Help with Austria/Germany/Switz. itinerary
 

Going in a few weeks and have run into a problem with our itinerary because of the Passion Play. We were planning to spend 2 days in the Reutte/Fussen/Oberammergau area but can't get accomodations because of the Passion Play, so now we have 2 days that we need to decide what to do with. Here's our itinerary so far: <BR> <BR>3 days in Vienna/day trips <BR>3 days in Salzburg/day trips <BR>2 days ????? <BR>3 days in Murren area <BR> <BR>We have thought about going to Lugano or Lake Como but don't know if it's too far to go. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Mary Sue - <BR> <BR>I think Como and Lugano are too far from Salzburg. <BR> <BR>From Salzburg you could drive south over the Grossglocknerstrasse to Lienz. Stay in Lienz overnight, and then drive to someplace like Feldkirch in Vorarlberg. That puts you within striking distance of Murren for the next day's drive. <BR> <BR>You'll find a lot of charm in smaller places like Lienz and Feldkirch. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip.

Mary Sue, <BR>Will you be traveling by car? If so, there's an inn in Hohenfurch, the Schonach-Hof, about 20kms from Neuschwanstein, Oberammergau, Linderhof and less than that from Wieskirche. I've been recommending it for years and at least four couples have had no trouble getting reservations during this summer and the Passion Play performances. Email me if you're traveling by auto and I can provide info on the inn and some suggested driving itineraries. If you're traveling by train, you might check out the Alte Post Inn in Schongau. Both are listed on the website <BR>www.reisen-mit-preisen.de/rmp_english/framee <BR>where you can check for room availability and costs. Set Allgau as the area, enter the towns Hohenfurch or Schongau and you'll find details. ilnfo onan d Kms fromki

I have two suggestions. One is to spend those days in Innsbruck for that time, you could daytrip to the Castles/Oberammergau from either Salzburg or Innsbruck. Or if you want to do Italy you can, but you'll need to do things a little different: <BR> <BR>3 days in Vienna/day trips <BR>3 days in Salzburg/day trips <BR>3 days in Murren area <BR>2 days Italian Lakes <BR> <BR>This might upset where you fly into.out of though. The other thing is that although you can certainly find 3 nice days of things to do in Murren, it doesn't lend itself so much to days trips. Maybe 2 days Murren, 3 days Italian Lakes would make more sense if you went that route.

I would strongly suggest you go down to your local book store or library get Rick Steves "The best of Germany, Switzerland and Austria". We loved nearly everyone of his suggestions and felt the book was worth ten times what we paid for it. Just my two schillings...

If you want to stay with the original "theme" of your trip then Innsbruck seems the obvious place to me. Not very far from your first choice of Reutte etc.with similiar, if not better scenery, and a more interesting city at night. Whether you are driving or travelling by train, take the indirect route from Salzburg to Innsbruck via Hallein, Bischofshofen and Zell am Zee, for a wonderfully scenic experience.

I'd have to strongly recommend a visit to Hallstatt which is about 1-1/2 hrs from Salzburg in the Salzkamergut. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. We stayed at the Seehotel Gruner Baum on the lake, Tel 43 6134 8263and Fax 43 6134 8420, a very nice hotel with a great restaurant. Check out the web site www.hallstatt.net/visit.htm. <BR>

I would suggest skipping the Italian Lakes and staying a couple more days in Austria or Switzerland. When I visited Lake Como couple months ago, I wasn't too impressed with it because there were too many people. Visit the Salzkammergut area in Austria. <BR>

I aggree, skip the Italien lakes, just came back form Italy, Largo Margiori, Como and Garda Lake. Ejoyed Austria, Switzerland enormously. They all look alike, and I was somewhat dissppointed beeing in nothern Italy. Milano, however was great, didn't get much further south.

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I agree with the Grossglocknerstrasse to Lienz suggestion as well as Halstadt. My wife and I spent our honeymoon traveling in this area and it is absolutely enchanting. Halstadt is a tiny village on a lake. In good weather you can rent a small motorboat and take it out onto the late, which is surrounded by mountaints. It's very romantic. They seed the lake with fish every year, then catch the fish and serve them in the local restaurants. <BR> <BR>The Grossglockner pass, if it's open, is quite breathtaking. And Lienz is pretty and you'll be able to find some excellent Italian restaurants there. <BR> <BR>Simply driving around this part of Austria is really lovely. The scenery is remarkable -- it's some of the prettiest rural landscape you'll find in Europe. It seems as if there are small castles you can visit in almost every town, plus occassional Roman archeological sites. Really worth the time. <BR> <BR>In addition to Rick Steves, I'd pick up Karen Brown's guide -- she lists some excellent drives and has lots of solid suggestions for places to stay and eat.