Lengthy and tardy - A Bavarian Trip Report!
May 5th, 2006, 08:58 AM
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Lengthy and tardy - A Bavarian Trip Report!
Hubby, Daughter (17) and Uncle (77) arrived at FRA and picked up the rental car and drove the 3 hours to Kallmünz - the town in which my Aunt and Cousin live. I arrived the following day due to an involuntary bump. Here’s a link to the post regarding that ordeal.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...efan&fid=2
I arrive at FRA and have never seen easier passport/customs procedures. I had the pleasure of dragging my heavy bag (26"
(note: I thought I would be traveling by rental car!!) plus my 16" carry-on and a huge purse to the train station, via airport bus, since I arrived at Terminal 2. The train station is at Terminal 1, but the bus drops you right by the door. I bought my direct ticket to Regensburg at an automated ticket kiosk which had an English language option. I purchased a reservation - not sure why but seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, I sat in the right seat, but in the wrong car! I never bothered to check the car number til later, but it was no problem. I met some very nice and helpful people on the platform and also on the train.
Finally reunited with Hubby, Daughter and Uncle at the Regensburg train station. We all went to eat somewhere just outside of Regensburg but I was too tired to recall the name. After lunch, we went directly to visit extended family in Gleißenburg - a tiny town in the Bavarian Forest near the Czech border. It was snowing off and on and I was struck by the difference in the appearance of the country in Summer and Winter. Instead of tons of flowers and green fields, we saw lots of snow and barren trees.
After visiting we headed back to our home base - Zum Weissen Roessl in Kallmünz. We like it because there’s a restaurant (mainly pizza and pasta) and beer garden, it’s cheap (about 50 euros for a double, but this trip we paid 67 euros for 3 people in a one bedroom apartment) and it’s close to family. Kallmünz would be an ideal base for anyone wanting to explore Nuremberg and Regensburg. I learned on this trip that the town has less than 3000 people. It is picture postcard pretty. The bridge over the river (Naab I believe) was built in the mid 1500's, there’s an awesome church, and the remains of a castle to explore on the hill overlooking town.
A quick note, I decided to take a college level German II course prior to this trip (I was able to enroll since I had had 2 years of high school German - 20 years ago!) It was a great idea and I was able to communicate fairly well. My family who speaks no English was certainly appreciative. It also came in handy on the train and several times on the trip. It was a very liberating feeling to be able to communicate.
The next day, more family to visit. This time in Amberg, the town in which my Mother was raised. It’s an interesting town as most of it’s wall is still intact. It has a lovely altstadt and a great Marktplatz with at least a few fruit and vegetable vendors every day. That evening, after being stuffed from a huge lunch and being force fed cake and coffee by family, we had a traditional German dinner at my Aunt’s house. Some cold cuts, bread, pickles, cheese. Oh, and beer. It was great.
The next morning, it was time for the sad goodbyes and off to Berchtesgaden for 3 nights. For the record, they thought we were crazy for heading to the mountains when it was so cold and they’d had so much snow. I had originally booked the Hotel Watzmann as I wanted to be ‘in town’ for availability of restaurants and a bit of shopping. They e-mailed me literally 3 days before we left for the trip to tell us they were cancelling our reservation as they had to make some renovations. Their e-mail also said that they had made arrangements for us to stay, for the same price, at the Hotel Post down the street. I don’t know why or how, but I looked on the internet for probably an hour and couldn’t find anything on the Hotel Post. No e-mail address, no web site, no reviews on TA. Nothing. So I graciously thanked them but said I’d make my own arrangements. Big Mistake. I should have asked them to provide me with some information about the Post. Instead, I looked around and booked the Seeklause at the lake in Königssee. The Seeklause was fine, but the area was deserted and their restaurant was closed the whole time we were there. For two of the three nights, we were the only guests in the hotel. We considered moving, but decided not to waste the time.
We drove into Berchtesgaden that evening for dinner and happened upon the ‘Am Luitpold’ I believe. This was undeniably, for me anyway, the best meal of the whole trip. It’s a pleasant setting and they had quite a good menu.
