Germany: Wunderbar! Our trip report
Jul 9th, 2013, 05:24 AM
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Germany: Wunderbar! Our trip report
We recently returned from a 10 day trip around Germany – we saw fairy tale towns, castles, gorgeous palaces, elaborate churches and stunning mountain scenery. We also bought a car and survived the autobahn (the car handled the driving with ease; I was a bit more stressed. Holy cow, they drive fast!!)
We started in:
MUNICH:
Marienplatz – on our first, jet-lagged day, we loved just wandering around this area – with the tall clock tower and its gargoyles – and all the side streets.
Deutsches Museum – we spent most of our time in the basement, in the extensive mining exhibits – which were so interesting. They really showcased how difficult (and dark!) it was to work in a mine. I also liked the Altamira Cave painting exhibit here.
BMW – Welt: Factory tour, Museum and European delivery. The factory tour was fascinating – so much of the work is done by robots and it was spell binding watching them work. The museum had really cool BMW and Rolls Royce cars, but our personal highlight was our new car, which we ordered by European delivery. It was manufactured according to our specs one week prior to our arrival, and during the ED process, everyone gave us a warm welcome. Our car was on a spinning platform, kind of like how game shows showcase cars. During our travels, we put 900 miles on the car and it handled the autobahn with ease – the car is Sweet. His name is Chase. Vroom vroom.
X-Games – we didn’t attend, but these were in town the day after we arrived. My son is an avid skateboarder and one of his main highlights of our trip was when he discovered that many pro skaters were staying at our hotel. On our way out, we heard him greet two people – turns out he knew two of pro skateboarders in the lobby! Before we retired for bed, my husband walked through the lobby, to discover our son talking in the middle of a group of skaters. One of them my older son told me is a big name because “he is featured in a skateboarding video game”. It turned out that this guy won a gold medal at the Munich X-games.
We took our car first to
LAKE CHIEMSEE
Herrernchiemsee Castle: This is one of King Ludwig’s palaces. It is located on an island, and we took a scenic, short ferry ride there to tour it. The castle is unfinished but several rooms were modeled exactly on rooms in Versailles. (The brochure says that the rooms are “much more splendidly furnished than those in Versailles”). The Hall of Mirrors was a fabulous sight. Other decorations in the palace, including a porcelain chandelier, were jaw-droppingly impressive. Outside the palace were several huge, beautiful fountains.
This was our second trip to Germany and one our first, we saw Neuschwanstein and Linderhof – I highly, highly recommend a visit to King Ludwig’s castles – they are wonderful! (In order of preference, I would list them: Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee and Neuschwanstein).
We stayed in Bernau and enjoyed walking around this very small town. Our hotel had a lovely garden area. A walking path led to a small park/playground area. My boys liked the long zipline there.
Next stop was
BERCHTESGADEN
We started in:
MUNICH:
Marienplatz – on our first, jet-lagged day, we loved just wandering around this area – with the tall clock tower and its gargoyles – and all the side streets.
Deutsches Museum – we spent most of our time in the basement, in the extensive mining exhibits – which were so interesting. They really showcased how difficult (and dark!) it was to work in a mine. I also liked the Altamira Cave painting exhibit here.
BMW – Welt: Factory tour, Museum and European delivery. The factory tour was fascinating – so much of the work is done by robots and it was spell binding watching them work. The museum had really cool BMW and Rolls Royce cars, but our personal highlight was our new car, which we ordered by European delivery. It was manufactured according to our specs one week prior to our arrival, and during the ED process, everyone gave us a warm welcome. Our car was on a spinning platform, kind of like how game shows showcase cars. During our travels, we put 900 miles on the car and it handled the autobahn with ease – the car is Sweet. His name is Chase. Vroom vroom.
X-Games – we didn’t attend, but these were in town the day after we arrived. My son is an avid skateboarder and one of his main highlights of our trip was when he discovered that many pro skaters were staying at our hotel. On our way out, we heard him greet two people – turns out he knew two of pro skateboarders in the lobby! Before we retired for bed, my husband walked through the lobby, to discover our son talking in the middle of a group of skaters. One of them my older son told me is a big name because “he is featured in a skateboarding video game”. It turned out that this guy won a gold medal at the Munich X-games.
