Thanks to all who answered my question about maps for driving in Germany. Now I'm starting to try to work out the details for our itinerary. Any comments / criticisms / suggestions would be welcomed! By way of background, this will be my first trip to Germany / Austria, my husband's second to Germany (his first trip was a short stay in Munich for business so he hasn't seen much of Germany). Husband has travelled frequently and fairly extensively to various parts of Europe, but these have been almost exclusively busniness trips. My prior European trips have been only to London (3x) and Paris (2x), where we have planted ourselves at one hotel and taken day trips or the occasional overnighter (eg. to York for the night then back to London) so I am not used to a "mobile" type of trip which involves moving from place to place. Hence, for this trip I have tried to plan out 3 or 2 night stays in each location. <BR> <BR>So far, here is what I have worked out: <BR> <BR>Wed., August 22 - Arrive Munich, check into hotel ... which one? I am considering Pension Seibel. Has anyone stayed there? My main concern is whether it will be quiet enough for me - as it is in the old centre, 2 blocks off Marienplatz, and I am a light sleeper. <BR> <BR>Thurs., August 23 & Fri., August 24 - Munich <BR> <BR>Sat., August 25 - Pick up rental car, leave Munich, head for Austria (toward Salzburg). Now, here is the question - do we go to Salzburg for 2 nights, then Salzkammergut region for 2 nights, OR vice versa? (Salzkammergut region then Salzburg). I am wondering if I should expect Salzburg on a the last weekend of August to be madness, or would the rural areas be worse? In Salzburg, we are considering Pension Bergland. For the Salzkammergut region, we are considering St. Gilgen - the two we have looked at are Gastehaus Kendler or Hotel Schernthaner. (I was also thinking Hallstatt, but again, the late August thing - I'm guessing it will be overrun with tourists). <BR> <BR>Sunday, August 26 - Salzburg OR Salzkammergut (depending on decision, see abouve) <BR> <BR>Monday, August 27 - ditto <BR> <BR>Tuesday, August 28 - ditto <BR> <BR>Wednesday, August 29 - Drive from Austria (Salzurg or Salzkammergut) through Bavaria to the Garmisch / Fussen area. Is this a realistic distance for a drive, or too far? Plan to spend 3 nights in this area, to see the castles (Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau), Linderhof, Wieskirche, Ettal, Oberammergau, etc. Can't decide where to base ourselves here. Have been considering Rick Steves' suggestion to base ourselves near Reutte in Austria, at the Gasthof zum Schluxen for the 3 nights. But Mittenwald or Oberammergau also sound tempting - I'm a sucker for that traditional Bavarian painted houses thing. <BR> <BR>Thursday, August 30 & Friday, August 31 - still in Garmisch / Fussen area of Bavaria <BR> <BR>Saturday, September 1 - drive along Romantic Road to Rothenburg. Stay at Hotel Garni Hornburg for 2 nights (this is the only hotel I have definitely decided on!). <BR> <BR>Sunday, September 2 - still in Rothenburg <BR> <BR>Monday, September 3 - drive from Rothenburg to Rhine. Will spend 3 nights on the Rhine. Absolutely no idea where - haven't started to figure this part out yet. <BR> <BR>Tuesday, September 4 & Wednesday, September 5 - still on the Rhine with probable drive along part of the Mosel one day, if this is realistic - perhaps to Cochem or Zell and back to wherever we stay on the Rhine. <BR> <BR>Thursday, September 6 - late afternoon - drive to a hotel near Frankfurt airport (no idea what hotel), turn in rental car. <BR> <BR>Friday, September 7 - flight departs Frankfurt @ 10 am. Be sad to leave Germany! <BR> <BR>Final question - when do summer holidays end in Germany? I assume it will be sometime while we are there ... are we likely to run into traffic jams as thousands of Germans all end their vacations and head back to their homes at the same time? <BR> <BR>Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Gwen, I am a bad typist, so here is the net of it: <BR>St. Gilgen--Gasthof Kendler [ day trip to Hallstatt] <BR>Salzburg---Pension Nonntal <BR>Oberammergau---Gasthof Zur Rose <BR> <BR>In that order. I admire your homework. You have done a great trip here and you will have a good time. Good luck !

Looks like a nice trip. On the Rhine, I'd suggest St. Goar, the most scenic spot, in my opinion, with three castles looming over the Rhine Gorge in this spot and some wonderful trails along the cliffs, or Boppard, a somewhat larger town with more numerous attractions. Bacharach is okay too, but tends to be pretty full of Rick-Steves-guidebook-toting North Americans. Here's a list of accommodations: Click on "Ansicht" on the right for a photo of each place. <BR> <BR>On Wed 9/5 in the town of Bingen, there's a fireworks show and "Bridge Fest" on the bridge that spans the Nahe River near its confluence with the Rhine. I suspect that this is part of the 11-day wine festival that's going on in town. I'd plan to get in on this if possible - saw the fireworks show there last July, and it was spectacular. <BR> <BR>I'd be tempted to squeeze in an extra day for this region if possible. You should plan to tour a castle (Burg Eltz on the Mosel or Marksburg on the Rhine are fantastic, Reichsburg right in Cochem also good) and it's a wonderful area to unwind a bit before the long trip home.

