Hello just me again.
If you had the choice would you do the mittenwald area, GaPa or a small town on way to Salzburg.
I want to take an Arial car up to the alps, and we like to have somewhere to go for drinks and perhaps listen to music in the evenings. Some castles, etc.
Had heart set on mittenwald for three nights but now I worry it may be a bit hohum after dinner.
Any ideas?
On the way from where?
Garrmisch-Partenkirchen has a cog train to the top of the Zugspitze (highest point in Germany) and GaPa has got to have some nightlife. Its a ski resort town in the winter.
Gasthaus Fraundorfer in the Partenkirchen section of GaP usually offers live music 6 nights a week, although it depends on the season...
Speaking of which, during the summer, the Kurgarten in Garmisch offers free outdoor concerts nightly. The genre varies from night to night, from march music, traditional Bavarian Blasmusik, waltzes and light classical, show tunes and oldies rock and roll.
For mountain excursions, you can take a gondola to the upper slopes or summits of Wank and Zugspitze. You can also ascend to the summit of Zugspitze on a cogwheel railway.
Oops sorry. In July on the way from Munich. Final destination is Salzburg.
We will have three nights.
Yes, I agree that three nights in Mittenwald would be boring. I also would recommend the old part of GP and stay in Partenkirchen. We stayed at Hotel Schatten and loved it. The hotel itself has a great restaurant, but there are also several within walking distance. There is also a nice wine bar, shopping, etc.
You can get to the Zugspitze from town via public transport, or you can drive right to the cable car that will take you up.
If your destination is Salzburg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald are a little out of the way. The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany, and it's thousands of feet above Garmisch, but it's not a really high mountain (the top is below the parking lot where I used to ski in Colorado).
There are lots of aerial lifts in Germany. A very beloved mountain in Bavaria is the Wendelstein, which although even lower than the Zugspitze towers above the surrounding valley. It's more on the way to Salzburg. There is a Seilbahn (cable car) from Osterhofen, which is about 1h15 from Munich on the Bayerische Oberlandbahn, near Schliersee. You can ride to the top of the Wendelstein, then go down the Zahnradbahn (cog railroad) to Brannenburg on the Inn and from there to Salzburg via Rosenheim. Or, you could come back down the cable car, then take the train, 3 minutes to Bayrischzell. I saw this place, Alpenrose, when I went through Bayrischzell and thought it looked like a nice place to stay. The next morning, take the bus, Wendelsteinringlinie, over the mountains via Tatzlwurm to Oberaudorf and the train from there to Rosenheim.
If you want to see an authentic castle, take the train from Rosenheim via Muhldorf to the castle at Burghausen.
Ten years ago, I stayed in Mittenwald for five nights and loved it. It's a delightful town and it's easy to do day trips from there. Of course my idea of nightlife is to eat dinner and take a half hour or hour walk. ; )
There is also an aerial lift, the Karwendelbahn, directly outside of Mittenwald. At night, you can see the lights of the Bergstation from Mittenwald.
Consider also taking the train to Prien to visit one of Lugwig's palaces at Herrenchiemsee. Then take the train down to Aschau-Chiemgau Bahnhof. There are places to stay in the area, and it is a short bus ride down to the Hohenaschau bus stop. Hohenaschau, by Russ's standards in only a Schloss (palace), not a Burg (castle), but it sure resembles a castle and it was built in the 12 century. Right at the same stop, is an aerial lift to the Kampenwand.
Supplement to Lee's post:
http://kampenwand.de/index.php?rex_resize=835h__panoramakarte_sommer.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Kampenwandseilbahn_Talstation.JPG
http://www.kampenwand.de/index.php?rex_resize=620w__chiemsee_gondeln-4.jpg
(Sonnenalm, near top of lift) - http://q-ec.bstatic.com/images/hotel/840x460/439/43953086.jpg
Wow...lots of neat ideas. Love the photos!
We will have a car and we're heded to Mittenwald on recommendations of a friend who is German and lives in Switzerland. He bought his cello in Mittenwald and thought we must think like the area.
I just got to thinking maybe we should be venturing east vs south since we want to spend four nights in Salzburg before heading back to Munich to fly home. But now I am thinking of even different spots.
Thanks so much. Keep the ideas coming!!!
Germany, and in particular southern Bavaria is one of the richest places in the world for public transportation. You really don't need a car. All of the place I've mentioned are places I've personally been to with public transportation.
Hey ....we are looking for hotels in the regions mentioned and few if any have a/c. National weather says general temps in mid 70s for the area in summer. I am just wondering how hot it has been on your journeys there.
The kind of heat wave where you absolutely must have AC are uncommon in Germany, and particularly in the mountainous territory of southern Bavaria. Even when other parts of the country are scorching, southern Bavaria usually remains tolerable. Very unlikely you will need AC in this region.
Thanks Tom...I just sent email to my choice of hotels to see if they have a fan we can borrow for Dad if he needs it. I prefer to open windows and let life in. Not a fan of a/c even at home when it's 90. It's only for Dad. Thanks again.
