gardngrl

My husband and I are age 70 and 68, planning to do a driving trip in early September, 2014. We plan to begin with a few days in and around Rothenburg (stay at Hotel Klosterstuble), and heading toward either Mittenwald (have heard it's lovely) or Fussen, visiting the castles, then ending in Munich to fly home. My husband is a beer lover but it's not big on my list. We like great food, culture, nature, and meeting lovely people. I'm not optimistic about German food but am hoping for pleasant surprise. We need help with the middle 4-5 days, along with lodging recommendations. We don't want to tangle with big city traffic and prefer the beauty and tranquility of small villages. Also, would you recommend flying into Frankfurt or Munich?
Thank you.

crckwc1

I would fly round trip to Munich, pick up car, drive to Rothenburg, Fussen, Mittenwald, return car and spend a few days in Munich to sample the beer, then fly home from there. We always stay at Hotel Uhland when in Munich and never fail to have a meal at the Ratskeller. Munich is one of our favorite cities in all of Europe.

pja1

Hi,

I'd say 2 nights in Rothenburg would do. We love Mittenwald. We stayed here in 5/05 and 10/06 for a total of 6 nights and visited again in 11/10. I'd say split your 4-5 days between Mittenwald and the Berchtesgaden area. We've stayed in the Berchtesgaden area 5 times (10/06, 10/07, 9/09, 11/10 and 12/13).

If you prefer "the beauty and tranquility of small villages" and "great food, nature and meeting lovely people", I can highly recommend staying at either of our 2 favorite place just outside of Berchtesgaden. Wonderful places to stay owned/run by simply the nicest people.

www.mayringerlehen.de

www.friedwiese.de/enska/isl.htm

If staying in the area, and not optimistic abopur German food, try dinner at the Gebirgsaeusl.

www.gebirgshaeusl.com/restaurant_e.html

In Mittenwald, we stayed twice at the Pension Schwalbennestl. Friends liked their stay at the Hotel-Garni Eldhuber.

www.schwalbennestl.de

www.edlhuber-mittenwald.de

If interested, we have photo's (3 pages of them) at:

http://www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

Hope this helps.

Paul

Russ

"We plan to begin with a few days in and around Rothenburg... We like great food, culture, nature, and meeting lovely people... We need help with the middle 4-5 days... We don't want to tangle with big city traffic and prefer the beauty and tranquility of small villages."

Around Rothenburg...

The Romantic Road actually begins north of Rothenburg in Würzburg. That doesn't mean you must visit Würzburg, necessarily, although it's fairly close to Rothenburg and home to a major UNESCO World Heritage site, the Würzburg Residenz, a place you might not want to miss. The Hofkirche at the same location is stunning as well.

Residenz staircase hall (featured on the back of the 50-Euro banknote as well

http://wiki.rpg.net/images/0/05/Wuer...T_1024x768.jpg

Hofkirche: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/88234966

South of Würzburg on the way to Rothenburg: some small wine-growing towns along the Main River - Sommerhausen, Ochsenfurt, and Marktbreit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLUgpoQIFHI

East of Marktbreit - the old walled town of Iphofen - Rothenburg without the horde of tourists:

http://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org...&threadID=2985

And just a little northeast of Rothenburg, you'll find a most fabulous collection of historic buildings at the Franconian Freilandmuseum:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...conia_Fra.html

All the above places except Würzburg are NOT found right along the Romantic Road - so I would encourage you to think of the RR as a rule to be broken. There are some really great places just off the beaten path (by which I mean the Romantic Road.)

My airport arrival suggestion:

Even much younger folks than you would be wise not to drive immediately after a transatlantic flight in a new country several time zones away. I would land in FRA and take the direct train from the airport station to Würzburg (takes less than 90 minutes) for the first day and night. See the Residenz and relax. On Day 2, rent a car at the station and head out. Book a return flight from Munich.

baloney

I'd recommend stopping in Ulm for the night on your way from Rothenburg to Fussen. Stay in Ulm's Fisherman's quarter, which has cobblestone streets and lovely half-timbered houses lining the banks of a small rushing river, crossed by many footbridges. Our room at the wonderful B&B Das Schmale Haus had windows looking out at a small waterfall, and we slept to the calming sound of rushing water all night. This part of Ulm has the feel of a smaller town, but the core of the city is just up the hill, and has the feeling of being more real and less touristy than many places we visited. I also understand there are some good breweries in Ulm that your husband may want to try.

We also really liked the beautiful, Medieval city of Bamberg. (It's close to Rothenburg, but is farther north, so may not work for your itinerary, though.) It is great for exploring and filled with historical interest, and is sometimes called Little Venice because of houses that hug the shores of the canal that runs through it. Bamberg also has many breweries and its own unique smoked beer, which we thought was quite tasty.

gardngrl

What wonderful information from you generous Fodorites. We are more than willing to verge from the beaten path, and did plan to do day trips to some of the towns mentioned. Really like the idea of taking train from Frankfurt to Wurzburg. Must admit the driving scares me but do want the flexibility of driving.

pja1

Hi gardngrl,

Not trying to say one mode of transport is better than the other, but driving in Germany and Austria is as easy as here in the U.S. Learn some common road signs and that the roads are posted in the direction of the towns they are heading towards, not N, S, E, W.

Paul