Stuart

My wife and I will be going to Bavaria in July. We hope to spend a few days in Munich and then travel by car throughout southern Bavaria. We are interested in hearing from people familiar with this area. We'd love to hear about places of interest, good restaurants, pictuesque towns, etc.

Bill Fleites

Stuart, <BR>I'm planning a trip there this spring. My main interests are the castles of Mad King Ludwig. Linderhof Castle is near the small town of Oberammergau. The Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles are just outside the town of Fussen. Both of these are within easy driving distance of Munich. I've also heard that it's a really nice drive going into norhtern Bavaria on the Romantic Road (die Romantische Strasse). Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a small medieval village along this road that I'm told is lovely to visit. Have a fun trip.

topoftheworld

By all means spend a few days in Munich, <BR>then instead of driving from town to town and staying at a different place every night, base yourself in ONE town. <BR> <BR>Most of the sights, all the ones mentioned above, as well as more, Salzburg, for instance, are no more than one and one-half hour away. <BR> <BR>This gives you a hub, saves a lot of time and money, familiarizes you to the territory and gives you a chance to get to know the locals. <BR> <BR>I have been visiting this area off and on for almost twenty years, and I have found that the Tegernsee area about 35 miles SE of Munich is scenic, close to everything in the area and costs a third <BR>of Munich's *** and **** hotels. <BR> <BR>

Lee

Stuart: I used to live in Frankfurt and Bavaria was truly my favorite area. My wife and I were back in '97 and will return yet again in May. <BR> <BR>We'll stay for two days in Munich and see some of the city. We'll visit the Marienplatz, the touristy, but a favorite of mine, being the Hofbrauhaus, Nymphenburg and the Olympic Village. We then will visit Ludwig's castle at Herrenchiemsee (at this point, continuing on to Bertchesgaden and Salzburg is an option, but we will not stop on this trip) and then head down to Garmisch. Garmisch is a lovely town nestled in the Alps, very close to Austria and Innsbruck. Near to Garmisch is the town of Ettal, with the beautiful basillica, then to Linderhof Castle and Oberammergau of "Passion Play" fame. We will stay in Oberammergau. When we leave, we will drive the "Romantic Road" and see the Weiskirche at Steingaden, then Schwangau, to see Neuschwanstein Castle and continue to Ulm to see the Munster which has the world's tallest spires. We will head north again and stay in the medieval town of Dinkelsbuhl and then we will visit the popular Rothenburg on the Tauber. We then round out our trip with a couple of days in Frankfurt. <BR> <BR>This may not work for everyone, but I think it gives a real honest flavor of Bavaria. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip! <BR>

Lee

Stuart: I used to live in Frankfurt and Bavaria was truly my favorite area. My wife and I were back in '97 and will return yet again in May. <BR> <BR>We'll stay for two days in Munich and see some of the city. We'll visit the Marienplatz, the touristy, but a favorite of mine, being the Hofbrauhaus, Nymphenburg and the Olympic Village. We then will visit Ludwig's castle at Herrenchiemsee (at this point, continuing on to Bertchesgaden and Salzburg is an option, but we will not stop on this trip) and then head down to Garmisch. Garmisch is a lovely town nestled in the Alps, very close to Austria and Innsbruck. Near to Garmisch is the town of Ettal, with the beautiful basillica, then to Linderhof Castle and Oberammergau of "Passion Play" fame. We will stay in Oberammergau. When we leave, we will drive the "Romantic Road" and see the Weiskirche at Steingaden, then Schwangau, to see Neuschwanstein Castle and continue to Ulm to see the Munster which has the world's tallest spires. We will head north again and stay in the medieval town of Dinkelsbuhl and then we will visit the popular Rothenburg on the Tauber. We then round out our trip with a couple of days in Frankfurt. <BR> <BR>This may not work for everyone, but I think it gives a real honest flavor of Bavaria. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip! <BR>

Peter

Stuart, <BR> <BR>I am working and living in Munich at this time. Munich is nice, be aware hotels are bloody expensive. Pre book a hotel in Munich. In Munich visit BMW museum, Deutsche Museum, Siemens Museum. Go to a Biergarten and try Haxn (pork) with a big Helles Beer. <BR>Visit Garmisch Partnekirchen (ski), Salzburg and the Allgau.

the turnip

I'm sorry but I must disagree with some of the above advice. DON'T book a hotel in Munich for the very reasons the poster listed. It's crowded and expensive. Bavaria is one of my favorite places in all of Europe but I find Munich vastly overrated. The suggestion of staying in a smaller town is a great one. Bavaria is covered with B&B's, look for signs saying "Zimmer Frei" or "Privat Zimmer". My wife and I have fallen in love with them! For around $40 you get a clean comfy room, warm hospitality and a great breakfast. For me this beats a big boring $150 hotel any day! <BR> <BR>My list of "must see's" of the area are; <BR>1. Ludwig's castles, especially Neuschaunstein (be sure to take the hike up to the Maria Brucke behind the castle) <BR>2. Rothenburg. Several very nice B&B's in the city. It gets very crowded during the day but if you stay for a night or two you have the place to yourself in the mornings and at night. It really is a place not to be missed. (The Kriminal Museum worth a look too) <BR>3. Salzburg is much quainter than Munich and less than 2 hours away. If I wanted to see Munich I'd homebase in Salzburg and make a day trip to Munich from there. <BR> <BR>Ok, down off the soap box. If you'd like some suggestions on B&B's feel free to drop me an e-mail.

