Missypie's Trip to Germany with Teens
Jul 23rd, 2008, 08:55 AM
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Enjoying your report. We too have done several European trips with public transportation but also really enjoy renting a car and being on our own timetable rather than a trains(I guess us Americans get used to that!!)
It appears you already got the message, but for others just want to reiterate that a GPS can really take the stress out of driving in a foreign country. We find our TomTom actually more reliable in Europe than in the US because new streets aren't always cropping up!!
It appears you already got the message, but for others just want to reiterate that a GPS can really take the stress out of driving in a foreign country. We find our TomTom actually more reliable in Europe than in the US because new streets aren't always cropping up!!
Jul 23rd, 2008, 09:02 AM
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I guess it's time for us to "leap" in to the 21st century and figure out how a GPS works! (I've just had my digital camera for about a year and my husband still doesn't know how to work it.)
Jul 24th, 2008, 06:14 AM
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Before I continue, let me interject a warning for any orthodonture novices who may be reading this: Don't have your child's braces tightened right before an international trip. DD15 had hers tightened on a Monday; we left on Thursday. Her mouth hurt for a few days from the tightening but once we were in Germany and that pain had subsided, she realized that she had a wire poking her in the very back of the mouth. Poor thing! We got a candle and some matches so she would have wax, but really couldn't have the problem fixed until our return.
DAY 4: Heidelberg. Driving to Heidleberg we were delayed for about an hour by road construction. Upon arrival, we easily found garage 13 which was a terrific suggestion by one of you. The garage was right next to where you walk up to the castle. We walked up and admired terrific views. The kids were starving and all we could find was an ice cream stand (there were more food options up there but we didn't find them till later because we had come in the "back" way.) We walked around the castle-the parts that have fallen in over the years were interesting. I guess, however, that the views from the castle are cooler than the castle itself.
After the castle we did a little walking tour, stopping to eat at our first doner kebap place. (We watched the Tour de France while we ate.) The girls were anxious to do a little shopping in stores that did not feature cookoo clocks, so we found the H&M and the girls each got a few things.
By then it was getting late, so we left town and easly found our castle hotel, Schloss Hirshhorn. We had two adjacent rooms which were really lovely, but it was quite expensive. We had great views of the Nekar River and a set of locks. It was pretty neat to be able to explore the castle grounds and to climb two castle towers without a guide or anyone else around. (We later found out that the dusty/dark/creepy tower we climbed was not supposed to have been unlocked.)
We had 8 pm reservations at the castle restaurant - our "splurge" of the trip. There was one waitress and about 5 other tables were filled. She did not take our drink order until 8:45 and we didn't have a bit of food on the table until 9:30 pm. It was lovely to sit on the terrace and gaze at the river (after we'd gone back to the room to get all of our coats) and it wouldn't have been so bad waiting for food if we'd had drinks during the wait. It was quite late when we finished, so it was off to bed.
DAY 4: Heidelberg. Driving to Heidleberg we were delayed for about an hour by road construction. Upon arrival, we easily found garage 13 which was a terrific suggestion by one of you. The garage was right next to where you walk up to the castle. We walked up and admired terrific views. The kids were starving and all we could find was an ice cream stand (there were more food options up there but we didn't find them till later because we had come in the "back" way.) We walked around the castle-the parts that have fallen in over the years were interesting. I guess, however, that the views from the castle are cooler than the castle itself.
After the castle we did a little walking tour, stopping to eat at our first doner kebap place. (We watched the Tour de France while we ate.) The girls were anxious to do a little shopping in stores that did not feature cookoo clocks, so we found the H&M and the girls each got a few things.
By then it was getting late, so we left town and easly found our castle hotel, Schloss Hirshhorn. We had two adjacent rooms which were really lovely, but it was quite expensive. We had great views of the Nekar River and a set of locks. It was pretty neat to be able to explore the castle grounds and to climb two castle towers without a guide or anyone else around. (We later found out that the dusty/dark/creepy tower we climbed was not supposed to have been unlocked.)
We had 8 pm reservations at the castle restaurant - our "splurge" of the trip. There was one waitress and about 5 other tables were filled. She did not take our drink order until 8:45 and we didn't have a bit of food on the table until 9:30 pm. It was lovely to sit on the terrace and gaze at the river (after we'd gone back to the room to get all of our coats) and it wouldn't have been so bad waiting for food if we'd had drinks during the wait. It was quite late when we finished, so it was off to bed.
