that aren't terribly far from Munich: Landshut, Landsberg, Eichstaett, Pappenheim, Weissenburg, Memmingen.

I can't give too much advice, but I did find Fussen to be a beautiful little town to spend the night in, and that was in August. It got very quiet once the day-trippers left, leaving us to wander the streets practically alone.

The only thing that would keep tourists from "swarming" in St. Goar is the fact that there aren't that many hotel rooms...worth a stop for certain...just ignore the tourists there and all the other great places you've mentioned.

Skipping Rothenburg o.d.T. or Füssen because they are touristy is a big mistake. The tourists are there because they are great places to visit. They are only touristy from mid-morning til mid-afternoon. Take a day trip during that time (Detwang - Bad Windsheim near Rothenburg) (Oberammeragau - Wieskirche near Füssen) and after that they are all yours. "Avoid Rothenburg like the plague" - wow that is so wrong Russ. A trip to that area of Germany is not complete without some time there. I spent 3 full days in Rothenburg last year and never lacked for something to do - and that was after many previous visits. The smaller untouristy villages are wonderful as well but the Rothenburg Altstadt is such a complete package that it's hard to beat. It's certainly in most people's top ten places to visit in Germany. Ben

Rothenburg is very "pretty," and worth seeing because of how well its done. Very photogenic.

But it is really soooooooooo contrived--it does come close to something you'd expect from Busch Gardens. Not quite there yet, but a few more just too, too cutesy shops and they'll go over the edge.

Thank you for all the advice. I think we will stick to Germany and not avoid certain towns b/c of tourists. I would hate to miss some beautiful towns. We'll just try to stay away from the restaurants with only tourists in them. Can anyone recommend nice cafes or b& b's for St Goar, Munich, Fussen, Rottenburg? Also does anyone have any advice on Baden-Baden? Thanks Russ for the suggestions of the smaller towns.
We'll work on our new schedule. Thanks Susan

The Eagles Nest close by to Berchtesgaden is really stunning. And the drive along the Mosel River from Trier towards to Koblenz is terrific. Better than along the Rhine IMO. Avoid Rudesheim.

SusanMac: Just to clarify... I do agree with Ben that Rothenburg makes for a worthwhile visit - it's quite unique. But since one of your criteria is "nothing too touristy", you'll have to either drop R'burg or change your criteria. I would bet good money that it has the highest concentration of international tourists, tour buses, gift shops, and souvenirs of any place in Germany. It's not quite Disneyland in this regard, but nearly. I've been there 5 times myself, and on occasion have been shoulder-to-shoulder with other visitors and had to focus more on avoiding collisions than on the town itself. I won't get into the Kaethe Wohlfahrt shops and cuckoo clocks and all that.

That's not to say you shouldn't go. R'burg is an amazingly well-preserved medieval city. It's just that you'll have to deal with ultra-tourism while you're there.

St. Goar does not have a ton of B&B establishments. I've rented an apartment there for several days, but for just one night, you might inquire about the B&B run by Frau Kurz (a Rick Steves recommendation.) The following page contains info on this place and several others near town.


http://www.tal-der-loreley.de/ukv/uk...;submit=Search


You should find a lot of good information B&B's in Rothenburg, Fussen, etc. at www.bensbauernhof.com

Thanks to everyone for your postings. I'm sure they will help for our trip.

One of our favorite places to stay near Fussen is just barely on the Austrian side of the border toward Reutte in Unter Pinswang at Gasthaus von Schluxen a farm B*B type Gasthaus.

In St. Goar, we stayed at the Hotel Landsknecht--right on the river, about 1-2km north of town. They have a wonderful restaurant and wine shop. Riverside rooms have awesome view of Burg Maus across the Rhein. The place was spotless and our room (#5 as I recall) was large and had a 3-side view up, down and across the Rhein. Parking is free and it's a short, nice walk into town. I'd stay there again. Here is the web address: http://www.hotel-landsknecht.de/go.to/modix/now/en.html

My apologies everyone - but I need to ask Russ for some advice about the Mosel - so Russ will you please email me at [email protected]? Thanks... Ben

Hello SusanMac,

Here is a bit of advice from my friend Sven:

sounds already pretty good. A nice addition would be: Cologne (cathedral), Speyer (cathedral), Strasbourg, Bodensee (might be Lake Constance), with the possibility to visit Switzerland and Austria too by ship.

(I didn't tell him about your time contraints). Hope it helps!

Have a lovely trip.