Bob

Another few ideas: What about Berchtesgaden? This is a great town to stay in and use as a base to also visit Salzburg. Berch also has great scenery, the Eagle's Nest, Koerninsee Lake and electric boat tours, etc. I would stay here and drive over to Salzburg. We stay at the Watzmann hotel in Berchtesgaden. If the day is rainy you can always do the Salt Mine tour in Berchtesgaden. A lot of fun and interesting. . Garmisch: Go to the top of the Zugspitz. Ride up is expensive, but great sight once there. Visit the castles in the area as others have suggested and Oberammergau for the wood carvings. <BR>We stay at the Hilleprandt in Garmisch. Rothenburg: Do the Nightwatchmans tour. Leaves around 8pm from main square, in English. Tour office can give you directions. We stay at Reichs Kutchenmeister in Rothenburg. Also visit Kathe Wolfarths main store next to the Eisenhut hotel. Great Christmas stuff and we have found prices to be very competitive with other areas and shipments arrive in US very quickly. Any other questions, email me. Prepare for some rain in July. Take an umbrella. Have a good trip.

Geoff

You've gotten some of the main highlights, and some general good advice. My generalities first - if you've got a car then by all means avaoid actually staying in Munich and try a small hotel outside. Ludi's castles are a good idea, particularly Linderhof is very ornate. (Herrn Chiemsee is the 3rd castle that hasn't been mentioned yet.) I believe the person refering to Koernersee is <BR>thinking of Konigsee which is another thing to see. Berchtesgaden and the Eagle's Nest, and Salzburg are all close. Personally Salzburg is "quaint" but touristy, so I wouldn't actually stay there, just visit a bit. Rothenburg is a real must, and so is Munich even though you may not stay there. The Deutsches Museum is a great guy's museum for a change. Like chocolate? Rottenhofer on Residenzstrasse a couple of blocks north from Marienplatz. Stay away from the imminently touristy Hofbrauhaus and try one of the halls with more local flavor, like Augustiner. <BR> <BR>Some off the track ideas - the Tazelworm, a natural corkscrew of a rock formation turns a mountain river literally inside out. Au am Inn for a leasurely lunch with one of the most spectacular views of a triple bend in the Inn river, while on your way to another magnificent view of Wasserburg. <BR>In the summer, keep your eye out for a big tent in a field. Stop off for a nights intertainment at a local festival. (like a homier version of Oktoberfest) <BR> <BR>Have fun. <BR> <BR>

stephanie

No one has mentioned Frieberg. It's been 5 1/2 years since I've been to Germany, but the first town we saw and spent the night in after catching the Eurail in Frankfurt the morning our plane landed there was Frieberg. Maybe since it was the first town in which I experienced Germany it seemed wonderful to me. We really enjoyed our 24 hours there. We walked the stairs up to the top of a very tall cathedral there which still is under construction! On the wall very high up we saw "Galeonhoffer 1532" (or a year close to that.) Medieval graffiti - wild to see such an ancient year carved in the side. We had German bier sitting outside the cathedral in a biergarten. We stayed in a very nice hotel with a very extensive delicious breakfast buffet. Don't remember name - would recommend it - if you're interested e-mail me direct. <BR> <BR>I can't remember what it's called now, but there is a water drainage system (aqueduct?) that runs through the town via little above ground troughs. You see the water trickling by all over the city through this system - interesting. <BR> <BR>I liked Frieberg. If you need one more place to add to your list, you might want to stop here. If others have spent more time in Frieberg and know more about it good or bad please advise. Hope you have a fantastic trip!

Chris

Stuart, if you do decide to stay in Munich, a nice hotel was referred to me on this Forum called, 'The Hotel Uhland'. Their website is: www.hotel-uhland.de. They have special rates for booking online (115 DM/night for a 2-night weekend booking)that are quite good, so be sure to check that out. In Salzburg, we're staying at the Hotel Trumer Stube which was also highly recommended on this Forum. Their site is: http://members.eunet.at/hotel.trumer-stube.sbg. After alot of research, these 2 lodgings seemed like the best values for the money to me. <BR>I can also give you a good Munich and Salzburg site if you're interested - just email me.

alan

It seems that people are divided on Munich, my wife and I enjooy it very much, we've been there several times. Yes enjoy the haxn; if you see it on a menu. We've stayed at the Hotel Am Markt, which is right next to the market. There is a neat toy museum closeby also. The market is agreat place for a beer and lunch, very reasonable and sitting outdoors adds to it. I read that someone said the hotels were expensive but that is relative. It is a major city with many hotels in many price ranges. I usually call UTELL. They are a reservation service with an 800#. Tell them, when where and how much you want to spend. Discuss it with them. They book over 2000 hotels. I've used them for several years, very satisfied. Don't miss Rothenberg ob der Taub. I'm not a B&B person, but they do have nice Guesthouses there. These are not b&b's but small hotels with restaurants. We also visited Wurzburg, Bayreuth. Very nice places to visit. Stayed at a great hotel in Bayreuth, right on the river. It jutted out over the river. Dont remember the name, unfortunatly, but it was an old building, modernized inside with a friendly staff. Enjoy