Hello,

We are going to Germany Aug. 28 - September 2. We will have a car.

Our plans:

Munich - August 28 - 30
Depart Munich for Fussen - August 30
Depart Fussen for Oberwessel - August 31
Depart Oberwessel for ? maybe Trier - September 1
Reims, France - night of September 2

So far for castles we are planning on Linderhof (August 28) & Neuschwanstein (August 31). Any other castle recommendations? I know there are many castels that would be little detours from our drive, and that is fine. And yes, I know that Neuschwanstein is not loved by all, but we are planning on checking it out anyway. It sounds like if we already have tickets and go first thing August 31 we can be done with the tour in not too much time. (Is that correct?) We are planning on driving on the west side of the Rhine.

You have all been very helpful in our planning thus far. The only night we do not have a hotel for is the night of September 1. We are still trying to decide if we will stop at Nurburgring where my husband would like to *perhaps* drive the ring or ride in a green taxi if he can get in on one. He hasn't fully decided if he wants to do it or not as he knows the whole idea of it makes me rather nervous...

But I would love particularly castle recommendations & approximate times to see those castles. LOTS of options - that is why I thought I'd ask the experts!

Thanks!

There are many to see. This site may help you:

http://www.mediaspec.com/castles/

Also, a side trio from the Romantic Road to Etal to see the monestary (and taste the schnapps) might be fun... and the cathedrals ay Strasbourg and Riems.

Thank you, seafox - helpful site.

I've been reading good things about Rheinfels & Burg Eltz today. So many castles - so little time!!

Yes you can do Neuschwanstein fairly quickly. I would recommend that you visit both castles (the other is Hohenschwangau) to get the complete history. Each takes about an hour to tour.

You don't have a whole lot of time, but since you will have a car, and I've been to a LOT of castles, I will just mention my two most favorite castles in Germany:

Burg Hohenzollern (http://www.preussen.de/en/today/hohe...rn_castle.html)
This one beats Neuschwanstein for me any day. Not well-known outside of Germany, but absolutely spectacular. (Caveat: you won't get the view seen on the website unless you fly in a small plane!) It's located about an hour south of Stuttgart so you MIGHT be able to work it into your trip north. The tour is only in German as far as I know but you can get an English guidebook at the gift shop. Inside the castle is furnished and equally gorgeous. The casements under the castle are open, and the Burgschenke restaurant inside the castle is excellent. Plan on 3-4 hours.

Burg Eltz in the Mosel Valley (www.burgeltz.de/e_index.html)
One of the oldest intact castles in Germany - impeccably preserved, owned by the same family for generations. Great tour (in English) and a beautiful setting. Plan on at least a couple hours, more if you want to walk around. There's only a snack shop on-site.

There are so many castles on the Rhine, it is hard to pick just one or two...Marksburg always gets good reviews but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the 2 I just mentioned. For a very atmospheric ruin I would choose Rheinfels. I did really like Burg Pfalz which is rather unique since it is situated smack in the middle of the river and you have to take a little boat to get to it! (As I recall it is just downstream from Oberwesel, but don't quote me on that..) It has a self-guided tour and is not furnished, but it's a fascinating structure.

Hi,

Just wanted to "second" Burg Eltz. Our favorite castle in the "perfect" setting for a castle. We have some pic's from our visit in Oct. '07 at:

www.worldisround.com/articles/338874/index.html

We liked Marksburg along the Rhine as well.

www.marksburg.de/english/frame.htm

www.worldisround.com/articles/338907/index.html

If I could see just one of these two, it would be Burg Eltz.

Paul

We have also done both Hohenzollern and Burg Eltz and put them at the top of any list of German castles in the areas you will be visiting.

The Auf Schoenburg Castle Hotel in Oberwesel is definitely worth an overnight stay or at least have a drink on their lovely terrace or a meal in their restaurant. Amazing views from many areas around the castle and grounds.

Jenny - If you like Ludwig's castle check out Herrenchiemsee. It's on an island near Chiemsee Germany. You could spend a good half day there. You take a ferry out to see it and I thought it was better than Neuschwanstein. I thought Linderhof was also nice.

I too would recommend Burg Eltz. Have a wonderful trip!

If you have a car, you don't need to stay in the town of Fussen. You can stay in the valley below Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. We stayed at the Hotel Mueller, arriving in the evening, left our car parked at the hotel while we toured Neuschwanstein the first thing in the morning, and then moved off up the Romantic Road.

Burg Eltz is my favorite also. It's only a slight detour from your route. Whereas Herrnchiemsee is more of a detour. Plus catching a boat back and forth takes more time. Your time is short on this trip. I'd like to see another day split between the Rhine and the Mosel.

I'm pretty sure Jenny is already planning to stay at the Hotel Mueller and Auf Schoenburg based on our recs! ;-)

Smart girl, hausfrau!

You are all amazing! Thank you so much! What a terrific resource & great online community this forum is!

Yes, hausfrau is right. We are already staying at Hotel Mueller & Auf Schoenburg based on this forum. And Burg Eltz has officially been added to our itinerary. We are mapping out our traveling routes & times, really figuring out how much time we have each day. Also based on your recommendations, we are going to include a visit Hohenschwangau as well. (Thanks for the time estimate on that, hausfrau.) I'm realizing with all my research that more visits to Germany will be necessary. Mimar has a point - we don't have enough time! I enjoyed the photos very much, pja1. Really beautiful & interesting.

A confession: I was originally a little disappointed that we weren't spending more time around Fussen - I had wanted to go to Berchtesgaden & Lake Konigsee. But I'm getting more & more excited about the Rhine area - the photos are just gorgeous - storybook little towns, so pretty, so clean. Some of the photos remind me of when I was in Switzerland - & we enjoyed that so much. We will be returning to Germany in the future, I am sure. Thanks again!

My husband just said he also likes the looks of Marksburg - so maybe we'll go there if we have time.

Jenny, I spent 2.5 years in Germany and it wasn't enough! So yes, you will have to go back many, many times. ;-)

Hotel Mueller will set up your tickets to both castles, leaving enough time to get from one to the other. The whole visit should take less than 3 hours. We did it in the morning and drove back to Stuttgart that afternoon.

The Rhine/Mosel area is stunning. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks for letting me know about Hotel Mueller setting up our tix to the castles. I'll contact them about that. Really looking forward to our trip! (Except maybe the Nurburgring part...which we may or may not do!)

Thanks again!

If you arrive at Hotel Mueller in the evening, they will ask you about your castle tickets when you check in and have them waiting for you the next morning.

Be sure to report back. I will be anxious to hear how the Nuerburgring goes if your hubby decides to do it.

Thanks, hausfrau. Will give a report on our return. Coincidentally today my husband (a physician) had a patient & our trip came up. The patient asked where in Germany we were going. Turns out this guy did Nurburgring 2 years ago - on a motorcycle - with no advance prep/training. He did get someone to drive ahead of him the first time & he followed them. So he, of course, sang his praises of The Ring & dh is now all excited again. Ahh...yes, it will be interesting to see what happens!

bookmarking

You know the saying...it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Well, there are no official reports that I know of, but I've seen estimates of around 10 fatalities a year at the Nuerburgring. A lot of those are motorcyclists.

I'm not going to beat a dead horse. The Nuerburgring is absolutely the most incredible piece of track you (or your hubby) will ever experience. It's also the most dangerous. You just have to go into it with all your wits about you. Good luck!!