We will take the train to Salzburg on Sept. 11th and spend two days exploring there. We then need to make our way to Vorderhornbach, Tirol to do some family history investigation ending in Garmisch Partenkirchen on the evening of the 15th. I am thinking it may be best to rent a car in Innsbruk and return it there and take a bus to Garmisch- Partenkirchen from there. I’m overwhelmed by all of the options and after seeing the suggestions for driving into the Dolomites, not sure how to prioritize. So much beauty in a short amount of time! The latter part of our trip consists of a fully guided trip of biking the Romantic Road. This is our first time to Europe and would appreciate any advice for the days prior to cycling.
Posted by
City of Seattle
1971 posts
The Dolomites are going to be way, way out of your way. Two day are burnt already in Salzburg, so you have 3 more days? And you need to get down to the Lech area and then to G-P? Dolomites are a no go AFAI'm concerned if you want to do more than see the inside of a car and hotel rooms.
List you itinerary by nights - then much easier to figure logistics.
The area you are visiting in Tirol, from the Lechtal to G-P, is utterly superb. In the short time you have you have no reason to go anywhere different. It's a great area to have a car, as there are many phenomenal little nooks and valleys and villages that have thus far evaded all forms of Let's Go to Lonely Steves-ing. Good for making merry with vacationing Bavarians, ride some lifts, hike to huts for lunch, hear alpine horns, be literally shepherded from thunderstorms by literal shepards. Stroll some misty lanes early with the roosters and get peppered with "morgans" from early rising farm families with impossibly healthy looking children. If it was me I'd hole up for three night in a subalpine village in a valley with both ski infrastructure and much active agriculture. Pick one with a good sized baroque church and you'll hit the right balance. Stay at some convivial place covered in geraniums with a name like Golden Adler etc, realize that some people wake up every morning and put on lederhosen, etc, etc.
Or you could visit stately pretty busy Fussen and the adjacent ultra-mobbed castle, or just gaze upon said castle from a safe distance in stately pretty busy Fussen.
I'm assuming your bike trip starts in G-P? Sweet. I've bike toured a dozen routes in Europe but not yet the Romantic Road. Jealous :)
Posted by
OP
Cincinnati
2 posts
Hank,
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. I was thinking since our bike ride is through Bavaria that I would try to cram in the Dolomites just because not sure when I would ever have the chance to see them. If I should decide to fit them in, I would hire a private one day tour guide rather than try to navigate myself. Now I am really rethinking that whole piece. I will research the Lech Valley and likely spend 3 days there and take more time to breathe rather than be on the move so much. I appreciate your insight.
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