Emilie

My husband & I have never been to Europe and are traveling to Germany from May 1-13. We have the Foder book but we are unsure of where to stay once we arrive into Munich (inexpensive to moderate). Also, we are wanting to take some side trips to Salzburg & Czechoslovakia and are unsure of how to plan our itinerary. Any help is appreciated!

steve

Emilie,<BR>A little more info from you would help. Will you have a car, what do you like to do, how much money to you have budgeted for the trip etc.....<BR><BR>Also, the Fodors books are good and have day trips outlined. Also, search at the top for phrases such as &quot;germany&quot; and just start reading.

Emilie

We will have around $3k spending cash. We haven't booked our hotels yet, either. What we'd like to do is visit the Black Forest, possibly some castles (not sure where Cinderella's castle is, but that will be one we'd like to see), the Bavarian Alps and possibly trek on up to Berlin, over to Salzburg &amp; up to Czechoslovakia (my ancestry originates in Germany &amp; Czechoslovakia). My husband is a big history buff and I enjoy beer. Kidding. Anyways, we just want to get the most out of our 13 days.<BR><BR>Thanks in advance for your help -

Emilie

...and we're not sure if we want to rent a car or not. Don't we have to have international auto insurance for that?

Liz

Emilie, it sounds like you need lots of basic info.<BR><BR>The best source I've found for novice Europe travelers, especially if budget is rather low, is Rick Steves &quot;Europe though the back door&quot;. It will help you come up with an itinerary, and it discusses the train/car pros and cons.<BR><BR>Have fun planning!

SA

I would suggest the Best Western close to the main train station. This is just adjacent to the area of Munich you will want to be in. From there I would go to Prague, via train. You really have little need for a car based on where you are wanting to travel. From there I would probably hit Cesky Krumlov &amp; Vieena (in lieu of Salzburg). In Prague there is also a Best Western w/in walking distance of the train station which I would recommend. Spend a couple of days in Cesky Krumlov (very inexpensive &amp; lovely) this will help offset the expense of Vienna. As seems to always be the case everyone tries to do a little too much their first trip over. The trip from Vienna back to Munich is also good as it follows the river &amp; you can hop off in many of the small towns (Melk is good) as the trains run frequently. Please check prior posts for additional info as well.

xxx

Maybe it will help you with your research to realize that there has been no country called Czechoslovakia for the past ten years. There's the Czech Republic and there's Slovakia.

Steve

Emilie,<BR>Just start reading the fodors book you have and a lot will start to become clear. Spend time over the holidays reading and then you will have more specific questions. <BR><BR>Again, do a search and just spend time reading and jotting down interesting items you see here. Before you know it, you will be well versed and ready to start planning. <BR><BR>It seems like a lot to handle at this point, but Europe is very easy to travel in and you will get more proficient soon. <BR>

Linda

Don't miss Berlin and Dresden. Berlin is about 4 1/2 hours to Prague with Dresden about 2 hours south of Berlin.

Nick

I think SA has put together a very sensible itinerary (but does omit Cinderella's castle - which is called Neuschwanstein). In 13 days, you would be nuts to try Berlin and Dresden and Black Forest if you really want to check out Munich, Salzburg and Czech Rep + Slovakia - simply too much time on the road/train. Either stick to the German destinations + perhaps Salzburg, or go for SA's proposal. (I have been to all the places you refer to and would go for SA's proposal and seen Dresden as well). Neuschwanstein is near the town of F&uuml;ssen. Lots of people do a day trip to F&uuml;ssen from Munich by train but it is a very pretty area and F&uuml;ssen is a nice town with lots of accommodation which will be cheaper than Munich. So if you hire a car (more expensive than day train ticket which was around Euro17 for up to 5 adults in 2001 - amazing value) you could check out more of the sights en route and see more of the lakes around F&uuml;ssen. Also SA's suggestion of following river to Melk (area is referred to as the Wachau) is a good idea, but I suggest driving. With hire car costs being much higher if you drop a car off at a different location to pick up it could be better to do this as day trip from Vienna. The normal fast train for Vienna-Munich does not follow this route closely enough. Hopping off and on trains in smaller places can be OK with a pass and more time, but I am not so sure of practicality in the time frame.<BR>Most people I know prefer Vienna to Munich - including people that have lived in both places as Vienna has more history and grandeur. I am living in Vienna now after 2000-2001 in Munich and I would say that Vienna has a more interesting town and prettier centre, whereas Munich may have the edge for museums because of the fantastic Deutsche Museum (science)- nothing comparable in Vienna and has nicer suburbs - southern direction only where there are beautiful lakes for day trips vs Vienna Woods. Both places definitely worth more than 24 hours - ideally 3 days each. Prague and C Krumlov both beautiful. Prague definitely more so than Dresden, which I would rank bottom of the places mentioned. Berlin has a lot to se, but is the biggest of the lot - so need 3 days there as well. Black Forest is nice, but I have a strong preference for Bavarian Alps - F&uuml;ssen, Berchtesgarden, Walchensee as really worthwhile destinations.

nancy

Southern Germany is gorgeous. I spent a month just touring that area. If you can, rent a car to tour Germany. Driving is not difficult and a MasterCard (or Visa?) should cover your insurance (I took out Amer. Exp. as it covered 30 days). You might want to turn in the car at the end of your Munich stay and take a train to the Czech Rep. (not sure you can even take a rental car from Germany to there). I have a trip report on my journey if you're interested. If so, e-mail me directly.

Travelin'

Regarding car rental-you will need insurance as your auto policy in the States doesn't cover you abroad. Check with the issuer of the credit card used for rental, with the car rental agency and with a travel insurance company. If you plan to drive in Czech Republic you will need to inform the car rental agency as there is an additional charge.

