Need Help With German Route
 

We know where we want to go during our 10 days in Germany in October, but would love some routing suggestions for the following, arriving by train from Amsterdam.

Below are the areas we want to visit. They are not in any particular order, so feel free to arrange in whatever makes the most sense and include suggestions for good places to spend the night. We'll rent a car at least part of the time, and at the end of the route, probably take a night train to Paris.

*Rhine, including Rhinfels Castle in St. Goar
*Rothenburg/Romantic Road
*Black Forest
*Baden Baden
*Munich
*Berchtesgaden

Thanks in advance!

Jayne,

Are you driving from Amsterdam?

Here is one route you might consider.

Two nights in Koblenz.

Head over to Frankfurt as a starting point to the Romantic Road. Maybe stay 1 night in Rothenburg or Wurzburg.

Continue on the Romantic Road to Fussen. Spend two nights in Fussen (or Oberammergau). On your way to Fussen, make sure you stop and visit the Wieskirche that sits in a meadow right off of the Romantic Road. It is a rococo gem.

Go to Munich for the remainder of your stay. You could easily go to Salzburg or Berchtesgaden for a day trip from Munich.

I would leave the Black Forest until your next trip.

Thanks, Bird. We'll arrive by train from Amsterdam. Why two nights in Koblenz?

I know you suggested skipping Black Forest/Baden Baden, but what route would you suggest if we did fit that area in?

BIRD is correct. Skip Baden Baden and the Black Forest on this trip. Use the time in Bavaria (Garmisch and then Berchtesgaden/Salzburg).

I suggested Koblenz because you could use that as a base to explore both the Rhine and Mosel regions.

Although Berchtesgaden is one of my favorite places in Germany, I am not so sure you should stretch your itinerary to see it at the expense of some areas in between. It will be easier to come back some day and see Berchtesgaden, Salzburg, Halstatt, and Vienna, than to pick up the Black Forest that you passed by twice on this trip.

My suggestion:
Middle Rhein. Stay in Braubach where you can easily see Deutches Eck and Marksburg. See the Mosel if you have time. Then go up to St. Goar and Bacharach.
Rothenburg
Munich
Füssen and the castles
Maybe stop on the way to Sigmaringen in Ulm to climb the world's highest Gothic cathedral spire.
Sigmaringen (Hohenzollern castle)
Donaueschingen, Triberg, Schwarzwaldbahn, Hausach, to Strasbourg.
Day train from Strasbourg to Paris.

Berchtesgaden and Garmisch are non-negotiables because a main goal of the German leg of the trip is for my husband to finally see his birthplace-- Furstenfeldbruk, a suburb of Munich. He was a baby when the family left Germany and doesn't remember any of it, but has seen all the home movies of their visits to these places and wants to finally see them "for real." Any comments on Furstenfeldbruk would be much appreciated.

I'm going to sit down tonight and study all your suggestions and will definitely have more questions.

Thanks so much -- you guys are great.

Fürstenfeldbruck is a western suburb of Munich. Neither Berchtesgaden or Garmisch-Partenkirchen are required for Fürstenfeldbruck. You could include Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the trip to Füssen. The Ausserfernbahn through the Tirol is exceptionally nice.

If you must include Berchtesgaden, you might consider omitting the Middle Rhein. Take the CityNightLine night train direct from Amsterdam to Munich, then go from there.

[email protected]

OK, if we exclude Baden Baden, is there another good spa somewhere on the Bavarian route?

Bad Tolz and Bad Reichenhall are both close to Munich. Bad Reichenhall is close to Salzburg.

Jayne,
there are spas or Bad all over Germany.

Bad Reichenhall is on the train line coming down to Berchtesgaden from Freilassing. That's where the skating rink collapsed in the snow this winter.

There is a Thermal Bad in Berchtesgaden, Watzmann Therme (www.watzmann-therme.de). It is just outside of town, before you get to the salt works. You should be forewarned - traditional German spas are coed and "textilefrei".

There is also a spa at Bad Aibling, just west of Rosenheim.

Have you guys been to any of these spas?

Yes, be sure to go to the Mosel. It was the highlight of our trip to Germany. As they say, the Mosel is how you imagine the Rhine. And be sure to visit Burg Eltz, one of the best castles. (Not a pile of stones.)

The Watzmann Therme in Berchtesgaden is very nice. I was there last July with my wife and ten year old daughter. You don't need to worry about the clothing optional area. If you want it, it's there and separate from the main facilities. If you don't want it, you'll never know it's there. Have a great trip. Germany was wonderfull and I can't wait to return.

Many German hotels have spa facilities as well. Book yourselves into a spa hotel at one of your destinations and you can kill two birds with one stone.

Although we really like Baden-Baden and go there often, we find that the public spas can get quite crowded; the nicer hotel spas have good facilities and are much more serene.

Thanks for the replies. I was just so set on going to Baden Baden and really hated the idea of missing something so special. But it sounds like I can get a taste of European "spaness" in many places.

Vacabirder,
I did not go to the Watzmann Therme when I was in Berchtesgaden, but I have been to three spas in the Black Forest, Bad Herrenalb, Bad Wildbad, and Freudenstadt. In all three cases, the "open" areas were just public swimming pools, some with warmer waters and some with lots of kids. The saunas, steambaths, and hot tubs were all in the clothing optional areas. Looking at the facilities map on their website, Watzmann looks similar.

Optional? Actually, I never saw anyone dressed in these areas. It is no big deal, really. Ever had that dream where you are out in public without any clothes and no one notices it. It's a lot like that.

Larry, maybe if you do it once you overcome the fear and then you don't have those dreams anymore!

But back to my routing quandry, are you advising skipping Black Forest/Baden Baden because of the distances? We are from Texas and are accustomed to driving. Or do you just think we're spreading ourselves too thin?

>Furstenfeldbruk
You could say Fürstenfeldbruck (FFB) is the most boring place on this planet. Does Kaufhaus X say anything to you? The town didn't change very much in the last decades. So boring and frustrating for people who live there. But anyway it's good to come home to FFB.
Don't tell FFB'lers there are a suburb, they aren't and will never be!!!

Sounds like you know the place! I gather you wouldn't suggest spending the night there, then... hehe What about a place to have lunch? Is the old military base still there?