I will be joining my daughter in Madrid early September. We have a few days to go somewhere before we have to be in Interlaken by 9/7 - would you try to go into southern Germany or over into Austria - maybe Salzburg? Don't have much time to research -so any ideas would be appreciated. Would plan to fly out of Madrid to a destination and probably take a train into Interlaken. Thanks.

Salzburg/Berchtesgaden area hard to beat. You can stay in one town and easily see the other. Do Koingsee Lake in electric boats in Berchtesgaden along with the Kielstein (Eagle's Nest). This is SOUND OF MUSIC area.

Call me a cynic, but I never understand questions like this... chicken or fish? Chevy or Ford? opera or ballet? You have to do some reading and see which speaks to you more; chances are that both will.

I've essentially never had a bad day in either country on ten trips. And it doesn't strictly have to be one or the other. The Reutte/Neuschwanstein area straddles the border, and makes for easy transportation westward into Liechtenstein/Switzerland.

Best wishes,

Rex

I like fish in Austria, chicken in Switzerland, Wiener schitzel in Germany, except in Heilgenblut, Austria.

Salzburg? Sure, most touristy place around except Grindelwald.

My favorite spot in Austria: the Ötztal or Heiligenblut just off the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse.
Or perhaps the lakes east of Salzburg - St. Wolfgang. But then there are the Dolomites.

As Rex said, you really could do both. We visited Neuschwanstein last summer and decided to visit Garmisch. The quickest way to get there was through Austria. We ended up spending the night in lovely Lermoos--this whole area near the Zugspitz (on the German border) is heavenly. Or, how about flying into Zurich and taking the train down to Interlaken and exploring the areas there? Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Klein Scheidegg, Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains. Spectacular.

Thanks for all of your comments. I will look into your recommendations. As it is, my daughter finishes up a class in Madrid on 9/2 and is planning on running the Jungfrau Marathon out of Interlaken on 9/10. Our reservations in Interlaken start on 9/7 (to give her a chance to acclimate). She has traveled in Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland. We were just wanting to work in a quick visit to a new area that would enable us to get to Interlaken by 9/7. I have not had time to do much research, and thought Fodor's "Talk" would give me some great ideas. Thanks to all of you who responded. And we do plan on a day visit to Wengen, etc.

If you draw a straight line between Madrid and Interlaken, you will see that it crosses some of the most interesting country in all of Europe. Slicing through the Pyrenees, grazing the Dordogne/Lot, cutting into the big Alps around Grenoble, and onward into Interlaken. There are more beautiful sights than you can ever hope to see along this line, and although you really can't go straight across you will see that you can touch so many memorable places.

Personally, I wouldn't bother to head any farther east or north than Interlaken. By the time you get there, you will feel you have seen all you could possibly see. Good luck.

Just a few quick questions ...

Are you spending more time in Switzerland (or elsewhere) after the marathon? Are you trying to see a new region/country than those your daughter already covered? (My mom and I loved driving through France together and would highly recommend any of the breathtaking regions, as Wayne pointed out, are in your path to Interlaken.) What type of experience are you looking for? More laid back, hiking kind of environment? Cities, museum, culture? I love southern Germany and Austria, but (given that your daughter is finishing up school and preparing for a race) wouldn't want to recommend too much traveling to and fro.