The morning of the first full day at Königssee, we took the cable car up to the top of the Jenner. It was a great choice since it was the clearest day of the trip. Uncle stayed back at the hotel as he was worn out. Most of the people going up were skiing, but we just went to hang out for a bit. I got some great photos. Later we all went to Berchtesgaden for lunch and then some poking around and shopping. We had lunch at the Hotel Post which is really called the Hotel Zur Post. Lunch was good, but the best part about the Post was it’s location. We were able to walk out the back doors after lunch, and we were right in the center of the pedestrian zone. (Please note that I was kicking myself for not staying there!) We parked Uncle at a small Gastehaus for coffee and strudel while we explored. I walked over to the Palace, but I had just missed the last tour. That evening, we ate at a local place in Schonau recommended by the front desk clerk at the Seeklause. It was ok, but the restaurant had two sides - one for locals only. That sounded like the fun side. Our side was very quiet. It was called Waldhauser Bräu.
The next day was our designated ‘Salzburg’ day. We had no trouble getting there in about 25 minutes. Again, we parked Uncle at a Gastehaus for tea and we went off to explore the Fortress. The Fortress ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. We took the Funicular up as my Daughter had never been on one before. We explored for an hour or so and then went back down to have lunch with Uncle. It snowed almost the whole day and was very cold. I was feeling a bit guilty for leaving Uncle so much, so I made an executive decision. We would all go on the ‘Sound of Music’ tour that afternoon. It would keep us out of the cold quite a bit, and he’d actually get to see some stuff. The tour was nice, not great, but it achieved our goal for the day - stay warm, stay together, and see something. We got lost leaving Salzburg, mainly due to all the one-way streets, but finally got back to Königssee.
That evening, we tried another recommendation from the front desk clerk in Schonau, and it was about the cutest restaurant I have ever seen in my life. It was called the Grünsteinstüberl and the food was good as well.
The next morning we packed up and left Königssee and headed to Oberammergau. We had two nights scheduled at the Hotel Alte Post. This was a great hotel choice since it was right in the center of town. During the summer it might be kind of crazy, but it was perfect in March. That afternoon, we did a bit of exploring and shopping in Oberammergau. That evening, for a change of pace, we ate at an Italian place - I’m not really sure of the name - I’ll try to track it down if anyone is interested. The food was certainly good and a welcome change by this point in the trip.
Early the next morning, I went for a walk. I was able to walk from the Alte Post to the Kolben ski lift. I stopped at a grocery store on the way back and had a blast just checking everything out. I bought some sauce mixes and some Nutella for my Daughter who had grown to enjoy it during the trip. The next day, we left early and headed to Neuschwanstein. I thought my Daughter would enjoy seeing it and since we hadn’t gone on our previous trip, I was anxious as well. Hubby and Uncle parked themselves at the Hotel Müller for coffee while my Daughter and I took the carriage ride up the hill. The buses were not running due to ice on the roads. We went on the tour and enjoyed it. It was very brief, but on this particular day, it was not a problem. It was very cold and there is no heat in the castle! We met up with Uncle and Hubby at the Müller and had lunch. The food was good and it was very convenient, however there was more English being spoken in the room than German - kind of ruined the atmosphere.
We decided to take the scenic route back through Füssen and through Austria and into Garmisch. We had stayed in Garmisch for 4 nights during our last trip, so this was primarily to show my Daughter around. We shopped a bit and stopped for some hot chocolate and beer. It was pretty much a full day by the time we got back to Oberammergau. That evening, we went back to the Italian place again since Hubby and Daughter liked it so well.
We checked out of the Alte Post early and our final destination was the Mercure Frankfurt Airport. Since Rothenburg was about halfway, we decided to stop there for lunch and a look around. We ate at a little guesthouse just outside the walls. We attempted to drive inside to locate a place where we could drop Uncle at the door, but there was a gentleman telling us we had to leave our car outside. I tried to explain Uncle’s inability to walk, but to no avail. I think our mistake was asking, as we saw numerous other people driving in. After lunch, we wandered the town and took some photos. It was Sunday, and there were actually some shops open which surprised me. I was also surprised at the number of people there - on a Sunday in mid-March it was definitely the most crowded town we’d visited. I found myself vowing to return to Rothenburg for an overnight in warmer weather. There were just so many tiny side streets begging to be wandered!
