Silivia

We are arriving in Munich at the end of May and staying a few days. On the last day, we were going to Fussen to check out the castles. I'm trying to decide if we should drive back to Munich that day or since we are "down south" spend the night in Austria and continue on to Interlaken where we will turn in our car. I've found some excellent posts by folks with driving directions so either option seems very doable!!
I've planned many a trip from the advise on this board and thank you very much for your assistance

Intrepid1

Are you renting the car IN Munich? If so, dropping it in Switzerland may mean a hefty drop-off charge.

treplow

Upon reading your posting, I had the same question as Intrepid1. That's the first issue you have to settle in your mind.

If you don't want to incur the drop-off charge, you can drive your car to Lindau and drop it off there, and take the train from there to Interlaken. There is a very scenic route to Lindau, (about 3 hours driving time), which I'll be glad to provide once you have answered the car question. Lindau is a very pleasant city on an island in Lake Constance (Bodensee), and also offers a few opportunities for day's outings should you decide to stay there a bit longer. In fact, if you don't have too much luggage, you could also take one of the lake's boats to Konstanz and get a train to Interlaken from there. Would be something different, and the boats stop at some nice places en route.

Silivia

Yes - we are renting the car in Munich and then returning it in Interlaken. There are 5 of us and the cost of the car vs. train saves around $300 (including drop off fee, estimated gas and passes) just for all of our train travel from Munich to Interlaken. It probably saves some train fare for Fussen and our other day trips.
If you do advise to stay in Austria, I would appreciate any location and hotel recommendations also.
Thank you

Silivia

topping

AisleSeat

Silvia,
I picked up a car at a lot in Munich one time and emailed ahead saying I was interested in a car with Swiss tags. They found one one class higher than I had planned on but the additional class was a lot less than the drop fee.

Be sure to rent away from the airport or train station. They add 19% for that priviledge

treplow

OK, drop-off in Interlaken makes sense.

You can drive in one day from Fuessen to Interlaken, but it is really a push. Instead, I suggest the following itinerary:

Drive Fuessen - (B314)- Leermoos -Nassereith- (B189)- to Imst. There you have a choice: If you already have the Austrian autobahn sticker, get on the A-12, westbound. Otherwise, if you want to drive the bit more scenic route, avoid the autobahn sticker and the Arlberg tunnel and its terrible air plus toll, drive the road that parallels the autobahn (B-197). In any event, you want to go Landeck, Bludenz. Overnight there, or in Feldkirch or in Vaduz, Lichtenstein.

Eventually, you want to go Feldkirch - Buchs (Switzerland). Be sure you have a Swiss autobahn vignette.

You then want to go on the Swiss autobahn N13 as far as the intersection with the N3. Take it west.

You again have a choice: At Weesen you can pick up the road that takes you over the Klausenpass (B-17). The Klausenpass, in part, is a narrow road, not too well maintained. But it is scenic. You eventually wind up in Altdorf.

Your alternative is to continue on the N-3 as far as far as Wallerall, and take the B-17 to Altdorf. Either way, from Altdorf take the B-2 to Wassen and then the Sustenpass (B-11) to Meiringen. This pass is in very good shape and VERY scenic. From Meiringen take the new autobahn to Interlaken.

I drove the reverse, incl. Klausenpass last June, as far as Lindau.

Silivia

Hi AisleSeat - I could not find a non-airport rental place that would allow drop off in Switzerland. But I will ask about the swiss plates!!
Hi Treplow - I got out my map and started plotting. If we leave Munich, go to Fussen and tour the castles, will we still make it to the Lichtenstein area before sunset? You mentioned that Fussen-Interlaken is tight in a day - is it better for us just to stick with our original plan and go Munich staright to Interlaken?
Thank you for your assistance.

treplow

BAD News: I just checked and noted that the Sustenpass will be closed until June; the Klausenpass is closed until May.

But, to answer your last question: I would not go back from Fuessen to Munich, that's just out of the way and you would loose a lot of time with triffic in and around Munich.

If you leave Fuessen by noon or 1PM, you can get to Bludenz, Feldkirch on that day, no sweat. The scenery along the routing I gave you from Fuessen to these places is worth the trip.

Now, as for a different route, avoiding the Sustenpass (you could still take the Klausenpass to Altdorf): Stay on the N3 as far as Wallerall (B-8) exit. Go as far as Altdorf, but then take the N-2 along the south shore of the Vierwaldstaettersee ( Lake Luzern) to the juncture with the N-8 (Hergiswil) and head south on the N-8 to Brienz (near Meiringen), and then continue on the new autobahn to Interlaken.

If you have the time, on the B-8, shortly after the turn-off from the A-3 take the detour to Einsiedeln. It is a place of pilgrimage with an impressive abbey church (and some good restaurants).

Enjoy your trip.

