Romantic Road at Christmas time

"...is it crowded at this time frame where we would need to make a reservation now?"

Small towns everywhere, with the exception of very touristy Rothenburg perhaps, become very very quiet at that time of year. In addition to the "official RR" towns there are some other small towns a bit closer to Bayreuth with some exceptionally nice old-world buildings, town walls, etc. And then there are the small cities, like Bamberg and Regensburg, which have been accorded UNESCO World Heritage status for their medieval town centers. And Würzburg as well - also UNESCOed for its sights. These small cities are not just tourist destinations but living, breathing places that might interest you. The Romantic Road towns are nice too but in some cases a little oversold. Just thought you might appreciate a few more ideas.

Small towns/places to consider:
Iphofen, wine/artists town between Nuremberg and Würzburg - Riemenschneider works as well.
Marktbreit, wine town just south of Würzburg
Amberg
Coburg, Castle
near Staffelstein, Vierzehnheiligen Basilica

Thanks for the suggestions! Keep 'em coming. I've got my son researching them for us now. He has Ferien this week!

Dan

If you go as far south as Regensburg (my favorite), take time to see Landshut a bit further south. It has a wealth of Baroque building facades along the main street (Alstadt). It also has a castle and beautiful river front. A good evening meal can be had at the Augustiner an der Martinskirche. Reservations are often required.

http://www.landshut-augustiner.de

Rothenburg and Nördlingen are very easy to get to. Dinkelsbühl not so much; it is not accessible by train, only by bus (45 minutes) from Nördlingen. I did the Romantic Road by public transportation (bus and train) in 2007. The road is nothing special, it's the towns. I spent 20 hours (overnight) in Nördlingen and was reluctant to leave. Then I spent 3 hours in Dinkelsbühl and was more than ready to leave. Maybe it was because I had just enjoyed Nördlingen so much, but I felt Dinklesbühl paled in comparison.

If you would spend an overnight in a town, I would make it Nördlingen. It's Rothenburg's untouristic little sister.

"Rothenburg and Nördlingen are very easy to get to."
Both towns have train stations and regular service every hour or better from around 5 am until 9 or 10 pm.
I should have mentioned that the same is true for the destinations I mentioned in my previous post, with the exception of the V'heiligen Basilica, which would require a bus connection as well.

The Bayern (Bavaria) ticket day pass is a cheap way to get to all these places on the local/regional trains.
Rail map of Bavaria: https://www.bahn.de/i/view/mdb/pv/deutschland_erleben/bayern/regionales/diverses/mdb_86722_streckennetz_bayern_2012.pdf

Thanks Guys! Is Donauworth worth a visit?

Dan

Thanks Guys! Is Donauworth worth a visit?

It is worth an one hours stop for a walk through the small historical inner town. But If time is a criterion, nearby Harburg has much more to offer.

I have driven the romantic road in the summer, as well as the winter. I find the drive charming... a view of the countryside of Germany with cute little towns along the way.

I am not sure how 'romantic' one expects a road to be, but as far as roads go... I give it a 9:) We usually stay in Dinkelsbuhl... it is a sweet little town without a lot of tourists. Loved walking around and went to the Christmas Market. It was filled with locals.. and us. It was a real look at what the small town markets are like... everyone knew one another, and they were all so friendly to us. It was a really special experience. Lots of homemade foods and crafts.

We also went to the market in Rothenburg, and as expected it was busy and touristy and lots of gifts (nothing too amazing) but a wonderful ambiance.

The last day of our drive was absolutely amazing. There was this incredible film of ice on all the trees. It looked like we were in a fairy land. A touch of fog, and the grass was all still green. We had to stop so many times to take pictures and just enjoy the view. This was with my 16 year old grandson and he still talks about this part of our trip. ( and that is one of the main reasons that I drive on a lot of my trips)

I don't know why so many people want to come to Germany in the Winter to sightsee. I lived in Augsburg, Germany for four years and it is cold in the Winter. Sometimes the highways are iced up or it snows.

Yes, the Christmas Markets are nice, but it gets dark at 4:30 at Christmas time.

I love the Romantic Road, but my advice is to go when it not so darn cold.

Geovagriffith- Really this time frame was the only one that worked for all our family members. We are just trying to make the best of it. We live in northern Illinois and go to northern Wisconsin to vacation in the winter. We'll be fine. Yes, I wish it was in the summer too, but it is what it is.

Dan

There is more to Donauwörth than just the downtown area. On the point where the Wörnitz river joins the Danube is a statue of a mainden named "Junge Donau" (young Danube), so called because you are only a couple hundred miles from the headwaters of Europe's 2nd longest river. From there you can walk a wooded path called the Promanade along the east side wall of the town. At the north end of the promanade is the ruins of Mangoldstein, a castle built around 900, now just a pile of rocks.

There is really only one thing to see in Harburg, the castle, but it is worth the trip. I think it is original (i.e., never destroyed). There are not a lot of places to stay in the tiny town of Harburg, under the castle, but if you are staying in Nördlingen, it's a short day trip to Harburg. The train from Nördlingen takes less than 20 min. The station is a km south of town, but the walk in is flat and pleasant in the summer.

Thanks Lee- We are considering staying in Nordlingen to make the trip doable. Have you ever stayed there? Any recommendations on hotels?

Dan

I stayed in Nördlingen in 2007 and liked the place I stayed in. The owners were very helpful. As I remember the wife speaks very little English but her husband speaks enough. The place I stayed in is closed now, but the owners have a new establishment, Wengers Brettl. Their website does not show a price for the rooms, but the website for the TI office says they get 75€ for a double room. Their email address is shown on their website.

Lee. Thanks for the website. We may return to Nördlingen in the spring,

Thanks for the info Lee!

Dan