Hey folks, My husband and I want to celebrate our 10 yr anniversary in Germany this July. This will be our second trip to Europe, the first being part of a tour group through Italy (loved it!). This time, we feel we are "ready" to tackle a solo trip (insert nail biting here).
Basic info- We are in our early 30's, so we are up for most anything and enjoy the outdoors very much. We are looking at 11 solid days (13 with flights in and out) and plan on renting a car AFTER we tour Munich- possibly even after Salzburg (by train from Munich). We’re not into hostels or rooms for rent, but don’t need 4-star hotels either. We’re interested in a good Braugasthof for one night somewhere along the way. We plan to travel mostly in Bavaria, Black Forrest, and Rhineland.
Here is our list of places that we were thinking of visiting (nothing set in stone):
I have not included the number of nights for any particular city- please suggest.
Fly into Munich (maybe a day trip to Fussen?)
Train to Salzburg (never taken a train, would like to just once)
Back to Munich to pick up rental car (or should we drive to Salzburg?)
Then drive to Fussen?? (Worth an overnight or is a day trip from Munich sufficient?)
Head up Romantic Road (posts have suggested stops in Augsburg and Dinkelsbuhl)
Stay in Rothenburg (day trips to Nurnberg and Wurzburg - or does Wurzburg beg for an overnight? We do like wine...)
Here is where we get stuck between where we want to go and being realistic about our time... it zig-zags a bit.
Head back down to Stuttgart (worth it?) in order to head toward the Black Forrest.
Want to stop in Baden-Baden. I have some naturalization papers from a great-great relative who emigrated from here, would like to see the town. (any advice on possibly finding info on my family? This would be a bonus, not the purpose of the trip.)
Then head back up through Heidelberg, cruise a bit of the Rhine, and end our trip in Frankfurt.
Are we missing the mark? I know it is “touristy” and that is okay with us, but do not want to go home and have someone say “you were right there and didn’t stop in ____?!” We also want to enjoy what we are seeing – not rush around for the sake of checking another site off the list. Please be honest in telling us to "skip it."
The posts I have been reading have been very helpful already, and I’m looking forward to your advice!

since you have just 11 days, it is inevitable to skip many places worth visiting, so be prepared someone will ask you "you didn't be in ___?"...

IMO, i would save salzburg and the beautiful berchtesgaden area (the very southeast corner of germany) for another trip. if zig-zagging is not a problem for you at all, i would do the following route: munich - augsburg - romantik road w/ rothenburg and würzburg - stuttgart - black forrest - baden-baden - heidelberg/worms/speyer - frankfurt. franconia (around würzburg) and the upper rhine valley areas have excellent wine regions. franconia is renowned for its variety of breweries, too.

this route seams reasonable for a total of 13 days. it will give you a bit of everything, but let you miss marks such as neuschwanstein castle and others. but be sure once you have been there you will want to come back for more. so just save the landmarks you miss for the next time...

anyway, i must go now, so i cannot write more at the moment.

A friend recently sent me some of his favorite Brauereigasthöfe in Southern Germany. You can look at the little map at the top of the page to see if any of them are in the areas you plan to visit. He recommends them all - http://www.bensbauernhof.com/chucksb...gastoefen.html

I don't think that a stop in Stuttgart is worthwhile given your limited time--unless you have some particular interest there.

I would do that day trip to Fuessen by rail possibly; the train ride Munich to Salzburg is only 1.5 hours and easily done.

Now, if you feel REALLY adventurous and are willing to take the train down to Prien (half way to Salzburg) you can see the largest of the four Ludwig builds...Herrenchiemsee and its palace which is more elaboratley decorated than ALL the other three..but perhaps this is too advanced but you might consider it..and it is EASY to do without a car.

One thing: Munich in JULY..don;t let ANYONE who lives there or otherwise try to convince you that you couldn't use air conditioning in your hotel in Munich..it is HUMID....

Hi D,

Just to muddy your waters a bit:

Fly into Munich, 3 nights Rent car
Drive to Fuessen, 2 nights See Neuchwaanstein and Hohenschwangau.
(Now you have seen all of Ludwig's Castles)
Drive to Salzburg via Linderhof and Prien am Chiemsee, 2 nights,
Drive to Hallstatt, 3 nights with drives to other lakes
Drive to Munich, 1 night return car, fly home

In Salzburg, I can highly recommend
http://www.ammoos.at/main.php?language=en&m=home)

You could also start your tour of the Romantic Road from Fuessen via Linderhof and Oberammergau.

Enjoy your visit.

