homesteaders

My wife and I will be visiting southwest Germany from March 30 thru April 20.
We have traveled over most of Europe for the past 25 years, but most of SW Germany will be new to us. We love small, interesting towns, touristy or not, historical sights, and lovely landscapes. We are extremely flexible as to itinerary, but here goes.

Arriving in Munich, we head directly towards Meersburg on Lake Constance for 4 days: Things to see and do?? Then we drive west and spend 3 nights near Hinterzarten, a mystery to us. Is it even a good choice? We hope to visit Freiburg;about 10 miles awayplus any small interesting places, etc.

Leaving Hinterzarten (?) we move farther west to Breisach(3 days), planning to use this base to visit Colmar, France and see any castles, etc and small towns in the area. Suggestions to see and do?

From Breisach, we move north to Calw, Mosbach, and then head back to Munich thru Nordlingen, visiting each of them for 3 days. We know little to nothering about this region and would really like to know the small, interesting towns, and things.....!

our thanks in advance. homesteaders

Palenque

Don't miss Lindau en route to Meersburg - old city sticking out into the lake.

logos999

Congrats, this is an awfully good itinarary. 3 days in one place doesn't mean you need to stay in that place but can visit all the small towns nearby.
Not very american

Michael

Just west of Freiburg is the Kaiserstuhl area known for its vineyards.

ira

Hi home,

>Arriving in Munich, we head directly towards ....Lake Constance for 4 days:

That's about 1:40 hr on the Autobahn in jet lagged condition.

You might want to take the sightseeing route on www.viamichelin.com and drive the scenic roads to Fuessen, stopping at Ludwig's Linderhof Castle.

You could spend the night in Fuessen, visit Neuschwanstein and then go on the the Bodensee relaxed and refreshed.

You might want to consider staying at www.hotel-schreier.de/wpde/en/hotel/ in Lindau when you visit the Bodensee.

We will be staying there for our third time on our upcoming trip.

Instead of staying in Breisach, you might want to spend your time visiting Alsace.

We very much liked our 2 visits at http://pagesperso-orange.fr/schwendi/ in Kientzheim - very near Colmar: you can even take the bus.

Travel time from Kientzheim to Calw is a about the same as from Breisach.

Enjoy your visit.

Aramis

ira - Munich to Meersburg is about 2.5 hours

Meersburg is the jewel of the Bodensee - i would recommend you stay there. You can see Mainau, Lindau, and even Konstanz, Switzerland easily.

I don't know about Hinterzarten but it makes Freiburg accessible. Freiburg is reall quite large - it sticks out from your other destinations in that regard.

Breisach is a good base for the small Alsatian towns north of Colmar - Riquewihr, Hunawihr, Ribeauville. You could even stay there because there is so much to see and Breisach does not add much.

I recommend Haut Koenigsburg - the best castle in the area by far.

I looked forward to seeing Calw but was a little disappointed - have you considered the Neckar River valley, just to the east. There are many small towns well situated there.

If you can swing far enough north, I would also recommend Dinkelsbuehl - a little farther north but even more scenic.

Nice variety you are packing into the trip!

I have more details if you want....

bettyk

Meersburg is a lovely town. The Gasthof Zum Baeren is a historical building full of charm with reasonable rates and a great restaurant.

http://www.baeren-meersburg.de/

Lindau is also a nice town to spend some time in. Definitely take the boat over to Mainau Island either from Meersburg or Lindau for the beautiful flowers. They have to be seen to be believed.

http://www.mainau.de/htdocs/en/0101.htm

While in the Black Forest, stop in Gengenbach. It's a gem of a town and you can see most of it in a few hours.

http://www.stadt-gengenbach.de/en/tourism/

We spent the night in Noerdlingen in 2007. I'd also try to stop in Feuchtwangen for a few hours and even Dinkelsbuehl if you have time.

Some of our photos if you are interested:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/561...xDcvw?start=36

http://travel.webshots.com/album/561...xDcvw?start=96

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554...yxotU?start=24

Russ

Sounds like a VERY nice itin. I'd only say that the weather may inhibit your activities - the BF after all is essentially a destination for outdoors activities. Being near a larger city whenever possible will give you some alternatives. Hinterzarten is a sweet place to do some hiking, but you may be a tad early for that. On the way to Calw you might enjoy Schiltach, a lovely old half-timbered town, and larger Freudenstadt. From Mosbach, outings to Michelstadt, Miltenberg, and Bad Wimpfen are worthwhile; you could also stop at Hirschhorn Castle Hotel, a great place for an afternoon coffee on the terrace overlooking the Neckar if the weather is good.

iris1745

Hi homesteaders; You are getting good advise here. But do yourself a favor. Read a little about what you like and then use the advise given here. You are passing by so many places not even mentioned so far. Go to www.amazon.com and buy yourself either a Michelin green guide on Germany or an Eyewitness guide on Germany. Amazon sells then at a reduced rate and if you spend more that $25 dollars, you may get free shipping. iris1745/dick

bettyk

Agree with Iris. There is soooo much to see in Germany, it is hard to choose. That's why we keep going back again and again.

ira

Hi Aram,

>ira - Munich to Meersburg is about 2.5 hours<

Of which, according to www.viamichelin.com, 1:40 hr is on the Autobahn.

I was concerned that the OP might not be aware of the difficulty of driving at high speed when jet-lagged.

Aramis

Ira;

I was going from experience, having driven from the airport to Meersburg a couple of times, but I checked viamichelin now and it shows 2:37 for 259 km. from the airport and 2:31 for 219 km from Munich itself.

Dukey

Don't assume jet lag, Ira...