Janine

Just wanted to add that Salzburg is an easy train trip from Munich (under 2 hours).<BR>In southern Germany, the Romantic Road bus operated by Deutsche Touring is a good way to visit some of the historic medieval towns in the area. The same company also operate the Castle Road bus from Mannheim to Prague, via Heidelberg, Rothenburg, Nuremberg and Karlovy Vary (CZ). With these buses, you can either go all the way through in one go, or get off for a day or two along the way. I believe it is possible to combine the two, and go from Munich to Prague (a brochure I received when travelling on the RR bus earlier this year states the return-ticket from Munich to Prague costs 43.20 euro) - I think you change buses in Rothenburg??<BR>Hope this helps.<BR>

Steve

Here's my $.02, as I've been living in Munich past year and have traveled to all your desired destinations.<BR><BR>For travel in southern Germany (Bavaria) and the Black Forest, I would recommend a car. There are OK train connections, but you lose the flexibility in time and scenery choice.<BR><BR>Since this is your first trip to Europe, if you had to cut a location out of your somewhat 'ambitious' travel itinerary, I would drop the black forest. It's pretty and all, but it doesn't have as much bang-for-the-buck as your other destinations; plus, it is in the SW of Germany, whereas everything else is in the opposite direction.<BR><BR>In Bavaria, you could check out 4 great castles (I am not aware of any castles worth visiting in the Black Forest): NeuSchwanstein &amp; HohenSchwangau (both in F&uuml;ssen), Chiemsee (on an island in lake Chiemsee, in the city of Prien--one hour east of Munich), and the much underrated Linderhoff (located just outside of Oberammergau). Chiemsee is my least favorite of all 4, but could be worth the trip if you're into castles.<BR><BR>There are also many other cities/sites you should think of hitting near the Alps. Garmish is a great Alpine town, where you can ride to the top of the ZugSpitz, the highest peak in Germany.<BR><BR>If you have a car, the romantic road is a must: it runs generally South from NW of Munich to the Alps.<BR><BR>And you should spend 2-3 days in Munich.<BR><BR>Salzburg probably is my 2nd most favorite city (Prague is 1st) in Europe. It is a 2 hour direct train from Munich, with car travel being a bit faster.<BR><BR>For car rental in Germany, I recommend the sixt rent-a-car link from the German Rail website. go to www.bahn.de, click on 'international guests' and click on the e-sixt link. There is always some special, with numerous pickup points in Germany. They have excellent week-end specials, if you want to rent for less than a full week. You'd be surprised that you can rent a BMW 3-series or Mercedes C or E class for a good price, depending on the special.<BR><BR>I would NOT recomend driving from Bavaria to Berlin or the Czech Republic, though...it's just too far and often times rental cos. prohibit driving to CZ.<BR><BR>You can fly to Berlin from Munich on Deutsche-ba (check them out on the web), and the plane ticket is normally cheaper than a train ticket. <BR><BR>From Germany, I would take a night-train to Prague, if possible. It's not much fun, but it will get you there without wasting precious daylight you'll need to accomplish your itinerary. <BR><BR>Here's a summary of what I recommend.<BR><BR>Fly to Munich, rent a car for one week. Spend your time through Bavaria, including castles, Romantic Road and Munich. <BR><BR>Take a quick trip to Salzburg from Munich. <BR><BR>Fly from either Munich or Salzburg to Berlin (Ryan Air flies discount flights out of Salzburg, but I don't know all their destinations), and spend a few days.<BR><BR>Train from Berlin to Prague and spend the remainder of your trip.<BR><BR>Good Luck!<BR>Steve<BR><BR><BR>

Bob

First of all: Rent a car for your entire trip. German roads are better than US roads and this will really leave you the flexibility to stop and explore small towns as you go. This has been some of the best fun we have had. Trains don't allow that and they run on their schedule, not yours. Get an Atlas with the International symbols on it and you will be fine.<BR><BR>Second: Stay in the Bavarian area and really get to know it. Explore Munich, then drive over to Salzburg to see it and the very close by town of Berchtesgaden. You can then make a great drive from Berchtesgaden to Garmisch through the Alps on the Alpine Road...if open from winter snows.<BR><BR>Base yourself in Garmisch for a few days to see Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Ettal Abbey and Oberammergau.Beautiful area and needs more than one day.<BR><BR>Time permiting head up the Romantic Road and end in Rothenburg for at least one night before you head back to airport. Picture book town.<BR><BR>Buy the Karen Brown book: GERMAN INNS AND ITINERARIES. We used this book on first trips to Germany and found the recommendations to be good. We now go back to many of the places she led us to originally.<BR><BR>A few places we stay:<BR><BR>Garmisch: HOTEL HILLEPRANDT. Great rooms. Ask for #1 or 2. Good location and not expensive.<BR><BR>Rothenburg: REICHS KUCENMEISTER or MARKUSTURM. I belive the Markusturm is still pictured on the cover of Karen Brown's Germany Inns book.<BR><BR>Berchtesgaden: WATZMANN HOTEL. Mentioned many times on this forum. It is also a good base to use to drive over to Salzburg for the day. Only about 45 minutes.<BR><BR>Bottom line: Do not try to cover too much territory. You will enjoy your trip more if you limit your hotel changes &amp;simply enjoy the area you are in. We see people in Europe all the time that try to do too much and all they end of doing is living at trains stations and packing and unpacking to get to the next hotel. You get home and cannot remember where you went.<BR><BR>Bavaria will be cool in May. Do not expect summer weather and dress accordingly.<BR><BR>Great area....have fun! Best beer in the world is in ANDECHS. Close to Munich and in a beautiful setting. No German beer is bad, but ANDECHS is first class. If you get a car, go there. Just look for the town on your map.