Jul 24th, 2008, 07:43 AM
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DAY 5: Getting ourselves to the Bavarian Alps. Before we left Schloss Hirshhorn, we walked down to their cute, very old church. Then, it was back in the station wagon for the long trek to the Alps. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop Burger King - the kid behind the counter initially shorted us a drink and fries (just like at home!) When we arrived in Mittenwald, it was very diffcult to get down into the main part of the town, much less find our hotel. Mittenwald has three kind of streets: narrow, very narrow, and people's driveways. Once we found the tourist information office and got directions, it was easy to find.
I had researched the Mittenwald hotels a lot and had reserved the Bichlerhof (sister of the Alpen Rose) in April. When we arrived, the office was dark and we finally found a non-English speaking employee. It was obvious that we were not expected. He called the propriatress on a cell phone. He gave the phone to me, she said "Sorry, but I don't have rooms for you. I have put you in the Rieger. Give the phone to [the guy]." At that moment I remembered a Trip Advisor review where that had happened to someone at the Alpen Rose.
The guy walked us over to the Rieger, which was about a block away. The Rieger guy said the Bichlerhof lady had called him about us this morning; he seemed surprised that we'd had comfirmed reservations since April. He showed us two rooms - one had a bedroom, living room with sofa sleeper and two bathrooms. The other, next door, was a smaller version of that one. The first room had one kind of odd balcony; no view from the other room. Because the rooms appeared to be quite spacious (and because they had 4 bathrooms between them), we stayed there all four nights.
As it was no problem for us to stay 4 nights, I assume that the Rieger needed more guests. I suspect that the hotels in Mittenwald help each other out by overbooking and sharing guests among them. I've written about my Bicherhof experience on Trip Advisor.
We walked into the pedestrian area of Mittenwald with was very close and cute as it could be. All of the buildings were painted. The church was baroque. Many of the stores sold lederhosen and dyrndils (sp) and people were acually wearing them (as normal clothes-not as a hotel uniform.)
Holding no grudges, we ate dinner at the Alpen Rose. The food was quite good and the atmophere seemed so Bavarian/Tirolian.
I had researched the Mittenwald hotels a lot and had reserved the Bichlerhof (sister of the Alpen Rose) in April. When we arrived, the office was dark and we finally found a non-English speaking employee. It was obvious that we were not expected. He called the propriatress on a cell phone. He gave the phone to me, she said "Sorry, but I don't have rooms for you. I have put you in the Rieger. Give the phone to [the guy]." At that moment I remembered a Trip Advisor review where that had happened to someone at the Alpen Rose.
The guy walked us over to the Rieger, which was about a block away. The Rieger guy said the Bichlerhof lady had called him about us this morning; he seemed surprised that we'd had comfirmed reservations since April. He showed us two rooms - one had a bedroom, living room with sofa sleeper and two bathrooms. The other, next door, was a smaller version of that one. The first room had one kind of odd balcony; no view from the other room. Because the rooms appeared to be quite spacious (and because they had 4 bathrooms between them), we stayed there all four nights.
As it was no problem for us to stay 4 nights, I assume that the Rieger needed more guests. I suspect that the hotels in Mittenwald help each other out by overbooking and sharing guests among them. I've written about my Bicherhof experience on Trip Advisor.
We walked into the pedestrian area of Mittenwald with was very close and cute as it could be. All of the buildings were painted. The church was baroque. Many of the stores sold lederhosen and dyrndils (sp) and people were acually wearing them (as normal clothes-not as a hotel uniform.)
Holding no grudges, we ate dinner at the Alpen Rose. The food was quite good and the atmophere seemed so Bavarian/Tirolian.
Jul 24th, 2008, 07:51 AM
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My husband is the BEST DRIVER AND NAVIGATOR combined I have ever met! He is just amazing, sometimes I swear he goes by smell and the stars. That said, he had no pride nor hesitation whatsover to hook-up the GPS and go!!
