Germany - Germany - No Clue on Itinerary

Greetings,

The wife and I have planned to go to Munich this coming June (18-27) for our 20th Anniversary. We've chosen Germany for a couple of reasons: (i) we met in German class and (ii) we've heard that it is very beautiful in the southern region.

We really don't have a clue even after looking at all the books for both Munich and the Barvarian and Swiss Alps. With this, I ask for some suggestions on itinerary. To help you, I'll list some of the interests and types of things that we like, along with some basics.

- We arrive 19 June and leave 27 June out of Munich. This was the only destination we could get C award tickets into for the date. We are not necessarily tied to Munich at all.
- We will have a car which is rented at the Munich airport for the entire period of stay, so driving is not an issue and is actually desired, we are not keen on being in big cities
- We absolutely love nature and hiking. Our preferred vacation here in the States is Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, Glacier, etc....
- Scenic drives are good with things to do along the way.
- Did I say hiking?
- I'd like to see at least one castle
- Things in Switzerland would be desirable to us
- We are not the budget hotel type, more of the Hilton/Marriott type. I'd like to use points at Hilton if possible (know that this might not be possible).

If you have some suggestions down in this area, I sure would appreciate it. If you have it, it would be good to know the closest town with a hotel.

Ideally, maybe we could spend a couple of days in Munich, then go down to another town in southern Germany for a day/two of hiking, then something in Switzerland for a couple days of hiking/nature before returning to Munich.

Any help that you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Michael

check out this article....http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/travel/the-bavarian-forest-near-munich-overnighter.html

two days in munich will be sufficient...it's a small hood...watch your speeding in Switzerland...they speed camera everything and send out tickets at the slightest infraction

Greetings,

The wife and I have planned to go to Munich this coming June (18-27) for our 20th Anniversary. We've chosen Germany for a couple of reasons: (i) we met in German class and (ii) we've heard that it is very beautiful in the southern region.

We really don't have a clue even after looking at all the books for both Munich and the Barvarian and Swiss Alps. With this, I ask for some suggestions on itinerary. To help you, I'll list some of the interests and types of things that we like, along with some basics.

- We arrive 19 June and leave 27 June out of Munich. This was the only destination we could get C award tickets into for the date. We are not necessarily tied to Munich at all.
- We will have a car which is rented at the Munich airport for the entire period of stay, so driving is not an issue and is actually desired, we are not keen on being in big cities
- We absolutely love nature and hiking. Our preferred vacation here in the States is Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, Glacier, etc....
- Scenic drives are good with things to do along the way.
- Did I say hiking?
- I'd like to see at least one castle
- Things in Switzerland would be desirable to us
- We are not the budget hotel type, more of the Hilton/Marriott type. I'd like to use points at Hilton if possible (know that this might not be possible).

If you have some suggestions down in this area, I sure would appreciate it. If you have it, it would be good to know the closest town with a hotel.

Ideally, maybe we could spend a couple of days in Munich, then go down to another town in southern Germany for a day/two of hiking, then something in Switzerland for a couple days of hiking/nature before returning to Munich.

Any help that you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Michael

Driving is fine but gas is expensive. Think about $8/gallon. With that in mind, ask for a diesel.

If you want to hike, there are numerous hiking trails in the Fränkische Schweiz (http://www.fraenkische-schweiz.com/bilderbogen/en.html) (Franconian Switzerland). Plus a lot of biergartens to explore. In fact, there are several hikes that involve hiking from one biergarten to the next. Note that many of the breweries here do not export their beer outside of Franconia, or even their town. But, the Fränkische Schweiz is not Switzerland so you might not be interested.

Castles: there are lots of them but you probably want Neuschwanstein Castle (http://www.neuschwansteincastle.net/). It's not far from Munich. The Heidelberg Castle (http://www.visit-heidelberg.com/tours/castle.htm) in Heidelberg is worth a visit too plus it will be a nice drive getting there.

While in Munich, be sure one morning to have for breakfast "Weißwurstfrühstück" (weisswurst, pretzel, and hefeweizen). All of the breweries should offer it. Any hotel in Munich can recommend several places do it.

