cruzan19

My boyfriend and i will fly into Munich March 8th and leave March 15th. We are thinking of leaving munich as soon as we arrive to explore Bavaria,etc., and coming back to munich for the last 2 days. Salzberg was one city i hadnt thought of as a day trip. And a castle or 2 thrown in of course. We are more off-the-beaten path type folks, and are looking for that kind of experience. Any interesting activity or village wed only see in bavaria? Also, driving looks very popular among tourists, but i believe a train will be easier. is this true?

logos999

Off the beaten path and train doesn' go together well. I'd recommend Eichstätt, Beilngries and the Altmühl Valley or further north exploring Franconia. It's much more interesting than Füssen and the surrounding area, even better, it's inexpensive and void of tourists. Just that it'll be cold there in early March...

DAX

cruzan:if you are limited to train transportation, Mittenwald may be a good village to visit as it is equiped with all the Bavarian charm. It has an easy train access.

logos: Eichstadt has always peaked my interest, could you elaborate more on what's the charm of the town? Any recommendable activities/places to go in town? I am slowly planning our next Bavarian road trip.

logos999

It's away from mass tourism, and there are many old medeeval and charming towns in the valley all they way to Regensburg. It's a nature park, good food!! and lodging (20€ for nice rooms) small lakes for swimming (in summer of course). The kind of Bavaria that has always been and will be

cruzan19

We are worried about driving in germany. Although im used to driving left(from the virgin islands). is driving better than train?
Also anything strictly bavarian we must do? Such as eating catepillars in thailand..

logos999

>strictly bavarian we must do?
You must have the traditional breakfast at least once. It consist of
1 Weißwurst (sausage)
1 Pretzel
1/2 Liter of Beer (Weißbier)
Has to be consumed at 8am, or if you're not strong enough ;-) at least before 12 noon. Many other traditional bavarian dishes are not eaten frequently any more even by the locals. We prefer Pizza ;-)

Mimar

Driving is on the right in Germany and we found it very easy in Bavaria. Fast but easy. And advised if you want to go off the beaten track. We drove from Munich to Salzburg and stopped en route at Herrenchiemsee, one of Ludwig's castles that's on an island in the middle of a lake. We worked our way back across southern Bavaria on the Alpenstrasse.

However, if you do drive, it would be better to spend your 2 days in Munich getting over jetlag, before launching out on the road.

cruzan19

how long a drive is it from munich to salzburg, and is finding parking easy in small towns, large cities?

DAX

cruzan: We never had any problem with parking in Germany. In big cities like Munich however you're better off parking at the hotel and take the public transportation. Driving to Salzburg is about 2 to 3 hours depending on traffic. Park in the underground public parking in Salzburg old town.

logos: my kids recently made a comment how in Italy we've seen people having just cappucino for breakfast but in Germany, a large stein of beer for breakfast! They were the older generation slowly savouring their beer in the mid morning.