bettyk

We made our third trip to Rothenburg last May and stayed 2 nights. The first morning we walked out on the street about 7:30 AM and there were only a handful of people out and about. Most were heading to the local bakery for their morning coffee and daily bread. By Noon, the main streets were jammed with tourists from the many buses that stop in Rothenburg. But we managed to avoid many of them by heading to the lovely city park. We had a lovely, quiet lunch at a biergarten off one of the side streets. The only other table was filled with some German-speaking people (maybe tourists?). After about 3 PM, the crowds thinned out so we visited some of the shops on Schmiedegasse.<BR><BR>Rothenburg is a wonderful town to visit but it is best to spend a couple of days there. If you get off the beaten path, you will really enjoy this place.

cstepane

From experience I would spend a day or so in Rothenburg. We thought it was very lovely but touristy. We did enjoy it. Many mention the nightwatchman's tour but never the Puppet show there. We felt it was clever and entertaining. Puppen Elvis! Wurzburg is beautiful and the Residence and the magnificent staircase and chapel fabulous. Just outside Wurzburg is a wonderful, mostly pedestrian city of Veithoschheim on the Main river. Regensburg is vastly overlooked and if you make it that far drive another hour and visit Passau on the Austrian border at the confluence of 3 rivers. It was postcard pretty and a surprise on our way by auto to the Czech republic. Weissenburg too is a sleeper in my opinion. The quadrangle beer cities of Coburg, Bamberg, Bayreuth and Kulmbach were a treat. The Plassenburg schloss in Kulmbach made us marvel with its view and museums within. We have seen many castles in Bavaria but probably will never visit mad King Ludwigs. We never eat at a restaurant with the biggest ad in the yellow pages either. Don't do too much but don't do too little. Bavaria is a great to explore and you can't go wrong. Try to get lost, it's fun.

Ann

David, I agree that Rothenburg is a tourist mecca... probably for good reason, it is one of the most beautiful little walled towns you'll see. It's also overrun with tourists, esp. Americans and Japanese, but as BettyK and I mentioned previously, we have found many &quot;off the two main streets&quot; locations where we have the historic houses and beautiful views of the valley entirely to ourselves. That said, after many years of traveling around Germany and multiple trips to Rothenburg (including several Christmases),I probably wouldn't have gone there on our last trip because of the ever-increasing crowds, had my sister and brother-in-law not been with us. But they were, it was their first visit there, and they were AWESTRUCK. They both walked their legs off for three days and used up rolls of film. Guess it's nice to see things through a &quot;newcomer's&quot; eyes and appreciate the impact of some quintessential German locales. I also love Regensburg, but without the walls and towers, it lacks some of the atmosphere of Rothenburg, IMHO. If you decide to stop there, the Sorat Insel Hotel is a wonderful place to stay - a converted old factory now a historical monument, on an island in the middle of the Danube. It has a fabulous view of both town and river and is near the pedestrian bridge for reaching the city center. Best wishes... <BR>

Bill

We were in Germany in June: Landed in FRA. Train to Bamberg for 3 nights days--a gem of a small city, one of the hilites of our trip. Train to Munich for 3 nights days--worth the time, many things to see and do. Rented car and drove to Hohenschwangau via Linderhof and a small part of Austria. Stayed in Pension Albrecht in Hohenschwangau--very nice--2 nights. Drove up Romantic Road stopping at the Wieskirche and Dinkelsbuhl on the way to Rothbrg. Stayed at castle hotel in the town of Colmberg 18 km east of Rothbrg--2 nights. Drove to Mosel River, town of Beilstein and stayed 3 nights. Then toured the Rhein for 1 day and stayed in hotel near FRA airport for our flight home. We did daytrips from each of our &quot;bases&quot; and saw a lot of countryside, small towns, places that almost never have tourists. Great fun and educational, too.

David D.

Dear Folks,<BR><BR>It's good to see there are numerous and often varied opinions about a German holiday. Thanks again to all those who've posted. I'll mull over all contributions and come up with an updated itinerary within the next several weeks.

jw

Hello David. 18 days between Frankfurt and Vienna sounds wonderful. I'm one of those who still thinks Rothenburg is magic if (and that's a big if) you can arrange to be there at sunrise or sunset. But if you're looking for a small place between Rothenburg and Munich, really small, you might consider Harburg. It has a fortress, narrow streets, a little stone bridge, and almost no tourists (alas, no walls). <BR><BR>Did anyone say that it's an easy day-trip to Salzburg from Berchtesgaden? But St. Gilgen in Austria is also a possible place to stay from which day visits can be made to Salzburg and Halstatt. <BR><BR>I copied with interest the couple of posts which described Durnstein and its valley. That's on my list of places I've yet to explore. Enjoying this thread very much. J.

Joyce

Skip the Innsbruck area, and add the days to Vienna and Vienna day-trips. <BR><BR>Innsbruck is out of your way (given the rest of your itinerary), and the scenery you see there will not be much different from what you will see in some other locations on your itinerary.<BR><BR>The Vienna area has a huge amount of things to see and do. I spent 5 days there, and it was not enough time.