Julie Winters

I am planning a trip to Germany and would like to rent a perforamance car (e.g. BMW) to drive through Bavaria and maybe into France or Austria. 1) Where near Berlin would I find a car to rent, provide contact information; and 2) I am looking for tips on where to go of interest or where to stay while on the road (i.e., I like the off-beat less expensive, but nice, and very intersting type places). Thanks!

wes fowler

Julie, <BR>The May 1998 Consumer Reports Travel Letter, a publication of Consumer Reports, has a great deal of information regarding weekly auto rentals in Europe. You should be able to find a copy in the library. All of the major rental companies have websites where you can get pertinent information. Check www.europeandrive.com for Europcar and Alamo infor; www.kemwel.com for Kemwel rentals; www.autoeurope.com for Auto Europe. I've found that invariably Kemwel has offered the best rates. If you want to travel through Bavaria and possibly France or Austria, why fly into Berlin; why not Munich? <BR> Here are some ideas regarding Bavaria that may be of interest to you: <BR>Nine years ago, we stayed in a family owned inn in a small farming village called Hohenfurch. Our huge, immaculate room, with bath, refrigerator, sink, two burner stove, king sized bed, dining table and chairs and furnished private balcony cost $36.00 a night and included a generous breakfast of meats, cheeses, breads and superb coffee. It was the most expensive room in the inn. The inn's dining room featured Bavarian specialties, as well as trout taken from a lovely but frigid alpine stream that flows through the center of the village to the river Lechs about a quarter of a mile away. On the weekend, the restaurant featured live Bavarian music provided by locals in a wonderfully relaxed and informal atmosphere. <BR> <BR>We discovered later that Hohenfurch caters to German skiers in winter but rarely sees American tourists, if ever. The hotel is the Landgasthof Schonach-Hof, operated by the Haslach family. The address is Kapellenstrasse 22, D-8928 Hohenfurch; telephone: 08861/4108. <BR> <BR>The village is small but charming. You'll awaken to the sound of cowbells every morning. A trout laden alpine stream and lush lawns and most attractive homes with lovely gardens and windowboxes laden with geraniums or petunias border its one main street. The village church is typical of the region; austere from the outside with red roof, stuccoed walls that set off a mural of a religious figure and no stained glass windows. The interior is breath taking, as is the small graveyard beyond the church. One would think the gravesites were tended by a Japanese gardener. St. Ursula's, a small chapel built in 1492, sits on a knoll amidst cow pastures just to the south of the inn. The village has a small grocery store and bakery and despite the name Bahnhofstrasse (Railroad Station Street), no train station. <BR> <BR>The entire Pfaffenwinkel area is criss-crossed with hiking trails, all of which offer superb views. Hiking routes appear in the Pfaffenwinkel brochure. <BR> <BR>Hohenfurch is situated on Route B17, the German Romantic Road, so named because it courses through a number of charming, delightful, historic towns and villages from Wurzburg in the north, through Rothenburg o.d. Tauber, Augsberg, Landsberg (where Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" while imprisoned there), Hohenfurch, Schongau and Fussen. <BR> <BR>Drive to the Wieskirche near Steingaden, about 12 miles from Hohenfurch to see the epitome of rococo artistry. Drive 10 miles to Rottenbuch and visit another rococo masterpiece, the parish church; (you'll see its bell tower from the road). Drive to Peiting about 8 miles from Hohenfurch ascend Hohe Peissenberg and get a stunning view of the Alps and eleven alpine lakes. Drive to Schongau, only 3 miles from Hohenfurch, have a meal at the Alte Post Inn, then walk the 700-year-old ramparts that encircle part of the town. <BR> <BR>Drive 25 miles south to Schwangau and visit mad King Ludwig's fairy tale castle, Neuschwanstein. Visit his more sedate castle Hohenschwangau in the same village. Take the Tegelberg cable railway to view the German and Austrian Alps. <BR> <BR>Drive a bit further to Oberammergau. Many of the residents will remind you of New Testament figures. A Passion Play is staged in Oberammergau every ten years (next in 2000) and the citizenry make up the play's cast. Oberammergau, while famous for its Passion Play, is equally famous for its huge population of wood carvers and for the murals on the exterior walls of most of its homes and shops. Great place for souvenir hunting! <BR> <BR>Don't even think of driving to Munich! While it's only about 40 to 45 miles from Hohenfurch, there's no place to park once you get there. <BR> <BR>Drive to Herrsching on the Ammersee (it's about 35 miles northeast of Hohenfurch). . Make a detour just before Herrsching. Stop in Andechs and sample the beer! It is one of the world's premiere beers, brewed in the monastery in Andechs and available in Andechs and no where else! Sidetrack to the Starnberger See, the lake where Ludwig, the mad king drowned. Accident, suicide, assassination? No one knows. Back track to Herrsching. Park the car at the train station and take the train to Munich to sightsee. <BR>If you'd like some ideas for driving through Austria or eastern France, (wine country), Email me directly.

