romantic road in october
 

I am just beginning to plan a trip to Germany this October, and cannot find much info on off the beaten path itineraries. This is a very rough itinerary of touristy areas that I might want to visit, but I'd like to find something more interesting.<BR>06OCT- arrive Frankurt 745a, drive to<BR> Wurzburg, possibly spend 1st night<BR> here, or drive on to Rothenburg after<BR> exploring for the afternoon.<BR>07OCT- arrive Rothenburg and explore city,<BR> 1nt Rothenburg<BR>08OCT- drive 3hrs to Schloss Neuschwanstein, <BR> stopping along the way, but where are <BR> the neat places? 1nt this area<BR>09OCT- drive to Schloss Linderhof, explore,<BR> then make way to Munich, spend 2nts<BR> in city.<BR>10OCT- Munich<BR>11OCT- train to Innsbruck, spend 2nts here,<BR> unless there is a better suggestion.<BR> I am not wild about big cities.<BR>12OCT- Innsbruck<BR>13OCT- train to Zurich, flight departs for<BR> USA early am.<BR>Any and all suggestions would be greatly appeciated! Especially getting away from all these main tourist stops. Thanks in advance.

First I'd suggest making it an all driving trip and save the big city (Munich) for another day. If there's a drop off charge for the car at the Zurich airport, you've more than made up for it with no train costs. Wurzburg can be a bit difficult to drive in so consider starting out in Heidelberg (you'll have too much jet lag to go farther). From there, go to Rothenburg to start the Romantik Road adventure. Between Rothenburg &amp; Schwangau (Neuschwanstein) the towns of Dinkelsbuhl and Nordlingen are worth a visit...both well preserved medieval towns. I'd also suggest you spend 2 nights near the castles; making your 2nd day a day trip to Linderhof &amp; the Weis Kirche (beautiful pilgrimage church enroute to Oberammrgau). Then, instead of Munich &amp; Innsbruck, consider driving down to Lake Constance to visit Lindau &amp; Meersburg (spend night?) and then on to the Black Forest (Freudenstadt, Triburg, etc.) If you go to the airport via Basel, it's autobahn all the way, and the Zurich airport is an easy place to turn in a rental (gas station for final fill-up right at the entrance).

I am always so disappointed when people advise others to skip Würzburg! The city is absolutely beautiful, with more to do than Heidelberg, for example, and far, far fewer tourists. You don't need to drive around Würzburg, you can park your car in one of many public parking lots, and walk or take public transportation which is excellent in the city. The fortress looking over the city, the Residenz, the Käppelle, the cathedral and the Burger and Julius Spital are all worth a visit, as well as the Marktplatz, where you can get an original "geknickte" That's just a Bratwurst, folded in half. Bratwurst from this region is delicious, and unique! Anyway, just a dissenting opinion to those who would have you skip Würzburg because it is difficult to drive in. Plus, it is only an hour or so from Rothenburg o.d.T. So you could definitely scoot down there to spend the night. <BR>

Christina,<BR>To get some ideas of what to see and how to see them in Upper Bavaria, go to: <BR><BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/messages.cfm?fid=2&amp;tid=1286425&amp;numresponse s=3<BR><BR>YOu'll find some ideas of mine regarding Bavarian castles, Alpine lakes, Wieskirche, Baroque monastery churches in Rottenbuch and Ettal.<BR><BR>The area of interest southwest of Munich is relatively small in size. You could well stay in one village your entire stay after leaving Rothenburg until you depart for Zurich, visiting Munich by S-bahn and all other sites, including Innsbruck by auto. Innsbruck is not a small city by any stretch of the imagination; it's population is well over 125,000.<BR><BR>Check the URL indicated above; feel free to Email me if you've any questions. <BR><BR>

I second Katie. You cannnot find a nicer city with tons of shopping than Wuerzburg. Been to Heidelberg a few times and I am sorry but I take the sights of Wuerzburg. Not at all touristy. Have a few names of hotels and places to eat if you need them?

Mike, I do need recommendations on places to eat and stay,<BR>Thanks!

The Bishop's Palace, the Residenz, is one of my favorite doses of Baroque. I vote for Wurtzburg too!