16 Day Trip - Switzerland/Austria/Germany - Need Advice!

Hi Chad. We are also going to Germany and Austria (and Venice) in Sept. Different areas, apparently, but we are similar in tastes. Not really interested in museums or art, though I am looking forward to the architecture. We are outdoorsy people that plan on climbing the Zugspitze, among many other (less strenuous) hikes. We are spending almost 3 weeks in Austria (Ehrwald) and then on to Venice for a few days. Hope you have a wonderful trip!
I'm

Couple things.

Day 1 ( Sept 24 )
Leave the US.
Fly into Zurich

Are there any daytime flights from the US to Zurich? I don't think so. Are you actually leaving on the 23rd and arriving on the 24th? If so, you can get a train to Luzern as soon as you land and get your things and hit the ground running, (takes only a bit more than an hour from the airport). Or are you actually arriving on the 25th?

You might consider taking a night train to Vienna. You could leave Lauterbrunnen by 7 pm on the 28th and catch the Nightjet in Zurich and be in Vienna by 6:31 am ready for a good wine crawl.

Stuttgart for the Cannstatter Volksfest (keep the party going)? Earliest flight back to the US is about 10:30 am from Frankfurt, so you could take a 7:25 ICE from Stuttgart direct to Frankfurt Airport and be there by 8:37. Might be tight for a 10:30 flight, but most flights are later than that, and there is a 5:51 train in case you do need to get there earlier.

Ahhhh!! A question involving Stuttgart! cracks fingers

As cool as Vienna is, your current itinerary is pretty great and I wouldn't mess with it. Stuttgart is the capital of Germany's 3rd or 4th largest wine region (depending on how you classify) and has a totally unique and fun wine culture so you can totally engage with the harvest season in the Stuttgart/Wurttemberg wine region. Plus, the world's 2nd largest beer festival, after Oktoberfest, is also taking place here in Stuttgart during this time, and honestly, it's better but you can do a side-by-side comparision if you like. (OK, to be fair, the beer is not better. Munich has us beat in that department. But for ease and fun, the Canstatter Volksfest beats Oktoberfest by a mile, and when you're drinking a Mass, you're probably not being that picky about your beer.)

What I would recommend is a self-guided hike (or a tour but i can't recommend one for, uh, reasons of ethics) of the Unterturkheim-Rotenberg-Uhlbach-Oberturkheim-Esslingen area. The vineyards are in stunning colors in October, and the seasonal "Besenwirtschaft" eateries will be mostly open. These are small restaurants that usually open for a couple months in spring and fall operated by the wineries, usually at the site of the winery itself (sometimes in the winemaker's actual home!) Traditional "besens" are full of local homecooked grandma-style food and "wine from the tap" at .3 liters a glass, but there are also higher-end modern besens doing gourmet takes on local food and high quality wines as well. It's quite easy to structure a hike within the vineyards and forest hitting several wineries and besens, easily accessible via public transit. The Stuttgart TI puts out a brochure in German with maps and information about the besens and wineries on recommended routes.

Additionally you can help pick grapes for a small family winegrower, most schemes either have you pay 10 euro or are "free" (well, you're doing the work!) but they provide a meal and some wine for you at the end. This is harder for tourists to connect to but I know an American woman who facilitates such pickings for the aforementioned 10 euros. (Honestly not me! You can search "Ellen Stillman Thomas" on Facebook, she's based in Esslingen and provides all sorts of English-speaking fun opportunities in conjunction with the Esslingen TI and she's my direct competitor so I don't even know why I'm giving her a shoutout except that I like to be helpful).

There might also be a "weinwanderweg" going on these dates if it's a weekend. That's where a local winery sets up booths in the vineyards and you make your way along the route having wine and snacks from each booth, ending in a little festival.

Again, I hate to dissuade you from Vienna, but if you're looking for a fall wine adventure, Stuttgart couldn't be more perfect for the itinerary you describe.

Thanks for the replies!

Sarah! Perfect advice! We were hoping to avoid Vienna since it is so far out of the way.

The self-guided hike sounds amazing! :D 10 Euro's for a day of adventure is cheap to me ;)

Anymore advice on Switzerland/Austria would be great!

@Sam,

Sorry I missed this message. We are flying out on the 24th and arriving on the 25th at 1 pm local time.

From there we planned on heading to lucerne and getting groceries and stuff for our trip.

Roger that. Skipping Vienna will free up more time for Lauterbrunnen.