Driving trip

"I don't really want to scale the Alps, but a recommendation for a nice ride in the foothills would be appreciated." Most roads in the Alps go through the valleys. There's only a few passes, and even fewer Autobahn passes. The A1 in Austria gives you some Alpine scenery as you pass Salzburg and the Salzkammergut, but the views aren't that great if the weather is bad. A8 in Germany between Munich and Salzburg skims the northern edge of the Alps (and the southern shore of Chiemsee) and provides some amazing scenery... but traffic is usually very heavy and slow.

Keep something in mind. Despite popular perception, many stretches of the Autobahn network do, in fact, have speed limits, and even on those that don't, heavy traffic can effectively impose a speed limit. A8 takes you from Stuttgart to Munich to Salzburg, but it's the most congested road in the Autobahn network and there's a speed limit for much of the length. You won't get much chance to test the car's speed here. Now, in contrast on the way to Leipzig, A9 and A93 have some long stretches where you can put your new car's engine to the test. Just mind the speed limit signs when they appear.

Before you get into Salzburg, you'll skirt The Alps a little.

If you're not interested in visiting Munich, I'd suggest you go southeast out of Stuttgart and make a southern loop east through Tirol region of Austria--through Innsbruck and up to Salzburg.

The Austrian Alps are absolutely beautiful and the roads go through valleys for the most part.
We absolutely love to get up on the mountains driving from village to village--looking at the lifestyles of Austrian mountainside farmers.
Another popular town is Cesky Krumlov--northeast of Salzburg in Czech Republic.

Some German roads will even take souvenir photos of you and your vehicle and mail it to you.

From Salzburg to Vienna I would follow the Danube. Between Ybbs an der Donau and Krems is the Wachau, the most beautiful part of the Danube valley. You could see the Wachau also as a day trip from Vienna.
In Czechia you could see Cesky Krumlov of course, but from Vienna it's a detour and, frankly, many people who recommend it only know Prague and CK in Czechia. Closer to the direct route (to Leipzig) are Mikulov and Telc. Mikulov is a cute little town, and close to Mikulov are Valtice and Lednice, which are World Heritage Sites. Telc, which is a World Heritage Site too, offers simply the most beautiful town square of Czechia and a nice castle.
And from Czechia to Germany you shouldn't follow the highway/Autobahn but the Elbe river. Between Decin and Pirna you cross Saxon/Bohemian Switzerland, which are mountains full of spectacular rock formations.

I hope you have a really fun trip.

As you approach the Austrian border you will see signs for Vignette Hier. The service stations near the border all sell the Austrian Vignette. Be sure to get one and affix it correctly to the windscreen before you cross the border to avoid a heavy fine.

I think that Czech do something similar but I've never been.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I am still open to any other information that you are willing to share.

South West of Salzburg is one of the great mountain rides in Europe called Grossglockner Road,the highest Alpine road in Europe,there is a toll to do this drive,it is worth it.
Mike

Hi,

Drive the Rossfeld Panorama Road just above Berchtesgaden. This is maybe 30 minutes from Salzburg.

www.rossfeldpanoramastrasse.de/en/#

The Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, which is a terrific drive, is certainly not the highest alpine road in Europe.

Paul

This looks great! Just the kind of scenic drive we hope to make while we are based in Salzburg for a couple of days. Thanks for the link.