Bavaria to Bratislava and Back in three weeks
 

The itinerary may not one a lot of people would probably take – it skips Salzburg and Vienna (been to both on previous trips) and includes places like Graz that most people haven’t even heard of, but it served my purposes – to see some places I’ve missed on previous trips like Bratislava, and several UNESCO sites (Hallstatt, Graz, Wachu Valley, Bamberg, Regensburg) and my husband’s desire to check out a lot of Bavarian beer (he’s a home brewer/beer snob).

It included:
Munich 3 nights, Hallstatt 1, Graz 3, Bratislava 3, Wachu Valley 2, Nurnberg 3 (day trips to Bamberg & Regensberg), Rothenburg o.d. Taber 1, Heidelburg 2.


Turns out a lot of Fodors folks were right about three nights in Graz and Bratislava being too much (could have cut a day from each). But I was right about the one nighters. Hallstatt was hugely crowded with tour groups during the day, but was almost deserted evening and early morning. Pretty much the same with Rothenburg.


We did all our traveling by TRAIN The first one I booked on bahn.de, the official German train website. It was easy to use, but Capital One Visa did not like it at all and refused all subsequent attempts, so I ended up booking all the rest on “thetrainline.eu” which had the exact same schedules and prices as the German and Austrian sites. The only problems we had with regards to trains were some very short connection times. The main screen you get when searching (on any of the sites) showed departure and arrival times and how many connections there were, but to see details such as how long you had for the connection, you had to go to another screen, which I didn’t do as I ‘assumed’ if they were booking a journey from point A to point B, it would be a ‘doable’ connection. Sometimes they were only 3 or 4 minutes long meaning we had a few stressful moments. Although I don’t think any of the trains we took were totally full (so you could have purchased them on the day of travel) it did save considerably financially. In one case I checked the price of the €19.90 tickets we had and the price if we bought them that day would have been €49.90.

Photos of the trip - Germany - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f88619690
Austria - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f377335163
Bratislava - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p981659813



Days 1-3: We arrived in Munich around noon after our flight from Boston, via Dublin. Hotel Buddy – Uber modern. Check in on the ground floor kiosk or go up to the 2nd floor where there is another kiosk but also a nice lady to help you. The comfortable queen size bed is up against the wall but other wise fine. No closet or dresser but enough space for the two bags and surfaces to put stuff. Bathroom very modern, great rain shower, everything extremely new and clean. Could use a few hooks on the walls. AC, TV and fast wi-fi all worked great. The ‘free’ Buddy breakfast – I guess it was ‘worth the money’ - includes some cheap pastry and apples, vending machine has so-so cappuccino for €2. They set it out at 6:30 am, there may or may not be any left when you get up. €112 double (including the €10 extra for the ‘larger’ size room.)

Location is great, 5 minutes from the train station and one-minute from Karlz-platz, underneath which is a huge underground shopping center/food court. Escalators go down to it so it serves as a passage to go under the relatively busy Sonnen-strasse (one of which comes up almost directly in front of Hotel Buddy). Food options include Mexican, Indian, Thai, Kebab, Pasta, ‘traditional German (ham, schnitzel, etc.), sausage and fries, and numerous salad/sandwiches. One of the best-preserved city gates, (Karls-tor) is on Karlzplatz, through which is pedestrian street into town.

The Neuhauser-strasse / Kaufinger-strasse is lined with some interesting buildings interspersed with more modern (late 20th century) buildings – all of which house stores like Urban Outfitters, H&M, C&A, Zara, etc. The street was spruced up in 1972 for the Munich Olympics, becoming one of Europe’s first pedestrianized streets. St. Michael’s church is right on the street; set off by a half block is the Frauen-kirche, the tallest thing in central Munich with twin clock towers topped with green onion domes. Five minutes brings you to the Marien-platz with the New and Old Town Halls, clearly the center of the action in Munich. The new town hall is gigantic and impressive but I actually like the Old Town hall better. Some towns in Germany (most of which were badly damaged in WWII) rebuilt in modern style (e.g. Frankfurt) but Munich chose to renovate and rebuild its old town center. There are many beautiful buildings, but they are interspersed with some more boring, mid 20th century stuff and this is evident in the buildings around Marienplatz.


We wandered around the Viktualien-markt but decided to go the Hofbrauhaus for lunch. The Viktualienmarkt is a huge market with mostly permanent stalls selling all manner of food (bakeries, butchers, fruits and veggies, cheese, flowers, etc.) including prepared foods. In the center is a beer garden and you can get food at any of the stalls and bring it to the tables in the beer garden as long as you order a drink (but all the tables were full). The market has been there for 200 years. The Hofbräuhaus – one of prettiest buildings and squares (Platzl) in Munich has been selling beer for over 400 years. We shared a table with a couple from Frankfurt, who spoke only marginal English (which was still way better than our German – but my husband did get to try out a few words). So we had a fun ‘conversation’ along with our bratwurst (grilled, pork sausage, served with mustard and sauerkraut) and some white sausage that is apparently the classic Munich sausage. It is veal and comes boiled which at first did not look that appetizing, but the mustard that came with it was really good (dark and sweet) so we actually liked that better. They pointed out the obvious that Germans are referred to as ‘krauts’ because of sauerkraut. My husband ordered a dark beer and I think it was the only one I saw, everyone else (hundreds of people) were drinking the light stuff.

After lunch we visited Peters-kirche. It’s Munich’s oldest church, begun in 1181 but rebuilt numerous times in different architectural style since then, today it is an elaborate Rococo / "Bavarian Baroque" style. The most interesting thing inside is the bizarre gem studded skeleton (of St Muundita). The view from the tower (307 steps, €3 each) is probably the best in the city. It is a pretty narrow stairway but there are numerous landings where you can ‘pull over’ to let people going in the other direction pass. I had read that was ‘scary and unsafe’ and so crowded at the viewing platform that it was not worth doing, but I didn’t find it anymore crowded than most towers (and I climb a lot of them). The views certainly made it worthwhile.

Wonderful photos, as always.
We visited Bavaria in September and your photos are a lovely reminder of how gorgeous that part of the world is.
I remember being discouraged from visiting Rothenburg by (German) family and friends who said it was like ‘Disneyland’. Well, I went anyway, and loved it. Sure, it is busy. But so glad I didn’t miss it. And I took some German relatives and they were pleasantly surprised.

We skipped Bratislava while in Austria and Hungary. We were advised by several locals not to bother. After seeing your pictures I should have bothered. It looks lovely. Next time. Thanks for sharing.

Firstly, Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans on this board! I just returned home from celebrating with family and eating a lot of turkey!

I decided to check Fodors before I go to bed, and was happy to see Isabel's report and photos of Bavaria, Austria and Bratislava. Your photos are gorgeous, as usual!!! I haven't been to Bratislava, but it looks very pretty and interesting, and I'm thinking of combining it with a trip to Vienna and Budapest some day.I know you said 3 nights is too much for Bratislava. Would you recommend 1 or 2 nights?
Thank you for taking the time to write your report and post your amazing photos!

