My husband, my 22 year old daughter and myself are flying into Frankfurt. We only have 2 weeks and will be renting a car for the entire trip. Everyone has something special they want to see. My daughter...Hoffbrau House in Munich, my husband and I Bavaria (traveling by car) and Neuschwanstein castle. We are also hoping to get into Austria and Switzerland. We like scenaries and not so much tourist places. Although we understand some places are a must to see even though they are tourist attractions. Departing for the US from either Geneva Switzerland or Zurich. Any suggestions...itiniaries that worked well for you. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
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Why don%26#39;t you take a good look at a map and perhaps a couple of travel guides ( Michelin Green Books , Frommers , Fodors, etc.) land lay out a rough itinerary that would satisfy everybody%26#39;s interest and then let others react to it. Like the Hofbraeuhaus in Munich is not a destination, just a restaurant. Do you want to see more of Munich? Two weeks requires some drastic prioritizations, or you you will be on the road all the time and see nothing.
As rule: Figure 120km/h on the autobahns, 80-90km/h on non-autobahn roads, and 70-80km in mountainous areas, like passes iin Switzerlarnd.
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RuteleK
Make sure that the car you rent has GPS . It make driving SOOOO much easier most of them are in several Diff Lang. The rental agent will give you a card on how to work it.
poplew
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In Germany you can spend your entre vacaton n and 100 km (60 mles) around that place and when you leave stll have many excellent thngs you%26#39;ve mssed. So realze by rushng around to dstant places you may be passng equal or better places nearby. Germany has over 30,000 castles and palaces alone so there s no lack of places to vsit.
You seem to be nterested n scenery, you probably can see equal or better scenery all over the western USA. To me the purpose of vstng a foregn country s to see ther culture and how they lve, not see scenery, but n some places of course you can do both. I personally would make sure to vst Salzburg, Austria as t has a pleasant mx of scenery and culture. For scenery, the German, Austran and Swss Alps would be good.
My computer is acting up agan, and not always prntng %26quot;eyes%26quot;.
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Since you tend towards southern germany, my suggestion looks like this: From Frankfurt head to Munich, stops might include Heidelberg and Rothenburg o.d.T, which are both really touristy places. Alternative route Würzburg (def. less touristy, but very pretty), Rothenburg, Munich or Würzburg, Bamberg, Nürnberg to Munich (really depends on what you%26#39;d like to see)
From Munich, if you really want to stretch it, you could do a loop to Salzburg and back via Innsbruck and Reutte to Füssen to see the castle, but you could also base yourself in GP or Mittenwald or Oberammergau and explore the area from there, there%26#39;s lots to see and do. From Füssen a scenic route leads from Reutte via Hindelang and Sonthofen to Lindau or via Warth /Schröcken to Bregenz at the Lake Constance. Lindau or Konstanz make a good base to explore this region and are not far from Zurich for your flight back.
Disagree with previous poster, scenery is more than mountains and forests, which might not be as impressive in europe as some sights in north america, but the villages, mountain huts and farms give it a very different flavour.
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marco--sorry about your %26quot;eye%26quot; problem. My computer turns into Mr. Hyde when I try to make umlauts. I%26#39;m stuck with the e after the necessary vowels...
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I%26#39;ve lived in Europe for several years, but I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;ve been to the Hofbrau in Munich. I%26#39;ve heard that it is very touristed, which you are already prepared for.
One of my favorite hofbrau%26#39;s in Germany is in Regensburg, called Kneitinger. It is full of local Germans. It%26#39;s about as typical to the Munich beerfest out of season as you can get sans tourists. Regensburg is also a wonderful town in itself, a former Roman military camp. It wasn%26#39;t bombed during the war, so its buildings have a very medieval character. Tourists on the river cruises from Amsterdam say Regensburg is their favorite stop.
You could then drive to Kelheim on the Danube (Donau) and catch the boat to/from to visit the Weltenburger Klosterbrauerei, the oldest monastery brewery in the world. Great eating outside. On a sunny day, excellent photos to make from the boat. You could then visit the lovely city of Passau, at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz Rivers, stop in if only for lunch and a walk, and then head into Austria.
The Donautal (Danube Valley) is very pretty, with boat rides up and down that stretch. Melk Abbey, or Stift Melk, is an Austrian Benedictine Abbey worth visiting. If you drink wine, you can visit the Heurerger, or vinters%26#39; farmhouses, which sell food from a limited menu and provide the opportunity to taste wines for a small price (order ,1 or %26quot;comma eins%26quot; glasses for tasting purposes). You can know if a heurerger is open if there is a tree branch or woven straw decoration on the outside of the building, sometimes with a light on next to it. In summer several will be open. You can rent bikes and find winefests during the weekend. We came across a good firehouse fest in the valley a couple of summers ago.
((You would be relatively near a wonderful town in the Czech Republic, Cesky Krumlov. No major autobahn there, so you%26#39;d definitely get a taste of Eastern European infrastructure. It%26#39;s safe traveling and just a great experience.))
Doubleback and head to Salzburg w/a prior stop/stay in Hallstadt, then head to Innsbruck, and then south to the Engadine Tal of Switzerland, within the largest canton of Graubünden though least populated, where the 4th dialect of Romansch is spoken. My favorite villages are Scuol and Guarda. Scuol has an Italianate feel, with hanging carnations from the balconies and several plazas hosting many fountains with spigots from which fresh water (both natural and mineral), all w/different flavors, pour...you can drink from a byobottle. Both Scuol and Guarda%26#39;s houses have beautiful scraffito designs etched on them, the walls a meter and a half thick. There is an excellent spa/pool/Roman Irish massage facility there as well. Bring a bathing suit (or go nude in one section).
about.ch/cantons/graubuenden/scuol/index.html
Ride the skilifts to the top and have an scenic %26quot;this is what I call %26#39;vacation%26#39; lunch, watching the hang gliders float by. When returning down, ask the lift operator if you can go back up again without getting off (for free).
If you hike, there is an area up a narrow road on the backside of Scuol that the city bus will even go, I believe it%26#39;s to S-charl, a tiny summer-only hamlet in the alps above Scuol. We hiked a trail that took us to a farmer%26#39;s barn that made cheese, though he wasn%26#39;t home. Gorgeous scenary.
Leaving Scuol and Guarda, there is a village on the other end of the valley called Soglio...total eagle%26#39;s nest experience. You%26#39;re very close to the Italian border at this point.
Doubleback and head over the Flüela Pass to Davos and beyond, along the Landquart River, and over to Zurich.
I%26#39;ve never timed this, but at least you have some options for this particular area, which happens to be my favorite. Generally speaking, get out of Frankfurt ASAP.
Enjoy!
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