designergigi

Hello!

Well, we've booked a trip to Germany for mid-January. I know it'll be cool, no, cold, but, I have some health issues that need to be attended to in February, so, January or nothing! We'll have a car, however, and now I need to plan an itinerary. We've an interest in WWII sites, art, opera, architecture, Roman ruins, and so on. I'll be taking my portable easel and paints and hope to do a bit of that. We prefer small towns with atmosphere and casual dining. I'd really like an apartment, if possible, for 2-3 days at a time.
That said, I'd love to hear the places in Germany that you loved and would visit again.
The Other Option is that we were in Croatia last March and loved it. We have thought about going to Istria after driving The Romantic Road, perhaps tootling over to Salzburg for a day or two, and then dropping south to Istria.
We have driven all over Europe and have no qualms about such.
Thanks in advance! I appreciate your time and opinions!
Cheers!
Gigi

designergigi

Cripes, I always do this! I forget important details!

We shall be gone a bit over 2 weeks, 16 days of travel in Europe sans to/from time.

Thank you!
G

AisleSeat

Sounds like you are looking for Southern Germany (Bavaria). Munich has lots of Nazi sites from WWII plus Dachau.

Bertschesgaden is a beautiful village with lots of ties to Hitler and his officers. Not to mention that it is only about 15 miles from Salzburg. The alps will be beautiful with snow. Several people here have posted their favoite holiday apartment rentals around that area. Put Bertschesgaden in the search box above.

logos999

>Bertschesgaden
I'm loving it!
Butchersgarten is beautiful!

logos999

By the way, the name of the place is
Berchtesgaden. , always been, will always be called that, as long as you and I are alive anyway . But in later centuries, who knows???

celticdreams

Designergigi......please get in touch.....prior to your trip...

traveldawg

SALZBURG: We were there again in June. Stayed at the BRISTOL HOTEL. I highly recommend this town and this hotel. Great people and easy walking distance to the Old Town area of Salzburg.

HQ in Salzburg and you can have an easy drive over to Berchtesgaden. Some of the Hitler things to see will be closed in January....Kielstein...due to snow.

Great town to spend a few days in is ROTHENBURG. Very touristy but still great atmosphere and fun to walk around. Check this out on the internet.

ira

Hi D,

You might wish to Do the Romantic Road, Ludwig's castles in Bavaria and Salzburg/Berchtesgaden.

However, do check on Winter driving conditions.

designergigi

Thanks for the great replies! I'll be looking at your suggestions!
Bertschesgaden seems to be top on the list!

Ira, I just printed out your trip report that I found this morning. I am looking forward to digging into that!

Once I've done a bit of homework, I'm sure I'll be back with lots of questions! Thanks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
celticdreams! Hello! I tried calling some time back and emailed you, I believe. Can you email me and we'll set a time for a chat? I cannot find your email address.
Love to catch up on all!
g

nancy

I spent a month driving around southern Germany and my favorite places were: Munich; Hallstatt,Autria; and Trier plus the towns on the Rhine River. From Munich you can visit Dachau (a must in my opinion for WWII buffs). Trier offers Roman ruins and Halstatt is a very magical place. Granted I visited Halstatt in the Fall which made it even more amazing but, if possible, try for it. I think your interest in painting would be great here. I definitely enjoyed Rothenburg and, if you go, plan a night there and take the Nightwatchman tour. I could go on & on about how beautiful southern Germany is.

If you'd like my trip report, please e-mail me at [email protected].

PJK

In addition to several places already mentioned on this thread, we thoroughly enjoyed the towns around Lake Konstanz. We stayed at Meersburg but also visited the other villages strung along the lake. It is a picturesque area. Don't miss Rothenburg or Salzburg.

Here's a simplistic observation about driving in Germany, but one that no one mentioned in the many threads I read before we went. The signage is often opposite to ours. For example, on a mileage sign, the city farthest away is listed at the top of the sign, with the next closest city as second, etc. Likewise, on exit signs, visually work your way from the bottom up. I was navigator (a hard job!) and we flew past some places because of the difference described. I don't think we encountered that in France or Italy.

We found lots of useful info in Ira's report and followed much of his route. Gorgeous scenery. We had snow in October, but fortunately none of the roads were seriously covered. However, attend to that issue, as Ira has already mentioned. There were roads I would not have wanted to drive if there had been lots of ice and snow. Have fun. It's wonderful to be there. PJK

Bob_KY

If you fly into Frankfurt, spend a few days on the Rhine, maybe swing down to Heidelburg. You can then drive the length of the Romantic Road from north to south and be in the Alps.

designergigi

Such great help! Thank you all so much!

Nancy, I sent you an email and would appreciate your trip report, thank you!

PJK-advice from a fellow navigator! I love it! Yes, these signs sound just opposite of other countries I've driven or navigated in. Thank you so much for the advice, it likely saved an argument or at least a wrong turn or two!
I shall look closely at the places you mentioned. I appreciate your advice!

Bobin KY! Thanks for the nod on these locations. I shall look more closely at them as I had not considered time on the Rhine. For as much as we've traveled, I've never been to Germany before. Austria, yes, but, not Germany. This is a tad last minute, but, we've had some fantastic trips doing just this.
BTW, love Kentucky...beautiful rolling hills and great basketball!
Thanks for weighing in here!
Cheers!
Gigi