I definitely feel that Rothenburg (and to a lesser extent, Hallstatt) were worth seeing despite the masses of tour groups. I'm also glad I didn't listen to people who said it wasn't worth it because it was too 'touristy'. But I am glad I had an overnight, it was like a switch was flipped in the early evening and morning without the tour groups.


For Bratislava I think two nights would be perfect, but really even doable in a day trip or one night (with half of the two adjoining days). There were some tours off the river cruise boats but nothing on the scale of Rothenburg, so just being there in the day would have been OK. It is a perfect stopover on a trip that includes Vienna and Budapest. In fact, I did the train between those two cities and it went right through Bratislava and I remember telling myself I should have stopped. Oh well, it made this trip.

Munich continued:

Central Munich is small enough to easily cover in a day (we felt a day and a half was just about right) – we explored churches, markets, gates and gardens. We wandered around the Allstadt as far as the Residenz (on Max-Joseph Platz) and National Theater – reasonably impressive but nowhere near the top of ‘impressive palaces and theaters in Europe’. The Theatiner-kirche and Odeonsplatz were much better. For one thing the church is bright yellow and the Odeon is an Italian style loggia with two nice big lions guarding the steps into it, and another nice lion inside. There were also lions all along the side of the Residenz which, takes up the entire block between the two squares. Then we checked out the Hofgarten – tiny but with a nice little rotunda (with two guys playing violin) and several fountains and manicured flowerbeds.

We checked out the three city gates. Munich was originally protected by a city wall with nine gates, only three of which still remain. There's one we walked through every time we entered or left the center from our hotel, Karlstor, been seriously renovated but still looks very 'castle-y'. The oldest one, Sendlinger Tor is a short walk from Marienplatz and happens to be right next to a church we wanted to see, Asam Church,very tiny and very rococo, but much darker inside than most rococo churches, it was built by two brothers as their private church without an official order. It ranks among the finest Rococo style churches in the world but it was too dark and too ‘busy’ for my taste. The third gate, to the west of the center is Isator which looks totally different on the inside from the outside. There are several other interesting churches including Michaels-kirche which is the largest Renaissance church north of the Alps and the barrel vault inside is the second largest in the world after St Peter's in Rome. I don't know why facts like that interest me but they do for some reason. Anyway, it was pretty. All the church interiors in Munich were free to enter.

Throughout the center of Munich are several small squares, two of the prettiest are Alter Hof (1253) and Munzhof. Built between 1563 and 1567, this building has housed the imperial stables, the first museum north of the Alps, and a branch of the government mint. Today, it's headquarters for Munich's Landmark Preservation office. It’s connected to the Alter Hof by a covered arch.

On the other side of town is the Englischer Garten – the largest city park in Europe (so they say), bigger than Central Park. Don’t know cause we only did the lower half, and it was a good mile or more but somehow didn’t feel like it was on a scope with Central Park. Lot’s less ‘stuff’. There is an interesting very fast flowing river – not sure how it flows that fast in such a flat city, but in parts it’s fast enough that there are actual waves and guys surfing. Also a nice little waterfall, some swans, lots of tree shaded paths and large lawns. About half way in is a Japanese pagoda (large size, but all wood, not painted) surrounded by a large beer garden (also numerous kiosks serving food, was too early for lunch but looked like it would be good).

Our last day in Munich was cold and rainy - so possible day trips we had considered were not going to be worth it. However the Deutches Museum and the July sales kept us busy.

Days 4-5 -

We traveled from Munich to HALLSTATT by train. The first leg was the 7:51 to Salzburg where we had about ten minutes to change trains and even though the Salzburg station is large (and modern and nicer than Munich’s) the train was on time and the platforms well marked so no problem. Then we had to change in a smaller town and 6 of our 11 minutes were taken up with the train being late. No time to dawdle but we made the train with about 2 minute to spare. Arrived in Hallstatt on time and followed the crowd to the waiting ferry, “The Stephanie”, for the five minute crossing ($2.50 per person, each way).

Hallstatt is located on the west bank of the Hallstätter See (Lake Hallstatt), a UNESCO World Heritage site, while trains run on the east bank only. Hallstatt train station (Bahnhof) is thus on the “wrong” side of the lake. This boat ride would probably be gorgeous in nice weather, and was even pretty in the clouds and drizzle. (As was the scenery on the train). The maps of Hallstatt (on line and posted on signs) are not that great but there’s really only a few streets and we headed away from the ferry and through the central square, kept following the road which hugs the lake. By then it was really raining fairly hard but nothing to do but keep going. It was at least a 10-15 minute walk but when we saw signs for the funicular I knew it was close. From the funicular station it’s just about a block to the hotel, Gasthof Gruner Anger.


Gasthof Gruner Anger is pleasant enough – looks like every other house in town. It was about 1:45 and the room wasn’t ready but we were not about to go out walking around in the pouring rain so we sat and had a beer till the room was ready around 2:30. Pretty large room, big bathroom, every thing relatively new, fast Wi-Fi. There isn’t a ‘restaurant’ but guests can have dinner if you tell the host by 4pm, choice of pork or fish. So we ordered dinner, which is served at 6pm. It was quite good, came with soup, salad and desert for €14 each, drinks extra.


Hallstatt is the oldest still-inhabited village in Europe, owing its longevity to the local deposits of salt. Between it’s history and setting it is on the UNESCO list. It is very scenic, even on a cloudy day. There were a lot of people, but I wouldn’t say it was mobbed, perhaps the rain kept the crowds down (I don’t know, where do tour buses go when it rains?). Asian’s outnumbering everyone else by about 10 to one. According to our hotel host, Hallstatt has become so popular with Chinese that someone in China built a complete replica of the town, which has served to make it even more popular.


We walked the length of town – if you just strolled and didn’t stop to take photos it would take maybe half hour tops. We looked in both churches and climbed a ways up the hill – to what turned out to be a parking lot with a view. Apparently there is a highway that goes through the mountains just above the town. There is also a pretty significant waterfall right in the middle of town, the best view of which is from said parking lot.


The following morning it was still drizzly. At 9 am the town was almost deserted, by 10 am there were a good number of people but still not oppressive, by 11 it was crowded. We wandered around to the various viewpoints at each end of town. Decided it was too cloudy to make it worth the money to take the funicular up.


All in all Hallstatt is certainly a very pretty town in a beautiful setting. But you can walk from one end to the other in half an hour, the shops are all just touristy crap. Even the paths up the hill above town are not that great – the mountains coming down to the lake are very pretty but the town from above is not all that striking – best views are from one side or the other, from within and from above not so much. You could do the salt mine, or rent little boats and tool around the lake but neither of those really enticed us. Twenty-four hours was more than enough. But I think it was the right decision for us to do a one-nighter there, thus being there before and after the tour groups.

I've been following along and enjoying your impressions.

We like Bratislava, but with the caveat that we come and go from Vienna whenever there is something of interest going on. Even if I added "everything" that one might do as a visitor to the list, I don't see more than one overnight being needed, either.

