Honeymoon May 2020

The train to the Jungfraujoch is very, very expensive. However, there are plenty of other less famous mountain spots in the general region that you can visit.

I'd be very surprised of Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber had enough to keep you for four days.

The four areas you mention are not really all that close together. There will be a jet lag day, and a half day moving among each site chosen, so: Do you want to move around that much? And, where are you flying from in the US and which airport will you fly into in Europe (and maybe out of different one?)

It may help to do a guidebook review now and identify activities/sites in each broader area to focus on to narrow your options list....

Also, IME a Honeymoon comes just after exhausting period of activity, so maybe a bit more of a restful trip might be in order. You will be back.

A car is one option, but except for Fussen/castles, which can be easier by car because of train/bus schedules, other sites can be easily accessed by train, and then you can sit and rest between cities.

https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml

It is easy to fly into Zurich and catch a train to Interlaken - which is the entry station to the Jungfrau Region... but Interlaken itself is an old spa town outside the really beautiful valley towns. Then you catch a train and need to pick a smaller town Lauterbrunnen, Gimmelwald, Murren, etc.. Everyone has their own opinion. Switzerland is all EXPENSIVE, but maybe that is ok for a honeymoon even if not for future trips.

It is easy to fly into Munich also. Munich region plus Fussen/castles are close together. But there is a lot more to see in that region too. And one can go to Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna very easily from there.
https://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/aboutus/index.htm

Frankfort is easy to access from the US. It is nearest to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. That half-timbered walled town is lovely but is usually allocated one night by visitors. The Middle Rhine Valley with its castles are tourist favorites easily accessible from Frankfort also.

The Black Forest region is in Southwest Germany east of the Upper Rhine Valley and is probably most easily accessed through Strasbourg on the French side of the Rhine. Lovely area, and a car would be a definite benefit there. Strasbourg, Fribourg, Baden-Baden, Colmar, maybe even Basel.

Great time to start planning.

U could save a lot by grouping your destinations closer together. Remember gasoline is very expensive in Europe. Good. that u are planning now as July is peak season. Also u would not need a car in Berner oberland area. Yes Jungfrau train is very pricey as it is a private rail line. However it can be iffy with the weather at the top so sometimes it is better not to visit anyway.

The honeymoon will be several months after the wedding, getting married in October.

We will be flying in from Florida and flying in and out of Munich. We went to Munich back in 2016 and loved it. I figured the car, because most of the places are 4 hours or less away. Switzerland is all about the money and a Eason why I am thinking about taking it off the list, although it is so beautiful.

I have several books for the areas that we are looking into. And I saw that in Rothenburg, there was not a lot. Although I would use one day to drive to Bamberg.

I do now that I wanted to keep the majority of the trip in the alps. So amazing. We want to spend a little more time in Fussen, as last time we just went to the castles and then back to Munich.

I agree four night in Rothenburg is a little long. Are you good at driving a stick? I live in Florida and the only hills are the garbage dumps. Unless you are really good and experienced I would suggest the extra money for an automatic may be money well spent. Do you really want to drive the whole time? May want to think about that

If you are flying into and out of Munich anyway then doing the 5 days in that area as suggested seems great, then maybe do a loop south through the Alps, Fussen/castles, Garmish-Partenkirchen (and up the Zugspitze), on to Innsbruck, then around to Salzburg/Berchtesgarden and back to Munich. That will be mostly low country driving through gorgeous valleys, although you can take more mountainous roads if you want. Rothenberg and Bamberg can be easily accessed from Nuremberg by car or train (R through Wurzburg). Nuremberg is only an hour north of Munich by train so you might combine R/B with a trip to Nuremberg.

If you are absolutely fixed on the car approach, it's certainly do-able. Have you considered trains? They are fast, inexpensive, and do not come with tickets. The only place you REALLY need a car is in the "Black Forest", which is a region not a place. Have you narrowed down a location in that area?

Driving in mountains is a skill that is learned. You need to consider that when you go down, you must be aware of the brakes, and use lower gears. It can be somewhat stressful.

I'd go with Plan B, and consider trains. If you believe, as I do, that holidays are a fun way to do different things, then this is a reason to consider trains/buses.

Only one opinion matters here. Where does your future spouse want to go? What does your future spouse want to see?

Nancy:
I feel pretty comfortable with a stick. But, been awhile since I had to drive a stick on hills. Really just three days in Rothenburg. The one day is travel to there hoping to see some castles between there and the Black Forest. And taking one of those three days to go to Bamberg. I don't mind the driving, being able to stop whenever is nice.

