Young Oh

My wife has just introduced me to this message board, what a great site! <BR> <BR>We will be in Germany at the end of July and we will be driving. There seems to be many conflicting opinions on the Romantic Road. Will it be crowded and overrun during this time? Should we skip it, and take other routes? Or is it worth braving the crowds? Thanks for the suggestions.

Georgine

I can't speak for others experiences, but we found driving the Romantic Road in summer was very time consuming. Lots of traffic, some small towns to drive through where traffic got very jammed due to light signals. <BR> <BR>I did not find that the drive itself was rewarding enough to justify the traffic mess. (Our experience was on a weekday in mid-July.) <BR> <BR>I love the villages of Rothenberg, Nordlingen and Dinklesbuhl ---but you don't have to drive the entire length of the Romantic Road to visit them. You should at lease visit Rothenberg ---in spite of crowds---it is worth the effort! <BR> <BR>As others have said --try to arrange your visit for a weekday and stay at least overnight, so you can see the town when all the daytrippers have left.

Ed

Driving is slow in off season on much of the "Romantische Strasse". It's a two lane road that hits some decent-sized towns so there's a modest amount of traffice and naturally a fair number of trucks. Frankly I don't find most of the towns all that special, though that's spoken with 30 or 40 years of travel in Europe behind me. (I.e. Newcomers to Europe may find many quite attractive.) <BR> <BR>Rothenburg, over touristed, does have a special quality. It's very "authentic" even if it has been turned into somewhat of a tourist trap by the large numbers of visitors. Also quite interesting in that in its heyday it was the largest city in Germany. !!! It's interesting, then, to see get an idea of what that kind of town would have looked like in the middle ages. Put up with the crowds ... Rothenburg is worth a visit. (Even if, as Yogi Berra said, "It's so crowded no one goes there anymore." <BR> <BR>The better of the remaining towns, I think, is Dinklesbuhl, and it's nearby so doesn't require a lot of driving in traffic. If I recall properly you can get there via the Autobahn for an exit or two, then a quick skip over to the town. <BR> <BR>If you'd like a night or two in a quiet little town straight out of the middle ages but not overrun with tourists take a look at nearby Iphofen. <BR>www.twenj.com/bavaria.htm

Kelly A.

My husband and I will be in Bacharach along the Rhine, then going to Munich for two nights in mid September. We are wondering whether to rent a car to see Rothenburg for a few hours, then drive down part of the Romantic road, or to take the train to Rothenburg then to Munich. <BR> <BR>The Romantic road bus tour sounded like an all day event starting early and ending late, and we'd have to get up to catch a train from the Rhine. I think we would just like a sampling of the Romantic road then head by freeway to Munich. Any websites out there with details or should we buy a Michelin map and plan that way? <BR> <BR>Can anyone help us with advice? Would we rent a car in Mainz or Rothenburg and drop off in Munich or should we just take the trains. We would feel comfortable doing either route depending which is less cumbersome. <BR>I'd love to hear your opinions! I'm getting really confused on the choices or whether to skip the Romantic Road altogether...

ellen

Kelly, I was there in May and, in my view, the scenic part of the Romantic Road is south of Landsberg to the end in the Fuessen-Garmisch area. North of Landsberg toward Rothenburg, the Romantic Road isn't particularly romantic - lots of traffic, trucks, commercial areas, etc. and not much scenery. Rothenburg and the towns nearby - Dinkelsbuhl, Weikersheim and others are definitely worth visiting. It's probably practical to get to Rothenburg by train, but I'm not sure about the other towns - probably bus only.

Lee

Young Oh: I like driving the "Romantic Road" and don't mind the sometimes slower traffic and small towns. When driving long distances, we'll use the autobahn to make the trip shorter, but when nearing our destination, we'll get off onto one of the secondary roads and take in the scenery. One really nice area is around Schwangau, heading west from Munich, leaving autobahn A6 and taking B17 from Landsberg. Driving from Rothenburg to Dinkelsbuhl is a short, but nice drive, also. We did it one July and had a great time. <BR> <BR>Kelly: It depends on what your preferences are. I like to drive, so I would leave Bacharach, catch autobahn A66 from Wiesbaden, east to Frankfurt, then take A3 to Wurzburg and south on A7 to Rothenburg o.d.T. Spend the day there before heading to Munich, if possible. I'd take the drive from there over to say, Dinkelsbuhl on B25. You can get back on A7 to Ulm and then A8 east to Munich. <BR> <BR>You can make good time yet see some great sights.

julia

I was just in Rothenburg last Thursday. I had heard it was touristy, but I honestly found it far more charming than I expected, especially in the morning and early evening. And honestly, compared to the crush of Salzburg, it really wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. <BR> <BR>We arrived by train from Munich, so we didn't see the other towns. The 40 DM ($20) Bayern Ticket allowed the three in our party to travel for less than $7 a person. I can't speak for the other towns on the Romantic Road, but in my opinion, Rothenburg is definitely worth a visit.

Steve

Other than the southern section near Fussen there is nothing romantic about the Romantic Road. I would suggest deciding how much time you wanted to spend in which town and then mapping out the quickest route - using the Autobahn if possible. I would rate the towns in this order: 1-Rothenburg, 2- Dinklesbuhl, 3- Nordlingen. Rothenburg and Dinklesbuhl are quite close together so could easily do both. Bear in mind that the most enjoyable times in these towns are late afternoon and evening after the tour buses have left for the day and in the early morning before they arrive.

Kelly A.

Thanks everyone for the great info. We like to drive, Lee, so we might take your itineraries. We want to use the autobahn to speed up the drive except for the scenic areas. Ellen, Julia and Steve, thanks for the info on Rothenburg and the parts worth skipping on the Romantic Road. We'll try to hit Rothenburg late afternoon/early evening to miss some of the tour bus crowds. <BR> <BR>I'm so excited now- only 5 weeks.