We took our car first to
LAKE CHIEMSEE
Herrernchiemsee Castle: This is one of King Ludwig’s palaces. It is located on an island, and we took a scenic, short ferry ride there to tour it. The castle is unfinished but several rooms were modeled exactly on rooms in Versailles. (The brochure says that the rooms are “much more splendidly furnished than those in Versailles”). The Hall of Mirrors was a fabulous sight. Other decorations in the palace, including a porcelain chandelier, were jaw-droppingly impressive. Outside the palace were several huge, beautiful fountains.
This was our second trip to Germany and one our first, we saw Neuschwanstein and Linderhof – I highly, highly recommend a visit to King Ludwig’s castles – they are wonderful! (In order of preference, I would list them: Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee and Neuschwanstein).
We stayed in Bernau and enjoyed walking around this very small town. Our hotel had a lovely garden area. A walking path led to a small park/playground area. My boys liked the long zipline there.
Next stop was
BERCHTESGADEN
Jul 9th, 2013, 05:39 AM
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BERCHTESGADEN
This area has such amazing mountain scenery. We love mountains and think these are some of the very best we’ve seen.
Ramsau – we stopped here to take a picture of the often-photographed church located along a river, with soaring mountains in the background.
Wimbachklamm Gorge – this was about a 1.5 mile hike through an amazingly beautiful gorge. Here, a river is narrowly funneled through a steep gorge and dozens of waterfalls cascade down the sides of the gorge.
Berchtesgaden – the town itself is small, with painted houses (“Luftmalerei”). We ate dinner here one evening and briefly walked around.
Nazi Documentation Center – this was a very interesting museum on the history of the Nazi dictatorship, their rise to power, and their history in the area (it is located next to the Eagles Nest in Obersalzberg). There were many exhibits; we took the English audio tour. We were here quite a while because my older son is WW2 buff. Located here is also an elaborate underground bunker complex.
Hotel Zum Turken – nearby to the Documentation Center is this hotel, which the Nazis took over during the War. Underground there are a series of tunnels. We explored them for a short time – they were so spooky (and would be a great setting for any horror novel). There were several levels, narrow passageways and what my son told me were gun holes in the walls. I was glad to see daylight after being down there!
Lake Konigsee – we took a boat tour of this fjord-like lake, with its beautiful green waters and mountain scenery. The boat brought us the length of the lake – past St. Bartholemew Church, and waterfalls, to end at Salet. Here, we got off to hike to Lake Obersee, another beautiful lake. We walked half way around this lake. The water changed shades from clear to green to blue; the backdrop of one side of the lake is the Rothbach waterfall cascading down the mountain. Gorgeous.
This area has such amazing mountain scenery. We love mountains and think these are some of the very best we’ve seen.
Ramsau – we stopped here to take a picture of the often-photographed church located along a river, with soaring mountains in the background.
Wimbachklamm Gorge – this was about a 1.5 mile hike through an amazingly beautiful gorge. Here, a river is narrowly funneled through a steep gorge and dozens of waterfalls cascade down the sides of the gorge.
Berchtesgaden – the town itself is small, with painted houses (“Luftmalerei”). We ate dinner here one evening and briefly walked around.
Nazi Documentation Center – this was a very interesting museum on the history of the Nazi dictatorship, their rise to power, and their history in the area (it is located next to the Eagles Nest in Obersalzberg). There were many exhibits; we took the English audio tour. We were here quite a while because my older son is WW2 buff. Located here is also an elaborate underground bunker complex.
Hotel Zum Turken – nearby to the Documentation Center is this hotel, which the Nazis took over during the War. Underground there are a series of tunnels. We explored them for a short time – they were so spooky (and would be a great setting for any horror novel). There were several levels, narrow passageways and what my son told me were gun holes in the walls. I was glad to see daylight after being down there!
Lake Konigsee – we took a boat tour of this fjord-like lake, with its beautiful green waters and mountain scenery. The boat brought us the length of the lake – past St. Bartholemew Church, and waterfalls, to end at Salet. Here, we got off to hike to Lake Obersee, another beautiful lake. We walked half way around this lake. The water changed shades from clear to green to blue; the backdrop of one side of the lake is the Rothbach waterfall cascading down the mountain. Gorgeous.