We had a different experience in Hallstatt; that is, perfect weather, but agree that the little town is completely different after the last tour bus leaves. The photos from our late afternoon and early morning walks are the ones by which we choose to remember Hallstatt. :) (Not all the stores have tourist tchotchke. The Salzkontor store sells wonderful salt blends for cooking, made with local flowers and herbs.)

Looking forward to more!

Sorry the weather was bad in Hallstatt. I spent two nights there and loved the setting, but it was twelve years ago and a lot less crowded.

I enjoyed Graz enough to go back, so will be interested to read your impression.

I am enjoying reading your report. I have been wanting to go to Hallstatt and last time I was in Bavaria, we just did not have enough time.

I am glad I went to Hallstatt, just disappointed it didn't live up to my expectations. I find that happens a lot. Places I have really high expectations for disappoint because they don't quite live up to them - doesn't mean they aren't great places and worth visiting. But them most of the time I really love places that I had just 'average' expectations for. In the case of Hallstatt I saw photos of it while researching my first trip to the area (over 15 years ago) but we couldn't fit it in and ever since I've had this image in my head. Well, it actually does look like that image. It's just that's pretty much all there is.

I did see all the interesting salt products but this was the beginning of a 5 week trip so hauling heavy salt around (every pound counts on flights) wasn't a good idea. I had done the salt mine tour in Krakow a few years ago so didn't feel the need to do this one.


So onward to GRAZ. Our first train was 8 minutes late pulling into Hallstatt and we only had a 6 minute connection so we were sure we’d miss it but just as we were pulling in to the station where our connection was, so was our next train – we literally ran across the platform and hopped on.

Days 6-7 We spent two and a half days just exploring Graz. The main squares and buildings on the main streets of Graz are really nice – it’s a UNESCO site after all. According to Unesco’s website “A harmonious blend of architectural styles and artistic movements that have succeeded each other from the Middle Ages until the 18th century, from the many neighboring regions of Central and Mediterranean Europe.” The main streets seem to be mostly car free – though the trams go through them.

The main square, Hauptplatz, is nice, lots of ancient houses with red-tile roofs and narrow gables. A few have arcades and elaborate decorations. The town hall is beautiful. The square was full of food trucks, which while they did provide us with a couple tasty lunches, sort of detracted from the ambiance. There were a lot of them. Herrengasse is the main street and it leads from the square to another square with a large fountain and benches. It's car free but the trams go down it so not exactly pedestrianized. But has some impressive buildings including one called the 'painted' building featuring a slew of Greek an Roman gods doing various things.

The main building I wanted to see in Graz certainly lived up to it's reputation. The Landhaus is a 1557 Renaissance 'masterpiece, reminiscent of a Venetian palazzo' (which it was). Supposedly the finest Renaissance building north of the Alps and I believe that. I had read that there are concerts there and sure enough, a free orchestra was performing in the courtyard the evening we arrived. I loved that building so much we went through the courtyard every time we passed it (and it's very central so several times a day). I just couldn't stop taking pictures of it. Nicely lit in the evening too.

A few atmospheric side streets from there lead to Glockenspielplatz, one of the prettiest squares in the city and featuring an 1884 Glockenspeil.Graz’s cathedral (Dom, St Giles), I didn’t think was anything special, but right next to it is the Mausoleum and the turquoise domes of the church and mausoleum together make a nice site. But even more interesting across the street is the Hofburg (all residences of the Habsburgs were called “Hofburg”. The burg itself is pretty plain (nothing ‘castle’ like about it) and if there was a way to tour the interior we didn’t find it. But it’s main feature, a double spiral staircase we did find. If you like stone spiral staircases this one is a stunner. That alone (well that plus the Landhaus) made the trip to Graz worth it for me. Just behind it is a small but pleasant city park with duck pond and some statuary.

Probably the most noticeable feature of Graz is the Schlossburg, up on a hill in the center of town. There is only a small part of the original fortress, but the 16th century clock/bell tower remains and there is now a lovely park around it with a beer garden and the few remains of the fortress itself. The views are pretty good.

The Mur river runs through Graz, just outside the main part of the old town and there is an interesting ‘thing’ in the middle of it. I guess you could describe it as a footbridge with a man made glass island in the center with a café. Definitely unusual. And just past that on the other side of the river is the Kunsthaus, an art museum in a building, referred to as the ‘friendly alien’ which looks kind of like a blue glass balloon. Very interesting contrast to the surrounding neighborhood of old gabled buildings and square.

There were numerous other squares and neighborhoods and several nice churches.
I would say Graz can definitely be ‘seen’ in a day or day and a half. If you wanted to do Eggenburg Palace and the armory museum that would take another half day – unfortunately both were closed on Monday which is the day we would have gone so we didn’t get to them. I love most old European cities and I'm glad I saw Graz, but I certainly wouldn’t suggest someone go there instead of Saltzburg or Vienna. Since I had been to both of them previously, visiting Graz was a good decision for this trip. It was also very 'untouristy' in the sense that I didn't see any tour groups, and whatever tourists there were blended in with the locals.

One reason I liked Graz was just because it was less touristed. Nice town for just wandering around and drinking coffee. I did make it to Schloss Eggenberg. It's mostly about the frescoes, and you need to be there when the light is good as there is no electricity. There are quite a few museums, although I only visited the History Museum, which seems to have moved since I was there. I do think the Kunsthaus is a monstrosity! BTW, if anyone is thinking of going there are very good open-faced sandwiches here: https://www.frankowitsch.at/

"I love most old European cities and I'm glad I saw Graz, but I certainly wouldn’t suggest someone go there instead of Saltzburg or Vienna."

Agreed. We have used the city as a base for a couple of weekends, to visit Piber for its Lippizaner Almabtreib and Reigersburg for its castle. Graz' weekend farmers market is pleasant; and yes, the city is pleasantly untouristed. :)

Days 8-10 BRATISLAVA


Bratislava’s compact old town has been completely and beautifully renovated and most of it is car free. It’s much smaller than I expected (the city’s population is close to half a million, and while most old European city’s old towns are pretty compact, this seemed much smaller than most). Similar to – but not as picturesque or interesting as – Prague, Krakow, Tallinn. But so small, without stopping you can literally walk across it in ten minutes. Easy to cover the entire area, including all the side streets, in a few hours. The castle on the hill is a nice touch but more scenic from a distance. Surrounding the old town is a massive area of Communist era concrete apartments but you really don’t notice them at all while in the old town. It’s a relaxing little city with a nice setting on the Danube, with plenty of picturesque squares and side streets to explore, and lots of reasonably priced restaurants with “Slovakian” food (as well as an assortment of Scottish, Irish and Mexican).


Tons of river cruises stop here (one day I counted 12, they were even ‘double parked’). So there were plenty of tour groups wandering around, but overall it was not clogged with tourists and the whole center being car free was really nice. The one thing it lacked was interesting shops. Can’t remember any other city with so few stores selling anything at all I was interested in. The tourists shops sold nothing but junk and there were almost no other stores in the center.


