PalenQ

Some love Rothenberg after the tourist masses go and rave about the Night Watchman's Tour (I've never done it nor stayed overnight here) but others like Fuss perhaps and me would like a more real town - nearby Nurnberg is a large city but a very pleasant one and a much better base if going by train.

hworth1976

Thanks everyone, this forum has been a Godsend. What did we do before the internet?? I'm going to check out the links now. PalenQ- I've heard about the Watchman's tour which is one reason I considered staying there. Maybe Nuremberg is a better option. Any hotel recs in Nuremberg?

I'm thinking an over night in Nuremburg which allows me to see both RothODT and Nuremberg briefly, followed by 2 nights in Garmisch. I did look at the hotels you rec swandav2000 but they are unfortunately booked. Have you heard of Hotel Rheinischer Hof ? It appears they have a suite... Thoughts?

Again, many thanks to all who are helping me plan a memorable trip.

hworth1976

Fussgaenger-
"You might look into a family room at the Nuremberg Castle-hostel; it's DJH/HI-affiliated:
http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/yout...rg253/portrait'

this looks perfect! I'm not familiar with hostels. Is there anything special I need to know? This looks perfect for us to spend one night and they do have a family room..

Fussgaenger

"I'm thinking an over night in Nuremburg which allows me to see both RothODT and Nuremberg briefly,"

So in one day you plan to travel from Munich to Rothenburg and on to Nuremberg, then leave N'berg in the morning for Garmisch? That's 4-5 hours of train travel on at least 5 different trains using the very fastest connections. The you have a train trip of at least 3 hours to Garmisch. Too much traveling around with too little time when daylight hours are in very short supply. I wouldn't, not unless you can squeeze out another day somewhere.

The Nuremberg hostel is part of the castle hill / old town wall fortification. It's not close to the station. I stayed there a couple of centuries ago. I'm not up to date on booking hostels - non-members used to pay a supplement. Hostels are sometimes pretty noisy. Don't know how this one is now. But it is no doubt modernly outfitted - DJH has made a big push to make their places more hotel-like and suitable for families on vacation.

swandav2000

Hi again,

Yes, I know the Rheinischer Hof -- that's where the US military puts some civilians who are here for a long temporary duty assignment. It's not super convenient, I think -- maybe a 15 minute walk to Marienplatz and 30 or 40 minutes to the train station. It's just about halfway between Marienplatz and the US Army posts on the very busy main street, the Zugspitzstrasse.

Is the Garmischer Hof available? It's just steps from the pedestrian zone and maybe 5-7 minutes from the train station. It's a good hotel, too, on a one-way street with little traffic.

(BTW, I personally really hate one-night stays -- I think they are counter-productive. I think there is too much hassle of checking in & unpacking, then packing up again & checking out for too little joy in the destination. I think the hassle will be even more pronounced with three children, unless they are super "obedient" to be awake & dressed & fed when you want them to be . . . . I hope I'm not being insulting about *your* children, just my observations of children in general.)

Good luck on your search!

s

love_travel_Aus

Swandav is making a very good point here and I would think carefully about the idea of one night stays - especially with a young family.
Our children (three of them) were fantastic travelers but the few times we did this it was very hard work.

Heck - we don't much enjoy it just for ourselves these days.
We did a couple of one nights last December and with the short days it was only just OK.

Hopefully you can have a bit of a think about how to manage this - sometimes a place has to get left out if things get too busy.

All the best with the planning and lots of good advice here from the experienced folk on this forum.

hworth1976

No worries! No one is insulting anyone- just trying to help. I appreciate that. I'll consider these thoughts. By the way- does anyone know super obedient 8 and 6 year old boys?? Haha!

I do agree that one nights are a pain but this would be the only on our trip if we decided to go with it. I'll check out Garmischer Hof too.

Thanks again...

hworth1976

Swandav2000- I'm striking out! Hof is booked too. Any other suggestions? I'm searching tripadvisor and there are a couple options- some that are Atlas? Does this sound familiar....

Should I look into other towns?
Thx for your help!

swandav2000

Hi again,

No, nothing off the top of my head. Did you try booking your dates through the central reservation site at gapa.de? Or how about with booking.com? If you give me your dates, I can also try it and make my recommendations depending on what is available.

There are three Atlas hotels in town -- one on the outskirts in Partenkirchen (Sport Hotel), one central in Partenkirchen (Grand Hotel), and one at the Marienplatz (Posthotel). I think the one at Marienplatz is best located.

Anyway, give me your dates, and I'll see what I can find. As you're finding out, Christmas is highhighhigh season here.

s

hworth1976

Swandav2000- I feel like I owe you a huge bottle of wine!! We plan to arrive 12/21 and check out 12/23 to head to Seefeld. There are 5 of us!

