Germany, Austria, & Switzerland- Summer 2019

While in Munich, for a different but fascinating museum, try the Deutsches Museum, Germany's version of our Smithsonian Institution, with 10 miles of science and technology exhibits, including things you may not consider when thinking of technology, such as samples of different types of clothing fabrics and weaves that you can feel. It's right on the river and not far from a great central market for lunch (back across the other side of the river). I was there for about 3 hours and want to see more of it next trip.

Rail passes will be a waste of money in Austria and Germany. Every time. Buy point to point tickets.

Even if it's for 3 countries? I don't anticipate us driving, as some of the smaller Swiss villages do not have a car, but rail access only. And if my friend is only there for 2 weeks, would it not make sense for me since I am going to 3 countries? I'm just wondering that's all.

Yes, rail passes are a luxury item and make no financial sense. This isn't 1990 anymore. Buying a ticket at the window is cheaper even.

Have you read the excellent train info on the man in seat 61 website? Here's a link to get you started - https://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm

Thanks for the info!

Start at the top - arrival airport. Unless someone is offering VERY cheap fares to one of the others choose Munich. That allows you to make the trip in a loop without having to retrace steps.

OR check with Swiss https://www.swiss.com/US/en - Austrian Airlines https://www.austrian.com/ - Lufthansa https://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh_com/de/homepage and United about whether an open jaw ticket using two airports, (preferably Zurich and Vienna) is possible. Swiss and Austrian are owned by Lufthansa and all are part of the Star Alliance with United so there may be a possiblity of a flexible multi airline deal which saves travel time on the ground.

OR as a real off the wall idea, check for bargains to Milan Malpensa (MXP) which is actually reasonably convenient for the tour. But NOT with Alitalia because they are on the verge of bankruptcy (again.....). It's quite close to the Swiss border and around 4 hours by trains to Interlaken. Milan city also has frequent trains from Munich (with connections for Vienna)

Accomodation and food prices vary massively. Your budget will be strained in Switzerland, even at the bottom end of the market. Interlaken is a reasonable base, but any place between Spiez and Meiringen can be considered for the region. In southern Bavaria you'll be OK, if you stayed in a smaller town it would stretch to very comfortable.

Jungfrau is VERY expensive and not covered by passes.
Heidiland is not convenient to the Interlaken area.

Railpass. Probably not Eurail. Maybe a short SwissPass.

What an amazing trip you will have. I just returned from German/ Austria trip for ten days and we had a cAr. We found even with the crazy city driving we loved being able to come and go at our leisure. Maybe a car will work for part of you trip.

We used Condor airlines and got an amazing deal on tickets. I think coach would have been 800 range round trip to Munich, we chose business class, I would check them out to see how they compare for LAX if they fly from there.

We did a few of the things you have listed, and I will tell you we would not recommend Neuschwanstein due to the crowds. It was horribly crowded and not worth the time we spent . But that is my opinion and many here would probably disagree. There is so much to see and do, you will never be bored,

Enjoy the planning, it so much fun.

"Frankfurt is a bit too north for what we "idealistically" planned."

You might reconsider. Heidelberg is an "outlier" as it's not so close to your other base towns - some backtracking will be needed. But flying into FRA could mean a post-flight train trip of only about 50 minutes if H'berg were your first base town. Seems logical to book a return flight out of Vienna in this case.

"We'd also like to stay near the city centers (mostly in larger cities- Munich and Vienna) and ease of access for transportation, which I have read from previous forums, that the Germans, Swiss, and Austrians are known."

It does seem you have an abundance of large cities. Nuremberg is no pipsqueak. Heidelberg is smaller but not at all small. Freiburg has over 200,000 inhabitants. Heidelberg was less damaged in WW II than some cities but cities of this size as a group were summarily demolished and rebuilt. It might be a nice change of place to stay in a smaller, more charming place or two. If concern about transportation in/from/to smaller towns has played into your base town decisions, you might reconsider as Germany's excellent transportation system extends to many small places.

Freiburg might be a good swap-out candidate. Heavily bombed. Nice city but not part of the Black Forest, really, despite its inclusion in Rick's book as such. OTOH there are some nice, smaller, old-world towns where you'd have great rail access, half-timbered buildings that are many centuries old, some museums, and a more varied experience. Gengenbach is one such place. It's on the scenic Black Forest Railway - where among other interesting towns you'll find Gutach and the Black Forest Open-Air Museum. You could even day trip into Freiburg from Gengenbach if you wished (or stop over to visit Freiburg on your way to Switzerland?)

BTW trains in the Black Forest to Freiburg and other towns are free when you stay in certain Black Forest towns that participate in the KONUS program:

http://www.dreisamtal.de/en/service/konus.php?lang=en

I will tell you we would not recommend Neuschwanstein due to the
crowds. It was horribly crowded and not worth the time we spent . But
that is my opinion and many here would probably disagree.

Not I. This article articulates some of the downside to N'stein:

http://www.dw.com/en/is-neuschwanstein-all-its-cracked-up-to-be/a-17887035

Hi,

Normally for a month's trip which you are planning on doing, I use the Pass, mainly in Germany or crossing from Austria to Germany by night train, Berlin -Vienna, Munich Vienna, not within Austria itself.

Your itinerary I would not suggest using the Pass since you aren't going far enough distance wise if your hubs, as you put it, are all located in south Germany. Now, the Pass is good if you don't want to lock yourself in, thereby sacrificing flexibility for savings. Which is more important, dispensing with savings or keeping a level of flexibility depends on your travel style and priorities. In Germany I do a lot of zig zag traveling in various parts of the country plus using night trains This last trip I used two but had planned on three (another story). If you are under 26, then get the Youth Pass. If not, look into the Germany-Swiss Pass.

I am not sure if you are aware but Austrian Airlines now has a non-stop LAX-Vienna flight. If you are a United point collector, you can find good availability of reduced coach or even business class seats. Austrian Business Class is truly a special experience if you can swing it with miles - they are known for their on-board cuisine and rightly so.