Help my Germany Trip!
 

Hello all ~ I'm planning to travel to Germany/Austria with my mother in early June. Rather than frighten me with horrific mother/daughter travel experiences, please advise me on where to spend time and how to get around! We have 10 days and will be travelling by train. The following cities/towns sound most appealing so far:<BR>Heidelberg, Rothenberg, Bamberg, Regensberg, Salzberg, Vienna. I'd prefer to stay in just 3-4 places, as I loathe spending too much time puttering around train stations. What do you think would be the easiest and most enjoyable itinerary (&quot;easy&quot; is key to avoiding familial spats, I believe)??? Will we see enough castles to satisfy my mother who, a lifelong New Yorker, hasn't ever seen a medieval city, a palace, a castle or a mountain? THANKS FOR ADVICE!!!

Munich ain't bad either!

hello. i went to nurnberg w/my mom. they have a tourist info place right outside the train station. we got a great deal. <BR>depends what you want to do/see. <BR>we also stayed on the rhine in rudesheim. loved that. we made it a hub for 2 days and went on the boat to see a couple of towns. <BR>went in june as well. <BR>good luck

I haven't seen Regensburg yet, but your itinerary sounds pretty nice. Ten days is a little tight. I'd consider dropping either Heidelberg or Vienna, both a bit far from the core of your travels.<BR><BR>ROTHENBURG, BAMBERG: For &quot;easy&quot;, I'd suggest using W&uuml;rzburg, the train hub for this area, as a base for daytrips to minimize the coming-and-going, the packing and unpacking. W&uuml;rzburg is home to the &quot;Residenz&quot;, a UNESCO World Heritage site and an eye-popping palace you ought to see if you're in the area. There are lots of eating and sleeping options in W'burg, too. Check out the Hotel Regina, right across from the main station (I've heard good reports on this place, though never stayed there myself.)<BR><BR>Another daytrip from W'burg that I'd recommend is to Weikersheim, a small town with an attractive town square and a pretty palace and gardens - it's on the Romantic Road and is easy to get to by train from W'burg: www.schloesser-magazin.de/eng/wk/wkthe.htm<BR><BR>HEIDELBERG: Not my favorite town or castle, but pleasant enough. It's a long hike through the modern part of the city from the station to the castle area - take a taxi or city bus to save your feet. You might consider staying at the Burg Hirschhorn Castle-Hotel, about 15 miles east of Heidelberg on the pretty Neckar River (train connections into H'berg are easy): <BR><BR>http://www.german-castles-road.com/s...orn/index.html (sorry, this link is in German only, but you can search &quot;Schlosshotel Hirschhorn&quot; or &quot;Hirschhorn castle&quot; for English pages.) The castle has a fantasic view of the river that flows into Heidelberg - if the weather's nice, have lunch on the patio.<BR><BR>GETTING AROUND: For your travel from the W&uuml;rzburg area to Regensburg and on to Salzburg; I would look into the cheap daypasses (only 21 Euros/group of 5) for travel on the regional trains - read about the &quot;Happy Weekend&quot; and the &quot;Bavaria&quot; (Bayern) tickets here (click on &quot;L&auml;nder-tickets&quot; for the Bayern ticket): <BR><BR>www.bahn.de/pv/int_guest/offers/pv2_offers_national.shtml<BR><BR>Yes, these passes will get you to Salzburg, even though it's in Austria.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip.<BR>Russ

Hi Melissa. It's been a long time since I visited Germany by train, but I do have some great memories: We stayed in Berchtesgaden for several nights and day-tripped by train to Salzburg. For someone who's never been in the mountains, Berchtesgaden is spectacular.<BR><BR>Munich is an exciting city with numerous day-trip possibilities. And Rothenburg is a magical place if you can stay a night or two to appreciate it before and after the day-trippers swarm; however, I recall that the train station was well away from the walled town, so using it as a base may not be practical -- unless the Romantic Road bus system is flexible.<BR><BR>The only other comment I can make re train travel in Germany is that I really enjoyed my several-night stay on Bodensee. Uberlingen, Meersburg, Wasserburg, and Lindau are all terrific.<BR>J.

Melissa- I take it you are arriving Frankfurt and departing Vienna. If this is the case I would second Russ' suggestions, but if you are returning via Frankfurt, Vienna is pretty much off course and I would suggest substituting Munich and the Bavarian Alps. So much to see and so little time. Have a great trip.

I would cut out Vienna. It is a great city, but it's huge, you need time for it. I didn't allow time in the same type of itinerary as you are planning and never got a chance to get to know this city. Munich is actually smaller than Vienna and a great city too.

If you do stay in Heidelberg stay at the Hotel Hollanderhof. It is in a perfect location at the foot of the Old Bridge and within walking distance of the old town and boat docks to catch a day cruise along the Neckar River.

