Itinerary for trip to Germany
 

Hi,<BR>My wife and i will be driving through germany. If someone with some experience has the time, could they let us know if we're trying to do too much.<BR><BR>day 1 - Fly in to Frankfurt and drive to Baden Baden (visit uncle)<BR>day 2 - Baden Baden<BR>day 3 - Baden Baden (afternoon to Strasburg)<BR>day 4 - Drive to Triberg then down to Meersburg. Stay in Meersburg.<BR>day 5 - Drive to Fussen. See Neuschwanstein and Lindenhof. Stay in Fussen.<BR>day 6 - Drive up Romantic road to Rothenberg.<BR>day 7 - Morning in Rothenberg. Afternoon drive to Heidelberg. Stay in Heidelberg.<BR>day 8 - Wake up early and drive to Frankfurt airport.<BR><BR>thanks in advance,<BR><BR>peter

I think this is the first time I've ever said this on this forum . . . but the Fussen - Rothenburg - Heidelberg day will be very, very long. Depending on the time of year, the Romantic Road can be very slow . . . and depending on the route you take from Rothenburg to Heidelberg there are lots of twisting, winding roads which can make for tough driving conditions . . . lots of &quot;out of the shade, into bright sunlight&quot; driving in the forest.

You can do this - but you'd better like driving. A lot. <BR><BR>With the exception of Baden-Baden, you're giving yourselves so little time to see things in the places you'll be and you're spending so much time in your car getting to these places that it's hard to understand why you're going there, really. Your route is bypassing all kinds of interesting places along the way as well.<BR><BR>I think I would skip Strasbourg, Triberg, and Meersburg. Leave Baden-Baden on day 3 if you can. Head instead to Fussen (stop along the way - maybe in Ulm to see the cathedral or in Ottobeuren to see the Basilica) and use it as a base for exploration for days 3-5. In a few days, you can see your castles, the Wieskirche near Steingaden, Garmisch/Mittenwald, the Zugspitze, and/or Oberstdorf. This will minimize the driving and the packing - unpacking - checking in and out routine that will eat up a lot of your real vacation time.<BR><BR>Continue as planned on Days 6 &amp; 7. You might enjoy the palaces in Wurzburg or in Weikersheim, both close to Rothenburg and on the Romantic Road.<BR><BR>Triberg is tour buses and cuckoo clocks - that's about it. <BR><BR>Have a good trip - but slow down and you'll have a better shot at it.<BR><BR>Russ<BR> <BR>

I'm going to go against the flow, here. I've thought about it a lot and I think you can do it. But I would take Russ's advice and skip Triberg. Truthfully, I don't think you'll miss it. Don't skip Strasbourg, esp. as you'll only be going from your uncle's house for an afternoon trip. Day 5 will be the toughest, I predict, and where you may go off the rails. But if you make it, on Day 6, don't take the Romantic Road; go straight via autobahn to Rothenburg, or maybe just detour for a tiny stretch to have lunch in Dinkelsbuhl (exit 112 from Autobahn 7) or even closer, in Feuchtwangen (exit 112). Drive on up that short stretch of the Romantic Road to Autobahn 6, then rejoin the A7 and zip onto Rothenburg. See as much as you can of Rothenburg in the afternoon then relax and depart whenever you wish the next day. It's only about and hour and a half drive to Heidelberg, so still plenty of time to have lunch in either city and do some sightseeing in Heidelberg. But I add a note of caution about a VERY early start to the airport from there. Good luck on your trip!

Just a note to follow-up on what Ann said. If you have a morning flight out of Frankfurt, I would suggest skipping Heidelburg and go on to Frankfurt. You'll have enough of Romantic Germany by then and Heidelburg will seem more of the same.<BR><BR>I recently returned from a trip flying out of Frankfurt, got to the airport more than two hours early, and was still lucky to board my plane on time. The workers were staging a slow-down which caused for massively slow lines through security.<BR><BR>BTW - there are some nice things to see in Historic Frankfurt - the Romer, Goethe's house, apple wine taverns, etc.

Great advice everyone. Thanks so much. This is an awesome board!<BR><BR>peter

It does seem to be quite a bit of driving. If you must go to Ludwig's castles, I would skip Triberg and Meersburg. We stayed in Hohenschwangau rather than Fussen--Pension Albrecht. Lovely view of Neuschwantstein directily overhead from our balcony. Walk from the Pension to the ticket office/entry points. No night life in Hohenschwangau, but it's a short drive to Fussen and Schwangau.<BR><BR>If you want to stay in a hotel near FRA airport, I can recommend the Albatros in Wallburg--15 minutes from rental car return at the airport. Good Italian restaurant nearby, as well as an interesting holocaust memorial woods. The Albatross is a simple businessman's hotel, private baths, good breakfast. Owned by an interesting Turkish fellow. We paid 50 euro double on a Friday night.

Bill,<BR> I have been trying to find some more info about the Albatross Hotel near Frankfurt airport that you mentioned, but have found nothing on the web.Do you have a site or more info ?<BR> Thanks, <BR> robert

http://www.albatroshotel.de/English/english.html<BR><BR>Full name is Alabatros Airport Hotel. It did not have air conditioning, but we didn't need it when we were there.

Also be aware that even if you use the autobahns they can be slow as well. The one that goes into Frankfurt from the east (the one you connect with north of Rothenburg sorry I do not recall the number) is notorious for massive traffic jams. We spent about three hours on that highway creeping along bumper to bumper for kilometers and kilometers. Forget the myth that the autobahns are 180 kph speed tracks. Reality is that they are just divided highways and they get backed up just like anywhere else.