vibhav

We are a family of 3 (one boy 4 years old) traveling with my parents to the Tirol, Dolomites and Bavaria region in June ... We will be driving from the Dolomites, through Innsbruck to stay over night in Mittenwald for 2 nights ... But we do not quite have the 3 full days ... First day we will be driving in and sightseeing enroute, second day full day and third day we need to drive back to Munich to reach late night ... Looking for suggestions for the top attractions and things to do in this region ... Here are some of things we have gleaned off the other posts ... Please help sanity check ..

Also, my husband is a photographer so looking for unique shots / hidden gems that a photographer must visit ..

Day 1 - Drive from Dolomites to Innsbruck ... Lunch in Innsbruck ... Drive to Mittenwald ... Wander around Mittenwald and Garmisch ... Any short hikes (upto 3-4 KM) in this area? What else is not to be missed?

Day 2 - VIsit the castles in Fussen ... Are there any unique view points for the photograhy angle? Are the two castles a full day affair? If not, what can we do in the evening? I read somewhere that there is a lake near Fussen that has a nice cruise I can send parents and kid, while hubby and I can rent bikes and ride along the lake? Is it worth it? What else to do in the region?

Day 3 - Is Zugspitz worth it? Sounds expensive ... Austrian side a bit cheaper ... Other options for cable rides / luge rides .. What is the age limit for a luge ride? This day is quite open .. So feel free to tell us what not to miss in the region ..

Any help will be much aprpeciated as we fly out for the vacation in about a week and these days are just not planned ..

Thanks,
Sakshi

bigtyke

www.tegelbergbahn.de/preise-tegelberg.html gives a price for children 4 and up, so I guess your boy should be able to ride with an adult.

I once ran across a website that detailed many places to take great photos of Ludwig's castles, but I am afraid that I can't find it in my bookmarks. Many posters have told of places to get photos, the most popular seems to be from Maria Bridge

pja1

HI,

Day 1 - Between the Dolomites and Innsbruck is the charming old town of Serzing/Vipiteno. Well worth an hour or so. Easy off/on the A22 highway. You'll also find Reifenstein Castle/Castel Tasso here as well. Rick Steves take on castle Reifenstien... "For an incredibly medieval kick in the pants, Reifenstein offers castle connoisseurs the best-preserved original medieval castle interior I've ever seen." We've been twice but never toured it (you need at least 4 people for the woman to give a tour).

http://www.sterzing.com/en/art-cultu...-sterzing.html

Personally, I'd skip "lunch in Innsbruck", but I'm not a big fan of Innsbruck itself and would rather be in Mittenwald. If it's a clear day, you could take the Karwendelbahn (cable car) in Mittenwald.

www.karwendelbahn.de

http://www.karwendelbahn.de/images/k...er_2009_en.pdf

Day 2 - If you got to the castles by 9am, you'd be done by noon. Earlier is better and reserving ahead of time seems to be the best way. The view of Neuschwanstein from Marienbrucke is fantastic. Instead of walking up to Neuschwanstein (steep walk), we took the van/bus from the ticket center up to Marienbrucke and walked down to Neuschwanstein (steep also, but downhill and a short walk). The Tegelberg cable car and luge ride are just a mile or so from Neuschwanstein. We also like the old town of Fuessen.

www.hohenschwangau.de/ticketcenter0.0.html

www.lisl.de/765.0.html

The Wieskirche is nearby and has a spectacular interior.

www.wieskirche.de

Just a note, Ehrwald, Austria (Zugspitze) is much closer to Fuessen than Mittenwald.