PS, you might find the Bavaria/Austria part of my trip report helpful
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...2&tid=35014078

I think it depends on what sort of trip you are looking for - whirlwind with lots of stops or more relaxed pace. We prefer something in the middle - generally try to pick a few areas to stay and do day trips from there instead of moving around a lot - spend less time moving and more time sightseeing. We find that spending at least 2 nights, preferably 3 or 4 in each place works for us. So from that perspective, I think you are trying to do more than is reasonable in 11 days. And as others have said - there is no way to see everything and not have people asking why you didn't go this or than place when you were so close.

For our trip to southern Germany, we had 12 full days and this is what we did:

Munich - 4.5 days, including a 1/2 day trip to Friesing. We had planned another couple day trips, but were having so much fun in Munich, we decided to hang around there. We did a bike tour, toured some churches and climbed their towers, walked around old down, went to the Nymphenberg Place, the Deutches Museum, spent an afternoon swimming in the Eis River in the Englisher Garden, and spent quite a bit of time in beer gardens. One afternoon we happened upon a fair in the Hirschgarten next to a beer garden.

Nuremberg - 3.5 days. We took the train from Munich to Nuremberg and then used trains in Nuremberg. One day we explored the old town center of Nuremberg - went to the castle, did some shopping, went to the Drurer house, and did some general wandering around. Another day we made a day trip to Ansbach where my husband was stationed when he was in the Army, and another day we went to Rothenberg.

Fuessen area - 2.5 days - In Nuremberg we picked up a car and drove south along the Romantik Road to the Alps. We stopped in Dinklesbuhl. Next day we went to the Ludwig castles and did the sommerodelbahn near there. The day after we drove to Oberamergau and then back to the Fuessen area through Austria - there is a nature park there and a pretty lake called the Plansee.

Then back to Munich and a flight home.

We thought this trip was just about right - we saw a lot, but had a fairly relaxed pace. There are plenty of things we didn't get to see, but I guess we will save that for a future trip. And if we never get back there, then such is life - we thoroughly enjoyed the trip we took.

Thanks so much everyone. After good advise and a lot of reading up on different areas... we have revised our trip. Seems pretty fast paced, especially compared to Nov-moon's post, but hopefully not too bad.

Fly into Munich (2 nights)
Train to Salzburg (2 nights)
Train to Garmich (pick up rental car)
See castles, sleep in Fussen (1 night)
Drive A-7 to Rothenburg (pit stop in Dinklesbul) (2 nights)
Tour Nurnburg and/or Wurzburg on the way to Mainz (3 nights)
Visit Rhine and Mosel Valley using Mainz as home base.
Last night in Frankfurt.

We chose to cut the Black Forrest out of our trip with the intention of visiting again one day.

Would still love some feedback on what to expect in these places if possible... as I mentioned, this is our first solo trip so I don't want to go in completely unaware.

Thanks for the tip about A/C in the hotels. I've heard some about it, but accepted it as unavoidable.

Your responses are very thoughtful. I appreciate your time and willingness to share!

Hi,

A few suggestions for this plan:

While in Salzburg, take the funicular up to Hohensalzburg. We were dissapointed with the tour of the fortress (you don't need to take it) but loved the views overlooking Salzburg and the area.

www.hohensalzburg.com

While in Fuessen, check out the luge ride (Sommerrodelbahn) at Tegelberg, about a mile or so from Neuschwanstein. It's a blast! There's a good cable car trip there also.

www.tegelbergbahn.de/227.0.html

www.tegelbergbahn.de/208.0.html

While in Rothenburg, do the Nightwatchman's Tour. No tix to buy, starts at 8pm in the market square in front of town hall and is simply a great way to spend an hour in Rothenburg.

www.nightwatchman.de

Be sure to see Tilman Riemanschneider's 500 year old, wood carved alter in St. jacobs church. Amazing!

Very close to Rothenburg by Creglingen is the Herrgottskirche with another Riemanschneider masterpiece.

www.herrgottskirche.de

Personally we like Cochem on the Mosel as a base, but we've never been to Mainz, so...
While in this area, don't miss Burg Eltz. It's our favorite castle anywhere.

www.burg-eltz.de/e_index.html

Wew have some photo's if you're interested:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

Hope this helps.

Paul

When we were planning our Germany trip, it became clear even before we left for Germany that we would be going back for at least a second trip at some point. That helped us trim our itinerary to something we were comfortable with.

Dietrich, it would be a pity if you skipped Baden-Baden. Baden-Baden belongs to Germany's most beautiful towns with a gorgeous spa. And since it has personal significance for you, you may include it into your trip.