We stayed at Aplend City Hotel Michaisk. There are two Aplend City Hotels in Bratislava. Bratislava train station is about 20 minute walk to St Michael’s gate and this hotel is just around the corner from the gate. One of the nicest little lanes in town and we got upgraded to an apartment – huge, two big rooms, full kitchen, spotless, really comfortable. Right next door to the hotel itself. So don’t know how the rooms there are but the apartment is fabulous. And we got breakfast – not sure if it goes with the apt. or if we got it cause we had booked a regular room.

The main square, Hlavné námestie, is small but in addition to a large fountain and the huge clock tower of the town hall, has a number of buildings from various eras,Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance, as well as art nouveau. On the other side of the town hall is the Primate's Palace (Primaciálny Palác), a very pretty pink building, that is now the home of the mayor. The Old Town Hall/ Altes Rathaus is a beautiful yellow building with a gorgeous clock tower (can climb it for €2.50) for nice view of the old town and the castle as well as the Danube and theretro-futuristic SNP Bridge which was built in the late 1960s at the height of Communist excess, inspired by optimistic futurism and looks like it sprang right out of an episode of Star Trek or The Jetsons.

The ‘best’ thing in town is St. Michael's Tower (Michalská veza). It serves as the entryway into the Old Town and is actually part of the city's medieval fortification system. There is one small area of town walls remaining between there and the cathedral, opposite the castle. There was an interesting exhibit about WWII in one section. The castle itself is across the main highway (built in communist times, it goes right in front of the cathedral, done on purpose to diminish the importance of the ‘church’). There are both under and over passes to get from the old town to the castle side. One of the most interesting buildings in town is just below the castle, opposite the cathedral, the House of the Good Shepherd, a very narrow Rococo style building, built in 1760.

Isabel, I like the way you describe the city itself, what it looks like, the architecture, the narrow lanes, etc. And I like the way you compare and contrast places to other cities, such as comparing Bratislava to Prague, etc. Or comparing Graz to Vienna and Salzsburg. It's helpful to know these things when one is planning a trip and doesn't have the time to see everything, and must decide what to leave out. I know everyone has different opinions about places, but it is still helpful to have this information as a guide.

Bratislava sounds very interesting. While a person could probably see it in a day, I think spending at least one night would be nice.

We absolutely fell in love with Bratislava and wished that we had another night or two to spend there. I thought it was one of the most beautiful and interesting places I'd ever been in Europe.

"The one thing it lacked was interesting shops. Can’t remember any other city with so few stores selling anything at all I was interested in. The tourists shops sold nothing but junk and there were almost no other stores in the center."

I've noticed that, as well. Aside from a Herend (which is Hungarian) shop and an upscale folk art store, there is little shopping for authentic Slovakian craft wares and the like, and little quality shopping overall.

Did you visit any of the museums? Any sampling at the craft beer places?

When trying to decide how many nights for Bratislava I asked the question on Fodors and got everything from ‘just do a day trip from Vienna’ to ‘you could be happy with three days’. Well my now ‘expert’ opinion is that a day trip would be ‘ok’ – you really can see the whole old town in a few hours, and while pleasant after dark it’s not that special that you 'need' an overnight. And since it's not (yet) a major day trip destination, it wasn't that crowded during the day like some places are. However one night (with several hours each day) would be fine and two nights even better as it would allow for the visit to Devin – again, a nice enough fortress ruin but not a ‘must see’. Three nights - we were pretty bored by the second full day. Of course if your travel style is to just laze around cafes Bratislava is a pretty nice place to do that. We had several decent meals (husband sample numerous 'local' beers) and got to see a bit of the city that's not just the old center and got to Devin but we didn't do any museums, and as I said, there wasn't much shopping (which in some places can keep me busy poking around interesting shops). Here's what else we did.

Bratislava castle – We walked up to the castle – certainly a climb but probably no higher than some bell towers. You can see forever but the 20th century buildings are right up close to the old town so not that picturesque. But the Danube is pretty (though much more green than blue). Great view of the thousands of communist era apartment blocks that surround the city. Reviews of the interior of the castle were disappointing so we just walked through the grounds and gardens. More good views of the 1960s space age tower (UFO) just across the river is interesting.I'd read you could do 'tours' of the communist area buildings but we weren't that interested.


Across the highway from the castle is a section of the town walls. I had read no information on it and it wasn't even on the map we got at the TI. But there was an interesting exhibit on life in Bratislava during and after WWII that was quite interesting. Not very large or time consuming but I'm glad I explored it. The area just inside that walled section has a lot of atmospheric lanes and buildings and while I did spot the little red tourist train, other than that there we no tourists in the area.



The “Blue Church” is Bratislava’s most appealing art nouveau building (1913). Its style, sometimes known as Hungarian Secession, is repeated in the nearby grammar school on Grösslingová Street. Both the interior and exterior of the church are painted in shades of pale blue and decorated with blue majolica; even the roof is tiled with blue-glazed ceramics.

10 km west of the city center, Devín Castle is built on the top of a high crag, it towers over the small village of Devín and the confluence of the Danube and the Morava rivers, which form the border with Austria. Up to 1989 the Iron Curtain was drawn below the Castle, lined with barbed wire. Much of the literature (and the lady in the TI) said take bus 28, but when we went to buy tickets (from a kiosk, under the bridge just before the Bratislava castle ) the guy told us to get bus 29. So we did, comes every 20 minutes and takes about 20 minutes (.90€ pp each way, buy round trip as there is no where to get the tickets in Devin). You could see the castle, and the stop was marked Devin Hrad. Ten minute walk to the entrance, another 10 after you buy your tickets (€5). Very nice ruins on top of a hill with a gorgeous view of the Danube – also the Morava as it joins the Danube. Also can see 3 countries: Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. Spent about 1½ hours climbing various parts.


Although the major ‘attraction’ to Bratislava is it’s old town center, there is also a lovely riverside promenade (part of a 10 K walk that goes across the river to the other side and back) that leads to an area of modern glass buildings including one of the nicest malls I’ve seen (Eurovea Mall)– totally glass roof, interesting bronze statues scattered around, nice fountain out front and right on the river – with tons of cafes and bars along the riverfront. Across the Danube is a huge communist era apartment sprawl that apparently houses two hundred thousand people. Had no desire to explore it but interesting to think about what the city must have been like in those days.


Overall, we were very happy we made the effort to get to Bratislava, next time we are in the 'vicinity' we'll probably go back. Definitely makes sense if going between Vienna and Budapest, or even just Vienna.

We loved wandering the riverside promenade. And while there weren't many shopping opportunities (which was just fine with us), there seemed to be musical events at every turn, in every church and gathering spot. In two days' time we heard Gregorian chants, old Slovakian folk music, Christmas music, impromptu concertos - the amount of music was simply astounding. Maybe it was the time of year, but we were duly impressed. And yes, we ate very well there. Did not sample beer, but had a couple of delicious Irish coffee-like drinks to stave off the cold.