Day 3 - The Zuspitze from Austria is an hour or 2 in the opposite direction of driving to Munich.
We like stopping at Andechs Monestary for a couple of hours on the drive from Mittenwald to Munich.

www.andechs.de

Cable cars and luge rides:
Karwendelbahn cable car - Mittenwald
Tegelbergbahn cable car and luge ride- right by Neuschwanstein
There's another luge ride about 20 minutes from Mittenwald on the main road to Garmisch. As you enter Garmisch, you'll se the sign "Sommerrodelbahn" on the left hand side of the road.

http://www.qype.co.uk/place/804748-S...-Partenkirchen

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i4LKbwo-fk

Ettal Monestary is also worth a look by Mittenwald as is "Mad" King Ludwig's Linderhof Palace. We actually like the interior of Linderhof over Neuschwanstein.

www.kloster-ettal.de

http://www.schlosslinderhof.de/engli...ce/history.htm

Wherever you go in the Dolomites and Bavaria, it will be hard not to love it!

Have a great and safe trip.

Hope this helped.

Paul

vibhav

Thanks a lot Bigtyke for the info ... We are comtemplating the tegelbergbahn ... I am starting to wonder if Zugspitz is worth the big price tag ... Also, my husband and I are not big fans of panoramic views from a height ... We have been up the Aguille Di Midi in Mont Blanc ... That was probably the only one we found impressive ...

Paul ... Thanks a lot buddy ... We have added the Refenstein castle and Vipiteno to our day of driving in ... Then lunch in Innsbruck ... Followed by strolling around Mittenwald and Garmisch in the evening ...

For our Day 2, I am thinking of covering the castles, Wieskirche, town of Fuessen and maybe Lake Forggensee ... One question there ... Is it better to stay in Fuessen than Mittenwald? Since it is a 1.5 hr drive in the morning from Mittenwald, the earliest tour we will be able to book at the castle will be 11 AM realistically with a family of 5 people ..

For Day 3, if we decide on Zugspitz ... we are still undecided ...

If we do not decide on Zugspitz, then what else should we plan on? Is Bad Tolz worth a visit? Should we cover a portion of the ROmantic Road on the way to Munich?? ...

norrisken

We loved Zugspitze. You'll need to take weather into account for a trip to the top. We took the cable car from the German side, our pictures can be found here:
http://nor-per.com/Slideshows/KenDin.../Zugspitze.htm

norrisken

Don't miss Lech Falls and the Plansee for photo ops.
http://thirdmansystems.com/vacation/...%20Falls02.htm
http://thirdmansystems.com/vacation/.../Plansee01.htm

november_moon

Lech Falls and the Plansee were going to be my recommendations too - norrisken beat me to it.

vibhav

I am sold on Lech Falls and Lake PLansee ... Could not find LEch Falls on the Google Maps or a website ... What will be the best and easiest way to locate?

Also for the PLansee lake, is there a best approach and vantage point? is it a good spot for sunset or earlier in the morning?

Thanks a lot!! My trip is starting to come together !!

Paul1950

We drove along the Plansee on our way from Linderhof to Hohenschwangau several years ago. We had a lot of photo ops driving in that direction (east to west). Not sure if the views are better, worse, or the same going in the other direction. We had a very nice lunch in a place (I think it was a hotel/restaurant) across the road from the lake towards the western end of the lake. We dined outside with a lovely view. It was overlooking a little cove with people sunbathing and wind surfing. Sorry I don't remember the name of the place, but someone else might know it--there were not any other restaurants in the immediate area at that time.

vibhav

Thanks a lot Paul for the info ... Looks like driving along the PLansee will be fun regardless ..

Do you have a take on the Linderhof castle? Must do, OK, or not to bother with?

pja1

Hi vibhav,

If you have the time, Linderhof is, IMO, so much better than Neuschwwanstein inside.

Paul

norrisken

And the restaurant at Linderhof is excellent. This is a map for the area. Lech Falls can be seen on the road from Linderhof to Hohenschwangau.
http://thirdmansystems.com/vacation/...20Garmisch.htm
These are pictures from our trip in 2005 of the area.
http://thirdmansystems.com/vacation/PHOTOS/index.htm

bigtyke

I guess it is too late for you now, but I did find the website about photos near Fussen :

www.allgaeu-ausfluege.de/06reithalm.htm