I know you didn't mention it, but Salzburg, Austria might be worth looking into. Nearby is a salt mine tour and ice caves you can tour. Plus The Eagle's Nest is nearby if you're into WWII history.

Oooops, forgot to add that if you're hiking then you need to be aware that Lyme Disease and Tickborne Encephalitis are present in Bavaria (and presumably Switzerland and Austria) -- present enough that hikers are encouraged to get vaccinated. Yesterday I received my TBE booster shot.

Don't forget, that there is no vaccination against the European version of Lyme!

Quite some time ago, I answered a similar question. Maybe you want to have a look at some suggestions (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/11483628-post5.html) for some not so well known destinations.

While in Munich, be sure one morning to have for breakfast "Weißwurstfrühstück" (weisswurst, pretzel, and hefeweizen). All of the breweries should offer it. Any hotel in Munich can recommend several places do it.


I'll second this (but, pls. do not use your car afterwads :o). Quite unknown to non-bavarians, but we love our tradition: :D

Ich liebe Weißwurstfrühstück! Es ist ein fein Ausrede vor dem Mittags zu trinken!

Or something like that. Mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut.

I'd avoid Neuschwanstein unless you want to spend a short time (they really move the tours through as fast as possible) in a lovely castle and be crowded by hordes of other tourists while on the grounds and in the town. I'd als:) suggest Kitzbühel as a lovely place to hike in/around.

We enjoy going to Lake Tegernsee (http://en.tegernsee.com/), which is 1 hour from Munich. It is at the start of the Bavarian Alps and is relatively easy to access. If you like hiking (did you mention that?), you can go up the Wallberg (http://www.wallbergbahn.de/english/summer/hiking/) and you can finish your day at the Bräustüberl Tegernsee (http://www.braustuberl.de/) with some great food and beer.

You will be hard pressed to use your Hilton points away from the major cities. I have stayed Hilton City Center in Munich and it was just as nice as any other Hilton.

Consider the Chiemsee with the Herreninsel (big castle) and Fraueninsel (old monastry). Very convenient on the way to Salzburg where you probably want to go to anyway.

Salzberg is very nice, as is the trip from Munich. I like the Romantik Road for scenery and castles, preferably from north to south so that you see the mountains in front of you. There's also a Castle Road; they cross at Rothenberg-a-d-Tauber. There are some nice scenic wine roads too. It's nice to drive along the region of the Rhein with castles around Mainz. The Mosel is also a nice drive, with more castles and wine. Bonn has a famous historic castle, with a couple more just outside of town. Near Munich, you might want to visit Hitler's Eagle's Nest and the concentration camp at Dachau.

