Itinerary suggestions, please. Flying into Zurich and out of Munich and will have 16 days to
travel by train. Thinking about going to Konstanz first and on to Munich and making day trips, but other than that have not gotten very far with planning. Just decided to go in September and we usually know 6 months or so before and I have lots of planning time and
get a bit OCD with it. I hope to not put myself through that this time. I will continue to read
trip reports and do lots of research but would so like to hear from all of you who have
had wonderful experiences and special places you would like to share. We really enjoy
smaller places with beautiful scenery, bike trails, etc for most of the days. Any information
about the Passion Play in Oberammergau also appreciated. Many thanks.

Hello violetduck

<Any information about the Passion Play...>

Here you go:
http://www.oberammergau-passion.com/...home/home.html

Thanks swisshiker for the prompt reply. I need to do further
checking but did check out accomodations in Oberammergau yesterday and found everything I checked not available. We
would be traveling by train and the play is not over until
late at night so seems a bit complicated at this point.
Appreciate the website.

Your best bet at this point may be to go with an organized tour group. They buy up lots of rooms in town.

ttt

Violetduck I think you will find that it will be almost impossible to book rooms and tickets for the Passion play. It books up very quickly and very early. I booked in the UK last year and had a problem booking a single room and the organised tour I have booked is not staying in Oberammergau. I also think I am right in saying that without accommodation you will not get tickets for the play, the two go together. I am ready to be proved wrong on this.

Hi violetduck,

The Play organizers are running shuttle busses from most towns and villages to the Play in the afternoon and then back at night. I know there are special busses laid on here in Garmisch, and they trundle up to Oberammergau every afternoon.

You'll be fine getting a hotel room in Garmisch and then making it to the play using the busses. I'd just make sure you can get individual tickets (w/o accommodation) first.

Have fun!

s

Traveling by train so if going only to Constance and Munich and Bavaria in general you can consider using the bargain Bavarian Lander ticket - which lets you ride regional trains and all city transports but not the faster trains - OK if in a small area. If traveling around Germany much more however then look at the Germany Railpass which lets you hop on any train anytime -if you wish flexibility to just show up at the station and jump on any of the zillions of trains the pass can be a bargain. Compare fares once you pin down your itinerary at www.bahn.de - the Germany Rail web site and also for schedules all over Europe - the best and easiest to use i have found.

For planning a rail trip to Germany and vicinity i always highlight these info-laden sites that will help your planning - www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's free European Planning & Rail Guide that has a nice chapter on Germany and proposed itineraries.

PS i would go as early in September as possible as IME in this area cool rainy weather can set in later in the month - the Munich area is one of the wettest in Europe i read throughout the year so prepare for wet weather.

Thanks to all for your help. Think at this point we will not
try to see the Passion Play. I will continue to work on the
itinerary and would still love suggestions for those not to miss places.

Hi again,

It seems that you don't plan to spend much time in Switzerland, is that right? Most folks make a trip to the high Alps somewhere (Jungfrau region, Engadin Valley, Valais. . .), but you are simply going to Konstanz and then to Germany, yes?

Well, for your time in Bavaria, I hope you can spend some days in Mittenwald, a perfect jewel of a village nestled in the mountains. It is about two hours south of München right on the border of Austria. You may also want to spend a day seeing Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which is about 90 minutes from München. Garmisch makes a good base because it has great transportation to the castles, to Mittenwald, and to Oberammergau (you may want to spend a morning there even if you're not seeing the play).

Have fun with your plans!

s

For smalltown experiences and bike routes, you're already there in Konstanz. Lake Constance (Bodensee) is great. Lots of easy biking along the lakeside routes there with towns like Lindau, Radolfzell, Meersburg and others. Or head north to Donaueschingen and pick up the Donauradweg (Danube bike trail) which is also very popular. Or head to the northwest into the Black Forest. The biking and hiking around Hinterzarten and Titisee-Neustadt is really nice. Most Black Forest towns offer you a free rail pass during your stay, which is great for exploring the region - the BR railway routes are among the most scenic on the planet.