THANKS to all for great advice! I'm thinking it may be a good idea to cut Vienna and focus more on German towns &amp; perhaps keep Salzberg. Any recommendations on small, attractive hotels in Munich? Any recommended daytrips from Munich? Are the castles near Fussen too mobbed with tourists to bother with? We're not a fan of tour buses and long lines, but I don't want to rule it out yet. Thanks again!

Hi!<BR><BR>Your trip sounds very good! You might look into doing a hotel voucher program and staying in cute, little, family-run, very European hotels. The innkeepers will take very good care of you and help you get around town - they might even know someone who has an inn in the next town and can help you make reservations. Train travel in Europe is a dream! Trains usually run on time and are much more efficient than cars and are a good way to get a peek into darling towns. <BR><BR>For medieval cities, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a must-see. It is a walled medieval city that has been maintained beautifully. It is on the Romantic Road (or Romantishce StraBe) and it will lead you to the classic castle, Neuschwanstein. <BR><BR>I would agree about Vienna being a big city. Salzburg and Innsbruck are lovely cities and would give you a better taste of Austria. In Salzburg, I took the &quot;Sound of Music&quot; tour - it is definitely touristy, but it was delightful. The movie has never been the same for me.<BR><BR>Be sure to visit the farmer's markets in German cities - the people who sell their products are just great. The flowers are beautiful, the fruit and vegetables have never tasted better. They are often at the foot of the city's biggest church in the church square. Always try to have kaffe and kuche in a Konditorei and buy fresh bread from a Baeckerei.<BR><BR>Have a great trip!

Melissa,<BR><BR>I have been to Munich and Bavaria six or seven times on business and vacation. Here are my recomendations (just an opinion)<BR><BR>1. Hotel in Munich...suggest the Hotel Uhland on Uhlandstrasse. Very nice, great breakfast, reasonably priced, one block to ubahn stop and 12 to 15 minute stroll to Sendlinger Tor and Sendlinger Strasse.<BR><BR>2. Must sees:<BR><BR>a. Marienplatz...old town square, old and new Rathaus, glockenspiel, St Peters Church (climb to the top and see the Alps)<BR><BR>b. victualenmarkt...behind Marienplatz..great place to get a brat and a beer for lunch<BR><BR>c. Englisher Gartens..large, pretty city park (caution: nude sun bathing in some areas)<BR><BR>d. Alte and Neu art museums (Pentathoteke (sp?)<BR><BR>e. Deutsche Museum<BR><BR>f. Karlsplatz (shopping)<BR><BR>g. Two Sisters churh <BR><BR>h. Assam Church on Sendlinger Strasse (baroque!!!)<BR><BR>3. Places to eat and drink<BR><BR>a. German restaurant under the New Rathaus is typical Bavarian food<BR><BR>b. See Haus on th elake in Englisher Gartens<BR><BR>c. Werneckhof..on Werneck Strasse...outstanding French and great wine selection (pricey)<BR><BR>d. Augusitnerbrau Beer Garten...near the haupbahnhof <BR><BR>4. Day trips<BR><BR>a. Salzburg is a must and you get there easily by train<BR><BR>b.Rothenberg ib der Tauber<BR><BR>c. Nurnberg and or Regensburg<BR><BR>d. Side trips to all of Ludwigs castles<BR><BR>I hope this has helped some.<BR><BR>US

Melissa - dropping Vienna from your itinerary sounds like a good idea, given your time constraints. Given your &quot;free&quot; time you might want to consider both Wurzburg and Nuremburg, both are on the way to Munich from which you can take day trips to Salzberg and the &quot;castle&quot; area.

Thanks everyone! You've all made this much easier for me!

Melissa, definitely stay a few days in Munich. You can make daytrips to Rothenberg, Salzberg, Oberammergau (where you can catch a bus to Linderhof Castle) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (where you can ride a train up the Zugspitze Mountain).<BR><BR>You may want to purchase the book &quot;Daytrips Germany&quot; by Earl Steinbicker. I've found it to be very helpful in planning daytrips.

With only 10 days and travelling by train, I think your idea of only 3 or 4 places is a good one. Good bases: Anywhere on the main tourist portion of the Rhein River; any town along the railroad on the Mosel River. Bamberg was an absolute gem--we spent 2-1/2 days there and never left the town. Wurzbg and Nurnberg would also be good bases. How mobile is your mother? Some of the castles take a good bit of walking to get to.<BR><BR>Personally, if you're flying into FRA and don't have a car, I'd take a train to Wurzbg, Nurnbg, or Bambg and stay put for 3 nights with day trips as desired (to places like Rothenburg, Coberg, the other 2 cities above that you don't stay in). Then I'd head to Munich for 3 nights with day trips as desired (Ludwig's Castles, etc). Then to the Rhein or Mosel with day trips as desired (various Rhein castles or on the Mosel wine towns and Burg Eltz one of the best castles of all). But there's a dozen other places you could use as bases depending on personal preference.