Holy cow, sorry I didn't see this sooner. I spent as much time as possible in Bavaria when we lived in Germany.
I love Munich and you for sure want to spend a couple days on the front end of your trip, if you can. But there's nothing better than the Bavarian Alps. I'm a hotel snob but you can find some very nice gasthauses, too, and get an authentic experience.
If it's not too late, here's what I'd do:
Book your first couple of nights at the Hilton Munich Park Hotel, on the north side of town. It's right beside the Englischer Garten, which is lovely and you would enjoy, I'm sure... go for a beer and a pretzel if nothing else. Have lunch there your first day! The hotel is under renovation, but they say the first floors are done. If you can't do that, I'm sure the one downtown is more than great, and there's plenty to do there, too.
Then go to Nymphenburg, which is one of my favorite castles and is little visited by Americans, I think. You do need to drive to it, but you can stroll down the canal in front (how they got there from the city back in the day) and the gardens out back are lovely, and it's authentic. Not like Ludwig's beautiful but (can I say it?) phony castles. Not that you shouldn't see some of them, but go see Nymphemburg. It's not far from downtown.
By all means have weisswurst and weizenbier for breakfast the next morning, just do it at the cafe across the street from the Glockenspiel on city hall. You'll want to either sit inside at one of the window tables at eye-level (worth going early and eating a lot to keep it ;) ) or at the tables outside below. Once the clock has done its thing, take your Michelin green guide to help you find/see St Michael's Church, just off the walkplatz. Plenty to see and do, including the Viktualienmarkt, shops, other churches, the Residenz palace (plan on 1+hours at a run), etc. Just go browsing. That night, you can do the beer hall experience if you want, there are plenty but I'd avoid Hofbrauhaus unless you just can't stand not to do it. I like the Lowenbrau and especially the Augustiner Bierhalle, also downtown and much better atmosphere and food, I think.
Then get out of town! Day 3, you can go west to Schwangau, which is a lovely area, and see Neuschwanstein -- it is irresistable and you will have a nice uphill climb to get to it. You can get your tickets ahead of time so you don't have to wait in line with the throngs. Once you've seen the castle, hike out the back to the bridge over the gorge for a view down to the castle. Gorgeous. I like to stay in Schwangau (not Fussen!) at the Hotel Rubezahl, which is a very nice hotel with balconies having a view of the castle, on the hill across the meadows... lovely at night, sit on your balcony and have a glass of wine and look at the lit castle. Good food, too! And a spa, but the balcony/wine thing works for me. For me, the coolest thing is this lovely gasthof sits beside an active dairy farm, so the cows go in and out to pasture/barn, morning and night, right in front of the hotel. The route into Schwangau is good, and when you leave on Day 4, you can go to by going north on B17 to Steingaden, from there east to Wildsteig (small road) and then south on B23 towards Oberammergau & Garmisch.
Don't get me wrong, the autobahns are great for getting you where you want to be, fast (normally), but I love the backroads! So my trips always have a little of each.
You might enjoy looking around at Oberammergau and its painted houses and beautiful woodcarvings in the shops, but I'd go straight out to Linderhof to tour that pretty little summer palace of Ludwig's... hike up the small hill in the back to his grotto... and then go on down to Ettal, where I'd spend the night at the Blaue Gams up on a hill beside the monastery, if you can stand the bells (I love them). If not, there are lots of places to stay in Garmisch and I could recommend some there.
But for sure go and hike the Partnach Gorge the next day, it's gorgeous. Or go up the Zugspitze if the day is clear. Lots of bike and hiking trails all over the area.
So this has already eaten up 5 (?) days. Maybe more, depending on how hooked you get on either of these places. Garmisch has the clear mint-lozenge blue river running through it that will capture you, and plenty of charm and good food. Sigh.
But I'd only stay 2 days because the best is yet to come.
Day 6, I'd head east to the Austrian border: take the autobahn north then east, but get off at Bernau and take the scenic but slow route skimming the border... B305 goes all the way down through the pass to Reit im Winkl, where you can then head east on this beautiful "Alpenstrasse" past lakes and picturesque villages, one of my favorite drives.
You'll come out at Berchtesgaden, and it will have eaten up most of the day. You can stay there, or in any of the little villages which you will without doubt want to at least drive through. On Day 7, go to Ramsau and sit beside the river across from the little church--the exact view Eisenhower painted. You will of course want to go to Schonau and take the electric boat cruise (no motors allowed) across the Konigsee. When when you reach the docking point at the church, get out and walk up the trail behind the church to another little chapel hidden from view, on a stream. Plan ahead and take a picnic lunch! It's a perfect spot!
If you're REALLY energetic, just go to Ramsau and spend the day on Day 7. Then on Day 8, take the cable car to the Eagle's Nest, hike down (you'll get a preview of the Konigssee plus friendly bell-wearing cows to keep you company here and there), picnic on the way cause it's a good hike or eat lunch at one of the gasthauses at the bottom, and then take the lake cruise.
Unfortunately, then you'll have to head back to Munich via the autobahn for your flight home. So, as you can see, too much to choose from and too little time... you may have to decide what sounds the best, or plan on recovering from your vacation once you get home. But you will have seen all the best of Bavaria. :)

you may have to decide what sounds the best, or plan on recovering from your vacation once you get home. But you will have seen all the best of Bavaria. :)

Yes. And you can think about your next visit to see the other parts of Germany which are totally different but also worth a trip. ;-)

Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions. We have decided to spend about three days in Munich going around doing some of the things which were pointed out.

The next six days we'll be spending down in St. Moritz hiking in that area along with spending time in the Swiss National Park. We couldn't resist taking the lifts to the top, having some wine/lunch and then hiking through some of the alpine valleys and ridges.

With any luck, we'll have good weather and good wine.....