DH and I are going on a great hut to hut hiking trip in the Dolomites next summer--specifically the end of July. We have 5 days before hand to get over jet lag and do some sight seeing. Here is the outline of our itinerary and then some more detail below. I have included my questions below as well. We are coming from the Western US. We are big history nerds and love museums. We are also foodies!

Day One, Monday: Land in Munich at 9:30, take train into city. I figure it will take an hour through customs, then an hour into the city on the train, have lunch and then start walking around. Goal here is to just stay awake until 7 or 8 and then crash. I am thinking of doing a self-guided walking tour (Rick Steves) and popping into the various amazing churches as we go. Then seeing the Residenz Treasury before dinner at 6. (almost all other museums are closed this day)

Day Two, Tuesday: Art Museums and the Nazi Documentation Center. Pick up car at the train station. Park it near hotel. This way we don't have to waste time getting it the next day.

Day Three, Wednesday: Drive to Nymphenburg Palace and then the BMW Museum/Show Room. I am allotting a good 3 hours for the palace. Will it take that long? DH is a big car buff, so the museum is something he wants to see. He doesn't want to see the plant (which is fine with me) I am thinking that the the museum and show room will take 2 hours plus time for lunch. Leave around 3:00 and drive to Wieskirche to see the church. Then drive to Fussen. Is that about a 2 hour drive from the BMW museum to Fussen? Stay the night.

Day Four, Thursday: Tour both castles, have lunch etc. I am thinking this will take from 9-2. Is that timing ok?? too much?? too little?? Then drive from Fussen to Bolzano, Italy. I see that as being a four hour drive. Is that accurate with border crossings and traffic during high season? Overnight Bolzano.

Day Five, Friday: We have been to see Otzi so we won't go to that museum again. I want to see Piazza Walther and delle Erbe as well as the Chiesa du Domencianci and the Duomo. I think it would be fun to drive down to the South Tyrolean Wine Museum Coldero. We have been to Trento, so don't need to go again. Maybe see the Castle Roncolo?? The issue is that we have to leave Bolzano by 3 to get to Madonna di Campliagno but around 5.

Days 6-12: Saturday-Friday: Hike hut to hut in the Dolomites with a tour group. On the last day, Friday, we are supposed to get into Madonna di Campliagno at noon. Then we hang out that afternoon, have dinner with the group, stay the night and drive back to Munich on Saturday. Here is my thought--and I really appreciate any and all feedback on this idea (including--"you're nuts, that won't work"! ) What I want to do is to leave Madonna di C that day and drive at least to Bolzano or maybe Brixen. We will have seen Madonna on the day we get there. I have driven 5 hours after finishing strenuous backpacking trips and our last day on this trip is not hard. I want to get a head start so we can see more on Saturday (Day 13) If there is some difficulty and we get off the trail really late, we will still have the hotel in Madonna. The tricky part here is that I am thinking of not making hotel reservations in Bolzano or Brixen--I want to see how far we get. We may even get closer to Innsbruck. My major concern is that this is high season--the last weekend in July on a Friday night. Am I completely crazy to think that we will find a room at the last minute in these places??? It doesn't have to be a 4 star hotel but I don't want a dorm room set up either. We are ok staying in a small hotel in a small village along the way--we would just need to eat dinner somewhere. Thoughts????

Day 13, Saturday: Drive from either Madonna or wherever we stay to Innsbruck. Walk around and hopefully see the Museum of Tyrolean Folk Art. (3 hours in Innsbruck) Then make a stop in Mittenwald to see churches and house frescoes.(1 hour) And a last stop in Oberammergau to see some more frescoed houses. (1 hour) Then drive to the Munich airport, drop off the car, and stay at an airport hotel. Thoughts on this?? Other places to stop instead?

Day 14 fly home.

I will figure out hotels and eating options at a later date and will come back for more assistance, I am sure. I appreciate your feedback--thank you!!!

Just an FYI - the Nazi Documentation Center can fill a whole day, so you might want to pick and choose the bits that most interest you.

Your itinerary is entirely too fast paced for me, but you know yourself better than anyone so it might work for you. Day 13 in particular would be way too much for me.

Thanks for the advice on the Documentation Center. We can easily spend a long time in museums. I will visit the website to pick out highlights. As for fast paced, we go pretty hard from 9-5, then grab an early dinner and stay in the rest of the evening. So we are not going from morning till night. We are also fast walkers, so that helps

Day 13 will be played by ear. According to google, it's a 6.5 hour drive from Madonna to Munich, so we will need leg stretches for sure. That's also why I want to get as close to Innsbruck as we can on Day 12. If we only make it to Innsbruck, that's fine.