Jul 9th, 2013, 09:19 AM
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Loving your trip report (probably because I love the area.) I also really enjoyed the Herrinchiemsee castle. One of my favorites. We also enjoyed Fraueninsel. It was a special day (maybe 10-10-10) and there were many weddings. It was such fun to wander among all of the bridal parties.
Jul 10th, 2013, 05:54 AM
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Hi all - it is a beautiful area with a lot to see.
elberko - I admit by the time we got to the BMW Museum, we were a little tired (it was after the factory tour). We went through it rather quickly.
ULM
This was a stop-over on our way to Rothenburg.
Ulm Munster – this Gothic church has the tallest church spire in Germany – and the world. It is a pretty church inside. I was especially interested in seeing the elaborate carved wooden choir stalls – which had carved busts and humorous drolleries. I got to the front of the church, only to be sternly told that going any further “would not be possible” because a service was starting. I was disappointed, so I asked if I could just proceed to the gate separating the altar area from the rest of the church. The guard begrudgingly told me I could go up to the gate. From there, I could see some of the detail of the choir stalls, but not much. The service was clearly a bit of time away from starting, as no one was in the pews except for a tour group. The leader was discussing the choir stalls and altar area. So...I went back to ask the guard if those people were attending the service (knowing that they weren’t). He said they were a tour group but were leaving any minute. So, I pressed my luck and asked if I could enter for just 2 minutes to view the stalls. He kind of rolled his eyes, and sighed, but said Yes and stressed: only for two minutes. I thanked him, and only remained for a couple minutes. On my way out, I profusely thanked him again, and I think I got the briefest hint of a smile as well.
Wiblingen Abbey library – this was an elaborately decorated library – similar (I am told) to the one in St. Gallen in Switzerland. There were marble columns, statues with gold decorations, a dramatic ceiling fresco, and of course, some books, too.
New Ulm skatepark and park complex – we told my younger son he could bring his skateboard and this was one of the skateparks we were able to find on-line prior to leaving for our trip. The park complex was amazing – it was in a huge expanse of ground – there were playgrounds, a sand volleyball court, a basketball court, trampolines(!) and a small skatepark with three pools/bowls. It was a terrific and attractive community resource and we enjoyed hanging out here that evening with the local Ulm-sters.
Zwiefalten abbey church – this is a lavishly decorated Baroque/Rococo church with a little bit of everything covering every surface – statues, gold, elaborate frescoes, garlands of colored flowers/foliage (not sure what these were made of but they were colored to look like the real thing). Every square inch was an explosion of color and decoration on a white background. We drove 45 mins. out of way from Ulm to get here, but Zwiefalten is, after all, a pilgrimage church.
ROTHENBURG AU TABOR
We arrived here relatively late (around 3pm) and we didn’t experience any of the huge crowds we were warned swarmed into this beautiful medieval small town. Rothenburg really is a beautifully preserved, quaint and picturesque town. We enjoyed just walking around and seeing the houses and architecture.
Criminal Museum: This is supposed to be one of the best criminal/torture museums in Europe and it was quite interesting. There were Iron Maidens, uncomfortable torture instruments, shame masks (that gossips were forced to wear), examples of school punishments common in medieval times and other items of punishment I’m glad I have never experienced!
Walking the walls: Rothenburg is a walled city, and in several areas, you can climb up and walk around the walls that surround the city. We didn’t do the full loop, but this was fun and gave us a different perspective of the town.
Night Watchman Tour: we took this tour, which met at the town hall. There were lots of people on this tour, and the tour guide gave a good, humorous tour of Rothenburg and its history. It was a really nice way to spend the evening.
elberko - I admit by the time we got to the BMW Museum, we were a little tired (it was after the factory tour). We went through it rather quickly.
ULM
This was a stop-over on our way to Rothenburg.
