tips for German/Austrian Alps
Aug 8th, 2007 | 10:47 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 6
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tips for German/Austrian Alps
Recently returned from the German and Austrian Alps and have tidbits to share:
Weather in the mountains changes often from sunny and hot to rainy and cold, but the bad weather never seems to last long.
People everywhere are very friendly and helpful, even if many do not speak English in the countryside.
We had GPS with our car, and it worked very well (of course we got it in English), and we used it against our maps, which didn't always have street names, always keeping the maps as back-up so we at least had a basic idea of where we were at all times.
Autobahn traffic jams occurred often when we were on them, especially near the big cities, but the jams generally didn't last longer than about 15 minutes. Traffic would come to a grinding halt, though, and people often got out of their cars to wait them out. One needs a vignette, or windshield sticker, to use the Austrian Autobahns, which one can purchase at a gas station (or "Tankstelle"
but we did very well in Austria without using the Autobahn there or buying a vignette.
We stayed at a "Ferienwohnung" in both countries, which were family-owned homes that did not include breakfast, and which worked out well for us. Both places were for 50 Euros a night or less for three people, and the accommodations at each included a kitchen and living/dining area, laundry facilities, private bath, and were clean, comfortable and quiet, as well as a short distance away from city or village hubbub, with nice views of the valley and surrounding mountains.
GROCERY SHOPPING:
We would go to a grocery store to buy basic breakfast items and some lunch or supper things and kept these items in the kitchen/fridge of our place. (BRING YOUR OWN GROCERY BAGS! - We brought along two cloth ones!)We came to really enjoy the yogurts and "Semmeln" or breakfast rolls. Using this system of preparing our own "secondary" meals kept the stress level -if you want to call it stress- of figuring out where to get the three meals of the day when we didn't always know where we'd be or where the eateries necessarily were. If we came upon a desirable place to eat out, we'd forgo the prepared lunch, let's say, and save it for later. (By the way, when you need to buy fruit at a grocery store instead of a market, place it in a plastic bag like we do here, then put it on the scale and hit the key for the fruit code which is on the sign where you got the particular fruit from ---like, say, plums are #49--- and then the price sticker comes out of the weighing machine and you affix it to your bag. You must do this before you go to the cashier.)
PARKING:
Make sure, when you get your rental car upon arrival, that they provide you with a "park card", which is a blue time wheel in which you record the hour that you park your car by turning the wheel, and then you place it inside your windshield as you're leaving the parked car; in many parking lots, you can park free for about 90 minutes from the time that you set it. This card is especially useful in small towns.
Otherwise, parking can get tricky. In lots with gates, you take your ticket as you arrive, and then go about your business while not losing that ticket, and when you return to your car, you put the ticket into a machine near the gate, and pay the amount that the machine tells you to BEFORE you go back to your car. The machine will then give you back your ticket, which you have to use in order to leave the lot! You will have a line of cars and drivers impatiently waiting behind you if you do not do this correctly!
In other lots where you have to pay and there is no gate, you park your car, walk to the machine, decide on how many hours you'll need to leave the car there, and then put in the amount of Euros required per hour; the machine will give you a receipt, which you place inside your windshield.
SALZBURG:
We visited this lovely city two days in a row, using a discount card, to the city's main attractions: We bought a 48-hour Salzburg card (you can get them for 24-hrs or 72-hrs, whatever) for 72 Euros for 2 adults and one kid, and were then able to take, for instance, a panoramic boat tour to the Hellbrunn Palace and its trick fountains both for free, and see Mozart's birthplace, the Mirabell Gardens, the Hohensalzburg Fortress and its funicular, and countless other sights in the city FOR FREE or very nominal cost---I don't remember everything we did, but I do know it was all free with the card. The key is, though, that if you buy a 48-hour or more card, you have to use it those two days in a row, and not skip!!! It's a beautiful city, easy to get around, and worth a two-day or more visit. When I tried to get the cards for each of us, many locals didn't know what I was talking about (I brought along a write-up about it that I got from the net), and was finally directed to purchase them at the Kurhaus, or info center, in Shoenau (written w/o the "e", but with an Umlaut over the "o" locally) in Germany near Berchtesgaden. Just keep asking at info places for the "Salzburg Karte" if you want one.
Learn German and enjoy the aqua/turquoise/teal/emerald colored lakes of the Alps! They are not to be missed.
Weather in the mountains changes often from sunny and hot to rainy and cold, but the bad weather never seems to last long.
People everywhere are very friendly and helpful, even if many do not speak English in the countryside.
We had GPS with our car, and it worked very well (of course we got it in English), and we used it against our maps, which didn't always have street names, always keeping the maps as back-up so we at least had a basic idea of where we were at all times.
