Relaxing Family Place in Germany
 

We are looking for a place to relax for 4 - 5 days in Germany - train travel from either Munich or Frankfurt airports. NOT the cities - looking for someplace quaint, maybe a few sites, cycling, lake or river swimming would be great, castle ruins, hiking...
2 teenagers, mom and dad... in late June, early July
(could potentially rent a car if it got us to a great place that was off the beaten path of the rail lines)

Just across the border from Fuessen is Reutte, Austria. We LOVED staying there. It is close to a lake, mountains, hiking, biking, etc. all available. I had a car to get around. We did the castles, Zugspitze, luge and would like to go back again. It is a small town where relaxation is a pleasure!

Cochem, a cute wine town on the Mosel would fit all that bill - or even more Beilsetin, tinier and home of the raved about Haus Lippman, a intimate hotel many Fodor's have raved about and situated on a stunning part of the Mosel Valley and river - one of the most very scenic places in Europe IMO

kkukura...

We stayed there last summer and fell in love with that area as well! :-) How funny is that! We are looking for something similar but in a different area as we may be w/o a car this time around. If we can't find something different, we may return to that area for the R&R and things we missed during our first visit. Where did you stay?

palenQ... I will check those 2 places out. thanks...

Perfect place for you would be in the Ramsau area in Berchtesgadner Land. Ramsau is quaint and has everything you are looking for. Rent an apartment - here is the one we had on our last trip to the area - www.hinterponholz.de. You would need a car to visit any of the sites in the area:
http://www.berchtesgadener-land.info...mp;o_lang_id=2

http://www.berchtesgadener-land.info...mp;o_lang_id=2

http://www.berchtesgadener-land.info...mp;o_lang_id=2

http://www.kehlsteinhaus.com/english/index.asp

Hope the links will work for you. Plenty to do in the area if the weather would not cooperate for outdoor activities.

Drop me an email for more information if you are interested.

Book marking

Hi,
I agree with Eurotravler. We stayed in Ramsau by Berchtesgaden the past 2 years and just love the area. A car would be very useful though.
Without a car, I'd suggest Mittenwald, Germany. Very easy by train as the station is a few minutes walk to town. Gorgeous area and Mittenwald is a beautiful village! Garmisch and the Zugspitze are less than a half hour away and even Innsbruck is less than an hour away. Mittenwald also has a cable car... the Karwendelbahn.

www.mittenwald.de

www.walkseefeld.com/daytrips/karwendelbahn.htm


Paul

Cochem is good but heavily visited in July. For a quieter time you might opt for nearby Bullay. No car needed, as Bullay is an IC train stop a few towns upstream from Cochem. Rent bikes at the station there or at the Nikolai bike shop across the river in Alf (if it's still there now) and ride upstream along one of the prettiest parts of the river to Zell, Pünderich, and beyond. Hike up to Burg Arras (small castle) from the Alf side of the river or to the Marienburg (former fortification, now a hilltop cafe) for an amazing view. Side trips by train could include Cochem, Burg Eltz (excellent tour, walk 45 min each way from Moselkern station), Trier (Germany's oldes city, Roman roots, relics), Traben-Trarbach (offshoot rail line from Bullay) and Bernkastel (train to Wittlich, bus from there.)

We stayed here:
http://www.gaestehaus-eberhard.de/

There are two adjacent rooms with balcony - you can see them in the homepage photo - which have a partial river view. Easy walk from the station and to the ferry to Alf. Simple rooms, sumptuous breakfast, under 20 Euros per person per night.

Swimming: No river swimming I know of but there's a pool in Alf and a waterpark in Cochem (Moselbad.)

explorefamily- We stayed at the Hotel Das Beck in Reutte. Let us know what you decide. You have received some more good advice from others! It should be fun checking the places out.

We were in the Berchtesgaden area this past September. I agree that it is really a lovely place to spend some time. You have Hitler's Eagle's Nest with it's lofty views. You can take a boat ride on scenic Koenigsee or a chairlift up to Mt. Jenner. Lots of hiking/biking opportunities also.

you could try the Black Forest and take advantage of the transit pass included in the room rate. See Bavaria Ben's trip report from last fall

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/twoweek...ghtbudget.html

Hi E,

Gengenback, in the Black Forest, has been recommended by other posters.
See From http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35019718

It is on a river, very close to Strasbourg. Has hiking, swimming.

It's about 25 km from the very scenic Schwarzwalder Hochstrasse (rte 500).

It is 4 hr from Munich, 2 from Frankfurt - discount train fare is 29E from each.

((I))

Have you considered getting out of the box in Germany? How about going somewhere that would be really different than the usual 3 or 4 German tourist places. The Nordic region of Schleswig Holstein.

Relax? Thats all they do up there.
Its where Germans go to relax.

No Cities, Quaint? There aren't any big cities. Tons of little quaint towns like Husum, St Peter Ording, Sylt area villages, and Schleswig with pretty streets and views of the waterways. Sylt has lots of tourists in July but still lonely by Bavaria standards.

Cycling? Country roads and parks everywhere perfect for biking. Beautiful wind swept vistas.

A few Sites? Perfect. 3 or 4 Danish castles/palaces spread around, Viking village museums, etc.

Lake/River Swimming? In June or July this would be the perfect place. Rivers, schleis, ocean beaches etc.

The Danish culture mixed in is interesting. The transportation is very good with the local trains and clean/efficient buses getting you to any place you would probably want to go. And, the prices though not dirt cheap would be appealing compared to southern Germany.

Good luck.

iwann....

How far from the Frankfurt airport to this region you are recommending? It sounds lovely, too, but we are limited to using the Frankfurt or Munich airports and with only a few days, we need to be somewhat close....

I need to do some more research based on these recommendations - thank you all

bookmarking

Hi explorefamily,

I'm also suggesting Mittenald as the perfect place for a family to wind-down in. I spent a month in an apartment Dec 06-Jan 07 and just fell in love with the area. I didn't have a car and didn't miss it one bit.

There is a ton of easy walking to do; I would go on a two-hour walk about three times a week. My two favorites were to the top of the Kranzberg (and a grilled wurst in the restaurant Sankt Anton as a reward) and to the village of Krün.

Have fun!

s

last year I spent some wonderful days in a small place called Weibhausen between Traunstein and Waging. About 3 hours by train (or 2 by car) from Munich Airport.
Really lovely family with 2 kids (boy 17 and girl 10), 30 cows and 10 hens. Good and cheap rooms and hearty breakfast.
And just 5 miles away of Waginger lake and 20 of Chiemsee. Salzburg and many other sights as well as mountains etc. also close by.
Look at their website www.urban-hof.de and maybe you will like it.
Alas its in German only.

Palatinate (Pfalz) with its Pfälzer Wald region or Weinstrasse region might be worth a further research, as you canget there easyly from Frankfurt/Main Airport by train (via Mannheim Hbf to Neustadt/ Weinstrasse).