Whirlwind Bavaria plan too ambitious?

Posted by Christine (Nashville, TN USA) on 01/17/15 02:02 PM

I am traveling solo doing a river cruise from Nuremberg to Luxembourg Oct 27-Nov 3. I am flying into FRA on the 21st and plan to spend 5 days in Bavaria on my own. I was planning on heading to Regensburg first but need help deciding if I should just stay in Munich and do day trips or actually relocate city to city. I don't mind getting up early and traveling a couple hours and returning just to do it all over again the next day. My list of sites to see include Dachau, Salzburg/Berchtesgaden, Garmisch-Partenkirchen/Zugspitze. I have no real desire to tour Ludwig's castles but wouldn't mind hiking around them for the postcard view, if in the area...

I can burn the candle at both ends during this 5-day stretch since on the 27th I get on the boat and unpack once. I'm looking for sights and experiences I won't have on the cruise which includes Nuremberg, Bamberg, Wurtzburg, Wertheim, Mainz/Heidelberg, Cochem/Koblenz/Rudesheim, Trier/Bernkastel.

What are your thoughts on tripping out of Munich or the order in which I should attack this itinerary... if at all!

Danke!

Posted by Russ

Paradise

01/17/15 03:10 PM

6637 posts

Arriving in the German Alps in late October may or may not allow for an outdoor experience there. The Hitler's Nest facility closed up last season on the 24th.

" I'm looking for sights and experiences I won't have on the cruise "
I'm thinking that your time in Nuremberg should allow you to visit the Nazi Documentation Center there. That may be enough in the way of Nazi horror for anyone and spare you a trip to Dachau (which indeed is a somewhat different experience, but one that can easily turn you into a wreck for a day or longer.)

One thing you probably won't have on the cruise is an open-air museum like the Freilandmuseum in Bad Windsheim - it's truly time travel:
Freilandmuseum
Official site

There's a brewery and a Gasthof on the museum premises, but this area is thick with breweries and brew-pubs. Bad Windsheim's Döbler brewery is popular too:

Brauhaus Döbler

Also, I don't think you're seeing any smaller walled towns on the cruise. Rothenburg is the one that draws the most tourists, but Iphofen, about 40 minutes outside Nuremberg by direct train, is superb and mostly tourist-free:

Iphofen photos

Not far south of Würzburg are some really nice old-world towns - Marktbreit, Ochsenfurt, and Sommerhausen. The first two are accessible by train:

A Day Out in...

If you were to spend a few nights in Nuremberg prior to your cruise, you would have Regensburg, Munich (day trip, also by direct train), Iphofen, Bayreuth, Bad Windsheim and the Freilandmuseum, and possibly other destinations, right at your feet.

Posted by Chris

Mahone Bay, Canada

01/18/15 01:42 AM

328 posts

We took Russ' advice and visited Iphofen on our trip to Germany this past September. It's small and charming and we fell in love with it straight away.

All the places you've listed (with the possible exception of Berchtesgaden) can easily be visited as a day trip by train from Munich. Berchtesgaden can be done by car as a day trip but I'm not familiar enough with the train/bus schedule as other posters to know whether it is doable by train.

I'm a big fan of staying in one place and having a flexible schedule to travel as the weather dictates. It would be nice to be able to pick clear days to visit your alpine destinations. So, I'd choose to make Munich my base for the full five days.

Posted by mchpp

Oberpfalz, Germany

01/19/15 02:27 PM

1289 posts

I think your itinerary is aggressive, but you can mitigate. I do understand the short time while you are in Germany and the move to make the most of it. I live here and just spent this Saturday (10:00-16:00) relaxing in in Regensburg going to a few cafes (Orphée and Felix), the old bridge, the Kneitinger Gasthaus and visiting churches (Unsere Liebe Frau zur Alten Kapelle) and shopping. I would definitely stay the night in the city you visit rather than base in Munich (one place) as you go from town to town. This could/would make the trip. Splurge for comfortable stylish hotels in the middle of the city (like: http://www.hotel-orphee.de/). You would have the evenings then to enjoy where you are, get the feel for the place, dinner, maybe a bar or another late cafe (recommended), relax, then up for breakfast and on your way to the next adventure. Make reservations well ahead of time, get good dinners, enjoy the cafes, see the sights. Not knowing the language and on your own could be daunting unless you do you homework before, but English is recognized here pretty much. Take some time and write some notes and develop your itinerary. Have fun! and if you like something stay with it.

The weather in Oct-Nov could be problematic in the mountains. I think the Königssee (Schönau/Berchtesgaden) is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Take an electric boat to St. Bartholomä (not sure the fall/winter schedules). Personally I would not waste my time on the Eagles Nest. Long lines and better places to see the mountains.

Mittenwald (Garmisch-Partenkirchen/Zugspitze) could be fun as a tourist. I was there this summer after ten years and was surprised at what a tourist village it had become. Kind of an explosion!

With good weather you can't go too wrong in the Bavarian Alps and Tirol, Südtirol...