Looking for feedback- Germany and beyond

And thank you in advance

Hi ChristineH,

I've never been to CK, Prague or Amsterdam. I would suggest keeping the car and picking a central base for Salzburg, Berchtesgaden and even the Salzkammergut. By car, Berchtesgaden and Salzburg are 30 minutes apart. From Berchtesgaden, St. Gilgen and the Wolfgangsee are about an hour or so drive. You will not run out of things to see and do in these area's. We've spent 18 nights, so far, based in the Berchtesgaden area during 5 visits. Return the car in either Freilassing or Munich and then continue on.

Paul

Just wanted to add, the Romantic Road itself is not very scenic at all. I'm sure you've heard this before? Some old towns along it are worth visiting (loved Rothenberg), but the drive itself... worth skipping. The drives getting to and around Berchtesgaden are very scenic. While not on your list, we loved our 2 stays in Mittenwald by Garmisch. On your list, we loved our 2 stays in Fuessen also.

Thank you Paul

The Salzburg-CK-Prague-Amsterdam part of plan is basically set. Missed Prague last time, I’ve been to Amsterdam, husband has not and daughter likely to be living there next year so…

We could reverse and start in Amsterdam if it worked out well transportation wise. I’ve fiddled with both and start in Frankfurt end in A’dam seems to flow better. Frankfurt/Amsterdam are our best options for flight prices/times.

I do want to see Rothenburg- already cut Baden-Baden-(great grandparent’s birth places).
We would prefer less driving and Berchtesgaden sights seem very easy to experience without a car. But if a car would serve us better in that area- and we skip the romantic road drive

Would it be better to:


Fly to FRA- train to Bacharach - 2 nights

Train to Wurzburg - 1 night

Train Rothenburg - 2 nights

Train to Munich- 3 nights

Get car- Fussen/Oberammergau/Garmisch etc 3 nights- which town to base?

Drive to Berchtesgaden 2 nights-
Return car Freilassing

To Salzburg 3 nights

CK 1 Prague 3 Amsterdam 3

We do not mind train/bus travel as long as there are not too many changes! Like to mix it up a bit with smaller towns/cities.
Not crazy about 1 night says but limited to just 2. We really do want to see/stay in CK.

"Get car- Fussen/Oberammergau/Garmisch etc 3 nights- which town to base?... Drive to Berchtesgaden 2 nights- Return car Freilassing ...To Salzburg 3 nights"

With your most recent plan... I think 8 nights in this area is a bit of alpine overkill and a lot of driving around for someone who wants to limit their driving. I would keep it to 4-5 days and spend those nights in Salzburg and Berchtesgaden. It's spectacular there.

Königssee

Also, it's very easy to reach Salzburg (direct trains) and B'gaden from Munich (or from Salzburg) by public transport if you want to, and once you're there, getting around by bus and train is easy too. And when in B'gaden, you will receive a "Gästekarte" from your hosts for free local transport. It's also good for discounts at local attractions, like the Eagle's Nest - here's a quote from the Eagle's Nest English page:
"Most hotels and privately-run guesthouses will also include special guest travel cards (Gästekarten) which provide visitors with free and reduced facilities throughout the entire Berchtesgaden and Königssee region. The Berchtesgaden-Königssee Gästekarte can be used for reduced entry fees at the majority of local attractions, free parking in municipal car parks, and free travel on local bus services."
The Guest Card brochure is only in German as far as I know - but you don't have to speak German to take advantage of it.

And I don't think driving the Romantic Road is particularly worthwhile, in part because there are other more interesting towns in northern Bavaria. You have 3 nights for Würzburg and Rothenburg right now but there's so much more in that area that I'd suggest spending the 3 days you swiped from the Alps in this region instead to visit some of these places:

Bamberg (Unesco World Heritage old town)
Nuremberg
Iphofen (photos)

Main River villages just south of Würzburg on the way to Rothenburg
Bad Windsheim and its outstanding Freilandmuseum

Except for Sommerhausen, it's easy to visit the above places by train. It's not free like around Berchtesgaden but it's very cheap with local day passes - cheaper than renting a car for certain. If you stay in Würzburg a few nights you'll find day trips to these places are mostly by direct train.

Christine,
We returned from Germany about 6 weeks ago and visited many of the places on your list. Enjoyed Wurzburg, and wish we would have had time to visit some of the vineyards. Rothenburg was very enjoyable...stayed at a wonderful hotel inside the walls and were so glad that we did. As mentioned in a previous post, you may want to visit Nuremberg if you are a history buff. In our opinion, the museum at Hitler's Rally Grounds was very worthwhile. We stayed in Fussen at the Hotel Sonne and found it as a great base for visiting Neuschwanstein, the Zugspitze and our personal favorite ~ the Highline 179 with the Ehrenberg Castle Ruins. While in Munich we toured Dachau. Enjoy your trip!