From what I understand, pretty much the whole month of August is a holiday in Germany! You very well may be stuck a stau (traffic jam) on the autobahn during some point in your trip. They can get pretty nasty sometimes, but I would expect the end of your trip in September to go more smoothly. <BR>

Gwen: <BR> <BR>Bob thr navgator and Russ are the great source of info in that area! I will add my 2-cents and say that if you are looking for "painted Houses" as you say, try and base in Mittenwald or Garmish for the Bavarian Castle leg of your trip. Your itinerary is perfect. You have hit my favorites! Remember, when you get to Rothenberg take the "Nightwatchmans tour", pure fun!! <BR>JOHN

Gwen: I just noticed my failure to include the link to that list of accommodations on the Rhine - Here it is: <BR> <BR>www.tal-der-loreley.de/abfrage.hotel.php3 <BR> <BR>Russ

Mittenwald is not as beautiful as one would lead you to believe. Was very disappointed in the two-hour detour I took on my way from Salzburg to the castle areas as the painted buildings of Mittenwald looked very rundown, the actual drive there was very nice though, just watch out for those friggin motorcycles all over the mountain roads. Hohenschwangau was not as bad as I thought it was going to be, could have stayed there another night it needed, Hotel Mueller treated us very well, took care of our castle tour ticket purchases for us, just very good at catering to your needs and at only $110 night for a mini suite and castle view. Also definitely stay away from the romantic road, as it is very overrated and slow. Go to Rothenburg if you want to see the storybook buildings, Harburg and Nordlingen looked pretty neat as well, just see those towns via the autobahns.

In fact, Sommerferien (summer vacation) goes from July 27 to September 10 in Bavaria, so you'll be likely to encounter a traffic jam or two. Have a great time!

Just some thoughts regarding your itinerary which I find most reasonable and carefully planned. I can recommend an inn with a superb restaurant in Bavaria on the Romantic Road that you might find appealing. It has one significant drawback for a light sleeper; you’ll be awakened by the sound of cowbells in the morning! I have a number of itineraries that originate from the inn as well; Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein are less than 40 minutes away by auto; Wieskirche, 15 minutes; Ettal and Oberammergau 30 minutes. The itineraries could well start in any of the villages, towns and sites listed and they highlight a number of lesser known but equally interesting sights in the Pfaffenwinkel and Allgau areas of Bavaria. If you’re interested, feel free to drop me an Email and I’ll forward them to you. <BR> <BR>There’s little more debilitating in an extended trip such as yours than the thought and act of packing and unpacking every other night or so. You might want to consider spending your four nights in St. Gilgen rather than splitting them with Salzburg. BOB’s recommendation for accommodations is an excellent one. Are you aware that St. Gilgen was the hometown of Mozart’s mother? Salzburg is only a half hour away by auto; Hallstatt about 45 minutes and St. Wolfgang less than half an hour on the other side of the lake. Do visit St. Wolfgang; the Pfarrkirche in the village has a magnificent late 15th century altarpiece by Michel Pacher. There is also a rack railway leading to the summit of the Schafberg from which you can see over a dozen Alpine lakes, the glaciers of the Dachstein and the Berchtesgaden Alps among many others. Quite a stunning panoramic sight. <BR> <BR>Where to stay on the Rhine? You might consider Assmannshausen, a town less tourist infested than Rudesheim and almost directly opposite Bingen which will be holding its wine festival during your stay. Another advantage to Assmannshausen is its proximity to the airport. Both are southwest of the city of Frankfurt. Assmannshausen is about 40 miles from the airport. You could eliminate the need for a final night stay in Frankfurt by spending your last four nights there. <BR>

The school hollidays aren't a problem, it's the start and the end of hollidays which cause the traffic jams. It makes sense to look for the dates of the school vacation of the large German countries (Bayern, Hessen, Baden-Wuerttemberg and especially Nordrhein-Westfalen) and avoid the highway around the start and the end of the hollidays. If you go on smaller roads, it's normally less of a problem.

Hello! Regarding the Pension Seibel: just being in the center doesn't mean it will be noisy. The street it's on is 2 lanes and not excessively busy, although during the day it's well traveled. I would think at night it would be quiet there. It's not really that close to Marienplatz, which isn't noisy at night anyway. Tomorrow night we're dining with a Fodorite who's staying there, so either he or I can tell you more about it later. I've never been inside, just walked past it many times. I'm a light sleeper and always take earplugs because even if you're on a quiet street, someone in the room next to you could be loud. <BR> <BR>We stayed in Bacharach along the Rhine and really liked it! I can't remember the name of the hotel but it was recommended by Rick Steves and was on the main street. It was old, quaint and picturesque. St. Goar also looked pretty good.

Dear Gwen, <BR> <BR>Interesting itinerary. I'm traveling to Germany as an engineer on business in late June and will have a week to "be by myself" - kinda neat since I love adventure and though I've been a devoted partner to my bride of nearly 40 years, I do like to go solo on occasion. <BR> <BR>I'm curious if there is a method to be an engineering exchange person for a week - traveling in Germany and exchanging technologies? <BR> <BR>That may seem bazaar but - you never know until you ask. I'm asking! don

I just returned from Munich and loved it! I stayed at the Hotel Advokat and thought it was very comfortable and had great rates. It was just outside the old town and with decent walking distance. <BR> <BR>The food in Minich is also yummy! I love those pork knuckles, beer and Bavarian pretzels!

Driving from Salzburg to Fussen should be no trouble - I did it is 3 days on bicycle. In Salzburg, consider visiting the ice caves at Werfen. <BR> <BR>Excellent route - almost identical to the one I cycled years ago