Lee

Julie: I've lived in Germany before and was licensed there and I blew an engine in a 320i because I didn't watch the engine temperature closely enough. There isn't any speed limit on many stretches of autobahn. However, you are limited by other things, such as the car, the road conditions (wet, icy, foggy, etc) and traffic (it doesn't matter whether you drive a 911 Turbo or a Opel Astra if you end up in a ten mile pile up) and location (follow a hay truck up a winding mountain road at 10 km for twenty miles!). I've driven BMW's and Porches and last summer, we rented an Astra and I had it going at 115MPH for an extended period several times and it didn't overheat. It did make up a little for the four traffic jams around Stuttgart that set us back two hours. The moral of the story is: get a comfortable car that is SMALL so you can find somewhere to park it in the cities. If you are going to Bavaria, then try Austria because France is pretty far and so is Berlin. Have a good trip!

Bob

Try the Karen Brown book, German Country Inns and Castles. Good recommendations on small hotels and itinerarys. We have always been pleased with her ideas. Get into Berchtesgaden and Salzburg area also. Very beautiful.. You can spend your entire trip in bavaria and not run out of things to see and do. Do not try to cover too much. Pick a spot and stay there 3 days. travel out from there and return at night. Much better than lugging suitcases and checking in and out of places the entire trip. A lot of time wasted. Have a nice trip <BR>

judy

We've just returned from a 12 day driving of Germany (Bavaria) and Austria. We rented a large Mercedes at the Frankfurt airport from Avis - we had hardly driven out of the airport when we discovered we couldn't read the road signs - even the ones using only pictures...we just weren't familiar with them. I went through the glove compartment knowing that there had to be a list of rules and signs - to no avail... we received two parking tickets and deserved many more for driving down one-way streets and in pedestrian areas. My husband is a wonderful driver who has driven under many trying situations, but nothing helped in this instance ...for future reference, where could we find "rules of the road" for other countries? We don't speak German, and I'm sure that added to our difficulties. In spite of all this, we had a great time and would do it the same way again... <BR>

wes fowler

Judy, <BR>Michelin publishes a Road Atlas of Europe that contains "rules of the road" for each country. Listing is comprehensive, addressing requirements for everything from international driver's licenses, insurance and registration documentation to permissible alcohol levels to first aid kits, warning triangles and seat belts. Road signage is standardized throughout western Europe. When standardized signs were first introduced, every mapmaker, Michelin, Hallwag and national tourist office maps showed the signs and their meaning. So, too, did the rental car companies. Haven't seen them on maps in years, but frankly, having familiarized myself with them I haven't been looking for them. You may find them in old touring guides that your library has or at your local AAA. A travel agent who rents autos through Kemwel, Autoeurope or the like may have them too. <BR>

wes fowler

Judy, <BR>It's me again! You can find color images of European road signs at: <BR>http://www.ideamerge.com/motoeuropa/...gns/index.html