Help with Rhine/Mosel/Bavaria Intinerary-1st Draft
 

My husband and I are planning to be in Germany for 14 days and we have allowed 2 extra days for travel. In those 14 days we are interested in seeing a few different areas of Germany. I thought I would post on fodors our ideas to hopefully get some great feedback. We aren't sure on exact days in each area (need help with this).

~Fly into Frankfurt (renting a car)

~Drive the Rhine and Mosel area (with
definite visits to Burg Eltz, Cochem, St. Goar (need some help with this area. We don't necessarily have to drive to Koblenz) is there a way to cut over from the Rhine to Burg Eltz?
~Head to Rothenburg (via Heidelberg or not)? Stay 2 nights and make daytrip to Nurnberg
~Drive South on the Romantic Road (make a few stops)
~Fussen (visit two castles)
~possibly Garmisch
~Head to Ravensburg
~Drive to Luzern, Switzerland
~Drive to Munich and visit Dachau
~Fly out of Munich

The few questions I have are 1) is this too ambitious? I haven't been to the mosel/rhine area since I was a child so I'm not sure the least amount of days I would need in this area in order to leave enough time to visit the rest of our agenda. I was thinking 1 or 2 nights. I'm also not sure of the best route to take to get from the mosel area to Rothenburg.

Oh, I should tell you that my husband and I are in our early 30's and were just married this past October 8 so this trip is our honeymoon.

Thank you in advance for all of your help.

HI, katzen. I'll find my Rothenburg, Mosel, Rhine travel notes when I get home tonight. There are some very nice less traveled roads between the Mosel and Rhine. At least 2 nights on the Mosel alone--we spent 3 and didn't have time to see all we wanted to.

You definately have the time to see the areas you mentioned and it sounds like a great trip. While you are in the Fussen area or perhaps on your way there you should visit Oberammergau, Wies Kirche, and Schlos Linderhof.

Dear katzen:

While on the Mosel, try to fit in a day trip to Trier. Originally a Roman city. The Mosel is lovely. I hope you have a great honeymoon.

MY

What time of year will you be there? That would be helpful to know. You'd want to spend more days in the larger cities if traveling in winter, as a rule.

I wouldn't drive all the way to Luzern without continuing on to the Berner Oberland - Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen.

You might save some travel time by scheduling Garmisch and Fuessen AFTER Switzerland; from Rothenburg head to Ravensburg (What's there, anyway??) and Switzerland, then back to the Munich area (perhaps doing Garmisch and/or Fuessen first or as daytrips from Munich - by rail to avoid Munich traffic)

I'd suggest Bernkastel on the Mosel as well if you'll have a car.

Roughly...

Mosel/Rhine (3-4)
Rothenburg (2)
Switzerland (4)
Munich, Garmisch, Fussen (4)

Having been to both, I'd suggest you consider the Bodensee (Lindau, etc) rather than Luzern. Similar charm, less travel.

I agree with the one poster on the route you are planning. Garmisch to Munich is not that long. We have done easy day trips from Garmisch to Munich as well as stayed in Garmisch prior to flight out of Munich.

We have been to Lucerne a few times. I would do the Bodensee area before I would go to Lucerne, but that is my opinion. Allow more time in Bavaria and less time in Lucerne. That allows for less time changing hotels and more time to enjoy the area. You do not want to have to change hotels every single day as this wastes a lot of time.

I would route down Ronamtic Road to Garmisch then over Alpine Road to Berchtesgaden/Salzburg and then back on the autobahn to Munich. Skip Switzerland.

Lucerne is great with the Mt Pilatus experience but I think I would agree to include the Bodensee instead. Bodensee has some great attractions with Lindau, Meersburg, Mainau Island, and Constance.

You were talking about Lucern and not Luzanne, right?

You will definitely enjoy Burg Eltz, it is a short drive form Cochem. The caslte in Cochem is pretty amazing too.

do you need Hotel advice in cochem? If so, we stayed at the Burg Hotel on Moselpromenade 23. Request a room with a river view and a balcony. It is a lovely hotel with numerous anciant artifacts - it is like a museum. It has 2 restaurants. The Inn keepers were very gracious.

Do a search on Cochem on this forum and you will get a lot more info.

Have Fun!!!

Wow, thank you everyone for the great feedback! We are planning to travel to Germany July 20, 2006 and returning on August 4. 16 days total but we are allowing 2 of those days for travel. I"ve been checking airfare and yikes it's expensive. $1200 is the cheapest I found for 1 person.

