duncmom1

Going to Germany next May 14-30. Flying in and out of Munich. I just got the tickets this past week. Using a credit that I had, I was able to get mine & DH tickets for $520 each from Mobile to Munich. We never have any sales from our area.
My thoughts so far:
1. Arrive Munich in a.m,pick up rental car and drive to Bertchesgaden,Salzburg area for 4 nights.
2. Then 1 night in Hall, just because I want to see the area.
3. Next 4 nights in Garmish for castles and day trips.
4. On to R. O.D.T for 2 nights
5. Drive back to Munich to drop off car. Last 4 nights in Munich, then fly out.

My question: Where would be the best place to spend the 4 nights in the Bertch/Salzburg area, keeping in mind that we want to go to St. Gilgen and Hallstatt while in the area.
Any comments or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Theresa

EmilyC

There are many places to stay outside of B'gaden or Salzburg (same area) Do you think that you want a hotel or a B&B. What's the budget??

duncmom1

We would like to keep the price around $130 a night. We have had a bad experience with a B&B, so shy away from them. We do like Inns or purpose built guest houses, though.

Theresa

eurotravler

I would highly recommend Gasthof Oberwirt in Ramsau. Just up the street from the famous church.

http://www.oberwirt-ramsau.de/index.php


imageprocess.sourceforge.net/.../church.html

bettyk

There's nothing wrong with staying in Berchtesgaden. It's easy to get in and out of. We stayed at the wonderful Wittelsbach Hotel owned by the very friendly Frau Petra Wimmer. Our small suite was 84E when we were there in September.

http://www.hotel-wittelsbach.com/hotel.htm

From Berchtesgaden you are about an hour from St. Gilgen and Hallstatt. Plus you are right by Koenigsee and the Eagle's Nest, both worth visiting if you have time.

ira

Hi D,

I can very highly recommend www.ammoos.at/main.php?language=en&m=home
for lodgings in Salzburg.

You might find my trip report helpful: http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35014078

EmilyC

Here's a link to one of our favorite hotels in the area....sorry, I can't get the link to post correctly. The hotel is the Burghotel Rehlegg which is a Best Western/ I looked for May and saw a rate of 56E. This lovely spot is located about 20 minutes from B'gaden center. We love it because it is quiet, removed from the traffic, has a great restaurant and is run by a lovely family. We like the rooms with balconies. The drive to Hallstadt would be less than 2 hours. The drive from the town of B'gaden to Hallstadt is also more than 1 hour....these roads are mainly secondary roads, some mountainous and you just can't go that fast.
However, if you have never been to this area, I think that I would be concerned that you may consider this spot " too far away" from the town. We have hiked in this area for many years, so we seek out spots like this, however, it may not be your cup of tea,
Another nice spot is the "Berg Hotel Heimatt" located behind the Konigsee parking area and near the bottom of the chair lift for the Jenner (Jennerbahn).
There are many, many lovely spots to stay in this area, most family run, spotless and each with their own charm.Most of these places include the breakfast in the cost of the room, as this is the custom in the area.
Rothenburg is quite small and can easily be done in 1 day/nite. I would re-consider the drive to this area just to see Rothenburg. I would also pick Munich first(especially if you are arriving on a weekend), so that you would not be driving with the jet lag on the first couple of days. Also, it would give the alpine area another bit of time to get warmer. Just my personal opinion...

duncmom1

Thanks for answering back everyone.

Ira, I read your trip report and it sounded like you had a wonderful time. Did you like Hallstatt? Is it worth more than a day trip?. I am now thinking about leaving out Hall and doing something with that day.
Would you spend one extra night in Austria (that will be 5) or would you go on to Germany and work the extra night in to go to Bamberg.

BettyK, If we stay in B'gaden, is it easy to catch bus into Salzburg(old town) and how late do they run?

Also, I pulled up on mappy.com and I thought that it only was about a 2 hr. drive from the Munich airport to Salzburg. We will be arriving on a Thursday. The only reasonable tickets for us were to fly out on a Wednesday. It is a new experience. We normally arrive on Sunday.

The drive can't be any worse that arriving in Paris after a night's flying and driving to Honfleur and getting lost on the ring road of Paris. We surived, but were really stressed with each other for a while!

Thanks for taking time to give me suggestions.