I currently live in Vienna and used to live in Munich, so I think am qualified to say Vienna is anything but huge - it is slightly bigger in population than Munich and its tourist destinations are actually far more compact than Munich - 80% being within the ring - an area which you can cross in 40 minutes at most (if you are not looking in windows etc)- I live dead centre and walk to work on the edge of the ring in 12 minutes. Munich has a lot better choice of day trips - to places on one of the many nearby lakes for example.<BR>We prefer living here to Munich (where we also lived in the centre) and most people that I know that properly know both cities also prefer it. I guess some people may say huge because they ended up staying in off-centre and commuted in to the sights. <BR>For 3 places trip, I would definitely include Vienna and suggest a 3 city tour - Vienna, to Salzburg and then Munich (3 hrs + 2 hrs on train approx). If you prefer countryside the en route are place like Melk, Hallstatt, Berchtesgarden - some of them recommended here.<BR>As others have said if you really want Heidelberg or Bamberg, you would be really pushing it to get to Vienna -as per Russ's comment. I would say the first 5 places you have in your list are perfectly good day trips and you will see medieval style places, castles etc but I would rather be in a bigger place for say a 3 day stay- like Munich, Vienna or Nuremberg.

Thanks again all ~ great advice! I'm letting go of Vienna, as there seems to be so much more of Germany I would like to see. Naturally, many of your suggestions lead to more questions!<BR><BR>1. Is it relatively easy to get from the Frankfurt airport to Wurzburg by train? Will daytrips to Bamberg/Regensberg/Rothenberg (not necessarily all of them) be reasonably easy? I live in New York City where any kind of transportation is a flaming nightmare, so I'm always a little worried I'll spend half my trip loitering around train stations.<BR><BR>2. Munich is definitely high on my list now, but I want to know if I can see the castles near Fussen on a daytrip or should we stay in Fussen for a few days? Is Salzberg really a convenient daytrip from Munich, or should I stay there for a few days?<BR><BR>3. Am I missing anything spectacular if I cut Regensberg out???<BR><BR>4. Bill, you mentioned the Rhine or Mosel area... any recommended town that would be a good base? I should probably define &quot;good&quot;: beautiful architecture, cultured without being snobby, and high energy without being too touristy!<BR>THANKS!!!

My 2 cents worth on some of your questions:<BR><BR>#2: You can easily see the castles on a day trip (either on your own or on a packaged trip). Munich will offer you more options and easier connections. I thought a daytrip to Salzburg was enough. It can easily be done from Munich.<BR><BR>#4: I'd suggest the Mosel over the Rhine. Tour Berg Eltz.

&quot; 1. Is it relatively easy to get from the Frankfurt airport to Wurzburg by train? Will daytrips to Bamberg/Regensberg/Rothenberg (not necessarily all of them) be reasonably easy?&quot;<BR><BR>Yes. There are departures at 8:02 and 9:02, for example, that take only 1 hr and 20-30 minutes, with no changes of train. Others change in Frankfurt Hbf. The only trick is that there are 2 stations at Frankfurt Airport - the Regionalbahnhof and the Fernbahnhof; make sure you're at the right one.<BR><BR>&quot;2. Munich is definitely high on my list now, but I want to know if I can see the castles near Fussen on a daytrip or should we stay in Fussen for a few days? Is Salzberg really a convenient daytrip from Munich, or should I stay there for a few days?&quot;<BR><BR>Both destinations are only 2 hours away by train.<BR><BR>&quot;4. Bill, you mentioned the Rhine or Mosel area... any recommended town that would be a good base?&quot;<BR><BR>I'd suggest Cochem on the Mosel - very attractive old town center with narrow, cobblestoned streets and plenty of half-timbered houses, very good selection of accommodations and eateries, departure point for river cruises up to Beilstein and beyond,great train connections, right in the Middle of the German Mosel and close to Burg Eltz. Cochem has its own 1000-year-old castle (Reichsburg) you can tour as well and a cool chairlift ride you can take up to a local peak. <BR><BR>Russ

Seconding Russ: The train to Wurzbg and on to Bambg leaves right from the airport. Cochem on the Mosel is a good choice. We had a car and prefer quieter spots, so we stayed in Beilstein--the train does not run there. But whether you stay on the Mosel or the Rhein, do get accomodations away from the railroad tracks--it can get noisy. A daytrip to Fussen is fine. And the train system is super--easy to use, close to on time most of the time, and plenty of trains throughout the day.