First time Germany Frankfurt to Munich 2 weeks
 

Hi - I'm new to Fodor's and Germany. We are traveling to Frankfurt and leaving Munich. We have two weeks. I'd love recommendations on hotels, time in each area, and MUST SEE spots. We plan to rent a car and drive from Frankfurt to Munich. I'm open to suggestions. I'm a bit nervous about where to stay and for how long. Thank you.

I noticed you have decided a priori that this would be a driving trip before identifying where you are going, what you will be visiting, and where you are staying. If the main goal of this trip is driving and you are merely looking for some place to stay overnight between driving, you will get different recommendations from if you are visiting places with car being one way of moving around.

Driving is an excellent idea in order to see small towns and the countryside.

First, you can drive into the Middle Rhine Valley (1 hour from Frankfurt) and see lovely places like Eberbach Monastery (where the "The Name of the Rose" was filmed), Rüdesheim and the Marksburg in Braubach. You may consider a boat trip on the Rhine for a couple of hours (you may go back by train).

For hotels, you might look into these ones:

http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/en/
http://www.schloss-rheinfels.de/

Then you may drive into southern Hessen, where you find many picturesque villages with half-timbered houses.

The next stop might be Würzburg with a splendid baroque palace.

South of Würzburg you find many pretty wine villages. Iphofen is nice and has a most recommendable hotel and winery:

http://www.zehntkeller.de

If you drive a bit eastwards, you reach Bamberg, a stronghold of beer brewing and Germany's largest historic town, very picturesque.

Driving back in southwestern direction, you find the Romantic Road (which is not romantic at all), but with romantic historic towns like pearls on a string: Rothenburg ob der Tauber (however quite touristy), Dinkelsbühl (more authentic), Nördlingen, Neresheim Abbey.

You may visit Nürnberg too.

Anyway, you are almost in München.

Besides München, Southern Bavaria is most attractive, e.g.

- Garmisch-Partenkirchen with Germany's highest mountain, Zugspitze (easily accessible),
- Berchtesgaden with Germany's most scenic mountain lake, the Königssee,
- King Ludwig's castles (Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee).

I forgot to mention art.

Frankfurt has excellent museums. South of München, the Museum Buchheim at Lake Starnberg is outstanding (in terms of scenery, architecture and collection). In upper Bavaria, there is also the home of the "Blue Riders" (Franz Marc and others) with museums in Murnau (picturesque little town) and Kochel am See (btw, another beautiful mountain lake).

traveller1959 gave good advice, love Wertheim am Main as a nice lunch stop. I also like Hotel Victoria in Nuremberg right inside the city wall.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is our favorite place in Germany. Zugspitze and the gorge are not to be missed.
http://www.gapa.de/Garmisch-Partenki...Partnach_Gorge


We like Munich over Frankfurt, more to do that we like.
http://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/Stadt...lienmarkt.html

The Mosel Valley is one of the most scenic driving venues in Europe- right near the Rhine Gorge part tr1959 talks about - do both of them IMO - you cannot beat Cochem for a romantic town:

https://www.google.com/search?q=coch...hrome&ie=UTF-8

The Mosel - try driving from Cochem to Bernkastle- sweet!

https://www.google.com/search?q=mose...hrome&ie=UTF-8

traveler1959 has given a swell itinerary!

I was in Cochem last week and the Mosel had a swell indeed! However, only the riverside walkway was flooded and the tourist boats were still cruising. Waters are going down now.

Yes, from the Rhine to the Mosel it is just a short drive, you can easily combine both rivers.

Actually, the Reichsburg in Cochum looks very romantic but it, like Neuschwanstein, not original, but built in the 19th century. For an authentic medieval castle experience, I recommend the Marksburg in Braubach on the Rhine. Or one of the above mentioned castle hotels.

We also had a good experience with the Victoria but as I recall it is not air conditioned. They do have a parking garage a block or so away from the hotel.

Thank you all so much! This is exactly the kind of advice I was seeking! We are open to traveling by car, train, boat...whatever, just something fun and beautiful. I greatly appreciate your advice. Thank you, thank you !!

I heard today that there may be a problem in small villages with immigrants. Have any of you heard that?

>> I heard today that there may be a problem in small villages with immigrants. Have any of you heard that? <<

Sounds like you heard that from Donald T.

We have no problems with immigrants, neither in villages nor in cities.

Frankly, I think the "problem" is often with visitors who show up with a bunch of preconceived notions about the local population.

We have no problems with immigrants, neither in villages nor in cities.>

Cologne New Year's Eve? but I think that was an anomaly but raises fears in clueless Americans listening yes to Lying Donald Drumpf.