Theresa

bettyk

Theresa, I can't advise you on the bus to Salzburg, but I know there is train transportation from Bgaden to Salzburg. Maybe someone else on Fodor's can help you with that.

Hallstatt is beautiful and a day trip would probably be fine altho I always recommend that people stay overnight because it is much nicer and quieter after the tour buses leave.

I also recommend you see Hall in Tirol, since it is so beautiful with its location on the Inn River and the mountains right in your face.

However, you will see so much beautiful scenery in the Garmisch and Berchtesgaden areas that you could save it for another trip.

Bamberg is going to be pretty far out of your way considering the rest of your itinerary. I'd also save that for another trip.

AisleSeat

For your stay in the Garmish area you might want to consider one of the villages like Mittenwald, Oberammergau, or Fussen instead. When you look at your map you will notice that although the area from Garmish (or Mittenwald) to Fussen is not very large, you are basing yourself on the easten edge.

On your car rental in Munich, remember the 19% surtax on cars rented in Germany at airports and train stations. If you can get one from a lot that is not at the airport you can save some money.

pja1

Hi,
We just returned from the Berchtesgaden/Salzburg area (we stayed in Ramsau at the Pension Mayringerlehen) for the second time. I can highly recommend this place because of the wonderful people who own/run it, the breakfast buffet and it's location with beautiful mountain views. We stayed four nights last month and three nights last Oct. It's a 15 min. drive to Berchtesgaden/Konigssee and about 40 min. to Salzburg.

www.mayringerlehen.de

The drive from Munich airport to Berchtesgaden/Salzburg is a little over 2 hours (we just did it in reverse just last month again). Very easy. We also visited Hallstatt from Ramsau last year. A beautiful drive (about 1:30) and Hallstatt is worth the trip IMO. Also, King Ludwigs palace Herrenchiemsee is not to be missed. It's a one hour drive from Ramsau to Prien/Stock, where you catch the steamship to the palace. Amazing!

http://www.herren-chiemsee.de/englis...lace/index.htm

I also agree with seeing Hall in Tirol. We stayed at the Gasthof Badl (again, wonderful people, breakfast, location with alp views) 3 times so far.

www.badl.at

It also makes sense if you're heading on to Fuessen instead of Garmisch. We stayed twice recently in Fuessen at the Hotel zum Hechten, and again, can recommend staying here.

www.hotel-hechten.com

If you really want to stay in the Garmisch area, consider Mittenwald instead. It's smaller and it's a beautiful Bavarian village. We stayed here in April '05 and Oct. '06 and loved it here.

When in Rothenburg, do the Nightwatchmans tour. It was the highlight of our time there.

Our recent trip report is at...

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35087685

Hope all this helps.

Paul

duncmom1

The reason that I was thinking of Garmish instead of Mittenwald or Fussen was because I thought that Garmish might have more to do at night. Beer Halls with music,etc.
Do the other 2 places have any entertainment at night?

Thanks,
Theresa

lvillinois

bkmk

pja1

Hi again,
The reason I mentioned Fuessen was that if you were going to go from Salzburg/Berchtesgaden to Hall in Tirol, Fuessen would make the most sense logistically to me as the next stop. Garmisch and Mittenwald are only an hour (or less) from Hall in Tirol. I think you'd find Fuessen similar to Garmisch as far as what you're looking for. Mittenwald has a few bars but is smaller, more of a village than a town.

Paul

ira

Hi D,

>Ira, .... Did you like Hallstatt?

Very much.

>Is it worth more than a day trip?.

Definitely.

>I am now thinking about leaving out Hall and doing something with that day.....Then 1 night in Hall, just because I want to see the area.<

You can't see everything in one visit.

>Would you spend one extra night in Austria (that will be 5) ...

3 nights in Salzberg and 2 nights in Hallstatt (or VV) would be very nice.

>or would you go on to Germany and work the extra night in to go to Bamberg.<

I haven't been to Bamberg. However, I think that you could take one night from Munich if Bamberg is important.

>4 nights in Garmish for castles and day trips.

You might also consider reducing Garmisch to 3 nights.

Don't skip Herrenchiemsee on the drive from Munich to Salzburg.

Remember to buy a vignette (road tax sticker) at a gas station before you get to the Austrian border.