Silivia

Thank you Treplow!! How did you check to see if the pass is open? We will be driving on June 1st, so maybe they will be open?

treplow

I did what I should have done before, read the(very)small print and legend on my road atlas. It shows in red X-V for the Klausenpass,X-VI for the Sustenpass. The map legend tells me that this means the closure times. Now, this could very well mean that they indeed open the pass on June 1. I drove it around June 10 last year.

I tried to find more info. on the web, but without success. You might want to post a message on the Swiss Board and ask how you can get up-to-date info. on road conditions (in English?) for the Swiss passes. Another option is to "wing it". There is a "Raststaette" on the N-13 shortly after Buchs. Rest areas along European Autobahns are much more elaborate than they are in the US. The one near Buchs has a restaurant, full service station, etc. You might want to check at the service station if, or where, you can get the pass road conditions info. You really do n't have to decide on the Sustenpass until after Altdorf.

One more item on your Fuessen question: The distance from Fuessen to Bludenz is about 150km, if you take the "slow" (non-Autobahn) route. That is about 3 hours easy driving under normal traffic conditions. Feldkirch is another 20km, Vaduz about 20km more.

Now, here is my personal opinion of the Fussen castles: Their biggest attraction is "location, location,location". In other words, they are more interesting from the outside than the inside. They really are not castles, but faux castles, especially Neuschwanstein. It was King Ludwig's own Disneyland (without the rides), where he lived out his weird phantasies (and in the process bancrupted the Bavarian kingdom). The "castle" was built in the latter half of the 19th century, with electricity and all. If you skip the inside of the castle, you don't miss much. It's better to explore the outside, especially the view of it from the back and the small Alpsee.

swandav2000

Hi Silvia & treplow,

Here's a helpful website: http://www.tcs.ch/main/fr/home/verke...e_tunnels.html

It's the Swiss TCS, like the American AAA. Unfortunately, it's only in French & German. In French, look for "col" for "pass" and "ouvert" for "open" and "fermee" for "closed." Just scroll down until you get to your pass. The site is kept up to date.

Hope it helps!

s

Larryincolorado

If you are saving $300 with a rental car over the train, you must get one heck of a deal on cars. I found train fare from Munich to Interlaken for all five people for $412. I also found $372 for five people from Füssen to Interlaken.

How much did you say the rental car would cost?

treplow

Swanday2000, thanks for the info. Very helpful for future reference. I should have thought of the auomobile club. I usually check the ADAC in Germany for up-to-date info. on road conditions.

Trevi34

I just returned from my trip. WE took the 12:45pm castle tour and then we drove from Fussen at 2pm and arrived in Interlaken before 8pm. On way we did stop for coffee too. We took the Autobahn route that Treplow had suggested in one of my threads.

Silivia

Swanday2000 - Thank you for the link - one of our travelers speak French so that's perfect. I will put her in charge of monitoring this site
LarryinColorado - The car is $500 for 3 days. When I searched for 1st class seats for 5, I ended up around $800. I used the German rail site, but may have also checked the Swiss.
Trevi34 - I tried to look for your thread, but got an error, so I will close out and try again. I'm really liking treplow's route and hope the pass is open!!
Thank you everyone for your assistance - it is very much appreciated.

kurt1938

$500 for a car for 3 days is way too much. get a quote from www.gemut.com. they are Germany, Austria, Switzerland specialists and can also advise you about the routes.

RufusTFirefly

We've had this discussion many times before, but I disagree on Neuschwanstein. Much of the interior was never finished. But the 15 or so rooms that were finished have some of the finest 19th century workmanship you'll find anywhere, and the bonus of some really, really strange decorating motifs--not to mention the story behind the choices.

And it's not a fake castle at all. It is a real castle; one that was built by a rather strange royal in the latter half of the 19th century to be sure. But it is real--not plastic or cardboard.

And the history surrounding Neuschwanstein and the other castles Ludwig built is fascinating--more interesting than that of many (if not most) "real" old castles. Especially so when taken in the context of the historical period--centuries of European royalty's excesses finally coming to a head as the dominos began to tumble, culminating with the collapse or neutering of the remaining royal houses in the first decades of the 20th Century.

And the other castle in the village of Hohenschwangau (neither is actually in Fussen), Hohenschwangau castle, certainly is not a faux castle by any reasonable standard.

lydialikestotravel

<<It's the Swiss TCS, like the American AAA. Unfortunately, it's only in French & German. In French, look for "col" for "pass" and "ouvert" for "open" and "fermee" for "closed." Just scroll down until you get to your pass. The site is kept up to date.>>

I use the following to translate anything from words to whole web pages.

http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr

Larryincolorado

Kurt,

in this case I am not so sure $500 for 3 days is too much. There are 5 people, apparently adults or grown teenages. Secondly, she demands 1st class comfort. I doubt that 3 people cramped into the back seat would be acceptable for her. She is probably looking at a van or a luxury car with a very big back seat.

I found Gemut very interesting. They had an article on 10 mistakes tourist make - very astute.

However, they lied about rail pass shipping. They said they didn't charge shipping (but they do for under $300) and they claimed Rail Europe does (but Rail Europe has free shipping over $200).