Southern Germany - first trip
 

Planning first trip to Germany. Interested in thoughts on the following itinerary, as well as recommended lodgings: <BR> <BR>Day 1: Arrive Munich (a.m.) visit town <BR>Day 2: Drive to Salzburg (stay overnight) <BR>Day 3: Salzburg / Berchtesgaden - stay in Fussen area <BR>Day 4: Castles (stay in area) <BR>Day 5: travel to Ulm (family reunion) <BR>Day 6: Stuttgart / Waiblingen (more family) <BR>Day 7: Munich again <BR> <BR>THANKS

Don't think you can miss on your itinerary. I do suggest one more Oberamergau (where the passion play is held every 10 years). The houses are charming and from there you can hit two of King Ludwig's castles, Neuswanstein and Linderhof. Both magnificent. Salzberg is a beautiful city, one of my two favorite citys in Europe (the other is Budapest.) <BR>Art <BR>

Busy, but pretty well thought out. What time of year? Don't know about all 4 seasons, but in Ulm the square is filled with the farmers' market on Wednesday morning - - fascinating to see it come alive beginning just after sunrise. I suppose you don't need a recommendation for a place to stay if you are visiting family, but I'll throw out my endorsement for the Ulmer Spatz (right off the main square) all the same. <BR> <BR>So try arriving in Munich on Friday (of course I suppose it all depends on the dates of the family reunion), and that will put you in Ulm on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. <BR> <BR>And I could offer a little advice on Salzburg (a couple of hotels, Mozart dinner concerts) if you want any. <BR> <BR>Feel free to write me. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex

Very busy and tight but certainly doable. Your longest drive will be from Berchtesgaden to Füssen and that can take you from 3 to 4 hours depending on stops along the way. With only one week to work with I would recommend a more relaxed itinerary by eliminating Salzburg/Berchtesgaden. You might consider this instead (unless you have your heart set on seeing the sights east of Munich): <BR> <BR>Day 1: Munich <BR>Day 2: Munich - drive to Füssen area early afternoon. <BR>Days 3 & 4: Wieskirche - Oberammergau - Ettal - Linderhof - Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Mittenwald - Innsbruck - Neuschwanstein - Hohenschwangau (you might not want to do all of those but you can see there is plenty to do and see in that area). <BR> <BR>For possible accommodations in the areas SW or SE of Munich have a look at Ben's Bauernhof at - http://oasis.fortunecity.com//montego/267/ <BR>- and if you have any specific questions drop me an email. Ben

Sounds tiring but fun! I would personally opt to stay in Berchtesgaden, and visit Salzburg from there ( a lot cheaper). They're very close. Don't forget to buy your vignette at the autobahn reststop before you drive into Austria! I'd recommend the Hotel VierJahrzeiten - very comfortable, friendly staff, good food, close to everything. Did most of my shopping near there. <BR>Above comments are good too - I can recommend the Burghotel Falkenstein near Pfronten, about a fifteen minute drive from Neuschwanstein castle, if you decide you don't want to go to both places. You look out of your huge balcony at the Austrian alps and the floodlit ruins of castle Falkenstein (which you can also make a short walk to). This was a great hotel, and we liked it so much we almost didn't go on to Berchtesgaden.

Bruce, <BR>Just a cautionary note. You might want to reconsider Fussen and the castles area considering that the Passion Play will be performed in Oberammergau during the tourist season. You may discover that accommodations in the Pfaffenwinkel, Ost-Allgau and Werdenfelser Land areas (all in close proximity to Oberammergau) are difficult to find and costs may be prohibitive. You might want to concentrate on southeastern Bavaria instead. Chiemgau and Chiemsee are both neighboring Berchtesgaden and Salzburg.

Don't reley on yur famly too much, they could cramp your style. <BR>