ashleymaddz

Hi!

My huband and I have 10 days for vacation this year, and are doing a bucket list trip to Munich for Oktoberfest (I know, pretty cheesy) but are having a hard time working out an itinerary after then. We will land in Munich on either Saturday the 22nd or Sunday the 23rd, and plan to do festivities on Monday/Tuesday.

From there we arent quite sure of what to do next. My husband did want to see Neuschwanstein Castle, but besides that he’s been to Germany multiple times as an adult so he doesn’t need/want to explore much else.. on the other hand, I’ve never been to Europe! I don’t have much of an interest in Austria or spending too much time in one country, so we thought splitting 4 days in a Munich w/ 4 days in Northern Italy would be a great way to experience something new together. We also floated the idea of spending a day/night in the Swiss alps.

Since we aren’t super touristy and conscious of things like the “no go” list, I’m leaning toward Milan, Como, or even Parma but would love some insight! We are in our late 20s and like splitting our trips between eating amazing food and taking hikes where we can.

mjdh1957

What's a 'No Go' list?

janisj

>>Since we aren’t super touristy and conscious of things like the “no go” list,<<

>>What's a 'No Go' list?<<

Ditto -- haven't heard of such a thing. How much time do you have after Munich and where are you flying out of?

PalenQ

Milan is a 'go' not 'no go' place - renting a car or going by train? Trains are great for everything you want. After Munich take train to Interlaken, Switzerland and head for the hills - a mountain village like Wengen or Grindelwald - few days and move onto Italy by trrain. For lots on trains check www.bahn.de/en - great site for schedules and booking trains involving Germany at a discount - www.seat61.com is a font of useful info on trains and booking own discounted tickets - general info trains and where to go with them - www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.

Use the bargain Bavarian Ticket (pass) for travel to Fussen for Mad Ludwig's castles and back all for about 30-35 euros total for both - buy that at stations in Bavaria.

Macross

Go early to Oktoberfest and you will be able to sit at every tent without reservation. Hofbrau does have a standing only section that you can stand in anytime. We love eating at Augustiner tent but the Augustiner fish house will find you a table later in the day. We eat a little at each tent and pace ourselves. It is fun and beautiful. I love the tents and all things Oktoberfest. Hoping you stop in Garmisch for the night on your way to Italy. The Dolomites are beautiful and you can't really go wrong.

whitehall

We have a 2-part trip report for our time the end of September/early October in northern Italy The first part covers Lake Como: Trip Report: Part 1 Northern Italian Lakes & Cities (12 days October)

The second part includes Bergamo, Lake Iseo, and fantastic Lake Garda.
Trip Report: Part 2 of 2): Northern Italian Lakes & Cities (12 days October)

We spent a month (mid September through mid-October) in Europe last fall and had warm, sunny weather EVERY day.

We spent three nights in Varenna, which we found to be the perfect place especially for the popular mid lake area, and it was convenient for rail from Milan. I think the best option from Munich is rail to Milan. This fall, we will be in Munich about the same time as you, but we cannot leave until mid-afternoon, so we opted to fly from Munich to Milan so we can rent a car to get to Lake Orta.

From Munich, we intend to travel to Fussen for the two castles; we also will see Dachau; and we will spend some time in Salzburg, one of our favorite small cities in Europe.