I'm meeting a friend in Munich. I fly in on a Saturday morning, and I leave early Tuesday morning. My plan is to take a train for Hannover. My friend will travel elsewhere, but we'll meet in Berlin later that week.

Anyway, he's leaning towards renting a car and exploring Munich. I've a laundry list of things (mainly art-related) that I want to accomplish in Munich.

He has suggested spending a day near Garmisch-Parenkirchen and another day near Berchtesgaden.

I don't think that I've time for both. If you have to pick one, which would you choose?

I think that I'll be in Munich again in the future. But since I don't really drive, I probably won't have access to a car. Is one of these areas better seen with a car? If so, I should probably pick that area.

Are there things near those areas that are accessible by car but not accessible by public transportation that we shouldn't miss? If so I'll try to tell him about them.

Thanks!

"he's leaning towards renting a car and exploring Munich" --

I meant to write that he wants to explore the area around Munich.

He does fly in a day earlier than I do, by the way.

111op

Both are better accessed by car, however, I prefer B-gaden over Garmish. I think there is more to do and see once in Berchtesgaden and Salzburg is a 15 min drive from here. In Berchtesgaden you have the salt mines, Eagles nest, and the Konigsee. There's also a mountain (can not remember the name) that you can take a chair lift up to and has a restaurant on top and on a clear day, has an absolutely breathtaking view. You could even squeeze in a drive to the Linderhof castle in Fussen. On the way back to Munich, stop in Prien (near Garmish) and take a ferry ride to see the Herren Chiemsee Castle (sp).
Clea

Note that Linderhof Palace is not in Fuessen. It's about 9 miles west (or WSW) of Oberammergau.

There aren't any castles actually in Fuessen, though Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles are in the nearby village of Hohenschwangau.

Hi, 111op!

Not that you asked about Munich itself, but here's something, for what it's worth--

I take it you'll go to the Alte Pinakothek; we shorted ourselves on time there, and really regretted it.

If you can fit the Bavarian Nat'l Museum in, it's a real pleasure! The Romanesque and Gothic collections are terrific, and the galleries themselves are somthing to see. If Tilman Riemenschnieder's woodcarvings are up your alley, there are some wonderful ones here.

Admittedly, this museum is not a patch on the Alte Pinakothek artwise, but it's very pleasing.

The interior of the Asamkirche is surreal.

Have a great trip!

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Of course I'll take suggestions on Munich too. I'll definitely go to the Alte Pinakothek.

The rest I'm not sure. The schedule doesn't work to my advantage because many museums in Munich (as anywhere else) are closed on Mondays, but I may have to be in Munich that day depending on what my other plans are. So that leaves me Sunday to go on my day trip with my friend. I fly in Saturday and will just try to cram as much as possible in that day museums wise.

Anyway I'm sure that I'll be back to see things I missed this time. I've never been to Salzburg, and since I like classical music, I've been thinking of going to the Salzburg festival for a long time.

Take one day to go out and explore. If you start early, you'll be amazed the amount of things you can fit in. As a case in point, we took one day of our wekend in Munich to explore; we stopped at Ettal, Oberrammergau, Linderhoff, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and Neuschwanstein. Long day, but we didn't dilly-dally too much. That was more than 12 years ago and I can still tell you about that day almost hour by hour. Loved every second of it!

ttt for suggestions.

In Munich I liked very much the Ratskeller restaurant, which is inside the town hall, in Marienplatz.

In the Englischer Garden there's a big beer garden, The Chinese Tower (Chinesischer Turm), with happy music, overflowing beer and nice atmosphere.

Here's a link for palaces in and around Munich

http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/engl...s/muenchen.htm

We also liked very much the Munich Residenz, Nymphenburg Palace, the Fine Arts Museums (Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek - they are across the street from one another).

Links to these art museums are here

http://www.pinakothek.de/alte-pinako...szeiten_en.php

http://www.pinakothek.de/neue-pinako...szeiten_en.php

Dachau is only 20 minutes away by "S" train, if you want to see the first concentration camp built by the Nazis.

Go to Marienplatz - stunning town hall building. Every morning at 11 o'clock people gather there to watch the dolls move around and listen to the carillon bells - absolutely beautiful.

Go to Hofbrauhaus. As touristy as it may be, it is an evening of pure fun. It is just opposite Hard Rock Cafe, a few metres separate them.
That's quite some competition!

For your so short time there, I think you have enough to choose from, including King Ludwig's castles (Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee), that other posters have already told you about.

Have a nice time and tell us how you did.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be sure to report back. I'm still interested in hearing about the day trip options. I'm leaning towards the Garmisch-Partenkirchen/castles route, but I'm interested in hearing opinions, and I guess it will depend on how things turn out in Munich. I'll have three days and it's really too short to fit everything in.