Great trip report, Isabel. My style of travel is a bit slower that yours but I love the detail you include and your photos are wonderful! I like that you visit places others have skipped over and am very eager to read more.

Re. Hallstatt, we were there for several nights but used it as a base for day trips. Our balcony faced the lake and it was magical... additionally we never heard the church bell that rang every morning at 6 am. My sister was not so fortunate but every morning when she looked out at the town square (at 6:00) there was a different bride posing in a long dress in front of the water fountain. It's quite the destination, apparently, for tourists who want to see "the real thing" and full of selfie stick wielding tourists, but lovely beyond words at night.

In case you're interested; DH and I are into WWII and Cold War history for different reasons, so there is much collective trivia between us. :) The tall buildings over in Petrzalka are known as panelaks, which loosely translates to "pre-fab housing" in Czech and Slovak. Once upon a time the area was a garden-filled outpost of "Pressburg" in the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. Annexed by Nazi Germany as part of the First Slovak Republic, and then for about a year was a labor camp for Hungarian Jews. After WWII it became an internment camp for Hungarians. Thirty years later authorities decided to construct panelaks, the concrete housing blocks.

Many of the neighborhoods have been renovated insofar as much as possible, though having gotten lost in one of those mazes (bad, bad, GPS) I can duly report that not all of the complexes have been refurbished. It's possible to tour some of the interiors (we've taken the Communist tour), something I'm surprised I have not yet done.

We like the riverside promenade, too. Especially on Sundays, when Austria is closed and the area is lively with shoppers and outside lunch tables filled with diners.

Days 11 & 12 - Back to Austria and the Wachu Valley



Bratislava Train Station is a real dump. As far as European train stations go, on scale of 1-10 it’s a 2, Communist era ugly building, no place to sit, crappy coffee shops, kebab places and tiny newsstands. Trains from Bratislava to Vienna are hourly and take about an hour. We then continued on to Melk (via St Polten) – so in total it was three separate trains, but easy enough – although each one was a few minutes late and connections were tight. But everything worked. We decided to base in Melk for two nights and do the Danube river cruise to Krems on our one full day which worked out great. We had time to tour the Melk Abbey the day we arrived, and spent most of the following day on the cruise and exploring Krems and then taking the bus to Durnstein for a few hours, and another bus back to Melk.



The Wachau is the 30-kilometer stretch of the Danube Valley between Melk and Krems, supposedly one of the most beautiful river landscapes in the world, where the river cuts a narrow, rocky valley and is noted for its many ancient little towns nestling below historic old castles and castle ruins. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a protected cultural landscape. It is very pretty and the towns of Melk, Krems and Durnstein picturesque, but we both felt we actually liked the Rhine River Valley better.
Melk (population 5000) is a cute little town, and the giant abbey on the hill over it dominates. Really only one main street but it has some really nice buildings, and the Abbey is gorgeous. The Rathauskeller Hotel is right in the middle of the main street, in one of the oldest buildings in town, great location, 10 minute walk from the train station. There are 11 rooms over a restaurant, one of the main ones in town. Dinner at the restaurant was one of the best meals of the trip.

The Benedictine Melk Abbey is gigantic and very pretty in shades of light yellow and apricot sitting up on a hill overlooking the town and the river. The ‘museum’ part was pretty boring religious stuff, but the actual church was amazing – considered the finest Baroque church north of the Alps. The view from the terrace was also lovey, the Baroque spiral staircase gorgeous and the library amazing. The Baroque Pavilion was built in the 18th century in the Abbey park, and it is filled with historical frescoes which show the then known continents and their inhabitants as well as their flora and fauna as imagined by the painter Johann Bergl. €11 per person.

Danube River Cruise. Beautiful day, mostly sunny and warm but not hot. The trip between Melk and Krems (the most scenic stretch) takes 90 minutes going downstream and 3 hours back up so we opted for the quicker trip so we’d have more time to explore the towns and I’m glad we did. It’s pretty scenic but 90 minutes was plenty. There are about 3-4 cruises a day in each direction. We didn’t pre-book, got to the ticket office about an hour before the sailing and easily got tickets and then seats on the upper deck.

The Danube is almost blue when the sun is out – not ocean blue certainly. But the scenery is of course lovely, hills, many covered with vineyards, cute little villages and a few castle ruins. Nowhere near the castles of the Rhine though. Much less ‘traffic’ on the river too. Mostly the river cruise boats (Like Viking River Long Boats but many different companies).

In Krems (population is only 24,000 but it’s still the 5th largest city in Austria, doesn’t feel like a ‘city’) we first walked in the opposite direction from the main part of town to Stein, which used to be a separate town but now blends in with the rest of Krems and I think was the prettiest part of the city. The main gate into Krems itself, Steiner Tor, is a ‘wow’ and the Alstadt past it, was nice enough, pretty lively, full of shops and people. We stopped for ice cream just inside the gate and got largest bowl of ice cream for €2.50 I’ve ever seen. I'd read about how 'far' it was from where the boat docks to the train station but even walking in the opposite direction a bit and then through the center of the town it was still a very doable walk in an hour or two (stopping for lots of photos and the ice cream). So some guide books suggest not getting off the boat in Krems but unless you have mobility problems it's really not an issue.

The bus station is right next to the Train Station. There are signs for the various buses, and schedules but no ticket office or kiosk. But the bus came right on time and we were able to buy the tickets from the driver. We got tickets only as far as Durnstein (€2.30 each).

Durnstein (population 870) is adorable – set on the river, amidst vineyards on both sides and behind the town, and high up on the hill an old castle ruin where Richard-the-Lion-Hearted was kidnapped and held for ransom when returning from or going to some Crusade. Old town walls on both sides of the village. Durnstein Abbey is the most striking church in the area, a beautiful large blue baroque church right on the river. The town is really only one main street, but lined with beautiful old houses. It was packed with people when we got there (3:30) but most of them disappeared within an hour (I think boats heading in both directions picked up a lot of them). There were lots of bikers and of course independent travelers who came in cars (parking lots on the outskirts) but I didn’t see any tour buses.

Day 13 - From Melk to Nurnberg via PASSAU



The trip from Melk to our next stop, Nurnberg was the longest, over five hours and when I discovered that it was actually considerably cheaper to book a train from Melk to Passau, and another 4 hours later on to Nurnberg I decided it would make a nice stopover. This was my fist experience with ‘left luggage’ and it went great. There were lockers, in several sizes, one medium one fit both bags, €4 (for up to 24 hours). Not all stations have left luggage lockers, some have no option at all, others have a ‘room’. Left luggage in Bratislava was a room with a desk and no guy at it when we passed. Much more sketchy. But with the lockers you didn’t have to worry about schedules or guys taking breaks or anything.

