Eggleason

Hi all, I'll be traveling with my fiance and mom (age 35 and 71) from Nov 28 to Dec 15, and have the following itinerary mostly planned out. But, wondering what the thoughts of those on this forum are! Open to any suggestions!

I'm planning to rent a car when needed, and interested in museums, food, touristy landmarks, christmas markets.. and just enjoying the scenery and wandering around beautiful old towns/cities!

I've listed a general outline, but please comment on:
1. For the below itinerary, is there anything I can optimize?
2. Am I missing anything important that I should try to add?
3. Am I doing too much?
4. Recommendations for tours.
5. Recommendations for FOOD!!

11/28: Travel to Prague
11/29: Arrive in Prague (via public transit/uber from airport)
11/30: Prague
12/1: Prague
In Prague: Walking tour, Prague castle, christmas markets, Vysehrad, dancing house

12/2: Travel to Nuremberg (arrive 7pm with bus from Prague)
12/3: Nuremberg
In Nuremberg: Walking tour, Nuremberg Castle, Christmas Markets, Toy Museum (?)

12/4: Travel to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (by car - stop somewhere along the way.. Wurzburg?)
12/5: Visit Rothenburg and other nearby towns
In Rothenburg area: Visiting town my dad grew up in (nearby); Dinkelsbuhl (lunch on 12/5), Christmas Markets, nightwatch tour

12/6: Travel to Heidelberg (by car - stop to visit friend in Michelstadt on the way.. other stops like Walldurn church, Miltenberg along the way?)
12/7: Heidelberg
In Heidelberg: Heidelberg castle, not sure what else yet

12/8: Travel to Obernai (by car - stop somewhere along the way? Speyer? Other recommendations?)
12/9: Alsace (Strasbourg)
12/10: Alsace (travel to other small towns like Ribeauville, Riquewihr, Kayserberg castle... Colmer if time permits)
In Alsace: We are staying in Obernai with our car... plan to visit Strasbourg 12/8 evening (xmas market) and 12/9 to sightsee.. then 12/10 to visit nearby towns. Open to recommendations! In Strasbourg, definitely will see cathedral, xmas markets, petite france, maybe walking tour?

12/11: Travel to Munich (by car) - stop along the way at Hohenzollern castle and/or Tubingen for lunch? Maybe Dachau if time permits.
12/12: Munich
12/13: Munich/day trip to mittelwald or salzburg
12/14: Munich
In Munich: Walking tour, Nymphenburg palace, museums (pinakothek), wander the old town/churches
Day trip from Munich: likely drive to GaPa and/or Mittelwald and/or Fussen (neuschwastein).. other option would be Salzburg by train or car (if there's somewhere to stop along the way?)

12/15: Fly home

bigtyke

Salzburg would be nice if you still have the energy by then for a longish day trip. Herrenchiensee Palace could be a stop on the way

lavandula

Good tight itinerary with travel days factored in, but you don't have much time anywhere. Depending on how you see destinations, this may or may not matter. In Heidelberg there is a zoo with bears out the front which is quite good, so you could see that as well. The streets are picturesque - you want some time to soak that in, and there is a lovely bridge crossing the river. But if you were left with extra time I would just factor that in as a laundry-washing day or a postcard-writing day. You don't want to be crazy busy all the time. You may not get to all your proposed sights in Nuremberg, but if you are just philosophical about it it won't matter (i.e. take the attitude, oh well, I'll see it next visit). In all towns there will be Christmas markets, you will want to take some time to smell the roses there. Generally a good plan.

Lavandula

Eggleason

Thanks for the recommendations!

Still interested in any/all comments and suggestions

Thank you

lavandula

It's been a while, but we had friends in Prague we visited a few times and we went with them to the following restaurants:

Pizza Nuova: https://www.pizzanuova.cz/en/

Marina Ristorante: Marina Ristorante | P?edkrmy (beautiful location)

We visited Pizza Nuova a few times, and they have trays of pasta and pizza circulated by waiters and you can have as much as you want. Really nice with kids, but you two and Mum would probably like it too. There are a lot of Italian restaurants in Prague because it was an easy cuisine to get up and running after the Wall came down. English is fine at those restaurants, in fact there is a lot of it around generally.

Lavandula

Janeyre

We took the bus from Prague to Nuremberg as well a few years ago, and it worked out perfectly. Caught the bus at Prague's train station via taxi from our hotel near the bridge, luggage went in the bus cargo hold, and found ourselves seated next to a retired couple from Virginia. I was miserable after having a reaction to some food I ate the night prior, and the wife slipped me some chewable Pepto Bismol tablets. I remember having to use the on-board toilet room as well. I dozed off but the three plus hours sped by very uneventfully. When we arrived at the N. train station, I looked across the street and saw the sign to our hotel, Hotel Victoria. We crossed over through an underground passageway beneath the busy street. It was a great way to get from Prague to Nuremberg!

Eggleason

Thanks for reassuring me about that part of the trip!

Michael

If you are over 70, public transportation is free.

bilboburgler

I've spent holidays in most of these places in the winter. Big boots, a warm hat and lined clothes were the order of the day and a lot of interest in warm drinks and street food.

I have most knowledge about Alsace, I'd focus on Strasbourg as you get high density of sights and sites in a small area. The villages are only really attractive if sunny and dry, rainy and streets full of slush, less so. I might choose alternative visits depending on the day and the weather. You might also look at Nancy and Metz going west or Mulhouse going south. Small cities but all three are great visits. Over the border Baden-Baden is also good.

Eggleason

Thanks for the ideas!
From Obernai.. would you recommend driving into Strasbourg and taking a tram to the center? Or just taking the train from Obernai?

Michael

Correction to my previous post:

Public transportation in Prague is free starting at 70.

bilboburgler

just the train would be easiest. Strasbourg centre has high density cycle ways and driving can be tricky if you are not used to it as well as carpark spaces being few and far.

Eggleason

that was my thought.. ok thank you for the suggestion