Southern Germany Trip - fine tuning our itinerary and looking for advice

7/16 Assuming you mean Kirrberg near Homburg an der Saar: get a "Schönes Wochenend Ticket" out of a ticket machine for €44 for the family (or buy at the DB counter with a €2 service charge). The SWT is valid on regional trains and buses only; you would gain approx 15-20 min only by using a long distance train to Mannheim for much more money. The first feasible connection is Frankfurt Airport dep. 16:37, Kirrberg arr. 19:45 (transfers at Neunkirchen and Homburg). For the Bad Homburg - Kirrberg leg you might consider taking a taxi, it's only six km. For details look up www.db.com, select "only local transport".

7/25: If using public transport your itinerary for that day would be rushed. Leaving Munich by 9am (Bayern ticket restriction!), you would arrive at Schwangau by 11:13. So the first possible tour you could take would be around 12:30 and you would have to catch the last bus to Garmisch at 17:18 (there is a later one but it takes over three hours). Besides, having a car for that day solves an important problem: where to leave the luggage while visiting Neuschwanstein etc.? There are no lockers at Schwangau (the tourist info stores luggage but the capacity is limited).

The Neuschwanstein tour itself is short (ca 30min), but then there is Hohenschwangau castle and above all the surroundig area that deserve some time. Your son would probably like the summer luge at the Tegelberg (riding the Tegelberg cable car offers that well known post card view of Neuschwanstein). So if using public transport, I'd probably go on 7/24 to Fuessen, take an earlier tour (pre-booking ticket is essential) and make more out of the day.

7/30 The Jennerbahn is closed for reconstruction all the summer. Allow more time on the Königssee (e.g., for hiking in the St Bartolomä area).

Do we need a car in Munich since we are staying outside the city?

No. There are numerous connections to the center (with one or two transfers). Buy a MVV (multi)day ticket.

I'll be back in Neunkirchen tomorrow. For such an industrial town it has really scrubbed up well. Much like in parts of the other industrial area, the Ruhr, old heavy industry has been turned into something quite nice, including nice restaurants. Just down from the shopping centre, behind the Holiday Inn Express, looking towards the elevated train track, is a huge missile or shell looking structure which was actually an air raid shelter. Well worth looking around there and in the adjacent park.

Is your mother post-war?

Marienplatz and Frauenkirche are right next to each other. I'm sure you could do them and Nymphenurg in a day, maybe Olympiaturm as well. Save a full day for the Deutsches Museum, as you could easily spend that much time there.

Thank you sla019, Nigel, and Lee for the helpful advice!

Nigel, My mom was a child in Neunkirchen during the war. Did you grow up there?

Hi Kelly,

This sounds like the makings of a very fun (and full) trip. My wife were in Germany (in and out of Frankfurt) this past May, where we rented a car and made the drive from Frankfurt, to the Rhine, Rothenburg, Fussen, Salzburg, Nuremburg and then back to Frankfurt, and absolutely loved it! 1400KM driven is not as relaxing as a train, but we also found that we were far more flexible this way. As you drive along, you will notice brown tourists signs directing you to historical spots, etc that you can take advantage of if you're in a car that you can't from a train.

We honestly found Neuschwanstein to be rather meh, but the drive from Fussen to Salzburg via Oberammergau was stunning! We visited a few of the spots you have mentioend (Ettal Monestary and Weiskirche) along the way, which made for an enjoyable trip.

The drive through the Alps to Berchtesgaden is stunning! There is a very handy bus system in Salzburg that will allow you to park outside the town center and avoid the parking issues you might encounter there.

We stayed the night in Rothenburg and found the experience to be two different things. Super crowded and and almost annoying during the day (when the parking lots outside the town walls are filled with buses of day trippers) and quiet and charming from around 4pm on when we almost had the place to ourselves.

Rheinstein Castle (south of Bacharach) provided stunning views as it sits perched 270ft above the Rhine, and was one of the better castle tours (it is self guided) we went on. The more popular Burg Eltz was also quite good.

Have a wonderful time on your trip!
RF

Hi Kelly,

My husband and I just recently in April spent a week and a half traveling mostly Southern Germany and a little Austria and overnight trip to the Alsace region of France. And hands down one of my favorite parts of Germany was the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area (I also loved the small village we stayed in in the Alsace region).

While I cannot recommend accommodations as we were able to stay in the military resort in town, I would say rent a car. The drives throughout that area were beautiful. We did the opposite and went from G-P to Fussen (to see the castles), but drove through Austria in between to do the Highline 179 and Ehrenberg ruins which was tons of fun.

We ate at this quaint cheese shop in Ettal which has amazing beer (and I know you say you don't drink alcohol and I really don't either, but this was great. The beer is made by the monks in the monastery). There are some great wood carving shops in Ettal and Oberammergau too. Apparently there is a fantastic wood carving school in this area where many who then end up in the Black Forest shops train. We found this out in talking to various small shop owners during our time there. Then did an alpine coaster in Oberammergau too. Which was loads of fun. I would definitely do everything you can to do Zugspitze. It was amazing.

Have fun.