Ulm Munster – this Gothic church has the tallest church spire in Germany – and the world. It is a pretty church inside. I was especially interested in seeing the elaborate carved wooden choir stalls – which had carved busts and humorous drolleries. I got to the front of the church, only to be sternly told that going any further “would not be possible” because a service was starting. I was disappointed, so I asked if I could just proceed to the gate separating the altar area from the rest of the church. The guard begrudgingly told me I could go up to the gate. From there, I could see some of the detail of the choir stalls, but not much. The service was clearly a bit of time away from starting, as no one was in the pews except for a tour group. The leader was discussing the choir stalls and altar area. So...I went back to ask the guard if those people were attending the service (knowing that they weren’t). He said they were a tour group but were leaving any minute. So, I pressed my luck and asked if I could enter for just 2 minutes to view the stalls. He kind of rolled his eyes, and sighed, but said Yes and stressed: only for two minutes. I thanked him, and only remained for a couple minutes. On my way out, I profusely thanked him again, and I think I got the briefest hint of a smile as well.
Wiblingen Abbey library – this was an elaborately decorated library – similar (I am told) to the one in St. Gallen in Switzerland. There were marble columns, statues with gold decorations, a dramatic ceiling fresco, and of course, some books, too.
New Ulm skatepark and park complex – we told my younger son he could bring his skateboard and this was one of the skateparks we were able to find on-line prior to leaving for our trip. The park complex was amazing – it was in a huge expanse of ground – there were playgrounds, a sand volleyball court, a basketball court, trampolines(!) and a small skatepark with three pools/bowls. It was a terrific and attractive community resource and we enjoyed hanging out here that evening with the local Ulm-sters.
Zwiefalten abbey church – this is a lavishly decorated Baroque/Rococo church with a little bit of everything covering every surface – statues, gold, elaborate frescoes, garlands of colored flowers/foliage (not sure what these were made of but they were colored to look like the real thing). Every square inch was an explosion of color and decoration on a white background. We drove 45 mins. out of way from Ulm to get here, but Zwiefalten is, after all, a pilgrimage church.
ROTHENBURG AU TABOR
We arrived here relatively late (around 3pm) and we didn’t experience any of the huge crowds we were warned swarmed into this beautiful medieval small town. Rothenburg really is a beautifully preserved, quaint and picturesque town. We enjoyed just walking around and seeing the houses and architecture.
Criminal Museum: This is supposed to be one of the best criminal/torture museums in Europe and it was quite interesting. There were Iron Maidens, uncomfortable torture instruments, shame masks (that gossips were forced to wear), examples of school punishments common in medieval times and other items of punishment I’m glad I have never experienced!
Walking the walls: Rothenburg is a walled city, and in several areas, you can climb up and walk around the walls that surround the city. We didn’t do the full loop, but this was fun and gave us a different perspective of the town.
Night Watchman Tour: we took this tour, which met at the town hall. There were lots of people on this tour, and the tour guide gave a good, humorous tour of Rothenburg and its history. It was a really nice way to spend the evening.
Jul 11th, 2013, 04:38 AM
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Thank you, Trophywife 
WURZBURG
Wurzburg Residence – I wanted to visit this Baroque palace to see Tiepolo’s elaborate ceiling frescoes on the grand(!) staircase and in other parts of the palace. There are only several rooms total, and this was an easy self-guided tour.
Wurzburg skate park – another highlight for younger son. Somehow we found this, having only had a street name. We parked in a Beer Garden lot and the owner was able to give us directions once we showed him our son’s skateboard. This was a street (v. vert style) skatepark - and a good one. It was very well maintained and designed – it was even shaded, and in an attractive location along a river.
COCHEM
This town on the Mosel River, with its castle on a hill, looks like a fairy tale town . We climbed the hill to the base of the castle, which gave us nice, up close views of the castle, and an expansive view of the Mosel River valley below. We enjoyed walking the narrow streets of Cochem afterwards.
BURG ELTZ
This is another fairy tale castle – located deep in the woods. It is a medieval castle and has many of its original furnishings; my husband said it was his favorite castle/palace on the trip. We took a 45 minute, interesting, guided tour.
(BTW, Rick Steves says this is his favorite castle in all of Europe. I also have to say that we followed his directions to the castle, which worked well).