NickB:
We have been to Garmish-Partenkirchen and Zugspitze. We definitely wanted to go back to the fantasy castles again. Being as this is a different time of year from last time. Definitely going to Bamberg and Nurmberg on this trip.

Paul-of-the-Frozen-North:
Definitely fixed on a car. Really don't like schedules when ion vacation. As far as the town in the Black Forest, we are thinking Triberg. But, open to suggestions. Driven in plenty mountainous areas. As I have lived in upstate New York and the California at the foothills of the mountains. Plan B is definitely the first choice at this moment. But, the Jungfrau region is so tempting with its beauty.

Doug.Spindler:
We spent 8 days in Munich in 2016. And most of our time was not spent in the city. Did not find it nearly as pricey as London or Paris. Last time it was so cold. So we didn't do nearly as much in the city as we wanted too. We have been through Berchtesgaden, but want to go back to the Eagles Nest. I will check out the Kleinstein Mountains. Bamber and Nuremberg are definitely on the intenary. Another reason why we were spending all the days in Munich.

Carol:
Very hard to get my soon to be wife to give me input, lol. I get a lot of I don't know and I don't cares. We do agree on seeing great views. One thing that draws us to Switzerland.

I reported the above post as commercial.

Thank you Judy B.

Being retired for 23 years, we haven't traveled in high season for decades, but even when we did, we never made advanced hotel reservations and I think that even today it is not as necessary as most people seem to think. Just to check, I searched Kayak for rooms in Rothenburg for two days from now, July 7, 2019, and got a choice of 9 hotels. The great advantage of not booking ahead (and travel by car) is infinite flexibility in where you go and what you see and when you do it.

Alps: The Swiss Alps are no better but more expensive than the French or Austrian Alps. When we did travel ins high season, we found that room prices were bargains at ski resorts, and so is the scenery (again: travel by car). Example: a three bedroom corner suite with balconies on two sides facing the Alps, Big Screen TV with a library of Hollywood movies, breakfast and dinner and a bottle of wine for two people, all for $120 (current prices).

We have done about 18 vacations in the Austrian Alps by car (straight shift). I would never credit the Swiss Alps with better scenery than the Austrian Alps. Oddly, the most attractive Swiss Chalets are found in Austria's Tyrol region.
You probably have too many days allocated for Fussen, and when you are done there, head into Austria to the Oetztal where you will find what maybe a perfect honeymoon hotel, Hotel Bergidylle Falknerhof This pension well worth seeking out. To find it, start up the Oetztal road toward Solden. Turn off the main road on the road to the upper Stubing Falls. Keep going up hill past the falls for several miles to the little village of Niederthai. Turn right just beyond the little chapel on the right side of the road. The hotel is located in the group of buildings a bit further up hill.

Niederthai is a little ski resort set in a pleasant mountain meadow that must have a population of at least 9 people-- a perfect pastorale get away from it all setting.

I've done a bunch of posts on seeing the Austrian Alps, most aimed at trying to get people out for Salzburg and Hallstatt, so I'm not going to repeat. You can find them under my posting name.

Besides being cheaper, the Austrian Alps beat Swiss Alps for bad weather options. When we drive in the Alps, we plan two itineraries, one for good weather-- the mountains-- and one for bad weather, towns and museums. The most scenic areas of the Austrian Alps are around Salzburg and Innsbruck. Nothing in Switzerland can compare for good/bad weather and scenic options.

I rented a Hertz car at Munich airport. After I got home, Hertz charged my Amex card $1,100 for unspecified "damage" to the car. I complained to Amex who asked Hertz for proof of the damage, and that was the end of it. Amex canceled the charge and I don't rent from Hertz now.

Since you lived in NY, you have seen the Black Forest. In NY,. its called the Catskills, Adirondacks, and Appalachians. But unlike the low mountains (Catskills, Adirondacks, and Appalachians; Black Forest, Jura, and Vosges) the high mountains are all different. You allready know that the Alps are not the Sierra. Skip the Black Forest, or just take a cut across. and go into France to the Route de Vin Alsace, the superstar of quaint EU villages.

And while you are an your way to Alsace via the Black Forest, go along the north shore of Lake Constance with a ferry boat ride to Mainau Island and visits to the Baroque churches off the NW end of the lake.

Must preparations for driving in EU:
Both of you must memorize the International road signs.
Get the Michelin Green Guide for every country you will be in-- incomparable for planning and none better for getting you around once you get there.
Get a good paper road map, 1:200,000 is best. 1:500,000 is minimal. I prefer Michelin.
Goggle everything you can find on driving in the countries you will be in, especially the official national web sites.