Jul 24th, 2008, 08:02 AM
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My husband, unfortunately, is a horrible navigator....he's the one who always turns the wrong way when he comes out of store in the mall. He has no sense of direction. If he's faced with a right or left turn to try to find "town", 100% of the time we'll end up in a residential development rather than downtown. When driving from the airport to Disneyworld, he'll be asking "which lane do I get in which lane do I get in?" when there's an enormous, lighted "WELCOME TO DISNEYWORLD" sign over one lane. The stressful part is that he expects me to be instantly oriented no matter where we are in the world. When we get in the car, every time I have to tell him to not drive until I know which way to go - otherwise, he'll speed up to an intersection and demand to be told whether to turn right or left when I haven't a clue. This is NOT a man who should be driving in a foreign country-at least not with a woman to whom he hopes to stay married!
Jul 24th, 2008, 08:54 AM
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Not to steal your wonderfrul trip report but I have to say we are just like you. We're always the last one to have a new gadget. I only had my digital camera for 2 years, always relying on my old point-and-shoot canon. I swear I probably was the only one buying fuji films at Wal-Mart.
This year we tried a GPS. Sure as others say, it works fine getting you from point A to point B. But once you get to smaller towns/villages (at least in France), often times, in our case, we get more lost and waste valuable time going round and round or going the long way as directed by the GPS.I get more stressed with it than if we have the map. As I was telling my husband, we were able to get through the remotest village in Basilicata region of Italy with only our handy and trusted map and here with a GPS, it couldn't even direct us to a certain address in Aix-en-provence!!
Anyway, fantastic report. Did you go to Rothenburg? Because I wanted to see your take on that place you were going to stay. Thanks.
This year we tried a GPS. Sure as others say, it works fine getting you from point A to point B. But once you get to smaller towns/villages (at least in France), often times, in our case, we get more lost and waste valuable time going round and round or going the long way as directed by the GPS.I get more stressed with it than if we have the map. As I was telling my husband, we were able to get through the remotest village in Basilicata region of Italy with only our handy and trusted map and here with a GPS, it couldn't even direct us to a certain address in Aix-en-provence!!
Anyway, fantastic report. Did you go to Rothenburg? Because I wanted to see your take on that place you were going to stay. Thanks.
Jul 24th, 2008, 12:30 PM
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Great report. We tried our hand at driving in Europe for the first time last fall. It is more stressfull in the cities and autobahn and you see much less than when on a train. However, the smaller backroads in Bavaria were so much fun to drive. Loved the small towns and scenery.I was glad we rented, but will happily return to public transportation on future trips.
We did many of the things your family did, Missypie. Thanks for bringing back fond memories.
We did many of the things your family did, Missypie. Thanks for bringing back fond memories.
Jul 24th, 2008, 01:54 PM
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missiepie, I'm marking this report to savor later. Thanks for writing - and so prompt! (Do you write thank you notes on time also??)
We drove on our most recent trip to Germany in March, and we often didn't have addresses, but we just put in the city or town and it was like magic! We were looking for tiny villages in the Black Forest, some not more than a crossroads, and the GPS only lacked one of them.
The gas prices are high, though, and some good deals can be had on the trains, so it will continue to be our favored mode.
We drove on our most recent trip to Germany in March, and we often didn't have addresses, but we just put in the city or town and it was like magic! We were looking for tiny villages in the Black Forest, some not more than a crossroads, and the GPS only lacked one of them.
The gas prices are high, though, and some good deals can be had on the trains, so it will continue to be our favored mode.
Jul 24th, 2008, 03:30 PM
#32
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Not to steal your show, either, but to those who posted and are reading... is a "tomtom" the best gps you can buy? Or is it specifically for "world" travel?
I reckon' I'm going to have to do a lot more research before I get one.
missypie--- GREAT report! Too bad you had to come back here to this miserable heat. [It's going to be 104 on Sunday!
]
Can't wait to read the rest of your report!
Paula
I reckon' I'm going to have to do a lot more research before I get one.
missypie--- GREAT report! Too bad you had to come back here to this miserable heat. [It's going to be 104 on Sunday!
]Can't wait to read the rest of your report!
Paula
Jul 25th, 2008, 06:40 AM
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sarge/paula, not that i know anything about GPS systems but I have heard that garmin are exceptional.
Missypie - terrific report. i enjoy all your trip reports (costa rica, italy, barcelona, new york) and this one is no different!
Missypie - terrific report. i enjoy all your trip reports (costa rica, italy, barcelona, new york) and this one is no different!
Jul 25th, 2008, 12:37 PM
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A short side-note, if you don't mind, about the neatness of people's yards, etc: I live in Germany, and the neatness of the yard is VERY strictly enforced. We once got a letter informing us that we were not sweeping the street in front of our house often enough - and we were doing it once a week. Now we know better, and it gets done every Monday and Thursday 
.