FRANKFURT
Frankfurt was, well, lacking in a lot of charm. To be fair, we had visited here after seeing Cochem, Rothenburg and Wurzburg, and it’s unfair to expect a large, business city to be as picturesque as any of those towns. But, compared to Munich, it’s a pretty boring city in appearance. I also think poorly of Frankfurt b/c I somehow booked us the noisiest room in town – on a main street across from a jack-hammering huge construction site. We only had a half day here before departing the next day, and I used the time to visit the Stadel Art Museum. It had a nice collection – not huge and overwhelming, of older European paintings, so it was a nice, worthwhile evening stop. (We were fortunate to be there on a night the museum was open). We walked back to our hotel a bit along the river. I had read someone describe Frankfurt as a city that’s American in appearance, and I wouldn’t disagree with that characterization.
PRACTICALITIES:
Getting around: the roads are terrific in Germany and the Germans are good drivers. Many of them also drive insanely FAST. I was going 80-85mph on the autobahn and was being blown away – one time by a motorcycle!! Some cars actually shook our car as they passed, like a train shakes when it’s stopped at a station and another train flies by. Our new car drove very well and was fun to drive. It was, however, a lot more nerve wracking knowing we driving – and parking – our brand new car and not a rental. But Chase was returned to the shipping/drop off location without a scratch, and with 900 European miles on him.
Next: our hotels
WURZBURG
Wurzburg Residence – I wanted to visit this Baroque palace to see Tiepolo’s elaborate ceiling frescoes on the grand(!) staircase and in other parts of the palace. There are only several rooms total, and this was an easy self-guided tour.
Wurzburg skate park – another highlight for younger son. Somehow we found this, having only had a street name. We parked in a Beer Garden lot and the owner was able to give us directions once we showed him our son’s skateboard. This was a street (v. vert style) skatepark - and a good one. It was very well maintained and designed – it was even shaded, and in an attractive location along a river.
COCHEM
This town on the Mosel River, with its castle on a hill, looks like a fairy tale town . We climbed the hill to the base of the castle, which gave us nice, up close views of the castle, and an expansive view of the Mosel River valley below. We enjoyed walking the narrow streets of Cochem afterwards.
BURG ELTZ
This is another fairy tale castle – located deep in the woods. It is a medieval castle and has many of its original furnishings; my husband said it was his favorite castle/palace on the trip. We took a 45 minute, interesting, guided tour.
(BTW, Rick Steves says this is his favorite castle in all of Europe. I also have to say that we followed his directions to the castle, which worked well).
FRANKFURT
Frankfurt was, well, lacking in a lot of charm. To be fair, we had visited here after seeing Cochem, Rothenburg and Wurzburg, and it’s unfair to expect a large, business city to be as picturesque as any of those towns. But, compared to Munich, it’s a pretty boring city in appearance. I also think poorly of Frankfurt b/c I somehow booked us the noisiest room in town – on a main street across from a jack-hammering huge construction site. We only had a half day here before departing the next day, and I used the time to visit the Stadel Art Museum. It had a nice collection – not huge and overwhelming, of older European paintings, so it was a nice, worthwhile evening stop. (We were fortunate to be there on a night the museum was open). We walked back to our hotel a bit along the river. I had read someone describe Frankfurt as a city that’s American in appearance, and I wouldn’t disagree with that characterization.
PRACTICALITIES:
Getting around: the roads are terrific in Germany and the Germans are good drivers. Many of them also drive insanely FAST. I was going 80-85mph on the autobahn and was being blown away – one time by a motorcycle!! Some cars actually shook our car as they passed, like a train shakes when it’s stopped at a station and another train flies by. Our new car drove very well and was fun to drive. It was, however, a lot more nerve wracking knowing we driving – and parking – our brand new car and not a rental. But Chase was returned to the shipping/drop off location without a scratch, and with 900 European miles on him.
Next: our hotels
Jul 11th, 2013, 05:17 AM
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Thanks for your report. We also enjoyed the abodes of Ludwig. Konigsee is a delight to wander around. Just a small point. I think you will find Rothenburg is spelt Rothenburg ob der Tauber. last time we were there it was gently snowing. Beautiful and interesting town.
Jul 11th, 2013, 05:24 AM
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Thanks for your report. It is nice to hear somebody traveling through my home country and enjoying his stay there! Sometimes when you live somewhere you forget how beautiful it can be, and you need some travelers to remind you of that.
Jul 12th, 2013, 09:50 AM
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VikBee, Germany is very pretty - so many charming small towns, and like I said: I think the Bavarian Alps are some of the most attractive mountains we've ever seen.
