We are planning on staying in Munich for 2 nights and heading to Garmisch area for one night (stay at the little villiage of Hohenfurt on the advice of Fodorian Wes Fowler), then spend two nights around Rothenburg (I'm thinking of staying in Dinkelsbuhl instead of Rothenburg -- any hotel suggestions?) then heading back to Frankfurt. We are picking up our new BMW in Munich and will be dropping it off in Frankfurt, so driving suggestions and approximate drive times would be appreciated. Thanks! Any help you can offer would be great!

I know many will disagree with me here but I'd pick up your BMW and get out of Munich. Head south to see Neuschaunstein (sp?) and over to see then Koingsee. Then a enjoy the drive back up to Rothenburg with the Beemer wide open on the autobahn. Agian, just MHO but as much as I love Bavaria I found Munich over rated. <BR> <BR>If you want some recommendations for places to stay let me know. <BR> <BR>

Well - I think maybe one full day in Munich and then one day heading south as turnip said. In Munich, Dachau Concentration Camp is well worth a visit, as is the Science and Technology Museum (biggest in the world). No trip to Munich is complete without a visit to the Hofbrauhau, or one of the other traditional beer gardens. <BR>

I don't know if you are like me but I wouldn't be too crazy about some valet taking my new car to who knows where. I recently stayed at the Issen Hut in the middle of Rothenburg. My car was whisked away and I did not see it again until I checked out. It was a rental so I wasn't much concerned. If you have driven in Europe you know they have the most improbable parking spaces in parking garages. Body shops must do a land office business in Europe. If I were you while I had the car I would stay outside of downtown areas -- then you can park your car in a relatively safe place. <BR>For whatever its worth, I recently stayed at the new Hyatt Regency in Mainz on the Rhein just outside of Frankfurt. They have a self park garage and the spaces are fairly generous. The other advantage to staying in a place like Mainz is that you can drive where ever without the monkey motion of driving through Frankfurt. If you stay at the Hyatt watch out for the shower. <BR>I don't know what your driving habits are like. But if you want to drive reasonably unimpeded try driving on the autobahn on Sunday mornings. They say Germans take a lot of time off, but the truckers are out in force everyday including Saturday. They seem to take Sundays off. You then have a clear shot without a lot of cars weaving into the fast lane to get around trucks. I rented a fairly spirited C Class Mercedes and drove from Frankfurt to Munich in about 3 hours. It's a lot of fun.

In Rothenburg, we stayed at the Tilman Riemenschneider, which we'd heartily recommend. The bedroom furniture is rustic tole (painted designs on wood) and beautiful. Someone from the hotel accompanies you to show you where to park your car in the garage, although it is a few blocks to walk back (naturally you unload your suitcases at the door). <BR>The highlight of our trip was a stay at the Burghotel Falkenstein, which is about fifteen minutes from Neuschwanstein. You are high on a hill almost within touching distance of the ruins of Falkenstein, which are floodlit at night, with the Alps behind it. The owner is a master chef, and they make you feel like a treasured guest. If you're interested, feel free to e-mail me for more information.

Do not stay in Dinkelsbuhl. Rothenburg a musch better choice. We stay at the Reichs Kutchenmeister. One of the oldest buildings in town with nice rooms, nice breakfast and good food along with a wein stube for the evening. It is located right in the middle of town near St Jacobs church so easy to walk the town and return to your room if necessary. Also do the Night Watchman's tour while there. It is a lot of fun. If you want the details on the hotel, just email me direct with any questions. Drive times are easy. Just get a European atlas and track on the autobahns if in a hurry although the smaller roads are much more fun.

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For driving routes, check cwlease.com. I printed up all of our city-to-city routes and took them along. (I followed with a map, of course.) It will give you drive times too, which vary according to the type of road you're on.

Hi Meg: You will have such a wonderful time. We did the same thing two years ago, picking up the car in Munich. Our daughter was at the University of Augsburg and met us at the air port. The cab fair to the distribution center was high but the people were great. We spent our second night in Rothenburg at Gasthof Greifen, which had free parking behind it and was very close to the Market Square. We reserved in advance, it was very reasonable, if you call ask for directions, Rothenburg can be confusing. Do not miss the night watchmans tour it was great! As mentioned above, cwlease is a great web site and will produce trip tics. Previously we went to Ludwigs castle which is also an experience. You have to take the car on the Autobahn and do not forget to take cassettes or CDs unless you understand German for the radio.

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