One of my favorite family inns is Hotel Maximillian in Reutte Austria under the Ehrenburg Ruins and a short drive to Fussen. We have stayed there, drove to Neuschwanstein, Linderhoff and a drive along Lake Plansee, all very beautiful and doable in one day.

Thank you all for some great suggestions
I had Bamberg on our “would like to see” list and after looking at it again I think we would enjoy that town a lot- so am probably going to drop the 2 nights on Rhine and just go to Wurzburg from airport. I am OK with skipping Nuremberg was just in Berlin and got a bit of Nazi history overload! I think Eagle’s Nest and Dachau will be enough for this trip.

Funny but I was not thinking of Salzburg as an “alpine” location although I know it is- we do want to spend a few nights in the actual city so I am keeping 2 or 3 nights there. I split the Fussen/Berchtesgaden area up originally to break those “alpine” locations up with Munich in between- so will stick with that original plan and use trains/buses in Berchtesgaden/Salzburg area

Still a work in progress but feels like it is coming together.

Fly to FRA- train to Wurzburg - 1- 2 nights

Train or rental car to Bamberg 2 nights (or pick up car leaving here)

Drive to Rothenburg - 2 nights (Bad Windsheim as day trip or en route from Bamberg)

Drive to Fussen/Oberammergau/Garmisch- undecided where to stay?- 2 or 3 nights
Castles, Ettal, Linderhof, Weiskirsche, etc- probably not ascending Zugspitze

Drive to Munich- 3 nights- day trip to Dachau

Train to Berchtesgaden via Freilassing 2 nights- Eagle’s Nest, Konigsee, Salt Mines

Bus to Salzburg 2 or 3 nights

CK 1 or 2 Prague 3 Amsterdam 3

22-25 nights?
We can add/subtract a few days as needed.

Any recommendations for Wurzburg, Bamberg accomodations- hotels? Things to see/do en route Wurzburg-Bamberg if we drive.

Of the three choices in southern Bavaria, I would choose Fussen. I would stop at the Weiskirsche on the way down. I stayed in the three areas your unsure of visiting and I like Fussen best because I feel it is more "awake" and central (finding it hard to describe why in words. Don't think "awake" is the right term they are all small just cant articulate it). Linderhof and Ettal are a short ride away. There are great pools and spas in Königliche Kristall-Therme located a short ride away in Schwangau, which is basically the next town over. I thought they were better then the pools in Oberammergau. Also you can visit the King's Castles when they open at 8AM. This allows you to beat most of the crowds that come in a bit latter in the morning when the day trippers arrive. However, I thought all three towns were great and it is my personal preference. I am sure you will find many others who will tell you why they agree or disagree with me. If I had to choose one it would be Fussen. Safe travels to you.

We stayed at the Hotel Gruener Baum in Wurzburg and were very pleased with our choice. Friendly people who speak impeccable English. The hotel has a great location and is immaculately clean. Their breakfast buffet was probably the most comprehensive and delicious one that we found in Germany. Highly recommend!

Once again-thank you all for your many useful suggestions!
Have done a bit more fine tuning and actually set our dates- we will travel in May 2016 rather than September.

We have come up with this plan- any comments, advice, suggestions are welcome-

Day 1 Fly to FRA- train to Wurzburg - 1 night- just get over jet lag

Day 2-3 Train to Nuremberg- 2 nights - day trip to Bamberg- pick up car as we depart Nuremberg to RodT

Day 4-5 Drive to Rothenburg - 2 nights- day trip probably to Bad Windsheim

Day 6 Drive to Fussen- 1 night arrive late afternoon- visit towns along Romantic Road,Weiskirsche en route

Day 7-8 Visit Ludwig castles in AM, drive to Garmisch- stay 2 nights- visit Linderfhof, Ettal, Oberammergau.

Day 9-11 Drop car in Garmisch- train to Munich- 3 nights with day trip to Dachau

Day 12-14 Train to Salzburg- 3 nights- day trip to Berchtesgaden or St. Gilgen

Day 15- Early shuttle to Cesky Krumlov- stay 1 night- depart next day on late afternoon bus to Prague. (We arrive in CK on a Monday so will need to stay longer next day to visit castle (closed on Mon))

Day 16-19 Prague 4 nights

Day 20-22 Fly to Amsterdam- 3 nights

Questions:
Car rental in Nuremberg- any advice? I’ve used AutoEuope in the past and happy with them- need an automatic so hope that by renting in a larger town that will be available (we had an issue with this in Italy -reserved compact automatic but only one they had on lot was a mini-van- we managed fine but would not like a repeat of that fiasco!)

Berchtesgaden or St Gilgen? Might be something we just decide on day of weather dependent.

I will post this on Czech forum as well- have a few questions about that portion of trip.

Thanks