Hi All, I would appreciate some itinerary suggestions for an upcoming trip to Germany.
I will be with a group for the first part of the trip. I will be traveling once we leave the group with a friend. We are going to be starting our "On Our own time" in Fulda. We are going to rent a car, because I want this to be as flexible as possible (if we want to stop we can). We will be on our own starting on the morning of April 3 and flying back to the states from Frankfurt on April 7. We want to explore the southern part of Germany and maybe venture into Switzerland and/or Austria. We would prefer to stay out of the big cities so that we can experience the local culture.

I have looked at a few Alp activities online but do not know if they will be open or accessible this time of year.

Any suggestions for activities will be greatly appreciated.

You have 4 days and you want to explore Switzerland and/or Austria as well as the southern part of Germany and then return to Frankfurt for your flight home?

I don't see how this is possible unless I misunderstood how much time you have.

My suggestion is to spend the few days you have close to the Frankfurt area. There is much there to see including the Rhine/Mosel River area.

I reread what I wrote.

Any ideas do not have to include ALL the ideas mentioned. Our group is going to cover the Rhine earlier in the week. We would were hoping to drive to a new location in the evening and site see during the day. We are open to stay in one place for 2 nites. We don't get to Europe every year and would like to see some highlights of the south.

Sorry hit Submit by accident....

So any suggestions of highlights to see in that southern region are greatly appreciated. What you would you do with those four days?

Hi,

With just 4 days I would see Rothenburg ob der Tauber for 2 nights (1 full day) and then stay along the Rhine for 2 nights. This is depending of course on what time your flight leaves and when you need to be back in Frankfurt.

Sights:
Rothenburg itself is a sight along with St. Jacobs church, the Crime and Punishment Museum, a walk along the wall and of course... the Nightwatchman's Tour!

www.rothenburg.de

www.nightwatchman.de

Along the Rhine there are MANY castles... we loved Marksburg.

www.marksburg.de

www.mediaspec.com/castles/rhein/index.html

To see "southern region" I'd leave Fulda and head to Fuessen for 2 nights and then maybe Mittenwald for a night or two before heading back for you flight.

Sights...
Fuessen:
Fuessen itself is a charming old town
"Mad" King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle
Hohenschwangau castle "next door" to Neuschwanstein
Tegelbergbahn cable car and luge ride (1 mile from the castles)
Wieskirche

Mittenwald:
Mittenwald is the quintessential Bavarian village with a mountain backdrop
Karwendelbahn cable car in Mittenwald
The Zugspitze (Germany's highest mt. 20 min. away in Garmisch)
Ettal Monestary
Oberammergau

possibly "Mad" King Ludwig's Linderhof Palace on the drive between Fuessen and Mittenwald.

Just some suggestions

Paul

OK, if it were ME, I would drive from Fulda to Meersburg on Bodensee (Lake Constance). Spend 2 nights (April 3-4) and take the boat trip over to Mainau Island.

I'd then drive about 2 hours to Tuebingen, a lovely university town on the Neckar River. Spend 1 night (April 5)and on your way to Frankfurt (April 6), just a little over 2 hrs from Tuebingen, visit Burg Hohenzollern and the nearby little towns of Hechingen and Herrenberg.

Spend your last night somewhere near Frankfurt Airport.

If you'd like to see photos of these places, you can check out our albums on webshots:

http://community.webshots.com/user/dkubiak

Happy New Year Betty!

bettyk's suggestions are very good.

Actually, there are also nice places and regions around Fulda, as far north as Hamlin (Hameln in German)and as far south as Wuerzburg and/or Rothenburg.

Hi again caltobello,

I was meant to add that you could spend the 3 nights in Mittenwald and spend the "last" night closer to Frankfurt airport. From Mittenwald you could still get over to Neuschwanstein if you wanted to.

Thanks, Paul, same to ya!

caltobello, there are sooooo many possibilities as Germany is such a lovely country. You could probably just drive in any direction and find some beautiful scenery!!

Thanks.... I do not have our official itinerary for the group yet. It is a university school trip and they are still deciding on what towns/companies we are going to visit. My teacher told me that we would not be going south, so I am assuming (and based on past itineraries) that we are going to go to the Rhine region and areas just north of Fulda.

I appreciate all comments/suggestions. I thought it would be cool to see the Alps in the winter, but if it really is going to be too far we will have to make a return trip.

That's the spirit: "there is always next time" ... Sunds like this trip you have limited time, focus on one small area, do not try to do it all ... theer is always next time!

With 4 days you would barely have enough time to drive to the Alps and back - certainly not enough time to actually see anything once you got there. I know it is tough when you've set your sights on something like the Alps, but do yourself a favor and save them for another trip when you can do them justice. You have already gotten many wonderful suggestions - the Rhine, Mosel, Rothenburg, Fuessen, Mittenwald, etc. are all great possibilities. If you are going to visit the Rhine/Mosel area with your group, then I I would second bettyk's suggestion of continuing south and exploring the areas around Stuttgart. That area of Baden-Wuerttemberg is not as popular with international tourists and you can get a really authentic picture of life in Germany. (I lived in Stuttgart for 2.5 years.) If you give us a better idea of your interests (history, castles, outdoor activities, food, etc.) we can help you narrow down your options.

As far as castles go, I understand each castle is different and has its own characteristics. However, I would assume that if you did a castle tour it would be like doing a Cathedral/Basilica tour in Italy. I have done that, and after a while they all run together and you can't truly appreciate what you have seen. If we were to go to a castle I would want to visit 1 or 2 that are significant.

Since we will be driving ourselves, we are leaning more toward the outdoors and local culture. We do live in an area of the US that you have to drive to any major site so we are used to driving 2-3 hours at a time. Thanks again.

On your last night in Frankfurt, there is no reason to stay out by the airport, when the city is so close. See the city, walk around, have some good food, enjoy yourself and pay a fraction of what the airport hotels charge.

Trains start running shortly after 4 a.m. and only take between 11-15 minutes to get from the city center out to the airport, depending on which station you start from.