Russ, I was hoping to fit Ravensburg in because I love their games and puzzles (Ravensburger). I had them growing up and was hoping to stop by. yes, I'm a big kid at heart. :)

It seems we have a couple big decisions to make. 1. Forget Swizterland all together. 2. Go to Switzerland and either visit Lucerne or Bodensee. I've been to Lucerne before and loved it. My husband has not. I will have to do some research on Fodors to get more acquainted with Bodensee

I am very excited to visit the Mosel/Rhine area .. especially Cochem and Burg Eltz. I'm hoping to be able to get a room at the Burg Hotel. From what I've read it books pretty quickly.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Hi, Katzen. Also posted this on the other site.

One way to get from the Rhein to the Mosel: We drove from the Mosel to the Rhein, so our reverse route would have been: From Boppard going north on Rte. 9 just a mile or so, then left (west) onto Rte. L207. It does wind a bit and has nice scenery.

In about 9 miles you hit Rte. B49 which follows the Mosel. If you turn right, you head north-east towards Kobern-Gondorf and Koblenz; left towards Cochem, Beilstein, Trier, etc. If you want to go directly to Burg Eltz, turn left (south and west), cross the river on the first bridge (it's very close to where you enter the B49) and head towards Moselkern.
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We drove Rothenburg to the Mosel, so reversing what we did there:

We stayed in Beilstein, so from Beilstein go over the hills to the south: reversing our path--Rte. K42>L98>B421>E42>A61>A6> and finally the A7 on into Rothenburg. Or you can get off the Autobahn and take a more local road on into Rburg. We had planned to stop at a couple of places along the way depending on our mood and the weather; e.g., Schwaebisch Hall, Bad Wimpfen, Heidelberg. But it hit 100 F. that day, so we just drove straight through.

Instead of taking K42>K98 to B421, you could just stay on the Mosel road (taking the B53 or K46)--B421 hits the Mosel roads just south of Zell.

Of course, you could just take the route from the Rhein to the Mosel I described above in reverse and pick up the A61 Autobahn before you get as far as the Rhein. But we enjoy exploring various back roads.
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Beilstein was our center on the Mosel, so I picked these routes with that in mind, but they are doable, and we didn't get lost once (my spouse is a good navigator). We had good Michelin maps, and I had checked routes out on www.viamichelin.com in advance to get plenty of detail.

Depending on where you end up staying on the Rhein and on the Mosel, you might need to do something different--there are numerous options. But the roads are good, and a detailed map and mapping website make it pretty easy to lay out a route.

We used the Michelin Germany, Benelux, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic Tourist and Motoring Atlas, augmented by some detail maps from www.viamichelin.com.

katzen,
You may X the Rhein by car ferries at multiple points N of Rüdesheim.
There are lots of web sites with information about St. Goar and the Mittelrhein (google).
While in Cochem, you might want to drive the few miles N to der Nürburgring and take a lap on the famous Nordschleife. Call ahead to ensure the track is open to the public for the time and date.
M

Cochem is a fabulous choice for your first days. You do not have to take a ferry to cross the Rhine. The autobahn will take you through Koblenz, where you will cross the river. It's an easy drive.

Cochem will afford you lots of options. Beilstein was mentioned and it is a lovey, little town and a very short drive from Cochem. Cochem, itself, offers a beautiful Mosel promenade with lots of restaurants, shops, the castle, etc. You can easily take a boat tour to nearby towns also.

The Burg Hotel was mentioned. I don't know the property. I also don't know your budget, but if you want a fabulous hotel, in Cochem, try the Thorenschenke.
It's incorporated into part of the old city wall and is simply divine! Doesn't afford a Mosel view, but it has a terrific location, just down from the main bridge into town, and a few steps from the promenade.

We took the train to Trier, but the train station is quite a distance from the old section. (I'm guessing a 20 minute walk.) You might want to drive.

However...please consider the fact that your first day will comprise adjusting to the time change. You'll probably just want to explore Cochem on this day.
If you want to see Burg Eltz (simply wonderful), I would not include Trier in your itinerary. Stick with Cochem, Burg Eltz, & Beilstein and you'll have plenty to fill your two days.

After the Mosel, drive to Rothenburg via the Rhine. You can stop in St. Goar, which is a very quick trip from Cochem, or one of the other lovely Rhine towns...Bacharach is a lovely choice.

If you are not spending the night in Heidelberg...skip it. The city deserves more than just a "pass through".

Rothenburg is a little gem! You will love it. Nurnberg's altstadt is also wonderful...lots of bridges, nice restaurants, castle, cathedral(s), etc.

You'll enjoy Fuessen and the castles also. Garmisch/Partenkirchen is also a great destination with terrific views.

Don't know anything about Ravensburg or Luzern, but I think your itinerary will be extremely "ambitious" if you try to include Luzern. Why not take a day trip to Salzburg...or even Berchtesgaden...from Munich, instead of including Switzerland? Both cities are fabulous.

Have fun planning!

Val

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