Berchtesgaden, Germany
 

i am planning a family trip In December 2010 to celebrate Christmas and New Years in Berchtesgaden. We will be there approximately 14 days. It is our chance to show our children ages 2, 6 and 8 Germany with their German grandparents. I have researched hotels and have narrowed it down to two: Hotel Alpenhof and Berghotel Rehlegg. My parents stayed at the Alpenhof 8 years ago and loved it. I think the Berghotel is a bit bigger, so feel we might have a bit more breathing room with our three kids. I have grown up hearing how well behaved German children are, and while mine are basically well behaved, they are children!
I would appreciate any input you have, including hotel and restaurant recommendations, Christmas market information, day trips and skiing information. We are also toying with spending a few days in Munich if you think that would be enjoyable for us all.
Thank you very much!

We have stayed at the Rehlegg on several trips in the past. This family run Best Western hotel is located in Ramsau just outside of Berchtesgaden and the drive into town would be about 20-30 minutes. It is about 40 -45 minutes drive into Salzburg.

The hotel is quite spread out with a "newer" building that has rooms as well as the main building. In the summer, when we have stayed, I always enjoy the pool and sitting there with a great view of the nearby mountains. The food in the restaurant is excellent. In the summer, there is a local "honey" set up at the breakfast buffet which I thought was terrific. Don't know if it is there in the winter. Also, there is a "free" snack hour in the afternoon for guests (not sure if this is there in the winter).
The rooms are large and the ones with balconies are quite comfortable. There is also a steam room/sauna.

From this location, it is easy to visit the Koenigsee(10 minutes), Salzburg and Berchesgaden as described above, Hallstadt would be about 2 hours. At this time of year, the Eagle's Nest will be closed but you can certainly enjoy the Rossfeldstrasse which is a high Alpine road "above" the Kehlstein. This is a toll road and may not be open if there is snow in the high alps. You can take the lift up the Jenner from the Koenigsee parking lot and you can take the lift in nearby St. Leonhart. There's the salt mines and the Christmas markets and B'gaden has the "Christmas shooters" on Christmas eve.

There are also hiking trails that are maintained in the winter if the spirit moves you. Hope this helps!

There are some small ski areas nearby but I am unsure if they make snow so this would be dependent on the weather. You could all take the train to Munich, or visit there easily after you are done in B'gaden.

thank you very much for your info!

Hi EmilyC,

We've stayed in Ramsau (by Berchtesgaden) 3 times ('06, '07, '09) and simply love it there.

The drive from Ramsau to Berchtesgaden is about 10 minutes, maybe 15 at the most. The Koenigssee/Jennerbahn is less than 20 minutes drive from Ramsau.

Hallstatt took us less than 2 hours from Ramsau. Good for a daytrip.

The church in Ramsau is very picturesque and there's a very good bakery (I believe it's called Niedermayers) in Ramsau just off the main road (B305).

I also wanted to add that nearby Bad Reichenhall (@20 min. from Ramsau) is a very nice place to visit and "Mad" King Ludwig's Neues Schloss (Herrenchiemsee) is just an hour from Berchtesgaden/Ramsau. Probably our favorite of Ludwig's 3 castles/palaces.

http://www.herrenchiemsee.de/englisc...lace/index.htm

For dinner, our 2 favorite places in the area are:

Just down the street (B305) from Ramsau (and very close to Berchtesgaden):

www.gebirgshaeusl.de

In Bad Reichenhall:

www.doncamillo-ristorante.de

If interested, we have photo's at:

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

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel15.html

Paul

I just noticed I posted to EmilyC... sorry cpb2004.

For kids: Jenner gondola lift; this is also a ski mountain, not eas on top. The salt mines, they'll love the wooden slide. The Rossfeld Hochstrasse for easy skiing. You can also get there from the B-305, the road that leads from B'gdn to Salzburg. Salzburg also offers things for kids, especially the castle. Don't know if the Marionetten Theater is still active.

thank you all, this is great information. and thank you for sharing your photos too! pja1, no worries :) Treplow, I have never skied in Europe before, we are Vermont skiers and the older kids are skiing all blues and most blacks here. To your knowledge, is it comparable, or can I expect Europe to be much more difficult? Would you travel a bit for skiing?

In December you will probably need to adjust to the weather and snow conditions. The lower elevations (1,500 meters or less) are not guaranteed to have snow at that time of the year. Fortunately, you have several ski resorts nearby in Austria which are quite "safe" even before Christmas.

The pistes are marked by different colors (since you mentioned blue and some black):
In the Alps,

blue means easy/beginners,
red is intermediate,
black is difficult/experts,
orange means extremely difficult.

I don't know if skiing should be considered less or more difficult. But I'd always check locally if black slopes are okay, since the color code can also mean that they are less or not groomed.

You will probably find the resorts and pistes more crowded here. I'd go ski on working days, if possible.

Cowboy1968, thank you for explaining that. Would you be able to mention any resorts by name that are nearby so I can research?

Cowboy gives you a good summary. I used to ski in Vermont (living in NJ) until we changed to Colorado and Utah. The snow conditions in Vermont are fairly comparable to those near B'gdn. Perhaps fewer "blue ice special" days.

Ski areas: By bus/train Jenner, Rossfeld, top of Predigtstuhl outside of Bad Reichenhall. I don't advise trying to ski down the Predigtstuhl. Zell am See (car or train). There are others, but those are the only ones I have skied. With car quite a bit more: Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Winkelmoos Alm (near Reit im Winkel),Zell am See, etc. Generally, you want to look for sites that have upper and lower portions for skiing or a lift you can take down in case the snow is poor at the lower altitudes.

I suggest you place another post, specifically asking for the type of skiing that you ae looking for near Berchtesgaden.

The amazing thing is that the German alps are really not very high. Fo example, the highest mountain in Germany is about 10,000ft, only a bit higher than the altitude of the BASE station at Copper Mountain. Can't remember how high Mt. Mansfield in Stowe is.

Treplow, Thank you will post another request!

i stayed at alpenhof many many years ago and it was fantastic....no doubt it remains so today...

there are many small inns in that area and all would be welcoming...

it should be fantastic at christmas....don't miss the munich and saltzburg christmas markets