December Germany Trip Advice
 

My husband and I are planning to go to Germany the week of December 17th for 7 days. One ideas was to fly to Frankfurt and drive to Munich (drive Romantic Road). Sounds like there are a couple towns worth visiting en route to Munich. OR we were thinking of flying to Munich and touring the area and then driving to Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic. It's a last minute vacation and we'll most likely wing it. I'm just curious if anyone has any suggestions on what we should do in Germany if we had 7 days.

Thanks!!

Hi Promethia, my family (DH and in-laws) drove the Romantic Road in 5 days, the week before Christmas in 2005. We felt our trip was a bit rushed, so I think doing it in 7 days would be perfect. There's plenty to see to fill a week - just remember that it will get dark early (around 5:00). You want to be at your destination by mid-afternoon so you can relax and walk around and enjoy the festive holiday scene.

You'll find many suggestions on this board on what to see and where to stay along this route...my personal favorites are Wuerzburg, Rothenburg, Dinkelsbuehl, Landsberg am Lech, and the Wieskirche. We finished up the trip near Fuessen by touring Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. Augsburg is also nice if you want to visit a larger city. My favorite hotel was Burg Colmberg (www.burg-colmberg.de), just outside of Rothenburg. If you don't want to stay in town, this place is fantastic! Virtually every town along the way has a Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) so you can get your fill of gluewein and holiday trinkets.

It depends on your interests.

Frankfurt is very good in art museums, and also München.

Würzburg has the palace, UNESCO world heritage and a must-see.

On the Romantic Road, there are these historical towns, certainly especially romantic this time of year.

You may also explore the wine-villages in Franken, like Iphofen, to try the special wines which are produced there.

For more information on the Romantic Road, see my GoList on tripadvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/GoListDet...o_History.html

bookmarking

Try to get to Oberammergau if you can--it's a picture-postcard town with excellent shops featuring wood crafts and Christmas ornaments.

Hausfrau,

I totally agree with part of your posting. Having just finished a five day trip on the Romantic Road, I think that it is too much to see in a day or two. To do it justice, you have to spend nearly a week. On the other hand, unless you have already seen a lot in Bavaria, the sight on the Road are not that great, and there are too many other things (Salzburg, Munich, Berchtesgaden) to see in Bavaria to spend a lot of time there.

Of the sites on the road, the Festung Marienberg in Würzburg is definitely worth seeing; the Residenz is a waste of time. Rothenburg is the premier, must-see site, after that Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen are just poor copies. Of the two I would much recommend Nördlingen over Dinkelbühl. Landsberg am Lech was a pleasant surprise. Unless you have an unnatural obsession with excessively ornate churches, Wieskirche is another waste. I could have spent an hour there; I got bored and left after five minutes.

I would ditch Frankfurt unless you are going for business. Go Munich direct. I did the Romantic Road and Rothenburg but was not all that impressed. It depends on your interests.

Actually, if you want to see part of the Romantic Road, FRA (Frankfurt airport) is closer to Würzburg than is Munich.

From FRA, Würzburg is only 1-1/2 hr by Express train (€27-33) or 2:20 by regional train (€20 using local RMV tickets and splitting a Bayern-Ticket. Spend the night there, tour the fortress (Marienberg) then go to Rothenburg (1 hr, €10,60 ea.) for a night.

After Rothenburg, take the train to Munich. There's lots to see in Munich plus you can make inexpensive day trips to Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Oberammergau and Linderhof, or the king's castles in Füssen using a €27 Bayern-Ticket for both of you.