Passau made a great 4 hour stopover. Had plenty of time to explore the old town, climb up to the castle, have a lunch at the Rathaus beer garden. Passau’s main feature is it’s setting at the confluence of the Danube and the Inn Rivers- it comes to a sharp point where the two rivers meet. On one side is a fortress/castle, the other an abbey. The alstadt is about a 15-minute pleasant walk on mostly pedestrian shopping streets from the train station. The Dom is huge and very pretty both inside and out. There’s a nice square behind it with cafes and a fountain. The rathaus is a gorgeous medieval building, right on the river across from the fortress, great huge clock tower. There are a few other churches, some medieval winding lanes, a promenade all along both sides of the peninsula along both the Danube and the Inn. Onthe Danube were multiple riverboat cruise ships. I think Passau probably saw a ten-fold increase in tourists once those cruises caught on, the place was crawling with silver haired tourists.

Erm no, that's not even close https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...wns_in_Austria

OK I googled it and it's only the 5th largest city in LOWER Austria. Must have missed that the first time. Or the site I got the info from omitted that little fact. Guess you can't trust anything you read on the internet :)

Still enjoying your travel descriptions! With your gorgeous photos and excellent writing, you should start your own travel guidebooks!

Yes, I also like your descriptive style and impressions.

Thanks guys, that's nice to hear that people get something out of my trip reports. I know trip reports are the first place I go when starting to plan a trip.


Days 14-16


We decided to base in NURNBERG for three nights as we had several one and two nights stays so far and though it might be more relaxing to have three nights in one place, and Nurnberg is centrally located between Bamberg and Regensberg. We wanted to see Nurnberg itself of course, but were surprised when it turned out to be our favorite of the three cities.

Hotel BB Nurnberg City is modern, 6 stories, 10 min walk from train station on main road, right next to opera house. Very clean and even a bit of a view of the church steeples. The Nurnberg train station is a classic northern European old style train station and is right across the street from the city walls and one of the main towers. Plus it had a great selection of decent food. Best train station food court I think I’ve ever seen (well kind of like NY Grand Central’s). There is a fresh seafood restaurant (Nordsee, a chain); Japanese; ‘Dean & David’ which is fresh pressed juices, salads, wraps; Der Beck (German chain bakery with croissants, sandwiches, etc.; a pretzel sandwich place; decent looking pizza; and of course a place selling bratwurst, etc.

The first evening we were able to walk across the old town to the castle and back, across the river on some really pretty bridges, through nice squares and neighborhoods. Took about 1½ hours at a leisurely pace. We also had a couple of other mornings and two more evenings and felt we had a good amount of time to explore the city. We didn’t get to the WWII sites, which are a bit out of the center, but for us those were not a priority. We did have time to tour the castle and the Albrecht Durer House Museum.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Nürnberg enjoyed a cultural flowering that made it the center of the German Renaissance, a northern Florence. So enamored was Adolf Hitler with the Nürnberg’s huge swaths of half-timbered houses, steeped and gabled rooftops, and cobbled lanes and squares that he chose to stage his massive Nazi rallies in what he considered to be the most German of German cities. As the ideological center of the Third Reich, the city was a choice target for Allied bombers and much of the city was seriously damaged. Much was destroyed and therefore today there are quite a lot of fairly ugly mid 20th century buildings. But a lot has been restored and the city is really very pretty. The Pegnitz River runs through the center and there are numerous lovely bridges.

I think my favorite thing about Nurnberg was the river and the many interesting bridges. Kettensteg is a 'chain' bridge and is right up against the city walls and one of the best preserved towers. Henkersteg is a wooden covered bridge that connects with an island which in turn is connected to the other side by an old stone bridge (with buildings on it). Right in the center of town (between the two main squares, Lorenzerplatz and Hauptmarakt) is a bridge that looks over one of the most historic buildings in the city, Heilig-Geist Spital from 1332. That is reflected beautifully in the water.


There were also many interesting squares. The biggest, Lorenzerplatz, home to the 14th century Gothic cathedral is also home to another of the most beautifully preserved old houses, Nassauer House, a good example of a medieval upper class house. Just a few steps away is the Hauptmarakt where produce and flower markets are held and also home to the Frauenkirche, 1352, the other major church. On one corner of that square is the Schoner Brunnen, a huge intricately carved fountain. And that in turn is only steps away from the third major church, St Sebaldlus, also 14th century.


My favorite square was one between the Albrecth Durer House and the castle. The Albrecth Durer House itself, and several other buildings on the square are red and white half timbered buildings and one of the best towers and stretch of city wall are there. In the evening it's jammed with people sitting on the pavement (literally, I'm not talking about in chairs) and drinking beer. Very festive. In the morning it's peaceful and beautiful. The Albrecth Durer House is one of the oldest buildings in the city and can be toured. In addition to furnishings there are several of his works of art.


The castle (Kaiserburg) is also pretty good for a city castle. It's got a lovely garden behind it, a huge tower that can be climbed, and a 'deep well' (that you need to do with a guide, all the rest you can do on your own). The guide pours a pitcher of water down the well and it takes what seems like forever but is probably only 20 or 30 seconds for the water to hit the water at the bottom of the well. In the middle of the main building of the castle is a nice two story stone Romanesque chapel.


I was surprised at the amount and condition of the city walls. There are towers scattered throughout and it goes around about two thirds of the old center. But the best of all, in my opinion, is Weissgerber-grasse (Tanner's Lane), a couple block long ensemble of old artisan houses, mostly half timbered, in various colors. Looks like a painting.

Great report.

Thanks


One of our 3 days in Nurnberg we did a day trip to BAMBERG


At a kiosk at the train station we got a VGN card for €19.70 which was considerably less than the Bayern card which is €31. Both are for two people, round trip, all day. We got the 9:38 to Bamberg.


Bamberg is worth visiting for two reasons. One, it is a UNESCO town in it’s entirety with narrow cobblestone streets of ornate mansions, palaces, and churches, with styles ranging from Romanesque to Gothic, Renaissance to baroque, to the eclecticism of the 19th century. And two: it’s famous smoked beer. Bamberg has been called “a beer drinker’s Eden” (there are more breweries there than in Munich). The beverage of choice in Bamberg is Rauchbier, a smoked beer first brewed in 1536. My husband is a home brewer and self proclaimed beer snob and spent the whole trip trying different beers and this was his favorite.


It’s a 30-minute walk from the train station to the Gruner Markt which is a long, pedestrianized square/street filled with market stalls of enticing looking fruits and vegetables. Just past that is the highlight of Bamberg, The Altes Rathaus, a gorgeous Gothic structure on its own little island in the Regnitz River. One part is half-timbered, the other covered on both sides with amazing frescoes. Right below it is ‘Little Venice’, a district of old fisherman houses along the river.

From the Altes Rathaus we headed to the Dom, passing The Schlenkerla Brewery, over 600 years old and its tavern is the only place in town serving the smoked beer from the barrels. Around the corner from the oldest brewery in town is the oldest pharmacy, the Hof Apotheke, in business since 1453.

The Dom (St Peter’s and St George Imperial Cathedral, 11th century) shares it’s square (Domplatz) with the Alte Hofhaltung, a Renaissance palace with a courtyard surrounded with late Gothic half-timbered buildings. Across the square is the Neue Residenz, 1602 with a huge statue and fountain filled rose garden which supposedly has 4500 roses. Unfortunately all of these had a good deal of scaffoldings around.

