I will have 15 days to explore Bavaria from 25Feb.Can anyone give advise on the places of beauty and interesting sites.Wish to see Munich,the German Alps, castles, small towns and other suggestions from all of you that have been to this part of Germany.Please help with the weather over there as well.Will it be cold wet and gloomy?What can I expect? Should I include Berchtesgade and a little of the Austria border.Have been to Salzburg but not Innsbruck.Will be depending on public transport all the time.Give me suggestions on how to space out the numbers of days in each city or town or how to chart my route as I am flying in and out of Frankfurt.Would love to see Rothenburg and should I take the Romantic rd bus or the train.Any advise,suggestions,reminders etc are most welcome and thanks a lot in advance.

Florence,<BR><BR>You are asking for a LOT! If you will do simple text search on Fodors with your header title, you will find tons of recent posts about this subject.<BR><BR>Look through the various posts and get an idea of where you want to go and more specific destinations. Then come back with more specific questions and you will receive more help.<BR><BR>As it is, your question is really too open ended.<BR><BR>Dic

Agree with Dick entirely - lots of recent info on all these places - covering every town you refer to + refs to small towns and hotels. At end of Feb yes it will still be cold, it mayx be wet or snowing. Do not expect lots of great weather.

Florence, the end of February is high season for skiing in the Bavarian/Tyrolian Alps. For this reason, finding somewhere to stay in and around the ski areas may be a bit problematic at this date. Why not adjust a bit? Go directly to Rothenburg from Frankfurt and stay for 2-3 days. Then go to Munich for 4-5 days (maybe more if you want to take a day-trip to Herrenchiemsee) and on from there to the area around Oberammergau. You will be able to visit Neuschwanstein and Linderhof from there, but hopefully avoid the ski crowds in Garmisch (although cross-country is big up in the Oberammergau region. Linderhof has fiber mats laid down on the floors for x-country skiers to be able to tour the castle). Check for accommodations in Ettal or Graswang (www.ettal.de). I could easily spend another 4-5 days there, making day-trips into Garmisch on the excellent bus system after touring the castles and churches. Then you could make your way back to Frankfurt for departure after spending a couple of nights along the Rhine. The weather anywhere will be a factor in trying to travel too much - snow in the mountainous areas, rain/black ice elsewhere. But what a good time to relax, sit by the fire after touring tourist-free sites, and indulging in hot chocolate with rum or gluhwein. Post back if you want other/more info. Best wishes...

Ann,Thanks so much for helping to plan the route and the nunber of days for each location.This will be a good guide to me for the start.Can you help with one more advise,that is should I get the German pass since I will be travelling quite a bit and can you give me more info on the Rhine.I mean there will not be any cruise and which is the best mode of transport to explore the Rhine.

Florence, I have only driven along the Rhine, but I can tell you the railway lines follow the edge of the river and should give you a pretty good view. And yes, I would think the German railpass would be the way to go for as much travel as you have planned. My experience has been that 2nd class travel is just fine and should only run you between $200-300 depending on the number of days you'll actually be on a train (5-6?). You can pay for the bus as needed. But others may have other ideas about the best way to travel by rail. Please let me know if you need anything else... best wishes.

You should need a few days in Munich and 24 hours in Rothenburg, which is reachable by train. If you arrive in Rothenburg in the early afternoon, a departure the next afternoon should give you a good taste of the town. <BR><BR>If interested, you can click on the following web sites for photos of Rothenburg and Munich.<BR><BR>http://photomail.photoworks.com/shar...VYf1EYNA.RcOUv <BR><BR>http://photomail.photoworks.com/shar...WqyOAdVw2tUxS9

Here's our trip last June: Flew into Frankfurt Saturday a.m. Train to Bamberg. Left Bamberg Tuesday morning, train to Munich. Left Munich Friday morning by rental car, drove to Hohenschwangau (for Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles) via Linderhof Palace and through part of Austria. Left Hohens. Sunday and drove up Romantic Road to Rothenburg area with a stop in Dinkelsbuhl. Stayed in castle hotel in Colmberg (18 km east of Rotbg). Left Colmberg Tuesday a.m drove to the Mosel River, stayed in Beilstein. Drove to Rhein River on Friday, toured the area, and went to hotel near Frankfurt airport Friday night. Flew home Saturday a.m.<BR>It was all excellent--but if we had to pick highlights: Bamberg, Hohenschwangau, Mosel River.

Thanks to all who have given me so much of suggestions and all the sharing is most helpful for my coming trip.My apprciation

Florence -<BR><BR>Berchtesgaden is definitely worth a visit if you have time. It's very close to Salzburg and a 2-3/4 hour train ride from Munich. Five 5km from Berchtsgaden is the Konigsee, Germany's highest lake. There's also a salt mine near the village that offers interesting tours and of course the Eagle's Nest. <BR><BR>From Munich you can easily reach Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1.5 hours from Munich by train) where you can take the cable car to the top of the Zugspitz (Germany's highest mountain)- a definite must see as far as I'm concerned. <BR><BR>Mittenwald is about an hour's train ride from Garmisch - it's a nice, quiet village surrounded by mountains.<BR><BR>Neuschwanstein Castle near Fussen is also a must see and accessible from Munich via train and bus. <BR><BR>You can also reach Schloss Linderhof from Munich via train and bus.<BR><BR>Schloss Herrenchiemsee (another of Ludwig's creations) can be reached by train from Munich and a ferry from <BR>Prien am Chiemsee.<BR><BR>The choices are endless......<BR><BR>As far as the weather - it can be quite chilly at higher elevations - dress warmly if you plan to visit any mountain tops. The weather at lower elevations (like Munich) can be cold and damp. <BR><BR>You can also take the bus trip along the Romantic Road from Munich this is covered by the Eurail pass (unless it's changed in the past few years) - this is an incredibly long day, but if you base yourself in Munich for at least part of your trip, you can cover alot of the sights in the area.

Melanie,can you suggest some highlights I can do in Berchtsgen.Should I just do it as a daytrip or try to put in 1 or 2 nights.If only as a day trip what is the best for me to do.Thanks for the great suggestion.

I would highly recommend stayin in the B'gden area for atleast 2 or 3 nights. Much to see and do. I also recommend not staying in B'gaden but in Ramsau the perfect small alpine village. When in the area I stay at Gasthof Oberwirt. Here is a link for the B'gaden area - http://www.berchtesgaden.com/e/e_index.htm

Florence -<BR><BR>Unless you're staying in Salzberg, or somewhere else relatively close, you might want to spend a few days in Berchtesgaden. There's plenty to do to keep you busy for a few days. There are five ski areas, the Salzbergwerk salt mine, the Eagle's Nest (the meeting house of Hitler), the Konigssee (lake) and Berchtesgaden National Park. The village is also interesting and it has a real alpine feel. <BR><BR>We had a car, so we drove along the Rossfeld Hohenring Strasse, which is a scenic toll road that makes a loop from Obersalzberg to Oberau. The scenery from there was incredible.<BR><BR>If you do decide to stay in Berchtesgaden, I'd highly recommend Hotel Bavaria (www.bavaria-hotel.de). We loved Grassl's Bistro Cafe (excellent apple strudel with warm vanilla sauce) and had good meals at Gasthaus Neuhaus and Post Hotel.<BR><BR>Just typing this makes me want to go back! Hope this helps -