Autobahn traffic jams occurred often when we were on them, especially near the big cities, but the jams generally didn't last longer than about 15 minutes. Traffic would come to a grinding halt, though, and people often got out of their cars to wait them out. One needs a vignette, or windshield sticker, to use the Austrian Autobahns, which one can purchase at a gas station (or "Tankstelle"
but we did very well in Austria without using the Autobahn there or buying a vignette.We stayed at a "Ferienwohnung" in both countries, which were family-owned homes that did not include breakfast, and which worked out well for us. Both places were for 50 Euros a night or less for three people, and the accommodations at each included a kitchen and living/dining area, laundry facilities, private bath, and were clean, comfortable and quiet, as well as a short distance away from city or village hubbub, with nice views of the valley and surrounding mountains.
GROCERY SHOPPING:
We would go to a grocery store to buy basic breakfast items and some lunch or supper things and kept these items in the kitchen/fridge of our place. (BRING YOUR OWN GROCERY BAGS! - We brought along two cloth ones!)We came to really enjoy the yogurts and "Semmeln" or breakfast rolls. Using this system of preparing our own "secondary" meals kept the stress level -if you want to call it stress- of figuring out where to get the three meals of the day when we didn't always know where we'd be or where the eateries necessarily were. If we came upon a desirable place to eat out, we'd forgo the prepared lunch, let's say, and save it for later. (By the way, when you need to buy fruit at a grocery store instead of a market, place it in a plastic bag like we do here, then put it on the scale and hit the key for the fruit code which is on the sign where you got the particular fruit from ---like, say, plums are #49--- and then the price sticker comes out of the weighing machine and you affix it to your bag. You must do this before you go to the cashier.)
PARKING:
Make sure, when you get your rental car upon arrival, that they provide you with a "park card", which is a blue time wheel in which you record the hour that you park your car by turning the wheel, and then you place it inside your windshield as you're leaving the parked car; in many parking lots, you can park free for about 90 minutes from the time that you set it. This card is especially useful in small towns.
Otherwise, parking can get tricky. In lots with gates, you take your ticket as you arrive, and then go about your business while not losing that ticket, and when you return to your car, you put the ticket into a machine near the gate, and pay the amount that the machine tells you to BEFORE you go back to your car. The machine will then give you back your ticket, which you have to use in order to leave the lot! You will have a line of cars and drivers impatiently waiting behind you if you do not do this correctly!
In other lots where you have to pay and there is no gate, you park your car, walk to the machine, decide on how many hours you'll need to leave the car there, and then put in the amount of Euros required per hour; the machine will give you a receipt, which you place inside your windshield.
SALZBURG:
We visited this lovely city two days in a row, using a discount card, to the city's main attractions: We bought a 48-hour Salzburg card (you can get them for 24-hrs or 72-hrs, whatever) for 72 Euros for 2 adults and one kid, and were then able to take, for instance, a panoramic boat tour to the Hellbrunn Palace and its trick fountains both for free, and see Mozart's birthplace, the Mirabell Gardens, the Hohensalzburg Fortress and its funicular, and countless other sights in the city FOR FREE or very nominal cost---I don't remember everything we did, but I do know it was all free with the card. The key is, though, that if you buy a 48-hour or more card, you have to use it those two days in a row, and not skip!!! It's a beautiful city, easy to get around, and worth a two-day or more visit. When I tried to get the cards for each of us, many locals didn't know what I was talking about (I brought along a write-up about it that I got from the net), and was finally directed to purchase them at the Kurhaus, or info center, in Shoenau (written w/o the "e", but with an Umlaut over the "o" locally) in Germany near Berchtesgaden. Just keep asking at info places for the "Salzburg Karte" if you want one.
Learn German and enjoy the aqua/turquoise/teal/emerald colored lakes of the Alps! They are not to be missed.
Aug 8th, 2007 | 12:11 PM
#7
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
katze - it's your third post ever it looks like and yes curious makes a point that took me a while to learn and i still fail sometime
breaks
draw more folks
especially those who skim for info
on something they're interested in
reports like yours are valuable for Fodor readers and please tell us more!
breaks
draw more folks
especially those who skim for info
on something they're interested in
reports like yours are valuable for Fodor readers and please tell us more!
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Aug 9th, 2007 | 05:31 PM
#8
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 288
Likes: 0
Aloha Katze,
Thanks for the great info as I will be there for 21 days in October and this is good to know as I have never been to Germany before and will spend a good portion of my time in Fussen which I understand is in this area. Living in Hawaii all of my life I never leared the "layer of clothes" concept so good to know that there will be frequent climate changes from day to night as well as how high up you are, I need to bring a tote bag along to carry an umbrella & jacket so I guess this can also double as my grocery bag.
Mahalo,
Jeanne
Thanks for the great info as I will be there for 21 days in October and this is good to know as I have never been to Germany before and will spend a good portion of my time in Fussen which I understand is in this area. Living in Hawaii all of my life I never leared the "layer of clothes" concept so good to know that there will be frequent climate changes from day to night as well as how high up you are, I need to bring a tote bag along to carry an umbrella & jacket so I guess this can also double as my grocery bag.
Mahalo,
Jeanne