Kelly A.

Make that only 3 weeks! I'm going to buy the Michelin map of that quadrant of Germany and rent a car ASAP now that we have a route. Looking at the map in Borders today it seemed like a maize of roads but now I'm looking forward to the drive.

Lee

Kelly A: Good choice! I like driving in Germany. It's much more interesting than I-90 at home. <BR> <BR>Some tips on driving in Germany: There is a warning triangle in the rental car trunk, use it if you break down; always wear your seatbelt; don't let the car idle unnecessarily (like sitting in a parking lot); slower traffic on the autobahn moves to the right and pass only on the left; don't run out of gas on the autobahn, you can be fined; if you break down on the autobahn, walk along the roadside until you see a small white post. There will be a black arrow on it, follow the arrow to a phone, pick it up and say "auto kaput", then return to your car and someone from the auto club will come out to see what you need; always signal your intentions; visit this website to get familiar with the signs: //www.rothery.org.uk/driveregs/signs/signslistnf.htm. This may help out. <BR> <BR>I wouldn't spend too much on maps over here as you can get them easily at any service station over there for a fraction of the price. <BR> <BR>I used to live near Frankfurt and if you have any other questions, email me and I'll try to help.

ellen

Kelly, you might try www.europebycar.com Their rates were as low as AutoEurope and when I picked up my car in Munich, they had given me an automatic transmission even though I hadn't asked for it. (For me that was fine, because although I didn't want to pay the higher price to order an automatic, I did feel trepidation about driving a manual, which I hadn't done for a long time.)

Kelly A.

Thanks Lee and Ellen. I was going to look at AutoEurope today. I'll try the other site also. And we'll study those signs. That worries my husband the most. <BR> <BR>Lee, are the gas stations frequent and right off the autobahn? I could see us getting lost trying to find gas. <BR> <BR>thanks!

wes fowler

The Romantic Road is Germany's oldest and lengthiest tourist route. You'll do yourself a disservice if you don't drive it and explore the towns and villages both on and adjacent to the road. Wurzburg, Augsburg and Landsberg all offer a great deal of history ranging from the Marienberg, Wurzburg's 13th century fortress to the prison in Landsberg where Hitler wrote Mein Kampf in the 1920s. Tourists clutter Rothenburg and miss the delights of Nordlingen with its early 14th century town wall, five gates and eleven towers. <BR>Nordlingen sits in the center of a 15 mile wide crater created by an enormous meteor that struck the area 15 million years ago. <BR> <BR>A short detour from the Romantic Road at Schongau leads to Hohenpeissenberg from the summit of which one can view 13 Alpine lakes and the entire German Alpine range. Another detour leads to the Wieskirche, a jewel of Baroque artistry created by the Zimmerman brothers. The entire area is dotted with examples of the artistry of the woodcarver Riemenschneider: the altar of the parish church in Aub, the three altars in Rothenburg's St. Jakob's church, the altar in the 1,000 year old church in Detwang. Vilgertshofen, Altenstadt, Hohenfurch and Rottenbuch all offer architectural delights ranging from the Romanesque to the Baroque to Rococo. <BR> <BR>Far too many tourists drive the Romantic Road to get someplace else, invariably Rothenburg or Fussen with its castles linked to King Ludwig II. In doing so, they miss some of Germany's most charming villages, its finest architecture and craftswork, its most impressive and delightful scenery. Drive it by all means, at your liesure and with adventuresome curiosity. You'll be handsomely rewarded with some long lasting memories.

Lee

Kelly: Service stations are just outside of Frankfurt flughafen and located everywhere. You will have no problem finding them and some are right on the autobahn. At the station, try "reisen sie karte, bitte" for "travel map, please". <BR> <BR>Ellen is right, automatics are hard to find and expensive. Manuals are easy to come by and much more fun. <BR> <BR>Have a good trip!

wes fowler

The Romantic Road is Germany's oldest and lengthiest tourist route. You'll do yourself a disservice if you don't drive it and explore the towns and villages both on and adjacent to the road. Wurzburg, Augsburg and Landsberg all offer a great deal of history ranging from the Marienberg, Wurzburg's 13th century fortress to the prison in Landsberg where Hitler wrote Mein Kampf in the 1920s. Tourists clutter Rothenburg and miss the delights of Nordlingen with its early 14th century town wall, five gates and eleven towers. <BR>Nordlingen sits in the center of a 15 mile wide crater created by an enormous meteor that struck the area 15 million years ago. <BR> <BR>A short detour from the Romantic Road at Schongau leads to Hohenpeissenberg from the summit of which one can view 13 Alpine lakes and the entire German Alpine range. Another detour leads to the Wieskirche, a jewel of Baroque artistry created by the Zimmerman brothers. The entire area is dotted with examples of the artistry of the woodcarver Riemenschneider: the altar of the parish church in Aub, the three altars in Rothenburg's St. Jakob's church, the altar in the 1,000 year old church in Detwang. Vilgertshofen, Altenstadt, Hohenfurch and Rottenbuch all offer architectural delights ranging from the Romanesque to the Baroque to Rococo. <BR> <BR>Far too many tourists drive the Romantic Road to get someplace else, invariably Rothenburg or Fussen with its castles linked to King Ludwig II. In doing so, they miss some of Germany's most charming villages, its finest architecture and craftswork, its most impressive and delightful scenery. Drive it by all means, at your liesure and with adventuresome curiosity. You'll be handsomely rewarded with some long lasting memories.

Kelly A.

It sounds like we will have to return and dedicate more time to exploring Bavaria for sure. For now we wanted to see as much as possible while were younger and (supposedly) have the energy and no kids yet. So many places, so little vacation time!