But one of the places we were most interested in visiting , Michaelsburg Abbey, a 15 minute walk up hill from Domplatz, was completely (and I mean completely) covered with scaffolding. And the Brewery Museum in it was closed. Bummer. However, this was all at least somewhat compensated for by the excellent lunch we had up there at the terrace restaurant, one of the two best meals we had on the trip, and of course they had the Bamberg smoked beer. The Michaelsburg torte we had for dessert wasn’t bad either. And there was a lovely view of the town below.

My son called that smoked beer "bacon beer" ....he loved it, I hated it.

Bamberg is a pretty town, isn't it.

I visited my cousin in Nürnberg in September - we always stay in her apartment in Petzoltstrasse, it's changed a lot over the years, becoming more 'hip' (used to be described as a bit dodgy). Really enjoying your photos and seeing it through your eyes.

Adelaidean - agree on that beer. But at least my husband found one he was impressed by. One of the reasons we picked Bavaria for this trip was his interest in beer. We've been to Germany before but only briefly to Bavaria so he was excited to sample a lot of regional Bavarian beer but turns out I think he prefers British beer to Bavarian. But the Bamberg one he did find interesting.


REGENSBERG Day Trip We started the day with breakfast at the train station. Although Nurnberg Train station has several excellent places to get coffee, we just had to try the Dunkin Donuts. While Starbucks has been a common site in much of Europe for the past decade, I had no idea anyone in Europe had ever even heard of Dunkin Donuts but Nurnberg has at least two. The coffee was just like the Dunkin Donuts at home. Couldn’t bring myself to have donuts when there were all those croissants steps away though. Then we bought a Bayern ticket for €31 and got the 9:34 to Regensburg (1 hour).Regensberg train station is only about a 15-minute walk to the center. Although Regensberg is another UNESCO city, I was not as impressed with it as I thought I would be (this does not mean I didn’t think it was a beautiful city worth visiting, just that it didn’t live up to my very high expectations of it). There was even more construction than in the other cities (and they all have some) as well as lots of trash bags piled up awaiting pick up. There seemed to be a lot of vehicles, especially vans and trucks.

Regensberg is located on the Danube River and contains many medieval buildings of exceptional quality. It has ancient Roman, Romanesque and Gothic buildings including patrician houses and towers, and a large number of churches as well as a 12th century Old Bridge. Regensburg is one of Germany’s best-preserved medieval cities and the only one to remain completely unscathed by World War II bombings. Strategically poised on the northernmost reaches of the Danube River, Regensburg was a Celtic settlement, then a Roman outpost, and the center from which, beginning in the 7th century, Christianity spread throughout Germany and into central Europe via the Danube. Regensburg was also a major hub for trade, and by the 12th century the town was pouring its wealth into churches, towers, and some genuinely lovely houses and public buildings. Two of Regensburg’s more famous contemporary residents have been Oskar Schindler and Pope Benedict. With all that history and having seen photos of gorgeous buildings and lots of towers I was psyched to see it.


When we first got there it was quite sunny, lots of blue sky. There are some lovely old buildings but there was some modern stuff interspersed as well. The Dom looked a lot like the one in Nurnberg. Steinerne Brucke is the stone bridge over the Danube, 1135, with 16 arches, beautiful bridge, unfortunately it was half in scaffolding. It was the only stone bridge crossing the Danube from Vienna to Ulm for over 800 years. The clock tower/arched entry to the bridge is gorgeous and there are nice views from it, especially of the Salzstadel (Salt Warehouse) right next to it, built in 1620, an interesting building that was important in the active salt trade in the region. The best views of both of these are from the next bridge down river. There are several boats docked between them including a museum boat, and boats leaving for day cruises.

The Porta Petoria from the 1st C AD. is just a small corner of a building really, but a well preserved Roman ruin nonetheless. The main square, the Haidiplatz is really pretty, lined with beautiful buildings. The Altes Rathaus in Rathaus Platz (houses the TI office) adjoining Haidiplatz is one of the prettiest buildings in the city. There are numerous towers scattered about the alstadt (old town). There were a few other squares but none terribly inviting. We had read about the view from the top floor restaurant of the department store in one of the squares so we checked that out but the view was not great. The Alter Kornmarkt sounded like it would be a pretty square but was essentially a parking lot. However, it is the site of the Alte Kapelle, a rather boring church from the outside but a definite “WOW” inside – very beautiful baroque. One of the more unusual sites is the Goliath House, built about 1260, the largest mansion in Regensburg but the best part is the 1573 painting of the flight between David and Goliath covering two stories of the outside of the building. We were just starting to check out some of the lesser sites when it got cloudy quickly and then there was a sudden massive thunderstorm – now that was impressive. Fortunately we found an enclosed alley and waited it out for about 15 minutes. Then it slowed to drizzle but by that time I was not interested in any more exploring – combo of weather and just the town itself.

Nice trip report and photos as usual. Your style of moving about is much like ours. You have given us some new places to add to the list. We spent one night in Bratislava, and it was just enough. We were right smack in the middle of the old town, noisy and, after hearing drunks all night singing “Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heavens Door”, I was surprised we went to see Bob Dylan last year. We are glad we made the stop, and the one t-shirt we remember for sale, was an exaggeration: “Been there, done nothing.”

We have been to Lake Hallstatt twice, once in an October sleet, and we still took some of our best photos ever. And this past September on a perfect day. The cable car up the Dachstein Mountain, the "World Heritage Skywalk" and the panoramic views from up there made the trip to the salt mine memorable. It was not as crowded as the little village, and the salt mine experience was top notch, from the suits we all put on to the giant slides we went down to the little train that brought us out.

"Although Regensberg is another UNESCO city, I was not as impressed with it as I thought I would be (this does not mean I didn’t think it was a beautiful city worth visiting, just that it didn’t live up to my very high expectations of it)."

That was our impression, as well. A perfectly agreeable city, but like so many UNESCO designees it just didn't live up to expectations.

Still enjoying your report...

Day 17 - We spent the morning doing the few things in Nurnberg we hadn’t yet done (touring the castle and the Albrecht Druer House) and then took the 12:30 train to Rothenburg ob der Tauber ((VGN ticket). The whole trip was only about 1½ hour but required two changes, one 4 minute and one 5 minute but we made both easily, both trains were on time. We wanted a late afternoon and a morning in Rothenburg to try and avoid the crowds so booked just one night and this plan worked well. An afternoon/evening and a morning were just about right. Hotel Zum Breiterle is just inside the walls, a ten-minute walk from the train station. The hotel is a nice old picturesque house, inside not exactly modern, but clean and comfortable.



