Germany Trip Plan Help Needed
 

DH & I are making our first trip to Europe. Due to some health considerations, we need lots of down time while traveling, on average a 4 -5 hour day of sightseeing is the max, so we are concentrating our time in Bavarian Germany. We like nature, history, views, not big foodies. BTW, we are planning to go in August, but are not set on the time frame yet. We like to stay multiple nights in one place, and do day trips from there, so I'm listing only our bases. This is my first attempt at an itinerary.

Munich- 2 nights
Berchtesgaden-5 nights
Fussen- 2 nights
Lauterach, Austria -2 nights very distant relatives live here, we may drop this and stay somewhere else.
Rothenburg odT 2 nights
Burg Eltz /Mosel Valley 2 nights
Frankfurt

We'll fly into Munich and out of Frankfurt. Right now, this seems like a lot of moving around, so I need some suggestions on how to route this trip and places to stay.
Thanks for the help!

Will you be travelling by car, trains or a combination of the two? Also, would you consider a week's trip on a river boat - - part of the Rhein and Main rivers.

Have you booked your flights already ?

Once you let us know, your will get lots of help.

I am going to presume that you are traveling by car because day trips from your planned overnight locations are not all that convenient for the most part.

Salzburg might be a better choice for 5 nights than Berchtesgaden. It's only 30 minutes and afford easier access to day trips like St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang and Hallstatt.

Lauterach takes you quite a bit west of you northern route from Fussen to to R od T. Staying an extra night in R od T and the Mosel would help you to keep the slower pace you need and there is no shortage of daytrip possibilites from either location; Nurnberg, Dinkelsbuhl, and Wurzburg from R od T and Cochem (a nice place to stay for Burg Eltz) or any place farther up the Mosel.

Thanks for the responses. treplow-No, we haven't booked flights yet. We are travelling by car to allow maximum flexibility. I hadn't thought about a river boat trip, could you tell me more.

Aramis-I'm leaning more to scratching Lauterach. The only reason we were going there, was to see where my ancestors had immigrated from.

Keep the ideas coming. How soon do I need to have reservations made?

Here is a website that comments on river cruises: http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/riverboats.html It pretty much sums why we like river crusing in Europe.

On the Rhein- Main part, the pretty stretches (cruises) are from Cologne south to the Main river, Main river to Nuernberg and possibly, through the Rhein-Main Danube canal as far as Passau at the Danube.

Viking is one of the big cruise companies.

Regardless of whether you go by boat, train or car, I would reverse the itinerary: Fly into Frankfut and return from Munich. This leaves the prettiest part of your travels at the end, plus that Munich is an easier airport to depart from than Frankfurt.

Aramis givs you some good ideas. If no boat tour, I would go by train directly from the airport to Wuerzburg, make it my first "center" for day tours to Bamberg, Rothenburg, drive along parts of the Main river to Miltenberg and loop back to Wuerzburg. If you take a boat tour, you would go from the FRA airport to wherever you pick up the boat, spend a few night on the boat, and then take the train from Nuernberg, Regensburg or Passau to Munich and pick up a car there and drive to your next "center".

Salzburg, as suggested would be good to cover Berchtesgaden, Hallstatt, Herrenchiemsee palace, Zell am See. Lindau at Lake Constance as the center would give you the opportunity to visit Meersburg, Bregenz (by boat), Oberstdorf (Kleines Walsertal) and Fuessen/Neuschwanstein. Get yourself a good map and guide book, like Rick Stevens or - my favorite - the Green Michelin Guide for Germany. Read up on the various places . Once you have decided on the rough outline of your trip, post it and let others comment on it. There are many options. For example, if you decide to take a boat as far as Passau and then want to head to Salzburg, pick up the car in Passau and drive to S., along the way visitng places like Burghausen and the Lake District ouside of S.

Check also www.bahn.de for train connections. THere are some great day trip discount tickets for people in Bavaria.

Thank you for the info, especially the tip regarding the airports. I am going to start working on a revised itinerary. Hopefully, I'll be able to work in at least a day excursion on the river. Keep the ideas coming!

treplow;

Why do you think the MUC is easier to depart from than FRA? Is is just based on size?

I have flown into and out of both at different times and although FRA is certainly bigger, that difference isn't something that would make me alter plans.

I agree that Salzburg is a better location than Berchtesgaden although there were many chalets available for rent around Berchtesgaden. Berchtesgaden is,however, beautiful and the short drive to the Koenigsee is worthwhile. It is less than an hour form Salzburg. The castle at Burghausen (one of Europe's longest)hovers over the town and contains a branch of the Bavarian State Museum-nice collection.
Be aware that Burg Elz requires a steep hike from the top of the hills behind Cochem. It is any interesting castle, but in many ways I liked Burghausen and Hoehenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alb south of Stuttgart better. Also, if you stay in Salzburg,it is a short drive to Chiemsee. You can take a short ferry ride out to see HerrenChiemsee Palace, one of mad King Ludwig's fantasies. A large part of of the palace was never finished. It is quite a shock when the tour guide opens the door from the completed, furnished section, to give you a glimpse of the uncompleted shell.
If you vist the Moseelle Vally we highly recommend Trier. This is one of Germany's oldest cities. 2000 years ago Trier was the largest Roman city built North of the Alps. An remarkable number of Roman structures are still at least partially standing(City gate, walls, roman baths, amphitheatre and Constantin's Chapel)along with beautifully restored Renaissance era buildings. The magnificetn cahtedral is a UNESCO World Cultural heritage site. The historic center of Trieer is exceptionally walkable. We stayed in the Residence Hotel am Zuckerberg, a block off the pedestrainized Hauptstrasse. This facility is a combination hotel and elderly housing facility. We had a lovely suite and a very nice breakfast. About half the people there were elderly permanent residents, about a quarter were nice young Italian families who were on three month assignment with a local company, and a quarter were tourists. All in all an interesting combination people and exceptionally nice living quarters for the money - maybe 80 euros a night. There is a great resturant on the Hauptstrasse wher we were able to select three varieties of Moselle Wines with our well prepared German dinner.

If you get to Heidelberg, make sure to ride up the Neckar River Valley as far as Bad Wimpfen if you can ,and I highly recommend a visit to Ladenburg, just a couple of kilometers Northwest of HDBG's university district. This ancient town is a gem -actually a completely restored and yuppified historic suburb of Heidelberg and Mannheim ,which also dates back to the Roman Era. There are many roman wall segments and building ruins mixed in with medieval German buildings. It is a small, delightful walled town on the Neckar River almost within sight of heidelberg Castle, but not on the tourist circuit !!!!