Enjoy your visit.

duncmom1

Thank you everyone

You have given me so much of the info that I needed that I could not determine from my 4 guidebooks.

Ira, thanks so much for your reply.
Yes, Bamberg is important. My uncles
traced our family back all the way to the 1700's with the exact location of our direct great-great------grandfather's hometowns. One was in Scotland. We have been to the grave of the direct ancestor. The other is in Bamberg. I would like to honor their 30 years of research by going to the town of one side of our family.
I now have enough info to finalize my ideas on what I wanted to do on this trip.
There is never enough time. I wish that I had at least a month a year to spend in each country!

Theresa

Larryincolorado

RVO bus 840, otherwise known as the Watzmann Espress goes from Berchtesgaden to Salzberg about hourly. Trip takes 45 minutes and you can do it RT with an RVO tageskarte for €8,50.

By train via Freilassing it take just over an hour.

artstuff

Putting in my two cents... Instead of 4 nights in Garmish, I would split it up and spend 2 nights in Mittenwald, and 2 nights in the Hohenschwangau or Füssen area.

On a recent visit to Mittenwald we stayed at the Hotel Alpenrose (Euro 73,00), and really enjoyed our accomodations. The room and hotel were decorated in typical bavarian style.

In the restaurant downstairs, where we had a delicious dinner, they had a little oom-pah band playing while we ate our meal. Okay, it was a guy with an accordian and another guy with a guitar, but they were in their liederhosen (sp?), and made us giddy with delight when they played "Roll Out the Barrel".

www.hotel-alpenrose-mittenwald.de

We then moved on to Hohenschwangau, so we could tour Ludwig's castles. We stayed at the Pension Albrecht (Euro 67,00), which is located right at the foot of Schloss Neuschwanstein. We had a view of the castle from our balcony - actually a view of the clouds shrouding the castle. It was cold and snowing when we were there in October!

www.albrecht-neuschwanstein.de


We spent two nights in Bamberg at the Hotel Weierich (Euro 79,00), located at Lugbank 5 in the Alstadt. It was a very nice hotel, in a convenient part of town to the attractions and several breweries (if you're going for beer). They have a restaurant downstairs, that served a very delicious meal.

The proprietors took very good care of us. In fact, one morning they served us champagne with our breakfast - they took the time to remember my comment to them in one of my e-mails that we were travelling for our 30th wedding anniversary. We would definately stay at the Hotel Weierich again.

www.hotel-weierich.de


For your stay in Rothenburg, I would highly recommend that you check out Edith's Romantic Days Package, which includes double room for two for two nights, half-board for two for both nights, and tickets for two to the Night Watchman's Tour, the Kriminalmuseum, the Reichstadtmuseum, and the Rathausturn, for a total cost of Euro 178,00! It's an excellent deal, and turned out to be one of our most enjoyable accomodations out of the 8 hotels we stayed in on our recent journey through Germany. It was probably because of Edith's meals.

Edith enjoys cooking, and it reflects on the four-course dinners that she served us both nights. The desserts were like works of art - nice to look at, but even better to eat. Her breakfast included hot-from-the-oven bread, rolls and soft pretzels among the usual German fare. We would definately stay at Edith's Gasthaus again - in fact, we didn't want to leave, we just wanted to stay there and have her feed us.

www.spaetzle-schwob.de


If you're looking for very affordable accomodations for Munich (Euro 84,00), I can suggest the Pension Westfalia. It's in a quiet little neighborhood between the Goetheplatz and the Theresienwiese, an easy two U stops from the Marianplatz. The proprietor, Peter, took very good care of us during our stay.

www.pension-westfalia.de


Robyn >-

hopscotch

ADVISORY!

I lived in Germany for two years. The Germans have more holidays than you can imagine and many of them are in May. Bavaria is full of Thursday holidays after which many Germans take the Friday off. It is the "bridge day." This makes a lot of sense, especially with the standard 20 to 30 vacation days a year in Germany.

As you can imagine, many people will be on the road, and some city services and shops may be cut or curtailed.

My experience was a long time ago but maybe some current Fodorite Deutschland residents can look at their calendar and give us the holiday schedule for Germany 2008.

Danke.

bettyk

Here's a link to a German Holidays calendar:

http://www.buyusa.gov/germany/en/holidays.html