Hello all, I apologize in advance for not searching for the answers. I am 'under the gun', though and need to book this trip tonight. I will be traveling from Vienna to Munich in mid-March, by train, and then staying a 3 nights in Munich. A few quick questions....

1.) What is the best train to take from Vienna to Munich? I'm currently looking at www.raileurope.com and I can get a one-way ticket for $129. Sound good?

2.) What are some recommended places to stay in Munich? I'm looking to spend as LITTLE as money as possible, so it looks like hostels might be the best bet. Your recommended places would be great.

3.) I really would like to drive on the autobahn while I'm there. Is it reasonable ($$$, wise) to rent a car and drive for one day? What are my approximate costs?

4.) Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much for your help...this is quite the 'shotgun' trip!!!

I'd suggest you look through a thread I started a few months ago, when I did mileage runs to Munich:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ghlight=aztimm

As to a cheap place to stay, I'd recommend Hotel Eder:
http://www.hotel-eder.de/pages/main-e.html

Great, thank you!! I will start reading.

More advice is welcome!

Not sure what the strong interest is in driving the autobahn. Been there, done that many times. Doing it again in 2 weeks. It is not much different than driving on a U.S. interstate highway. A little better, but not by a large order of magnitude. If you think that it is a totally unregulated speed motorway, think again. Yes, there are sections of it where there are not speed limits, but frequently there are limits on the autobahn of 80, 100, 120 & 130 km/h. Multiply by .6 to get the approximate mph. The disclaimer is that I have gone as fast as 220 kph. You'll have to decide if the cost is worth it to rent a car for one day. You have plenty of time to get that info yourself. Just check out hertz.com , avis.com , sixt.com , etc.

Now, if you want to go see another town and want to drive instead of taking a train, that's different. IMO, though, just to rent a car for one day so that you can spend it driving the autobahn is not a wise expenditure. Also, remember that you will spend about $6/gal for gas.

www.bahn.de (more explanation in the sticky at the top of the forum) will show all the options, including nonrefundable fares as low as 29 Euros. Most are less than $129.

Thanks all for your help!

Well, unfortunately as quick as this trip got planned (I even booked the ticket on NWA.com), it has ended. I was planning on using both of my vouchers with NWA, and they only let me use one. That, along with the general high costs of spending a few days in Munich, has put the kabosh on this trip. I can't afford to drop close to $800 right now...I need to save my money!!

Bummer........but thanks again for your help, this is what makes FT so great!