Hello
we will be in Germany for 10 days Sept 19-29
arriving and departing from Munich, we would like to see as much as possible.
with 3 nights Munich, 2 nights Berlin, also some time in Rhine Valley with maybe a 1-3 hour cruise.
and than travel south to Black Forest, castles, and 1-2 nights in Salzburg?
do you think we should cut something out to spend more quality time in an area?
thanks for your thoughts,
Nancy P
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
"...do you think we should cut something out to spend more quality time in an area?"
Yes. That is, you need to cut something just to have the time to reach most of those places. Then maybe another place so that you have some quality time.
I suggest you begin by dropping either Berlin or Munich. A "quality" stay in those two places alone would normally require 7 nights, I think. If your flight into Munich is fixed, drop Berlin. You can replace some of the WW II stuff that Berlin offers by visiting the Nazi Doc center in Munich and/or Dachau (not that you have to see any of those.)
The Rhine Valley is the premiere area for castles: http://www.romantischer-rhein.de/en/what-to-see-and-do/culture/castles/map-overview-castles/
Here's a plan that should work. Play with it all you like...
Munich (4 nights... Days 1-4 w/ day trip to Salzburg.)
Munich - St. Goar, 5+ hours by train (2 nights... Day 5 half day, Day 6, Day 7 half day... w/ cruise, castle tours, old-world villages.)
St. Goar - Gengenbach, 4+ hours by train (3 nights: Depart St. Goar in PM on Day 7... Days 8 & 9 for Vogtsbauernhof open-air museum, BF towns, possibly Freiburg.)
Gengenbach - MUC airport or Munich, 4.3 - 5.0 hours (1 final night before flight...)
Posted by
Virginia
635 posts
Ditto on what Russ wrote. 10 days is not a lot. Narrow your choices to maybe 3 locations from where you can do day trips. The more you move the more time you will waste in travel since 1 travel day takes about half a day.
Posted by
Salt Lake City
1528 posts
While I would not try to cover this much ground in 10 days, I have come to the conclusion that some folks just enjoy traveling faster than I do. That is a priority for you to set.
Your schedule is overlapping Oktoberfest in Munich. Rooms may be hard to find and expensive. Check as soon as possible before you set the rest of your schedule. Berlin might be a better big city experience at this time of year.
The Rhine is great but an outlier in terms of distance. You could check for cruises on the Danube (Donau) out of Regensburg or Passau, both much closer to Munich. They both are beautiful with a wealth a history.
While I am less fond of Salzburg than some (who love it), it is very handy to Munich. Consider the Salzkammergut lake district, an easy day trip from Salzburg by car, as wonderful substitute for the rural beauty of the Black Forest. The area around Füssen (Royal Castles) is also a pretty lake district.
In Germany & Austria it is rarely necessary to travel far to find a wide variety of sights.
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
Gary makes a good point about Munich at O'fest. Since Salzburg is in your sights, you may wish to base yourself outside Munich, perhaps in between Munich and Salzburg in Prien, where you're one hour from each. You'd also be in a very scenic spot and enormously close to one of Ludwig II's palaces, Herrenchiemsee.
https://www.nuernbergluftbild.de/images/luftbild/K07090700.JPG
http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/hch_ns.htm
Also, a mountain lift in Aschau is only a short train ride from Prien:
http://www.kampenwand.de/index.php?rex_resize=620w__chiemsee_gondeln-4.jpg
http://kampenwand.de/index.php?rex_resize=835h__panoramakarte_sommer.jpg
http://www.bayern.by/data/mediadb/cms_pictures/%7Bbcf4b563-5769-1485-2747-fafba2b773d4%7D.jpeg
http://q-ec.bstatic.com/images/hotel/840x460/439/43953086.jpg
Posted by
OP
2 posts
thank-you for your input, I will go over these ideas.
Nancy P