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Germany Trip

My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe and plan to visit Germany (honeymoon) we are flying in from Venice .
This is kind of what I have so far what do you guys think?

May 6th:
Arrive Airport & Get Rental Car
Stay in Munich
Tour of Neuschwanstein Castle Tour prior to checking into Hotel/Lunch

May 7th:
Munich?

May 8th:
6am: Check out of Hotel and drive
8am: Stop shortly to break from driving and explore Lake & Lunch
11am: Drive
1pm: Arrive Black Forest: Sight See & Hiking
6/7pm: Dinner
8/9pm: Drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (3 hour)
Check into Hotel in Rothenburg

May 9th:
Rothenburg obder Tauber

May 10th:
Rothenburg ob der Tauber

May 11th:
Check out and Fly to Paris

Does that sound doable? Should I cut out the Lake Constance? How would you do it?
-Hannah
PS We've never been before.

Posted by
19052 posts

Are you taking part in The Amazing Race?

"Mabel, that's Lake Constance. Take a picture, we've got to head for the Black Forest."

Have you really looked at a map to see where all these places are? Neuschwanstein is a two hour drive from downtown Munich, let alone from the airport. Then you probably have to wait an hour, at least, after buying your ticket and reserving a tour, before taking the 40 minute tour. You're going to take time renting a car and do all this before lunch?

I think you could see enough of Rothenburg in one full day (2 nights).

"Should I cut out the Lake Constance?"

No, spend a nice romantic night in a hotel on the harbor in Lindau, then head for Rothenburg. Cut out the Black Forest.

Posted by
8377 posts

What Lee said. The map is deceiving. Things are not that close. The Black Forest is a whole region, not a one-stop destination. Rothenburg odT is worth one night but Munich is worth more time. You didn't say where you were flying out from, but assuming Munich. Lindau is a gem.

Posted by
12040 posts

A rental car is an expensive nuisance in Munich. Believe me when I tell you, parking is very hard to find within the inner ring. Only the most expensive hotels can guarantee a spot. Most German cities are relatively easy to navigate by car, but Munich is one of the more prominent exceptions, even with a GPS. Don't bother with the car until you leave Munich, and even then, it isn't really necessary for what you have suggested... sort of...

As the others noted, the Black Forest is a vast region, not a single destination, and it isn't that close to Munich. You pretty much have to drive either through back roads, or through Stuttgart to get there, both of which options are very slow. Plus...despite the attractive name that translates nicely into English, it isn't all that much different from any of the other 50 or so forested mountain ranges that criss-cross southern and central Germany. If you want to hike, rather than go far out of your way to the Black Forest, just head an hour south of Munich to the much higher and more impressive Alps. You can combine your hiking outing with a visit to Neuschwanstein. But keep a little flexibility in your schedule. You can never count on the Alpine weather gods to grant you with favorable conditions, especially if you pick a day far in advanced without the benefit of a short-term weather forecast. And the one caveat I'll offer is that hiking in the high Alps usually isn't possible in early May, but some of the lower slopes should give you some good options.

Rothenburg odT really isn't unique enough to justify going that far out of your way to visit, and certainly not for two nights. See it if you must. But if you have to drive more than an hour or two out of your way in Germany to see Rothenburg, you've probably passed several far less touristy alternatives.

Finally... if you're flying into Munich, I can't imagine a better place to spend part of your honeymoon than Therme Erding, located about a 15 minute drive away from the airport.

Posted by
6590 posts

Not a great plan yet IMO. Too much time in Rothenburg, which really requires only a few hours (if any at all - it's a tourist mecca.) N'stein "Castle" isn't a castle, actually, just a fancy home built in the late 19th century with a fake castle exterior.

Since it's your honeymoon, why not stay in a castle? BURG COLMBERG might be a good choice and it's not far from Rothenburg.

If you end up in the Black Forest, GENGENBACH is a nice base town. From there you are very close to STRASBOURG France and then Paris.

So I'd suggest this order over at least 6 days:
1.) Munich 2.) Burg Colmberg (side trip to Rothenburg and maybe some other places) 3.) Gengenbach (side trips in Black Forest)

Posted by
19052 posts

Ok, my suggestion:

Spend a few days in Munich. Make a side trip to Neuschwanstein if you must. Use the train.

Take the train from Munich to Lindau (about 3 hours). Spend a romantic night in a hotel on the harbor in Lindau.

Take the train from Lindau to Gengenbach (about 3½-4 hours). Take a route that includes the IRE from Donaueschingen to Hausach on the Schwarzwaldbahn (Black Forest Railroad), a scenic train that goes along the Gutach River valley. A great train ride, but hard to drive and watch the scenery.

Spend a day (2 nights) in Gengenbach, then take the train via Strasbourg to Paris (a little over 3 hours from Gengenbach. Far faster than flying).

Very simple by train; no reason to spend the extra money on a car.

Posted by
32523 posts

I know you are going in May - and this doesn't fit - but just to say that not a minute before reading the last couple of posts in this thread I was just saying to my wife how nice it would be to get to Gengenbach during Advent when the town turns its Rathaus into the world's largest Advent Calendar and we could visit a Christmas Market or three in order to eat bratwurst in the snow, and to fill the car up with lebkuchen and stollen, preferably local. (guess a trip to Nürnberg is in the offing).

Usually we can get to Costco, Lidl, or Aldi and some pretty good stuff but this last year's haul was awful - 3 incredibly dry stollens and marginal lebkuchen from Lidl. I wants the real deal.

Meanwhile.... back to the plot ....

I hope your holiday develops wonderfully and you have a trip memorable for all the right reasons....