.
Jul 26th, 2008, 02:30 PM
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DAY 6: Getting to know Ludwig. I had made timed reservations for Hohenschwangau for 10:45 am. At the time I didn't realize that we'd have to pick up the tickets by 9:45, thus making it quite a rush to get from Mittenwald in time. You may laugh at me - coming from a place where it is flat and all - but from looking at the map, I though that Fussen was 30-45 minutes away from Mittenwald. Once we got to the area I realized how wrong I was, but I left 90 minutes to get from Mittenwald to the castles and we barely made it (slow moving traffic on some mountain roads.) The weather was perfect; totally clear sky. We toured Hohenschwangau, then walked up to Neuschwanstein (12:45 entry). I had brought large soft pretzels to tide everyone over, but the kids still complained of hunger.
I told the kids to think of Ludwig as Sparkle Josh from last season's Design Star, only with an unlimited budget.
I know that lots of people think that the castles are better from the outside than the insde, but I disagree. I really enjoy touring both inside.
Before leaving Neuschwanstein we walked up to the Marienbruche. It was packed! (Much different from the last time I was there in the month of February!) We ate some wurst on a bun and then went off to find the luge! The luge was great fun - the adults went down twice, the kids three times. The first time we didn't think it through and my husband - who weighs almost twice as much as I do - was behind me; I was scared of him plowing into me the whole time. After that we arranged ourselves heaviest to lightest.
On the way home we stopped in Oberammergau to look around at the painted houses. (I admit that I find Mittenwald to be more charming than Oberammergau.) We had a low key dinner back in Mittenwald, which included our first apple strudel with vanilla sauce. (I looked the other way when the kids drank the little pitchers of vanilla sauce dry.)
I told the kids to think of Ludwig as Sparkle Josh from last season's Design Star, only with an unlimited budget.
I know that lots of people think that the castles are better from the outside than the insde, but I disagree. I really enjoy touring both inside.
Before leaving Neuschwanstein we walked up to the Marienbruche. It was packed! (Much different from the last time I was there in the month of February!) We ate some wurst on a bun and then went off to find the luge! The luge was great fun - the adults went down twice, the kids three times. The first time we didn't think it through and my husband - who weighs almost twice as much as I do - was behind me; I was scared of him plowing into me the whole time. After that we arranged ourselves heaviest to lightest.
On the way home we stopped in Oberammergau to look around at the painted houses. (I admit that I find Mittenwald to be more charming than Oberammergau.) We had a low key dinner back in Mittenwald, which included our first apple strudel with vanilla sauce. (I looked the other way when the kids drank the little pitchers of vanilla sauce dry.)
Jul 26th, 2008, 03:08 PM
#37
(I looked the other way when the kids drank the little pitchers of vanilla sauce dry.) >>
lol - i have to do the same with the gravy boat when my DS is around.
keep it coming,
regards, ann
lol - i have to do the same with the gravy boat when my DS is around.
keep it coming,
regards, ann
Jul 27th, 2008, 04:18 AM
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DAY 7: Rain, but that's okay. We woke up to a steady rain - no Zugspitze for us today! I let everyone sleep in a bit, which means that the offerings at the breakfast buffet were a bit slim. We drove to Linderhof and had a very short wait until our entry time. The palace is great to tour inside because it's way over the top but small. We had raincoats and umbrellas, so we were able to tour the grounds to our hearts content. The grotto is bizarre and not to be missed; same with the various pavilions.
We stopped in Ettal for a late lunch, choosing the Ludwig der Bayer (across the street from the monastary) because they took credit cards we were running short on cash. It turned out to be one of the best restaurants of the trip, offering quite a few dishes that we hadn't seen before. I had spaetzle with monastary cheese and crumbled bacon, which tasted like the best mac & cheese ever-great for a rainy day.
We made a brief visit of the monastry church and gift shops (things cost less than in nearby Oberammergau), then headed to Wieskirche. Wieskirche is pretty interesting, with the frothy baroque decorations built to honor the gruesome beaten Christ statue.
