We will be exploring the area between Strasbourg and Munich. My plan is a few days based in Strassbourg and from there do day trips via train to Heidelberg, Colmar, etc and then move to Ulm as a base and do a few day trips to Fussen, Rothenberg au Taber, romantic road, and other small towns in Bavaria and finishing with a couple of days in Munich. I was planning on renting the car at Offenburg (easy train ride from Strasbourg) and return it upon arrival to Munich (will not need it in Munich) so to avoid an extra fee from renting in one country and returning in another one.
The question is: When we drive from Strasbourg to Ulm, What stops do you suggest we make? I was thinking we could do some stops in the Black Forest. We have an entire day for that day trip. Trip is scheduled for the first week of June.
Posted by
Schwerin
4607 posts
Welcome to the forum.
It would help to know your interests.
Be aware of the need for an IDP for every driver. Regulation:
https://www.bmv.de/SharedDocs/EN/Articles/StV/Roadtraffic/validity-foreign-driving-licences-in-germany.html
Are you familiar with driving in Germany?
And be careful with spelling names of destinations: "Rothenberg au Taber" is "Rothenburg ob der Tauber". In this case a smaller issue.
Posted by
163 posts
There are a couple of geological and archaeological sites on the „Schwaebische Alb“ mountain range: A lot of caves (some with Stone Age traces, water runs or megafauna remains) See here, also the general size for more information (English mode did not work for me, but it might be a me problem)
https://www.schwaebischealb.de/kultur/hoehlen-der-schwaebischen-alb/schauhoehlen-der-schwaebischen-alb
https://www.schwaebischealb.de/naturerlebnisse
There are also quite a couple of Jurassic sites, in particular sea related - so offer searching for fossils yourself
https://www.schwaebischealb.de/freizeittipps/fossilienfundstellen
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks for the spelling correction Mark! I have not driven in Germany yet, but I have in Spain and Ireland. I can certainly get an IDP! Are short term visitors not allowed to drive in Germany without any specific requirements (other than the IDP)? I am well over 30 and have been driving for over 20 yrs? I have no intention of speeding. Just moving from one place to another and in the process, do some stops along the way. Will be driving at the most 5 days (total stay is 14 days, the rest of the days we will move around using trains). I think driving is the more efficient way to move around Bavaria and visit smaller towns. My brother lived in Ulm for 4 yrs and I have visited, so I am a bit familiar with it and it is centric to the area.
Posted by
Arctophilia, Northamptonshire, England
36592 posts
Are short term visitors not allowed to drive in Germany without any specific requirements (other than the IDP)?
Yes, if you have a valid home driving license as well as proof such as IDP, you can drive in Germany and the EU. German traffic laws are different, you would do well to learn them.
If you hire the car in Offenburg you can drive it into France and around most of Alsace. It won't have a French Crit'Air sticker so because of environmental laws in Strasbourg you can't drive it in Strasbourg.
Posted by
Niagara, Ontario
1954 posts
I'd drive through the Black Forest and take a slight detour to Tubingen, a university town with an attractive old core and riverfront.
If you pop into Bebenhausen Abbey and Palace up the road first, your day will be covered.
Posted by
Arctophilia, Northamptonshire, England
36592 posts
if you follow the above reference to Tübingen (with which I concur) you will be near Stuttgart. And if you are near Stuttgart there is Esslingen with its very interesting centre and wall (watch out for the man on a plank - look up) and you are very close to the Ritter Sport factory. Anybody for chocolate? You can't go in the factory for hygiene reasons, but they have a nice café and a huge outlet store out in the countryside. I go there for bags of seconds and all the flavours we don't get in England or at many stores even in Germany. This is where the experiments happen. ooooo.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Nigel: Can I park a car in the park car at the Strassbourg train station and then take the tram into the city or the parking by the train station also requires de special environmental sticker?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
800 posts
When we drive from Strasbourg to Ulm, What stops do you suggest we make? I was thinking we could do some stops in the Black Forest. We have an entire day for that day trip. Trip is scheduled for the first week of June.
That is really not very much time. We took 3 days to drive from Geislingen an der Steige (between Stuttgart and Ulm) to Freiburg. Stops included
- Mercedes Benz Factory in Stuttgart
- One night in Tubingen, which was a charming small city with an interesting museum with Neolithic artifacts, as well as ancient Egyptian and Greek artifacts.
- Hohenzollern Castle, which I would not suggest to you due to your limited time, unless you have a strong interest in the 19th century Kaisers.
- Black Forest drive with a one night stay near Schiltach and sights that included the Black Forest Open Air Museum and a lovely little hike in the Ravenna Gorge.
I am guessing our drive time from Geislingen to Freiburg was around 6 hours.
People on this forum like Gengenbach which is near Offenburg. Perhaps you could plot a journey that goes through Gengenbach and a stop at the Open Air Museum.
Google Maps shows that as about 3 hours 40 minutes, as opposed to 2 hours 40 minutes to Ulm, via Karlsruhe, but many on this forum suggest that Google map drive times are not reliable. In any event, “doable” in a day.
Or, also “doable” would be the quicker drive via Karlsruhe and a stop at the MB Museum.
FWIW, our TR is here