We arrived at the Mercure Frankfurt Airport later than we expected due to a traffic tie up on the autobahn. We were tired and hungry, but were told they had no triple rooms. Luckily, I had my printed confirmation so we were given an extra room at no charge. We ate in the hotel that night for convenience sake - the food was only tolerable and extremely expensive. I certainly would not choose to eat there again.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip. I have a few general observations. 1) I would probably not go again in winter unless I got an incredible price on tickets again (we paid $451 RT taxes included from OKC to FRA). 2) I wouldn’t recommend staying at the Königssee during the winter, and instead would have chosen Berchtesgaden. 3) We had absolutely no trouble with the roads, despite huge amounts of snow. 4) Last trip, we ate almost exclusively outside - this trip that was of course not possible. Lots of Germans smoke so smokey restaurants were an issue a few times this trip. 5) The food and the beer are the best!
Sorry this was so long! Let me know if you have any questions!
H
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...efan&fid=2
I arrive at FRA and have never seen easier passport/customs procedures. I had the pleasure of dragging my heavy bag (26"
(note: I thought I would be traveling by rental car!!) plus my 16" carry-on and a huge purse to the train station, via airport bus, since I arrived at Terminal 2. The train station is at Terminal 1, but the bus drops you right by the door. I bought my direct ticket to Regensburg at an automated ticket kiosk which had an English language option. I purchased a reservation - not sure why but seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, I sat in the right seat, but in the wrong car! I never bothered to check the car number til later, but it was no problem. I met some very nice and helpful people on the platform and also on the train.Finally reunited with Hubby, Daughter and Uncle at the Regensburg train station. We all went to eat somewhere just outside of Regensburg but I was too tired to recall the name. After lunch, we went directly to visit extended family in Gleißenburg - a tiny town in the Bavarian Forest near the Czech border. It was snowing off and on and I was struck by the difference in the appearance of the country in Summer and Winter. Instead of tons of flowers and green fields, we saw lots of snow and barren trees.
After visiting we headed back to our home base - Zum Weissen Roessl in Kallmünz. We like it because there’s a restaurant (mainly pizza and pasta) and beer garden, it’s cheap (about 50 euros for a double, but this trip we paid 67 euros for 3 people in a one bedroom apartment) and it’s close to family. Kallmünz would be an ideal base for anyone wanting to explore Nuremberg and Regensburg. I learned on this trip that the town has less than 3000 people. It is picture postcard pretty. The bridge over the river (Naab I believe) was built in the mid 1500's, there’s an awesome church, and the remains of a castle to explore on the hill overlooking town.
A quick note, I decided to take a college level German II course prior to this trip (I was able to enroll since I had had 2 years of high school German - 20 years ago!) It was a great idea and I was able to communicate fairly well. My family who speaks no English was certainly appreciative. It also came in handy on the train and several times on the trip. It was a very liberating feeling to be able to communicate.
The next day, more family to visit. This time in Amberg, the town in which my Mother was raised. It’s an interesting town as most of it’s wall is still intact. It has a lovely altstadt and a great Marktplatz with at least a few fruit and vegetable vendors every day. That evening, after being stuffed from a huge lunch and being force fed cake and coffee by family, we had a traditional German dinner at my Aunt’s house. Some cold cuts, bread, pickles, cheese. Oh, and beer. It was great.
The next morning, it was time for the sad goodbyes and off to Berchtesgaden for 3 nights. For the record, they thought we were crazy for heading to the mountains when it was so cold and they’d had so much snow. I had originally booked the Hotel Watzmann as I wanted to be ‘in town’ for availability of restaurants and a bit of shopping. They e-mailed me literally 3 days before we left for the trip to tell us they were cancelling our reservation as they had to make some renovations. Their e-mail also said that they had made arrangements for us to stay, for the same price, at the Hotel Post down the street. I don’t know why or how, but I looked on the internet for probably an hour and couldn’t find anything on the Hotel Post. No e-mail address, no web site, no reviews on TA. Nothing. So I graciously thanked them but said I’d make my own arrangements. Big Mistake. I should have asked them to provide me with some information about the Post. Instead, I looked around and booked the Seeklause at the lake in Königssee. The Seeklause was fine, but the area was deserted and their restaurant was closed the whole time we were there. For two of the three nights, we were the only guests in the hotel. We considered moving, but decided not to waste the time.