Some other BF towns to google:

Schiltach
Loeffingen
Hausach
Triberg

swandav, you are right. We have been to the Jungfrau area and several other places in beautiful Switzerland. This time because we are flying back home out of Munich thought we would head more in that direction from Zurich, seeing more of Germany and Austria. We have been to Salsburg and Vienna, but would like to go back to Salsburg. We need a base in that area and I don't know if Salsburg would be a good one. I have been looking at Mittenwald and Garmisch to visit,will try to get there.
May base in Munich (been before) for a few days. We try to spend at least three nights in each place so on this trip we would have five places to base. Do you think that Oberammergau will be too crowded to make a day trip? Would love to see it. Still just have lots of planning to do
because there are just too many great places to go and so little time. Thanks so much for all your help and sharing
your thoughts.

Russ-Thank you for all your great suggestions. They seem to be just the kind of places we enjoy. We loved Annecy, France and I was hoping Konstanz would be a something like that,
on the lake, surrounded by mountains, easy, relaxing place to be.

Bingen to Koblenz is more than 3.5 hours just on the boat. He might prefer a shorter cruise - I'd suggest starting north of Bingen in Bacharach (a town most visitors want to see) and ending in Braubach, south of Koblenz (where Marksburg Castle is situated.) That'll take about 2 hours instead, leaving more time for sightseeing on foot. He'll still enjoy the section between Bingen and Bacharach and Marksburg to Koblenz from the train, which follows the river exactly. Bingen itself has an attractive view of the entrance to the Rhine Gorge, but the town itself isn't necessarily high on the must-stop-and-see list.

Boppard and St. Goar would make for good stops by train on the way back.

Hi again,

Someone asked on another board about visiting Oberammergau this year, so I have thought about it a bit. And what I believe is that everyone who is seeing the play will be out and about in the mornings, visiting nearby castles and villages. I would bet that everyone will return to Oberammergau around lunchtime to peck around the town, have lunch, then go to the play, which starts at 14.30.

I know that the local shuttles that take folks from Garmisch to the play leave here around 13.00 to 13.30.

So I would think that Oberammergau would be ok to visit, so long as you didn't stay past noon.

Oh, and there are great bike trails here around Garmisch too. I don't have a car and spend a lot of time on the trails! The hard part would only be finding a nice trail out in the country that isn't too steep --

Have fun!

s

Hi swandav,
Thanks again. What a joy it must be to get to experience all
that beauty every day. We will try to get to Oberammergau in the morning if we go. We may have to try some of the more flat
bike trails, maybe along with Danube. We are a bit ancient for
those steep ones. Appreciate all your helpful suggestions.
I hope next week I can get serious about working on the
itinerary.

I was in Oberammergau last Tuesday. It was packed with Americans, but still fun to see. The shops did clear out some at about 2:15 PM for the 2:30 performance. I prefer Mittenwald over Oberammergau.

smaller places with beautiful scenery, bike trails, etc for most of the days. Any information>

Well for biking i suggest considering the Mosel Valley between Cochem and Bernkastel-Kues and also to Burg Eltz

The Mosel is one of Europe's primo biking venues - nice bike paths hug the sinuous course of the river as it loops thru a gorge hundreds of feet deep - at many places covered with vineyards. Lots of neat little wine towns.

Cochem IMO is a sweet smallish town (not a village) that makes a great base for both the Mosel Valley and the Rhine Gorge - has good rail service - only 20 mins from Koblenz and the Rhine

Cochem is situated at one of the most gorgeous spots of the Mosel Valley - vineyards swirl around on all sides and the castle of your dreams pops out of the vineyard right in the town center. There are wine houses to tour like Hieronimi, right in the town center.

Many places rent bikes and if you rent at the train station you can ride off and return the bike by train - thus could ride one day on parts of the Rhine Gorge - one day on the Mosel (Cochem upstream to Beilstein is absolutely gorgeous)

or ride downstream to Moselkern and then hike a few miles thru the forest up to Burg Eltz, one of Germany's most famous and historic castles - trains also go to Moselkern.

Thanks again to all . Wish we could do it all. I am having a difficult time deciding on an itinerary.

And then there is old East Germany with such gems as Dresden, Saxon Switzerland, Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Erfurt, Weimar and of course Berlin