Twist my arm and I'll go back to Germany!
 

Hi, Quick follow-up and THANKS for help with our spring break Germany trip!
Our family of four (well, one daughter now in college chose Florida with 20 of her best friends instead of going to Germany with us!) flew over on Delta; haven't used them before and the plane was brand new, great videos/tv/games so will definitely fly with them again.
Landed in Munich in the rain and proceeded directly to the trains via the main train station and on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Purchased the Bayern ticket for all of our train travels and was never bothered by the 9 a.m. restriction to leave in the mornings as we enjoyed a leisurely pace.
Stayed at Hotel Spitzweg, a 15th century converted house, and it was great. Wonderful beds, bathrooms and the nicest couple who own it.
Enjoyed walking the walls, the watchman tour, the criminal museum, Christmas museum and all the wonderful bakeries and restaurants. We ate about every 3 hours as my son is 13.....
We attended a German Palm Sunday service at St Jacob's Church which was beautiful. My son plays the organ so we enjoy seeing all the different churches and listening to their music. After that we attended an organ recital at the Franciscan Church nearby so we had a great Sunday morning.
I am sure Rothenburg is beyond beautiful in the summer but even in the rain/sleet mix it is absolutely gorgeous. After two nights, on to Munich and the Hotel Uhland.
Within easy walking distance from the train station - even in the pouring rain- it was a very nice property and convenient to most everything we needed.
Our first stop was the Marienplatz and the beautiful old town area and the Glockenspiel. Munich fathers were certainly smart about creating such a draw to their city. Five times a day it seems the crowds lined up to watch the clock show.
We enjoyed the Deutsches science and technology Museum for several hours though you could easily spend days. Galileo's Workshop, located in the Physics area, was so interesting as well as the musical instruments section. This museum is so detailed, it is really amazing.
We loved the outdoor food stalls at the Viktualienmarket and just roaming the streets of beautiful Munich. I think we saw every church within walking distance and the beautiful architecture in each.
We ventured on to Salzburg for a day, pretty much following the advice of all the forum posters. We had to laugh while in Mozart's Museum where it states things like "this furniture is representative of what might have been in Mozart's home" and "this lock of hair could have been from Mozart"....at least they were honest. It did have alot of interesting items to look at however.
Riding the lift to the top of the Monchsberg and taking the walk back down to the street is one of those moments that will stay in my mind forever. At one point you are eye level with the steeples of the city churches with the mountains in the background and it is just spectacular. Other worldly, actually.
Those are the moments I travel for and are totally unexpected.
There are too many unbelievably wonderful sites in Salzburg and we thoroughly enjoyed our day.
The next day we were up and on the S2 to Dachau and it is totally appropriate that this day we were in almost blizzard conditions. There is nothing to say about Dachau that would be new; I wanted the kids to see it but it is difficult at best. We were there about 3 hours, which was plenty.
I haven't mentioned all the beer, "rotwein" (for me!) and great wiener schnitzel, sausages, pretzels and other meals, but of course I said we ate every 3 hours.......
I really appreciate everyone's helpful advice. We had a wonderful time in Germany!

Jane

what a nice report. sounds like you had a great time. thanks for posting.

I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip. We absolutely love Germany. I never tire of it altho I think my DH is now ready to branch out a little!

Thanks for sharing.

Jane00

You sound a lot like I did on my first trip to Germany!!

Let me let you in on a little secret!.......Your ncxt trip to Germany.....

Will be even BETTER :-)

Nice report!

Oh my gosh, I totally shorted myself out of one whole day! We also went to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles where my best new friend King Ludwig totally blew me away with the inside decor of his masterpiece. I am still in awe; it was amazing. Jane

I love Germany too! We went to the same places this past summer too! Thanks for sharing with us. Brings back all my memories.

Hi Jane,
Thanks for the report! Glad you had a good time. We love Germany and after many trips, we just keep going back. It really does keep getting better!

Paul

Jane, thanks for the report. We arrived in Germany on the same day, it appears, although we flew into Frankfurt. Two of us flew home on Easter and the other 2 of us are still here in Germany.

When did you return home? It sounds like you had the same bad weather we had in Erfurt and Berlin (and after Easter it's got even colder and snowy)

You did such a good mix of activities with your children. I'll bet they'd love to return also!

Thanks for sharing, J.

Jane

Thanks so much - I am going to germany with my son in June and this is so much help - did you have a rail pass for the train or just tickets to each destination - how many days did you spend in munich alone?
thanks again

Philly Cheese,
We just followed the advise of the Germany-pros on this forum and purchased the Bayern tickets each day at the train station for travel within Bavaria. Be sure to sign your name to the ticket.
It is quite the bargain for a family and the trains were great. Maybe not the fastest way to get somewhere, but well worth the savings to us.......
We stayed in Munich 5 nights as a base then did train trips to Salzburg, the castles (which took an entire day) and a half-day to Dachau. The other day and a half we spent in Munich, which was a perfect amount of time for us.

we will be traveling to Munich in May also with a 13 y/o boy. I'm afraid feeding him will take most of my budget. Any suggestions for affordable but good food?
What was your favorite part of Salzberg? Was there anything that your son particularly enjoyed?
Where did you stay in Munich?
Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks!

>>>Any suggestions for affordable but good food?<<<

In the main shopping streets and in the train stations of larger cities you will find wonderful selections of pretty good fast food like Bratwurst, fried Chicken, Döner Kebap, Pizza/Pasta etc. Also the big department stores have cafeterias which served decent food at low prices.

Usually the food is on display, so you can evaluate the quality. Be adventurous!

family-travelers--in Salzburg our son (a little younger than yours at the time) really enjoyed Schloss Hellbrunn with its trick fountains and the tour of the salt mines

As for the Deutsches Museum in Munich, he complained about going there but then wanted to go back another day

family_travelers,

My son ate ALL the time......the Munich train station had good food and most other stations had a Burger King or something comparable. Also, there are bakeries and quick eateries everywhere.
I made sure I had a pastry or snack in my purse all the time because his hunger would kick in at the weirdest times.
He enjoys all activities we enjoy; we don't have to do anything special to keep him entertained. Whether it is a museum, a church, public building, store, cafe, beerhouse, he was game for it all....He even enjoyed "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" on TV in German.
He is a pianist, so in Salzberg he enjoyed everything Mozart of course. Plus the beautiful churches and their artwork and pipe organs.

I think kids just enjoy the experience of new things (as long as they aren't hungry!)

Have fun, Jane

At Hotel Uhland were you 3 to a room? If so was there plenty of room for three of you? Did you really like it there or was it just okay? Thanks so much for your help.