We drove into Berchtesgaden that evening for dinner and happened upon the ‘Am Luitpold’ I believe. This was undeniably, for me anyway, the best meal of the whole trip. It’s a pleasant setting and they had quite a good menu.
The morning of the first full day at Königssee, we took the cable car up to the top of the Jenner. It was a great choice since it was the clearest day of the trip. Uncle stayed back at the hotel as he was worn out. Most of the people going up were skiing, but we just went to hang out for a bit. I got some great photos. Later we all went to Berchtesgaden for lunch and then some poking around and shopping. We had lunch at the Hotel Post which is really called the Hotel Zur Post. Lunch was good, but the best part about the Post was it’s location. We were able to walk out the back doors after lunch, and we were right in the center of the pedestrian zone. (Please note that I was kicking myself for not staying there!) We parked Uncle at a small Gastehaus for coffee and strudel while we explored. I walked over to the Palace, but I had just missed the last tour. That evening, we ate at a local place in Schonau recommended by the front desk clerk at the Seeklause. It was ok, but the restaurant had two sides - one for locals only. That sounded like the fun side. Our side was very quiet. It was called Waldhauser Bräu.
The next day was our designated ‘Salzburg’ day. We had no trouble getting there in about 25 minutes. Again, we parked Uncle at a Gastehaus for tea and we went off to explore the Fortress. The Fortress ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. We took the Funicular up as my Daughter had never been on one before. We explored for an hour or so and then went back down to have lunch with Uncle. It snowed almost the whole day and was very cold. I was feeling a bit guilty for leaving Uncle so much, so I made an executive decision. We would all go on the ‘Sound of Music’ tour that afternoon. It would keep us out of the cold quite a bit, and he’d actually get to see some stuff. The tour was nice, not great, but it achieved our goal for the day - stay warm, stay together, and see something. We got lost leaving Salzburg, mainly due to all the one-way streets, but finally got back to Königssee.
That evening, we tried another recommendation from the front desk clerk in Schonau, and it was about the cutest restaurant I have ever seen in my life. It was called the Grünsteinstüberl and the food was good as well.
The next morning we packed up and left Königssee and headed to Oberammergau. We had two nights scheduled at the Hotel Alte Post. This was a great hotel choice since it was right in the center of town. During the summer it might be kind of crazy, but it was perfect in March. That afternoon, we did a bit of exploring and shopping in Oberammergau. That evening, for a change of pace, we ate at an Italian place - I’m not really sure of the name - I’ll try to track it down if anyone is interested. The food was certainly good and a welcome change by this point in the trip.
Early the next morning, I went for a walk. I was able to walk from the Alte Post to the Kolben ski lift. I stopped at a grocery store on the way back and had a blast just checking everything out. I bought some sauce mixes and some Nutella for my Daughter who had grown to enjoy it during the trip. The next day, we left early and headed to Neuschwanstein. I thought my Daughter would enjoy seeing it and since we hadn’t gone on our previous trip, I was anxious as well. Hubby and Uncle parked themselves at the Hotel Müller for coffee while my Daughter and I took the carriage ride up the hill. The buses were not running due to ice on the roads. We went on the tour and enjoyed it. It was very brief, but on this particular day, it was not a problem. It was very cold and there is no heat in the castle! We met up with Uncle and Hubby at the Müller and had lunch. The food was good and it was very convenient, however there was more English being spoken in the room than German - kind of ruined the atmosphere.
We decided to take the scenic route back through Füssen and through Austria and into Garmisch. We had stayed in Garmisch for 4 nights during our last trip, so this was primarily to show my Daughter around. We shopped a bit and stopped for some hot chocolate and beer. It was pretty much a full day by the time we got back to Oberammergau. That evening, we went back to the Italian place again since Hubby and Daughter liked it so well.
