Black forest and Austria visit

Sorry should have read Salzburg not Vienna!

I absolutely love the Black Forest. However, I like the not so touristy areas. Here's an idea. Fly into the Base/Mulhouse airport from the UK. From there, you can get the bus/train into the Black Forest. I spent 3 glorious nights in Muensterstal last September. I had a car and it was an easy one hour drive to the airport. However, I just checked some train schedules using http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en. For the easiest, and fastest way, you could take a fast train to Freiburg and then the regional train from there directly to the center of Muensterstal. Of course, you could go directly from the airport to Muensterstal, however, there are several changes and requires bus and train. Just depends on what you prefer. Then you could return to Freiburg to take a 7-8 hr. train ride to Salzburg. The other option would be to fly from Basel/Mulhouse to Salzburg. Basel/Mulhouse airport is small and very easy to maneuver.

Why Muensterstal? Lots of wonderful, inexpensive lodging. Quiet. An abundance of walking trails. Beautiful Monastery with lots of history. Wonderful, traditional Black Forest food. Easy regional trains to Staufen and Freiburg for day trips. I just can't say enough about this southern Black Forest town. It is truly a gem.

If you need lodging recommendations for Muensterstal or Salzburg, send me a personal message. Enjoy two of my favorite areas of Germany and Austria.

Although the mountains are not as high in the northern Black Forest as they are in the south, I nevertheless find the north a very nice place to stay (23 nights since 2000). It's quick to get there from FRA. There are a number of fine spa towns, Bad Herrenalb, Bad Wildbad, Freudenstadt, Bad Liebenzell - although the spas are a bit "risque" by American standards.

And most of those places in the northern BF are a short distance from Stuttgart and the high speed trains to Salzburg.

dave Lindau on the Bodensee makes a good stop on the way from BF to Salzburg.

Hello Dave,
Traveling to Schwarzwald from UK, perhaps look into flights on Ryan Air to Baden Baden. From there, trains throughout the region are very accessible. Freudenstadt, Bad Wild Bad, Lake Titisee all have train stations and are very beautiful. In Bad Wild Bad you can ride a gondola up to Sommerberg for some fantastic views, and the best Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake) I have ever tried at the Sommerberg Hotel (the hotel is closed but the restaurant is open and the terrace overlooks Bad Wild Bad below.
As others have mentioned Freiburg is in the southern region. Although not in Schwarzwald itself it has some excellent places to visit. You might make it your last stop before heading east. Triberg is the home of the Black Forest Museum and houses 4 centuries of cuckoo clocks, jukeboxes and barrel organs, workshops a rail diorama and a mineral mine. Villengen-Schwenningen is to the east of there, and is a quaint Medieval town. Lindau on the Bodensee is a great stop on your way to Austria.
Go to www.blackforest-tourism.com for more ideas. Also [email protected] will book rooms for you if you want to have a set plan. You really can't go wrong anywhere there.

"Lindau on the Bodensee makes a good stop on the way from BF to Salzburg"

Much as I love Lindau, I can't agree with that statement. Even from Freiburg i.B., far to the south, the fastest route to Salzburg goes through Stuttgart. Going through Lindau, although scenic, will add several hours and several train changes to your trip.

And from Freudenstadt in the northern Forest, Salzburg is less than 6 hours and 2 changes away (vs 8 hours and 4 changes from Freiburg via Lindau).

Even driving, Lindau is a pretty far detour on the way to Salzburg from the Black Forest.