Driving in Germany

I can't speak to the driving, but we really liked Hohenschwangau which is right by Neuschwanstein. In some ways, we may have liked it better. You can't beat the views of Neuschwanstein, but the interior and the tour at Hohenschwangau was really interesting.

Thanks julesmenssen

We will look into that :)

Of course, you probably know that Neuschwanstein etc are about 60 KM S of Munich, and Frankfurt is north. The public transport option for the castles is quite decent. Why are you driving to those castles? There's a lot of stuff between Frankfurt and Munich. Is there a reason you don't want to do the train for the travel? Another good castle is Heidelberg and again, you can get there on bus or train from Frankfurt.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your reply. We were considering driving because most of the AirBnb's don't open until the afternoon, we would need to rent lockers or something every stop since we are back-packing. The travel is shorter between the castles and we can experience driving in Germany! :)

Heidelberg was on our list, but we removed it to do Rothenburg/Mespelbrunn.

we can experience driving in Germany!

Somehow I suspect that driving in Germany is your real reason. In case you are entertaining some Walter Middy fantasy about being a race driver, forget it. Driving in Germany is a lot like driving in the US, nothing like racing. Some Autobahns have higher or no speed limits, but even then heavy traffic limit your actual speed. Side roads generally have lower speed limits than similar roads over here.

Since you are starting in Munich, I would stay there (carless) long enough to go to Andechs and Neuschwanstein by train.

Another place, if you want to see a walled city and a castle, go by train to Nördlingen on the Romantic Road and stay two nights. Nördlingen is Rothenburg's little sister. It lacks a Christmas shop and a Crime and Punishment museum, but it is much less crowded and has an almost intact wall with a Wehrgang you can walk on. During the day you can leave your luggage at the hotel and tour the town or take a train (15 min) to Harburg and see the castle there. Or you could take the bus 1 hour north to Dinkelsbühl (but Dinkelsbühl's only another walled city).

Looks doable to me. I'd say go to Neuschwanstein first, the spend the night at the Andechs Monastary Gasthof so you can sample the product without any driving the rest of the day. Hit Lichtenstein and Hohenzollern castles next day, Tuebingen is close by for an overnight. Or drive to Rothenburg and spend the night there. Mespelbrunn is on the way to Frankfurt. You can drop the car at the airport and spend the last night in Frankfurt.

Since you are driving consider this. Between Rothenburg and Mespelbrunn there's Wurzburg. You could go from Rothenburg to Wurzburg and then on to Mespelbrunn. Then stay in Aschaffenburg which is only fifty or so miles from the Frankfurt airport.

Since you’re not returning to Munich, it’s doeable as long as you have 3 full days. You even have a good order to see them in. You’ll be dividing up the driving too. By seeing a couple places each day you should have no long days of driving and may even have time for a couple short stops. Of note, Rothenburg is worth a full day by itself. I’ve only been to one of those castles, but figure each castle will be an approximate 3 hour stop. As someone else said, driving in Germany is about the same as in the U.S.

Lee, Quiet the opposite. We were originally planning on train-ing the whole trip. After reviewing where we wanted to go in Germany it just seems less stressful and more 'free' to just have our own vehicle. We are going to be in Munich for 3 days. Not sure spending more time there would be worth it. Thanks for your other locations. We will look into those places :)

Sam, Thanks for the tip! Unfortunately we don't drink (much). We might split a beer here or there, nothing crazy. But I like where your head is ;)

TC, Thanks! We have a big (?) over Wurzburg. Hoping we can make time for it. It definitely looks like a good stopping point or place to visit!

jaimeelsabio, Thanks! We were looking into Rothenburg for a fuller day. We are going to organize timing to see what is doable. We are considering putting time into Rothenburg.

JG, Thanks! :) Thats what we were figuring. While running the train schedules, everything seemed to add at least 45-60 minutes each way.

JG,
Don't feel bad about missing Mespelbrunn as most people do. The reason is that it is tucked away in the edge of the Spessart Mountains off the old two lane route between Wurzburg and Aschaffenburg. I only found it by living in A'burg.

Chad,

"...a big (?) over Wurzburg...". Do try to work it in as the Prince Bishop's Residence is really something -- especially the chapel on one end which is easy to miss if you're not looking for the right entrance. If time is tight, skip the fortress overlooking the town. The view of it from the town is much more impressive than the view of the town from the fortress.

Thanks TC!

We have a google map that shows our trip. With an icon over Wurzburg as a ? meaning we might add it to the trip. You are starting to convince us :)

I visited both Lichtenstein and Hohenzollern last September, but unfortunatly had not the time to go inside Schloss Sigmaringen too, so saw it only from the outside. Certainly worth considering a tour there. http://www.schloss-sigmaringen.de/palace-tour.html