HOTELS:
Munich: Holiday Inn Central Munich. Accordingly to my son, best hotel of the trip, because it was crawling with professional skateboarders. (I must note that they all were very courteous guests – we had a few on our floor and it was very quiet). The hotel was very near a stop on the S-line (direct from the airport), and on a U-stop. What was nice was that from the underground station, the walk to the hotel was inside, along an area of storefronts.
Lake Chiemsee – here we stayed nearby in Bernau in Hotel Bonnschloessl - a 15th century castle. I loved the décor of the rooms – and there was even a library. It had a park like area on the one side of the hotel – with a garden, and further behind, walking trails and a small playground with a long zipline. The other side was a church with an attractive graveyard (the gravesites were meticulously maintained; lots of flowers). The hotel had a very serene, calm setting and we enjoyed a nice walk after dinner. Very recommended.
Berchtesgaden – Stoll’s Alpine Alpina. Nice place – we had a family room on the top floor with a balcony and a great view of the mountains. They had a nice lobby where my boys spent a lot of time b/c there was free WiFi there. The décor throughout was very interesting – it appeared one of the owners has a large interest in African art, b/c there were interesting pieces throughout the common areas of the hotel. I would highly recommend this hotel.
Ulm – IQ Hotel, Neu Ulm. My son said this was a Hipster Hotel – very sparse, very modern décor. Our room had nothing on the walls and was scrupulously clean. It was on the very edge of the outskirts of town and not in a tourist area. It worked fine for what we needed it for – a place to stay on our travels from the Alps to Rothenburg. There was nothing in the area to do, but the next day, we didn’t’ have to fight traffic out of the compact town of Ulm to get on our way.
Rothenburg – Hotel Spitzweg. I was drawn to his hotel b/c it was named after the painter, Carl Spitzweg. We had a nice family room in this atmospheric hotel. It was located within the walls, and it was an easy walk to every site in Rothenburg. Very recommended.
Cochem – Hotel Zenthof. We had a family room on the upper floor, which looked like someone’s attic. Sparse, but fine.
Frankfurt – Hotel Zentrum. OMG, Do Not Stay Here. It’s been a while since I picked a very bad hotel, and this was one of them. The very reasonable price (only 100 Euro/night) should have been a tip off something wasn’t great. The room was my nightmare room – LOUD. It was next to the elevator and on a very busy street. With no AC, we had to keep the windows open most of the time. Oh, and across the street was a MAJOR construction project – with constant jack-hammering. Think banging all day long – starting at 7am and not ending until around 5pm-ish. Once the jack-hammering and yelling construction guys stopped, the street noise (honking horns, etc) was readily apparent. Right outside our window was a huge, lit up “T”, from a brightly lit “HOTEL” sign, vertically positioned on the side of the hotel. It was impossible to relax b/c it was so loud. The rooms were tiny (not surprising for a hotel of that price in the central city); rugs were stained but rest of the place was otherwise clean.
My son’s didn’t see what the big deal was – b/c….it had free WiFi, which is their marker for a good hotel.
Only other positive: it was literally directly across the street from a main S and U-stop – it was very easy to drag our suitcases to the airport via the S train the next day. It was also very centrally located. Regardless, don’t stay there.
HOTELS:
Munich: Holiday Inn Central Munich. Accordingly to my son, best hotel of the trip, because it was crawling with professional skateboarders. (I must note that they all were very courteous guests – we had a few on our floor and it was very quiet). The hotel was very near a stop on the S-line (direct from the airport), and on a U-stop. What was nice was that from the underground station, the walk to the hotel was inside, along an area of storefronts.
Lake Chiemsee – here we stayed nearby in Bernau in Hotel Bonnschloessl - a 15th century castle. I loved the décor of the rooms – and there was even a library. It had a park like area on the one side of the hotel – with a garden, and further behind, walking trails and a small playground with a long zipline. The other side was a church with an attractive graveyard (the gravesites were meticulously maintained; lots of flowers). The hotel had a very serene, calm setting and we enjoyed a nice walk after dinner. Very recommended.