For an authentic medieval castle experience, I recommend the Marksburg in Braubach on the Rhine. Or one of the above mentioned castle hotels.>

How about Burg Eltz near Cochem? an authentic castle and with Marksburg one of the few old castles not decimated in wars that have raged in this militarily strategic area for ages - easy drive from Cochem:

https://www.google.com/search?q=burg...HbnvDQgQsAQIGw

Burg Eltz is one of the most famous castles in Germany - so famous that it once graced the old 500 Deutsche Mark banknotes before the Euro:

https://www.google.com/search?q=500+...HdYZAPYQsAQIHg

If you want to experience one of Europe's primo biking venues even for a few hours rent a bike and putz along bike paths along the Mosel. Way different perspective than from a car - add another element to your trip.

And yes to the K-D boats on the Rhine - only from the boat can you see both sides of the Rhine Gorge properly- get a seat up front outside and enjoy. www.k-d.com for schedules -not expensive -not a cruise but a sightseeing boat.

"Cologne New Year's Eve? but I think that was an anomaly but raises fears in clueless Americans listening yes to Lying Donald Drumpf."

This isn't the place for partisan American politics. Stifle it.

No matter where you live, you aren't clueless just because you ask a question about immigrants and security. Many Germans themselves, after NYE attacks in Cologne, Hamburg and elsewhere, have very real fears for their safety in public. According to surveys by GERMAN pollsters and GERMAN news outlets from 5 months ago, about half of GERMAN women surveyed said they were fearful of being assaulted by immigrant asylum seekers and illegal immigrants - that's because those groups accounted for more than half of the perpetrators of 2,000 sexual assaults and robberies on NYE (just in Cologne.) I don't think those women are all stupid or clueless.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't go to Germany. I just came back from a trip there myself. But if the facts make you a little more thoughtful about your personal safety in public places, that might just be a good thing.

OK Fuss - I was trying to put a good face on it- traveller1959 I believe actually lives in Germany- guess he/she does not realize what danger lurks about!

I'll say for the average tourist going to average places there is little reason to worry - call me clueless if you wish.

Thank you! I agree. I think there is so much hype about the immigrants here in America that it get to be ridiculous. We are open to hiking, biking, boating, driving. All I want it so have a great time, have a good beer, schnitzel, giant pretzel, Kolache and see some beautiful sites. The castles sound incredible! My mother is from Germany and we still have family in Stuttgart. We are traveling the end of Sept/early Oct. so I'm hoping to see lots of beautiful fall flowers! I will look up every suggestion! Thank you so much!

t-1959 says there are "no problems with immigrants" and as categorical as his opinion is, he is entitled to it. But there are 81 million Germans, so when a ZDF poll of Germans says 2/3 of Germans think crime will rise because of recent immigrants, and 33% think immigrants are a threat to Germany's society and culture, it's obvious that millions of Germans disagree with t-1959 on this issue. I don't know who's right, but clearly, living in Germany doesn't make one person's opinion the "last word."

"...call me clueless if you wish." I think you are the only one who has used that word.

Fear of crime and the statistical risk to become a victim are not correlated at all.

Even the opposite is true: The persons with the smallest risk of becoming a victim (old women) are most afraid while the persons with the highest risk (young men) are mostly fearless.

Being afraid of immigrants is the classic case of prejudice. Crime statistics in Germany show no higher crime rate of immigrants if you control age and sex and if you do not consider things like violations of visa requirements and such.

My brief statement was maybe a bit too general, but OP wanted a practical answer. And for tourists, nothing has changed. The average tourist will hardly see recent immigrants (from Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan) and if he or she will not recognize them.

The tourist, however, will meet immigrants working as waiters or waitresses, maids, taxi drivers, pizza bakers etc. Americans should be familiar with this.

"Being afraid of immigrants is the classic case of prejudice. Crime statistics in Germany show no higher crime rate of immigrants..."

I'm unwilling to assign prejudice to the large numbers of Germans who see immigration trends as problematic.

In 2015 Germany saw 2 million new immigrants, 50% more than in 2014. Before 2014 immigrants came mostly from other EU countries. Not so now - they arrive from some of the most troubled countries on earth.

"Crime statistics in Germany show no higher crime rate of immigrants if you control age and sex..."

The newcomers are disproportionately young and male. You can "control" for those factors if you just enjoy playing with data - "If we had a more representative sample group, the newcomers would behave like Germans..." but what matters is who is actually entering Germany and how they actually behave. The data simply isn't in yet. The "no higher" statement is based on HISTORICAL immigration circumstances - not on what's happening with immigration now.

Also, if you're adding 2 million in a year, even if they do crimes just like the Germans do them, you are still adding a certain number of criminals along with non-criminals.

And of course this is about much much more than crime rates... The costs are enormous. So I do not at all fault Germans for being thoughtful about recent immigration developments.