Germany/Austria Late May 2020

Posted by Jim (Slidell, LA) on 08/29/19 03:39 PM

I am planning a golf trip to Scotland in mid-May with friends and would like to meet my wife for 10 more days in Europe afterward. Her suggestion was to meet in Germany or Austria and tour both countries, Over the past 10 years we have traveled in Italy, the UK and France, each for two weeks, and all using Rick Steves DVDs and guidebooks and this forum. We enjoyed the independence of doing it ourselves and rented B&Bs, apartments, houses and small centrally located hotels, as well as rental cars and train travel. After reading and watching what Rick focuses on in Germany (beer halls and castles) I've never had any interest in going there....I don't drink beer and I have seen many castles on other trips. I'm looking for ideas and suggestions for planning this trip, i.e. where to go, what to see other than beer halls and a one or two castles. Also, I'm flying from Edinburgh, so what would be the best place to meet my wife? Any assistance would be much appreciated. Many thanks.

Jim

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

08/29/19 04:23 PM

27129 posts

I have not been to Austria recently.

I have no interest in beer halls and castles myself. I enjoy art museums, 20th century decorative arts, WWII history, Cold War history, beautiful architecture (castles are nice from the outside) and nice scenery. There's a great deal for me in Germany. Berlin, for example, is prime territory for my first four interests, though--the suburb of Potsdam aside--it is not an outstandingly beautiful place.

What are your special interests? We have several people on the forum who are highly knowledgeable about Germany and/or Austria; some actually live there. I'm sure they'll be glad to make suggestions.

Posted by Dave

Southeast US

08/29/19 08:53 PM

3855 posts

Touring both countries over 10 days is a pretty tall task. The good news is that there is a lot to do in both countries that does not involve castles or drinking beer. For me, 12 trips to the two countries and never a beer drank. I agree with acraven that...

Berlin is great. I will add that I could easily spend 10 days there (and have!)
If you share your interests, we can help out a little more.

Posted by NickB

Maryland

08/29/19 10:44 PM

865 posts

What will you do with your golf bag? Just curious since I don't golf.

Ten days on the ground (11 nights) is at most three or four places... I personally prefer three or more nights in a place to enjoy it. Of course, any of these destinations could benefit from 4-5 days if you had them,

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

For a mostly Germany itinerary I would recommend flying Edinburgh to Berlin which should be easy enough for days 1, 2 and 3.

The fast train can there get you to the Nuremberg area in about 3 hours. Maybe stay in Bamberg, or take a side trip to Bamberg . Day 4, 5 and 6 in Nuremberg area.

https://museums.nuernberg.de/nuremberg-municipal-museums/

https://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/index.htm

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/624/

It is an hour from Nuremberg to Munich...

Days 7, 8, 9, 10 based out of Munich. If you have the energy you could stay overnight somewhere else once.

From Munich getting to either Salzburg or Innsbruck takes about 2 hours.

If you want a balanced Germany-Austria trip then skip Berlin (I apologize to those who love Berlin best) and fly Edinburgh to Munich (3 days), and you can go north to Nuremberg area (3 days) and south to Austria (3-4 days) easily enough.

Day 11 - US flights frequently use Munich as a major stop so flying back to the US from Munich could round out the trip.

Have a great time!