Berchtesgaden – Stoll’s Alpine Alpina. Nice place – we had a family room on the top floor with a balcony and a great view of the mountains. They had a nice lobby where my boys spent a lot of time b/c there was free WiFi there. The décor throughout was very interesting – it appeared one of the owners has a large interest in African art, b/c there were interesting pieces throughout the common areas of the hotel. I would highly recommend this hotel.
Ulm – IQ Hotel, Neu Ulm. My son said this was a Hipster Hotel – very sparse, very modern décor. Our room had nothing on the walls and was scrupulously clean. It was on the very edge of the outskirts of town and not in a tourist area. It worked fine for what we needed it for – a place to stay on our travels from the Alps to Rothenburg. There was nothing in the area to do, but the next day, we didn’t’ have to fight traffic out of the compact town of Ulm to get on our way.
Rothenburg – Hotel Spitzweg. I was drawn to his hotel b/c it was named after the painter, Carl Spitzweg. We had a nice family room in this atmospheric hotel. It was located within the walls, and it was an easy walk to every site in Rothenburg. Very recommended.
Cochem – Hotel Zenthof. We had a family room on the upper floor, which looked like someone’s attic. Sparse, but fine.
Frankfurt – Hotel Zentrum. OMG, Do Not Stay Here. It’s been a while since I picked a very bad hotel, and this was one of them. The very reasonable price (only 100 Euro/night) should have been a tip off something wasn’t great. The room was my nightmare room – LOUD. It was next to the elevator and on a very busy street. With no AC, we had to keep the windows open most of the time. Oh, and across the street was a MAJOR construction project – with constant jack-hammering. Think banging all day long – starting at 7am and not ending until around 5pm-ish. Once the jack-hammering and yelling construction guys stopped, the street noise (honking horns, etc) was readily apparent. Right outside our window was a huge, lit up “T”, from a brightly lit “HOTEL” sign, vertically positioned on the side of the hotel. It was impossible to relax b/c it was so loud. The rooms were tiny (not surprising for a hotel of that price in the central city); rugs were stained but rest of the place was otherwise clean.
My son’s didn’t see what the big deal was – b/c….it had free WiFi, which is their marker for a good hotel.
Only other positive: it was literally directly across the street from a main S and U-stop – it was very easy to drag our suitcases to the airport via the S train the next day. It was also very centrally located. Regardless, don’t stay there.
Jul 12th, 2013, 09:59 AM
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Lovely report. I was in Frankfurt, Munich and Rothenburg last fall (and Salzburg), so I enjoyed the reminiscing. I also stayed at Hotel Spitzweg (Rothenburg) and thought the proprietor was a kick!!
Jul 13th, 2013, 04:45 AM
#13
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azzure, he was wonderful! He came over to speak with us during breakfast, and he gave us good direcions to Wurzburg. (Part of the drive was through pastoral, serene farmland, which was a treat, after the crazy autobahn!)
Jul 13th, 2013, 06:31 AM
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I don't want to drive on the autobahn (did once and swore never again!). I told my husband I will meet him at the Stuttgart train station instead and he can drive by himself from Munich.
I am enjoying your report! What color is your new car, Philly?
I am enjoying your report! What color is your new car, Philly?
Jul 13th, 2013, 03:15 PM
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How did I never know there was a Toucan on the boards? Hello Toucan.
PhillyFan, it is great to read your report. I'm sorry about the hotel in Frankfurt
Frankfurt was pretty destroyed in WWII, with many house shortages etc after, so much of the building was purpose built and fast, just to get something up.
I'm glad your sons had such a good time, and how cool about the skateboarders at the hotel.
PhillyFan, it is great to read your report. I'm sorry about the hotel in Frankfurt
Frankfurt was pretty destroyed in WWII, with many house shortages etc after, so much of the building was purpose built and fast, just to get something up. I'm glad your sons had such a good time, and how cool about the skateboarders at the hotel.
Jul 15th, 2013, 01:28 PM
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It was, but actually it was the only way we could do it for European delivery. The factory is in Welt (next to Olympic Stadium), and all ED cars get picked up there. There are several drop off locations around Europe where you can drop off. We chose Frankfurt because I wanted to see Burg Eltz and Rothenburg. Also, I knew that trying to get FF award tix, it was likely we would able to score a direct flight from Frankfurt to PHL (and we did). Flying direct home from Europe is such a treat.
