2 active 50 yr olds. Fly i to Munich. (Love hiking)can rent a car
1. Munich 3 nights (walking tour, beer garden, dachau)
2 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 2 nights (hike, Zugspitze, Neuschwanstein?)
3 Berchtesgaden 3 nights (hike, Lake Konigsee, )
Back to Munich 1 night prior to flight
Suggestions on the above?
Is the below too much?
One other idea (if we add 3 more nights)
Train to Venice for 3 nights prior to flight out of Venice to home
I love Venice. Three nights there is the minimum I'd want. Do take a hard look at flight departure times. For many US destinations, departing from Venice means an extremely early wake-up call and perhaps also the need for costly private transportation to the airport.
We lived in Augsburg, Germany for four years supporting the US Army. Bavaria is great. When I was in my 40s, I did the two day Zugspitze hike with my Daughter then later the same hike with my Son, Step-Son and Step-Daughter. It is a great hike, not sure if it is still offered. The second time was in July and it snowed and sleeted the second day. Still, it was great.
I would not spend three nights in Berchtesgaden unless you do things in nearby Salzburg, Austria.
Venice is great for three nights, if you can add more time, do so. Get an open jaw ticket, into Munich and out of Venice.
I spent 5 nights in Berchtesgaden without stepping foot in Salzburg (had been there previously) and wished I could have stayed longer. I stayed at Anfanglehen in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, a dorf/village just outside Berchtesgaden (some basic degree of German language ability is needed to stay at Anfanglehen -- the owner does not speak English -- but there are excellent establishments in the village with English-speaking owners). I love hiking, and there is a ton of it to do in the area. I also did Eagle's Nest Historical Tours' private History Buff tour and greatly enjoyed it (my travel companion, not so much of a history buff, found it a little overwhelming). We also drove the Rossfeld Panoramastrasse, originally built by Martin Bormann to show off Bavaria to Hitler's guests who came to the area. David Harper, one of the owners of Eagle's Nest Historical Tours (who also led my tour), has written an excellent guide to the Berchtesgaden area that has some hikes in it. The Cicerone guide Walking in the Bavarian Alps is another good resource for hikes in the area (along with hikes around Garmisch-Partenkirchen). A day trip to Salzburg is also a reasonable endeavor from Berchtesgaden.
Very mono-cultural (Bavarian) and touristic experience for 8-9 nights.
With more nights I would explore a much more different city and culture, e.g. Prague or Berlin.
I would not spend three nights in Berchtesgaden unless you do things in nearby Salzburg, Austria.
I've spent 3 nights in Berchtesgaden on several occasions without going to Salzburg. If you travel there from a distance and arrive late in the day and leave early the last day, that is only two full days. There is more than enough to occupy two full days. On one occasion we went to Wimbachklamm in the morning, had lunch there, then took the boat trip on Königssee, including Obersee in the afternoon. The next day we went up to the Eagles Nest, had lunch there, then spent the afternoon at the Dokumentation Zentrum and bunkers. And we didn't even touch the Salt Mine, the Watzmann Therme, or Ramsau.
Hello,
I'm sure you have checked out Rick's Germany guide already, but there are other suggestions in there you might consider.
also, check out the DK Eyewitness Travel book on Germany... buy or borrow from library. There are lots of ideas of places to see area by area.
We are traveling Germany, Austria and Switzerland for 70 days this summer. We are renting/leasing a car for that time. I have worked out my itinerary using rick's real tour itineraries, his books and the DK Eyewitness books.
We did the same for Great Britain and France, both long stays, and it worked out wonderfully.
Good luck and have fun!
Since you like hiking, I recommend Berchtesgaden. Last June, we stayed 4 nights, and did not get to do everything. Berchtesgaden is only mentioned in a short paragraph in RS book.
If you go to Koeningsee, make sure you take the boat to Salet, and hike to the other side of Obersee. I think it is called Fischunkelalm? The area is so pretty. You can also hike all the way to Rothbach waterfall. (But we did not do this).
One other thing that is seldom mentioned in guide book is hiking in Berchtesgaden National Park itself. It starts at Klausbachhaus (Hintersee) and all the way to Weisbach in Austria. But we only walked as far as Hirschbichl. The scenery was so beautiful. We took the Almbus back down Hintersee.
We also went to Wimbachklam. It is pretty but a very short walk on wooden walkway. You can combine this with Ramsau village and probably saltmine in Berchtesgaden.
To expand on Holly's post:
Yes! If you go to Königssee, take the boat all the way to the Salet stop, take the short walk to Obersee, and hike around the right side of Obersee to the snack hut Fischunkelalm. But... don't miss the chance to go all the way to Rothbach Waterfall. You walk through an alpine meadow surrounded by mountains and interspersed with cows who are just hanging out resting and grazing, with the sound of a waterfall in the distance. Super cool. Try to arrive in time to catch the first boat across the lake, and you will have the area almost to yourself.
Wimbachklamm is short, but by turning left at the end of the gorge (instead of right to go back to the parking area), you can hike up to Wimbachschloss, a hunting lodge built in 1784 that now functions as a restaurant. The path is fairly level initially, but gets a little steep (but manageable) closer to Wimbachschloss. A steeper path from the Schloss will take one up to grander vistas.
A fairly flat but nice hike is through the Zauberwald (magic forest). You can start near the iconic church at Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, take a short walk through the village, hike the Zauberwald to Hintersee, and then hike around Hintersee.
There are many other hikes in the area, including in the National Park. A good guide (see the 2 mentioned in my post above) will give you other multiple options.
I really like the Berchtesgaden area for outdoor stuff... can you tell?