ROTHENBURG OB DER TAUBER– “Red fortress on the Tauber river” is every bit as gorgeous as everyone says it is. Surrounded by massive stone walls (most of which you can walk) with 42 towers and several gates and full of cobbled streets lined with gorgeous buildings and flower filled window boxes, a beautiful main square with amazing buildings, and a picture postcard perfect intersection of two streets with a gate and fountain. The walls were great fun, most of it free and the bastion at the south end of town also incredible and free. So Rick Steves is right, Rothenburg is the quintessential German medieval town. Looks like a movie set except for all the cars everywhere. Reminded me a bit of Brugge only with walls instead of canals. Rothenburg, like Brugge, was poor in the 17th and 18th centuries when richer towns were tearing down the old stuff and building Baroque and later, so it remains very medieval.

But I was really surprised they don’t restrict at least the parking of cars, I can see why they need to allow residents to drive in and deliveries need to be made, but parking could be banned. The tour groups all over the place from when we got out and sightseeing (around 3) till about 6 were a drag but I expected that, that’s why we spent the night. But the cars I didn’t expect. By 7 pm we almost had the town to ourselves.

The next morning we were out exploring by 8:30 and the streets were almost deserted and stayed that way till around 10. So really a great idea to overnight in Rothenburg. We had almost 24 hours and that was perfect. We climbed two sections of walls and walked most of the circuit, some of it twice. We climbed to the top of the city hall tower – great views. And the climb was very interesting. First is a hundred or so stone spiral steps – very wide and easy. Then a series of wooden steps, getting more narrow and steeper as you go for another hundred or so steps. The final couple of ‘flights’ are essentially ladder. The last bit certainly is and with the (very small) backpacks on we barely squeezed up – no one with any mobility issue or at all ‘overweight’ could possibly get up it. The very last part you climb, not walk. But it was fun. Interesting that the ticket desk (€2.50 each) is at the top. Due to the small space up there only 20 people at a time are allowed. About half way up is a turnstile with a light – if green it lets you go, if red you have to wait till some people come back down.

We also checked out St Jacobs-kirche (which is on one of the northern routes to the Camino de Santiago, where we spent our trip last summer) and sure enough, there is a bronze statue of St James with the scallop shell in his hand right outside – and the bronze scallop shell markers on the ground point the way to Santiago.

The main market square is straight out of a fairy tale book, as is the Ploniein ("little square" 1385) which is the most photographed place in town (and is on every website, guidebook, etc.). The two best towers were the Roder Gate/Tower and the Markus Tower but they were all gorgeous.

Day 18 HEIDELBERG

Though the focus of the trip was Bavaria, and Heidelberg is not in Bavaria, but we needed to be close to Frankfurt airport for the flight out and I had read Heidelberg was just as quick to get to the airport as Frankfurt itself and sounded way more interesting. We didn’t arrive until late afternoon so really had just one full day. And in order to be close to the train station for the departure morning we stayed there rather than in the center. Turned out to be a bit more than a half hour boring (but otherwise perfectly acceptable) walk. The first evening we did walk to the center, the last part of the walk is along the pedestrian shopping street, Haupstrasse which is filled with shops, many of them popular European and international chains. There are some nice buildings and the university is along there.

Having walked the Haupstrass the previous evening, we decided to walk to the center along the river, cool and shady. The Alte Brucke (old bridge), 1786, is a lovely multi arched sandstone bridge with a twin towered medieval bridge gate on the old town side (covered with scaffolding). The view of this bridge, with the castle on the hill behind it is the best thing about Heidelberg.

Marktplatz (The main square) was setting up for an antique car rally so the atmosphere was not terribly pleasant. Oh well. It does have the most impressive church in the city, Heliggeist-kirche as well as the Rathaus. The adjoining square is the Kornmarkat which was a grain market in the middle ages, nice fountain in the center. The entrance to the funicular is just off this square.

We took the funicular up to Heidelberg Scholss. It’s 7€ each for the funicular plus the castle grounds, the old apothecary and the giant casks. If you want to go inside the castle buildings you have to buy a separate ticket for a guided tour. We took the funicular to the station above the castle station and walked down, easy 15 minutes, hoping for great views, but the view of the castle from the grounds themselves (Schlossgarten) is much better. There are quite a lot of grounds outside the castle (with panoramic views of the town, the old bridge and the river) and then the courtyard is quite large.

Perched on a hill overlooking the city, the ruins of Heidelberg Castle is the result of many centuries of building and destruction caused by war, fire and pillaging. The earliest fortifications were in the 13th century; most of the present structures date to the Renaissance. While much of the castle remains in a state of artful decay, some areas have been renovated to its Gothic glory. Even in ruin one of the great Renaissance landmarks of northern Europe suggests beauty, grandeur, and long vanquished empires—in this case a division of the Holy Roman Empire, whose prince electors lived here from the 13th century. Very interesting contrast with some of the castle is in great shape – with lots of intricate carvings on the exterior walls, etc., yet the rest of it is a ruin.

The Great Cask, aka the Heidelberg Turn, a symbol of the exuberant life the prince electors enjoyed, was built in 1751 to store more than 208,000 liters (55,000 gal.) of wine (the largest in the world). There are three, besides the Great Cask. The biggest cask is in a room by itself with a beautiful wood spiral staircase going to the top of it. The others are in a large hall like space that is also a wine tasting bar and a food/beer/beverage bar. We got white sausage with sweet dark mustard, beer and ice tea. Same meal that was our first of the trip in Munich.

The Chemist’s Tower houses the Apothekenmuseum (Pharmaceutical Museum) and the old chambers spotlight the importance of German pharmaceutical research (much of it conducted at Heidelburg University) with utensils, laboratory equipment, and re-created chemist’s shops from the 18th and 19th centuries. The apothecary museum is extensive and one of the best I’ve seen (probably second only to Krakow). Many rooms, lots of apothecary chests (room size) and jars and jugs and miscellaneous other materials used in pharmacy. Lots of explanations on the history of pharmacy, all in both English and German. Nice little crocodile hanging from the ceiling.

Although the funicular back down to town is included with the ticket we had we choose to walk. It’s only 220 steps (and they had painted numbers on them).

On the other side of the bridge from the alstadt is the “Philosophers walk” (Philosophenweg )– up a pretty steep hill, then along the river, through vineyards and woods. Fabulous views back to the old town with the castle above it and the old bridge over the river. The town is definitely better from a distance – but from a distance it is a stunner.

Thanks for writing such a wonderful, detailed report. I've visited many of the same places but your TR makes me want to go back. Fabulous photos!

Thank you trophywife007

So for my husband that was the end of the trip - he flew back home from Frankfurt.

I was going on to Greece for a few weeks. When we started planning late the previous fall/early winter, I had found a flight from Frankfurt to Santorini which fit perfectly. I booked the transatlantic flights then but figured I could wait on the Ryan Air flight to Greece. Big mistake. By mid winter (still 6 months before the date I wanted to fly) it was sold out. I ended up not only having to pay twice as much, but take a flight from Munich which meant I had a three and a half hour train ride back to Munich. Turned out to be the worst train trip of them all. One very tight connection, packed trains, late trains. I did make it but I learned my lesson. Book all your flights as soon as you know your dates, and hopefully know them seven or eight months ahead.

Here's the link to the report for the rest of my trip https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...-july-1659955/