I haven't tried the gapa.de site for hotels tho I've researched the site for info otherwise!

Thanks so much- it's nice to have a local on my side��

hworth1976

Also- we have a friend who may meet us in Nuremburg and could potentially drive us to Garmisch so proximity to train station isn't as important here!

love_travel_Aus

This all sounds great especially with the possibility of someone to help out.
I well remember our boys at that age - they are great fun - just so much energy!

You will have a great time - am quite envious.

All the best for further planning.

swandav2000

Hi again,

Oh gosh, I am so sorry to hear that. I don't think that driving in this area is the best idea, and I hate to hear when folks decide to do that. In fact, I don't offer any help for people who drive in Bavaria --

So I'll continue with the assumption that your friend won't be able to make it and that you'll be using the trains and busses here. (Even with a car, it is much, much nicer to be able to walk to restaurants and shops rather than having to drive to eat . . . with so little parking in town.)

Neither the gapa.de nor the booking.com sites had much to offer. The only hotel with availability was the Rheinisherhof. The Gastehaus Sissi has an apartment for 294€ for your stay, including breakfast. I've heard good things about this place, and it's in a very good location.

There were some other apartments with availability, but I don't have time this morning as I have to be somewhere at 09.00. Again, you can take a look at the websites, input your dates and the number of people, and see what's available.

But if I were you, I'd go with the Sissi!

s

hworth1976

Swandav2000- you've already helped more than you know! I will check the Sissi out too. Don't worry- I much prefer to walk and enjoy and not be in a car. I don't plan to drive anywhere, it was just an an option.

On another note- I think you mentioned Fussen as an option for a place to stay close to the castles and right off the train line. Someone did recommend a place in Hopfen Am See. Is this too far out? I know it's not Garmisch but it does seem close to the castles...

Have a great day!

swandav2000

Hi again,

When I got back this afternoon, I checked the two sites again to see if I could find more options. No joy with the gapa site, but the booking.com site had two vacation apartments -- one was "Luxus Apartments in Herzen von Garmisch" (in the heart of Garmisch), and one was "Exclusive Familienapartment Alpin." the first was $676 - 789, and the other was $543 - 699 for your two nights. However, those names just seem weird to me, and I googled them and couldn't find them anyplace else. But -- if you wanted to, you could book them at the booking.com site.

As to other locations --

On your other thread, you mentioned staying in Oberammergau, and I gave the rundown of transportation from there. O'gau is in a pretty nice location, sort of between Füssen and those castles, and Garmisch. However, it wouldn't be convenient for the evening torch-lit walk of the Partnachklamm if you did that.

I just went to Füssen a few weeks ago for the first time, and I loved the little town. Though it's smaller in population than Garmisch, its pedestrian zone is larger and more interesting, with winding streets leading off into other directions. It sits on a pretty river with a pretty riverwalk, and there is a lake just to the north of town.

You can check the DB scheduler to see the transportation to Garmisch -- basically it's about 2h, either by direct bus via Oberammergau or by train & bus via Reutte in Tirol (Austria). Again, not convenient for the evening torch-lit walk of Partnachklamm.

I've never heard of Hopfen am See, but I looked it up at google maps. Appears to be a small community on a small lake just northwest of Füssen. You can check the transportation schedules using the German rail site at

www.bahn.com

Good luck securing a place!

s

hworth1976

You are too kind! Thanks again swandav2000. I'll keep looking. That torch lit walk is a big To-do and I thought I'd check out the Fraundorfer inn afterwards... So appreciative of all you've done.

swandav2000

Happy to help! Let us know what you end up doing!

s

treble

Isn't anyone worried about the refugee crisis in Germany/Austria and its possible impact on train travel?

Fussgaenger

"Isn't anyone worried about the refugee crisis in Germany/Austria and its possible impact on train travel?"

Not really. There are roughly 5,000 immigrants coming per day to Europe from Syria. Not all are going to Germany. Of those that are, not all ride the train. Of those that do, not all are going to the same destinations. Of those going to the same destinations, not all ride the same train at the same time as there are dozens of trains per day for any given destination. Local trains routinely accommodate large, unexpected school groups on outings and other such groups. These trains normally have multi-purpose cars to pack people and there stuff onto the train:

http://www.bahnbilder.de/bilder/inne...n-3-135191.jpg

So if by some chance 30-40 immigrants boarded the same train, they'd find room somewhere, or you might have to stand somewhere yourself for a while, but no, the trains aren't going to stop.

The biggest problem might be if those migrating on foot decide the tracks make a good walking route.

The net impact will be rather small, IMO, given Germany's immense train system.

hworth1976

I thought most of the refugees weren't being allowed on trains? Such a humanitarian crisis. So sad.