We will be touring in Germany, Switzerland and Austria in September this year. We have reserved apartments in Vienna and for a side trip to Prague, but we would like to be flexible during our time in the rural areas. Are we likely to be able to find guest houses, bed & breakfast and zimmer frei places as we go along without reservations in advance? (We are renting a car.)

Also, we will be flying to Frankfurt and plan to start our time on the Romantic Road. Can anyone recommend a small hotel, guest house or B&B in or near Wurzburg?

Thanks!!

Hi,
We wanted to stay not too far from the airport, spend the night and then head to Garmisch via Rothenburg and Dinkelsbuhl. We found a little town (walled with towers) named Eibelstadt, just south of Wurzburg. We stayed at a great hotel (Zum Ross) on the town square. The owner speaks english and the rates were under 49 Euro. He served excellent local wine and some fantastic dinner meals. Some local gentlemen sat nearby playing cards and having a good time. Breakfast is included. We also stayed there the night before we flew out of Frankfurt. About an 1 hour drive away. It just seemed the perfect place to spend at least the first day in Germany. I have posted our pictures here: www.thirdmansystems.com/vacation

Just click on the Eibelstadt Pictures
link. Picture 6 is the front of the hotel.

We have traveled in Sept. without reservations. I would highly recommend getting to your destination early and getting a room. Later in the evening it will be hard to get a room, sometimes even if there is an empty one. Many smaller places shutdown. I've been in small hotels where they give you a key to the front door and lock it up when they leave at 6. Check out Bavarian Ben's (http://www.bensbauernhof.com/) website for some places to stay. I hope this helps.

Ken Norris

Hi Ken.

Thanks very much for the information. I've looked at the Eibelstadt site and your photos and it's quite appealing.

I've also tried to look at some of the places on Bavarian Ben's sites, but I have not been able to view English language versions. Is there a secret I'm missing?

I'm assuming we should also take some time to visit Wurzburg. How long would you suggest we need? (I guess the question is whether we should plan on staying more than one night in Eibelstadt.)

Thanks again,

Bruce

We didn't visit Wurzburg this trip, but plan to in the near future. Hopefully someone else can tell you about Wurzburg. I would expect at least 2 nights in Eibelstadt.
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/accommodationsbavaria.html
These descriptions are in English, but some of the links may be in German.
Picture 20 of our pictures is a great little wine stube, just down the hill from the hotel. Also an excellent meal can be had in a restaurant across the courtyard from the hotel.

You'll find at least one <i>Gasthof</i>, small hotel, with <i>Fremdenzimmer</i>, visitors rooms, in just about every town. Mostly family run, they also serve a hearty meal. Get out of the saddle by 5 or 6 when you travel the backroads and you'll have no problem finding a room.

Thanks, &quot;Hopscotch&quot; we appreciate the encouragement to be a bit free and easy!

B&amp;MJ