We checked out of the Alte Post early and our final destination was the Mercure Frankfurt Airport. Since Rothenburg was about halfway, we decided to stop there for lunch and a look around. We ate at a little guesthouse just outside the walls. We attempted to drive inside to locate a place where we could drop Uncle at the door, but there was a gentleman telling us we had to leave our car outside. I tried to explain Uncle’s inability to walk, but to no avail. I think our mistake was asking, as we saw numerous other people driving in. After lunch, we wandered the town and took some photos. It was Sunday, and there were actually some shops open which surprised me. I was also surprised at the number of people there - on a Sunday in mid-March it was definitely the most crowded town we’d visited. I found myself vowing to return to Rothenburg for an overnight in warmer weather. There were just so many tiny side streets begging to be wandered!
We arrived at the Mercure Frankfurt Airport later than we expected due to a traffic tie up on the autobahn. We were tired and hungry, but were told they had no triple rooms. Luckily, I had my printed confirmation so we were given an extra room at no charge. We ate in the hotel that night for convenience sake - the food was only tolerable and extremely expensive. I certainly would not choose to eat there again.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip. I have a few general observations. 1) I would probably not go again in winter unless I got an incredible price on tickets again (we paid $451 RT taxes included from OKC to FRA). 2) I wouldn’t recommend staying at the Königssee during the winter, and instead would have chosen Berchtesgaden. 3) We had absolutely no trouble with the roads, despite huge amounts of snow. 4) Last trip, we ate almost exclusively outside - this trip that was of course not possible. Lots of Germans smoke so smokey restaurants were an issue a few times this trip. 5) The food and the beer are the best!
Sorry this was so long! Let me know if you have any questions!
H
May 17th, 2006, 08:47 AM
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Enjoyed your report - thank you.
While in Schoenau, did you by chance see the "Hotel & Gasthof Bergheimat"? I have been intrigued by their offers, e.g.7 nights incl. breakfast buffet and half pension, sauna and 1 trip to the Jenner National Park. All this for 355 euros p/p based on double occupancy. This offer is good until July 22nd. If anyone is interested: www.hotel-bergheimat.de It looks like a nice place and is situated in a beautiful area.
While in Schoenau, did you by chance see the "Hotel & Gasthof Bergheimat"? I have been intrigued by their offers, e.g.7 nights incl. breakfast buffet and half pension, sauna and 1 trip to the Jenner National Park. All this for 355 euros p/p based on double occupancy. This offer is good until July 22nd. If anyone is interested: www.hotel-bergheimat.de It looks like a nice place and is situated in a beautiful area.
May 17th, 2006, 07:15 PM
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I really enjoyed the trip report. My only visits to Germany have been in winter - 3 times in December and January. We have really enjoyed ourselves, but hope to go back in warm weather. We have relatives in Regensburg, and they must have asked us a million times "Why do you want to visit here in winter? It is so beautiful in summer!"
May 23rd, 2006, 06:17 PM
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Waggis - sorry, I hadn't checked back in a few days. I saw the website for the Hotel Bergheimat when I was searching for accomodations. I was intrigued by it but was looking for something right in the center of the 'action' as my Uncle does not walk well. I did not see it, but looking at a map, it is not too far from the lake and restaurants and shops at the lake.
Noe, having now done both, my wallet votes winter but my heart votes summer!
Intrepid, I guess I should not have been surprised, but I was.
Thanks for reading and I hope you all weren't bored!
H
Noe, having now done both, my wallet votes winter but my heart votes summer!
Intrepid, I guess I should not have been surprised, but I was.
Thanks for reading and I hope you all weren't bored!
H
May 26th, 2006, 07:09 AM
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Thank you so much for your report. I've always wanted to visit Bavaria and now my son met a wonderful fellow when he was in University.....the fellow and his family came from Bavaria and have retained close ties to their family back home. He has tweeked my interest even more.
I guess I'll try to go in September/October rather than mid winter though.
I loved your report.......very well written!
I guess I'll try to go in September/October rather than mid winter though.
I loved your report.......very well written!
