"hausfrau" I need help with Romantic Road advice!
 

Hi to Hausfrau ( I read on another post that you were an expert on the Romantic Road) and of course hi to anyone else who would like to help! My husband and I are planning our trip for early May. We will be flying in and out of Amsterdam, but the bulk of our trip will probably be spent in germany. If we started in Cologne and want Munich and the Romantic Road to be part of our trip, can you suggest some kind of itenerary, we will definitely be using the rail system and have about 6-7 days to spend in Germany. Any advice would help....thanks in advance!

Hi cd,

Have you checked prices on www.kayak.com for flying into AMS and out of MUC or vv?

((I))

We had frequent flyer miles, and for the times we had available, flying in and out of AMS was our only option....so that part was decided for us :)

Hi cdcal, well, I'm not sure how I got labeled a Romantic Road expert, but you never know what can happen here on Fodors. :-) Unfortunately I can't help at all with the rail part because we drive everywhere (we live in Stuttgart). I have done next to no rail travel in Germany. I traveled quite a bit by train in France when I was younger, and it works great for going between mid-sized towns and cities, where you can then walk to most of the sights. But for me, some of the best things to see in Germany are in the smaller towns that are not easily accessible by train. The Romantic Road falls into that category.

If you are coming from Cologne, I would also suggest a couple of days in the Mosel Valley, but you'll find that many people also suggest doing that by car as well. So I guess before going into a lot more detail, I have to ask, are you opposed to renting a car?

With that caveat, here's my Romantic Road itinerary copied from an earlier post:

Day 1: Stuttgart to Wuerzburg
Walked around the city in the afternoon, stayed at Hotel Zur Stadt Mainz.

Day 2: Wuerzburg to Rothenburg
Walked around Marienberg Fortress in the morning, stopped in Bad Mergentheim for lunch, checked in at Burg Colmberg (a fabulous castle-hotel about 12 miles from Rothenburg), walked around Rothenburg and had dinner there.

Day 3: Rothenburg to Augsburg
Spent the morning in Rothenburg (visited the criminal museum, which is excellent), stopped at Dinkelsbuehl and drove through a couple other towns on the way to Augsburg. We stayed in Augsburg but I think I would have preferred Dinkelsbuehl or another smaller town (like Noerdlingen). I might have felt differently if it wasn't the middle of winter, but I prefer smaller towns anyway.

Day 4: Augsburg to Hohenschwangau (just beneath Schloss Neuschwanstein)
Shopped in Augsburg in the morning, stopped at Landsberg-am-Lech and the Weiskirche. Stayed at Hotel Mueller in Hohenschwangau.

Day 5: Hohenschwangau to Stuttgart
Toured the two Ludwig castles before returning to Stuttgart.

A few notes: I have since been back to Landsberg-am-Lech again, which was much better in the summertime - a great place to spend a night, eat outside, and stroll along the riverfront. I've also been to Schloss Harburg near Noerdlingen, which is a quintessential well-preserved medieval castle and a bit off the beaten track (even though the Romantic Road actually goes through a tunnel directly beneath it!).

I can provide more input but I think it is best to hear from you about your feelings on rail vs. car. I think if I was traveling by rail I would not try to cover the Romantic Road and would instead spend a couple of days in several larger cities. Munich is easy to do without a car and could easily occupy 2 full days. Another interested stop might be Ulm, which has a lovely canal district and the world's tallest cathedral.

That should be "Wieskirche" not "Weiskirche." My German spelling has improved since I made that original post!

Thank you so much for those ideas! We are not opposed to renting a car, but the train is appealing to us just because we don't have to "DO" anything, no navigating, no thinking, just getting on the train. But, your suggestion gives us lots to think about and we will definitely consider renting a car.....thank you again so much for your thoughts!

Someone can probably help you on train travel, but I will put my vote in for driving the Germany portion of your trip. You could take the train from Amsterdam to Cologne or Frankfurt, rent a car, and then drop it off in Munich. Outside of the cities, driving is extremely easy in the portion of Germany you will be in.

If I had 6 days, I would probably stay near the Rhine for a day or two, the RR for 2 days, and the Bavarian Alps/Munich for the remainder. IMO,the northern half of the RR has the more interesting towns, with the exception of Landsberg and Fussen in the south.

Thanks for your input Bob, I am so excited about all of our possibilities! Since this is our first trip to Europe I want it to be great, but the bottom line is that I am sure we will be happy no matter what we do, b/c we are just so excited to have this opportunity!
thanks again for your input