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Late May advice for Nature lovers. Two days in Munich

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ITINERARY FEEDBACK NEEDED. Late May 2019. Two days in Munich, two in Salzburg (I know, wrong forum).

My wife and I are looking for from this trip revolve around nature (I am a photographer), mild weather (some snow might be okay) and some peace/quiet. Other things:
- Beautiful landscapes
- Wildlife
- Wild Flowers
- Waterfalls
- Hiking
- Scenic Railroads
- BEER: for me :)

We fly info Munich early Saturday, May 25th, and plan on taking a train to Salzburg morning of Monday, May 27th.

A few questions

  1. If I only had one destination for beer in Munich, where would you recommend?

  2. Given our interests above, where should we stay in Munich? We like quaint/cozy/non-commercial. Any other tips on what to see/do?

  3. I read that the scenic railroad through Garmisch to Innsbruck is beautiful. Is it worth taking that route, then to Salzburg? I realize this may take up a whole day, but if it is scenic we are fine with that.

  4. If we should go direct to Salzburg via train, what do you recommend for a scenic route?

  5. We are considering spending two days in the Garmisch area AFTER Salzburg. Is the landscape/scenery drastically different than what we will see in Munich/Salzburg? If so, what are some must-dos.

  6. Another option is to train down into the Dolomites from Salzburg. Is that trip painful as far as travel time? Worth trying in late May?

Posted by
33877 posts

q1 - I don't drink so I don't go for the beer but I really enjoy two - Augustiner-Keller beer garden under the trees and super convenient to the centre of Munich - and for a bonus point, I claim the Augustinerbraü in Salzberg which is my favourite place there for the atmosphere- and the second choice is the Chinese Tower beer garden in the English Garden - biergarten am Chinesischer Turm im Englischer Garten in German.

q2 - I stay out of town

q3 - If you are staying in Garmisch Partenkirchen later on I wouldn't take that train to Salzburg via Innsbruck. While it goes through a nice area it isn't what I would want to spend so much time on. You may have to change trains at Mittenwald too, as the train that used to go straight through to Seefeld in Tirol and Innsbruck doesn't much anymore.

q4 - maybe I'm spoiled but I think the main fast line is fairly scenic - you see the lakes and forests and get there in a reasonable time. Others may disagree.

q5 - they are all different from each other

q6 - never been there - dunno

Posted by
1951 posts

Hi! You're travelling right in my wheelhouse as we have similar interests and I've been to all the places you mention (except Dolomites) recently.

First things first: You've probably seen the news lately about the enormous amount of snowfall happening in just the areas you're seeking. It's almost certain that the snowpack is going to linger much later this year than in average year. It will be beautiful, but be mindful that you might not be able to access some of the high country that would normally be melted out.

If you want natural beauty more than anything then you can miss Munich. It's a wonderful city but it's a city, and not right up against the type of nature you're seeking. Salzburg though is directly adjacent to all kinds of pretty Alpine places.

The mountains/foothills around Salzburg and Garmisch Partenkirchen are different. The Salzkammergut is mountainous and dramatic but is a little more rounded and has an abundance of meadows. It's gorgeous. As you go deeper in the range in Salzkammergut the peaks get bigger and craggier, more Switzerland looking if you will.

Around GP is more consistently covered with second growth forest and is a little more ordinary looking mountains. The road/train from there to Innsbruck isn't particularly impressive. There are though some high valley areas off that deeper valley that have a lot of working agriculture and stunning settings and very few English-speaking tourists.

Closer again to Salzburg, Berchtesgaden is quite visually impressive, full of intersting history.

Salzburg is a little city, very beautiful, tons of interesting history. You can go there and feel as if you didn't miss out on city tourism but not short change your mountain experience.

In May, with the chance of a lot of snow pack this year, I'd tune my thinking about the trip to picking out which alpine area lakes you want to visit as opposed to which mountains. There's plentiful infrastructure to the alpine from most of the mountain lakes, and they are usually surrounded by fields with impressive open views of the mountains, probably flowering at that time at the lake elevations. You'll be able to get a lot of great photos. If the peaks are snowed in, there will be plenty of beautiful walking and biking trails around lakes too, and beautiful towns with a lot of empty and relatively cheap hotel rooms.

On a trip as short as yours I'd definitely rent a car to maximize my time. Driving in Germany is fun. People drive fast on the Autobahn, but traffic is perfectly rational. As long as you are a sensible person who pays attention it's no problem.

Okay, kinda scattershot but there it is!

Posted by
1951 posts

oh re beer very good recs in the first response. Note that beer and beer gardens are so endemic to the area that you don't need to stay in Munich to experience some good beers at some good beer gardens.

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