After that we drove back to Mittenwald and actually napped for an hour or so. Once they'd had some down time, the guys didn't want to leave the rooms, so the girls walked to an ATM and then went in search of pizza. We discovered the Osteria da Franco, very close to our hotel. It has very sleek, modern decor and pretty darned good pizza. We each had a small pizza and a drink for 19 euro (and had pizza left over to take to the guys.) It was nice to have a change from German food.
We stopped in Ettal for a late lunch, choosing the Ludwig der Bayer (across the street from the monastary) because they took credit cards we were running short on cash. It turned out to be one of the best restaurants of the trip, offering quite a few dishes that we hadn't seen before. I had spaetzle with monastary cheese and crumbled bacon, which tasted like the best mac & cheese ever-great for a rainy day.
We made a brief visit of the monastry church and gift shops (things cost less than in nearby Oberammergau), then headed to Wieskirche. Wieskirche is pretty interesting, with the frothy baroque decorations built to honor the gruesome beaten Christ statue.
After that we drove back to Mittenwald and actually napped for an hour or so. Once they'd had some down time, the guys didn't want to leave the rooms, so the girls walked to an ATM and then went in search of pizza. We discovered the Osteria da Franco, very close to our hotel. It has very sleek, modern decor and pretty darned good pizza. We each had a small pizza and a drink for 19 euro (and had pizza left over to take to the guys.) It was nice to have a change from German food.
Jul 28th, 2008, 07:57 AM
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DAY 8: Enough with the rain. Another overcast, drizzly day dawns, where the Alps are off duty. I gave the family a choice of a day trip into Munich, or visiting Hall and Innsbruck in Austria. They voted for Austria.
We drove to Hall first and toured the church (with the entire wall of skulls and other relics) and the old square. Two couples had just been married in the city hall, one blushing bride looking only days away from her due date, but still radiant in her long white gown. We went to the Salt Musuem as soon as it opened. The "English language tour" described in Rick Steves' book is actually a tour by an amazingly multi-lingual young woman. She did ours in German, Italian and English, which made it go long. It was interesting, but a poor substitute for a tour of a real salt mine. When we emerged the sun had come out, so we grabbed a quick lunch at the local doner kebap place (where the gregarious Turkish propriator complimented my "youthful figure" to the point of creepiness), then skipped Innsbruck and drove back to Mittenwald with the goal of taking the chair lift up in the mountains. If you plan to do this, I advise that you just go to the Tourist Information office and ask for directions. The city map they provide is not to scale, so the place where you catch the chair lift looks a lot closer and easier to get to on the map than it really is....but it was well worth the effort.
The 15 minute, single rider chair lift was the most peaceful 15 minutes of the trip. The view was incredible and it was totally quiet (except for when Son would turn around and yell "How ya doing Mom?" We walked down via the lake, for an easy 90 minute hike.
For dinner, we followed the sound of live music and ate at a local beer garden. We were amazed at how early they rolled up the sidewalks on a Friday night. By 8:45 pm, the beer garden was closing. We got gelato next door; tney insisted that we get it to go, and would not let us sit down at their outside tables.
We drove to Hall first and toured the church (with the entire wall of skulls and other relics) and the old square. Two couples had just been married in the city hall, one blushing bride looking only days away from her due date, but still radiant in her long white gown. We went to the Salt Musuem as soon as it opened. The "English language tour" described in Rick Steves' book is actually a tour by an amazingly multi-lingual young woman. She did ours in German, Italian and English, which made it go long. It was interesting, but a poor substitute for a tour of a real salt mine. When we emerged the sun had come out, so we grabbed a quick lunch at the local doner kebap place (where the gregarious Turkish propriator complimented my "youthful figure" to the point of creepiness), then skipped Innsbruck and drove back to Mittenwald with the goal of taking the chair lift up in the mountains. If you plan to do this, I advise that you just go to the Tourist Information office and ask for directions. The city map they provide is not to scale, so the place where you catch the chair lift looks a lot closer and easier to get to on the map than it really is....but it was well worth the effort.
The 15 minute, single rider chair lift was the most peaceful 15 minutes of the trip. The view was incredible and it was totally quiet (except for when Son would turn around and yell "How ya doing Mom?" We walked down via the lake, for an easy 90 minute hike.
For dinner, we followed the sound of live music and ate at a local beer garden. We were amazed at how early they rolled up the sidewalks on a Friday night. By 8:45 pm, the beer garden was closing. We got gelato next door; tney insisted that we get it to go, and would not let us sit down at their outside tables.
