sherhatfield

I’d like to get some input on our tentative itinerary. Just a little background – DH & I are in our early 30s. We like see a lot of places while on vacation; not interested in museums but rather like to soak in the scenery and take lots of pictures. We travel by car because of the flexibility it gives us, so we are not interested in taking any trains. We originally booked this trip to visit friends in Prague, but they just found out they are moving back to the States this summer, so we are on our own. Our flight is in and out of Munich and we have hotel reservations in Munich already due to the fact that we will be there during Oktoberfest. Because we want to see Neuschwanstein and Linderhof (not tour them, just photograph from outside), our plan is to head toward Prague from there. I would like to see Berchtesgaden and Cesky Krumlov and we have two nights between Fussen & Prague to stop. I’d also like to squeeze Halstatt in there, if for nothing else than a photo op. Here’s what I’m thinking:

Day 1 – Arrive Munich in AM. Pick up car and head to Fussen/Oberramergau area. Overnight there tonight & tomorrow.
Day 2 – Explore area – see the castles. Use Norrisken’s driving map.
Day 3 – Head east using another of Norrisken’s routes (Fussen to Salzburg). Overnight in Berchtesgaden? Salzburg? Is it worth staying in Salzburg if I don’t spend much more than a few hours there?
Day 4 – Head toward Prague, stopping in Cesky Krumlov. Overnight here or continue to Prague?
Day 5 – Prague
Day 6 – Prague
Day 7 – Head to Munich
Day 8 – Munich
Day 9 – Munich
Day 10 – Depart for USA

I know some people will say that we are doing way too much for the short time we are there, but I really need advice on the time between Fussen & Prague. I just can’t figure out how much time to devote to Berchtesgaden & Cesky Krumlov.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

ira

Hi S,

>I just can’t figure out how much time to devote to Berchtesgaden & Cesky Krumlov....<

Each is worth at least 1/2 day, IMO.

sherhatfield

Thanks, Ira!

I was thinking if we get to Cesky Krumlov in the early afternoon we could stay there for the night, then head to Prague the following morning. Doing that would also help to break up the trip between the Salzburg area and Prague.

MacPrague

I might do a smidge of research about the Cesky Krumlov tourist season before booking. DH and I went there in the off-season, and there was little to see/do. We did get some good photos (which, like you, is a priority for us), but the life of the city was nothing to write home about. Evidently, it is a very lively place in the summer, but we missed it. If things will still be happening when you are there, then go with Ira; I'm sure he knows what he is talking about!

tcreath

We stayed in Berchtesgaden for a week last year and did daytrips, one of them being to Cesky Krumlov. Berchtesgaden is a very nice town and in a splendidly scenic location, but its small and could be done in a few hours. If you want to include the Konigssee (which I highly recommend), its only a few km from Berchtesdgaden. The two together would make for a really nice day. Salzburg is about 20 minutes from Berchtesgaden. We really enjoyed Salzburg but saw most of the town in less than a day.

From Berchtesgaden, it took about 3 hours or so to get to Cesky because the road from Linz to Cesky is very slow going because there are lots of slow-moving trucks and the road is curvy enough to make it difficult to pass.

The drive is fairly uneventful, but there is a neat town, Freistadt, right before you get to the Czech border, that would make for a good stopping point. The old part of time is within an old city wall and it was fun to just wander around for an hour or so and grab a chocolate croissant from a bakery.

Cesky was great, and I loved it, but it too is small. A whole day would be great, but you could see most of the town in about a half a day. Just be careful of the parking situation! We found what we thought was a free parking lot, so imagine our surprise when we came back to our car and found a boot on the tire and a notice, in Czech of course, on our windshield. Luckily we were near a gas station and the nice woman at the counter called the number on the ticket for us. We had a small fine (something like $30 us dollars) and they took the boot off, joking that we could keep the notice as a souvenir, but all in all it was a hassle because we had to wait around for about an hour for them to show up. So basically when you find a parking lot make sure you look around for somewhere to insert some money.

Tracy

tcreath

Sorry, that was supposed to be "the old part of town".

I also should mention, in case you didn't know, that the Konigssee is a gorgeous crystal-clear lake in a fjord-like setting in Schonau, a small town not far from Berchtesgaden. There are small battery-operated boats that will give you a tour of the lake, and you can stop and get off at the small church St. Bartholomew.
http://www.berchtesgadener-land.info...mp;o_lang_id=2

Tracy

sherhatfield

Thanks for the replies! I'll research the suggestions. Perhaps I'll just stop in Cesky Krumlov for the afternoon and head on to Prague for the night. Not sure though, that would make for a lot of driving in one day if coming from the B'gaden area. I'll check out the tourist season there nonetheless.

I like the idea of doing Konigsee & Berchtesgaden as a day trip. There are a lot of nice photo ops if the weather is good!