Please help! My sister and I will be arriving in Munich on Sept 14. I haven't found a quaint reasonable B&B or hotel to stay at on Sept 15, 16. We will be in Oberammagau on Sept 17 (have a place that night) for Passion Play on Sept. 18. Need a place on Sept 18. Also, does anyone have a suggestion on the best car rental deal? Trying to make last minute plans and getting a little panicky. Would appreciate any help/suggestions/ideas. Thanks!!! Edith

It may not be very quaint, but Hotel Helvetia, which is very close to the Hauptbahnhof, is very reasonable. English-speaking staff are courteous, and a nice breakfast is included.

Just found the address for Hotel Helvetia: Schillerstrasse 6. Phone 590685.

Edith, don't panic, but do get in touch with the Munich tourist information office to find a room. It will be a big problem for the dates you want, since Oktoberfest begins that weekend and rooms are booked months in advance. So I suggest that you not waste time trying to find a room on your own. Try the website www.munich-tourist.de, which is in English, and click on email. It will switch you to a German site, but if you click on the 6th button down, which is for tourist information, and tell them what type of room(s) you need and a price range, they will be your best bet. There is a small fee for this service, but if you want to stay anywhere near Munich on that weekend, it will be well worth it. For September 18, you may want to just try to get out of the immediate area of Oberammergau (which includes Garmisch-Partenkirchen) because Passion Play accommodations reach all the outlying areas. Try going to the village of Lechbruck, or into Austria. Sorry I won't be available to help more, I leave Thursday for the same areas!! Have fun!

Munich gets reserved months and months in advance for this period. You're best off staying outside somewhere. If you'd like a small town on a lake, Diessen might fit the bill. It's on Ammersee Lake to the southwest of Munich, about 1 hr. or so by local train, a bit less by car perhaps. You can ride the boat from Diessen over to Herrsching on the Munich side of the lake and train in from there, too. <BR> <BR>This website has accommodations you can click on, most with e-mail addresses: <BR> <BR>www.diessen.net/gastronomie/index.htm <BR> <BR>I stayed at and enjoyed the simple Gasthof Unterbräu for about $US 30 single: <BR> <BR>www.diessen.net/gastronomie/unterbraeu/index.htm