Arrive in Munich, two nights there.
Drive via Romantic Road, few hours in Rothenburg, and spend two nights in Bacharach.
Drive south through Black Forest region, spend one night again in Munich.
Train to Fussen, Salzburg or possibly even Vienna for two nights. (Looking for suggestions)
Train to Prague for one night.
Fly out of Munich.
Does this seem feasible? Suggestions or ideas please. Enjoy wine country. Ok to see one or two castles at the most.
Thanks for your input.
"Does this seem feasible?"
No.
Why are you flying to Munich, spending 2 nights, leaving, returning for a night, leaving, then returning again to fly home? What time is your flight from Munich? Why are you going all the way to Prague to spend only a few hours? That's all you will have spending only one night.
I think you should rework your schedule. Don't waste your time going back and forth multiple times to Munich. Why don't you leave upon arrival and spend your time there at the end of the trip? Both Fussen and Salzburg can be done as day trips from Munich.
Sounds pretty hectic to me. You wouldn't, by any chance, be a traveling salesman would you?
Jill:
You would do best to fly open jaw into Munich, and out of another city--Prague or Vienna.
You might want to look on Mapquest or GoogleMaps.com to get a lay of the land. The distances you'd be traveling are much farther than you realize. Your planned itinerary is just not do-able in the time allowed.
Bacharach is just a small village beside the Rhine River with some castles in the area. It's not but a few hundred yards long. On my two trips, Bacharach was more a place to spend the night than a destination. I also find the Black Forest okay, but it is another region to drive through.
One thing you didn't say is if you've ever been to Germany and/or Europe. 10 days is pretty short, as Munich is a great city that deserves 4 days to see the many local sights and soak in the Bavarian culture.
You could drive southwest of Munich to Fussen and end up in Innsbruck for the night. The mountain scenery in this drive is incredible, and it's really not that far. You could drive up to Munich area and turn the car in. Then take a train over to Salzburg for 2 nights.
Take a train to Prague or Vienna for the balance of your time. Either is a great European city worthy of 4 nights to see the sights.
And if at all possible, try to stretch your trip another few days.
To take on more cities might be counterproductive. Vienna is actually a better city to fly to the U.S. from than Prague.
This looks to me like a "check list" tour. You're more interested in how many known places you can say you have "been to" than what you have actually seen.
Think quality, not quantity.
You can easily spend more time in Munich and the whole 10 nights in Bavaria. Forget the Middle Rhine, Black Forest, Prague. Base in Munich and see Rothenburg, Füssen, Mittenwald, Berchtesgaden, Salzburg. That should be enough to fill up your card. If you have more time, see Bamberg, Würzburg, Nürnberg.
I sense your knowledge of the train system in Bavaria is a pathetic as your knowledge of German geography. You can get to all of these places by train. Driving will only add to your expense.
Here's some thoughts. The "Romantic Road" is just a normal secondary road that links together some attractive towns. The scenery along the road, particularly heading north (with the Alps to your back) isn't any more special than any other secondary road in that area of Germany. And, you can find a string of scenic towns just about anywhere in the country. Now that being said, your direct route of travel from Munich to the Mittelrhein does generally follow the course of the road, so it might make sense to drive small parts of it to reach the towns that interest you. But you don't have enough time to drive the whole thing in one day. Drive on the Autobahn, and exit when you reach a destination that you want to visit. It will prove a much more efficient use of your valuable vacation time, and the scenery looks about the same.
Likewise, don't bother with the Black Forest, unless you plan to spend a few nights in the southern portion. It's too far out of your way, and most of it is just the same forested low mountains that you see everywhere in southern and central Germany. It's only particularly unique around some of the higher mountains near the southern end of the chain, and even these pale in comparison with the Alps.
Prague- not worth your time if you're only spending the night and then returning immediately to Munich the next day. It will be little more than two long days on a combination of trains and buses.
Have you looked into flying open jaw? This trip would make more sense perhaps if you flew into Munich, checked out the stuff you wanted to see in southern Bavaria and Austria, then head north to the Mittelrhein and fly out of Frankfurt. Or, same thing in reverse.
Forgot to mention, this is our first trip to Germany
Hi Jill,
You say 10 days but have 8 nights in your plan.
Here's a sensible plan:
Arrive Frankfurt, stay in Bacharach 2 nights
Rothenburg ob Der Tauber for 1 night
Salzburg/Berchtesgaden area for 3 nights
Munich 2 nights, fly out of Munich
If you must fly into/out of 'Munich:
Salzburg and area 3 nights
Innsbruck area 2 nights
Fuessen 1 night
Munich 2 nights
Just suggestions. At first I thought you were just joking with your original plan. Hopefully you were.
Paul
Jill, whichever itinerary you opt for, if you like asparagus May is "spargel" month in Germany, so look for the "spargel menu" in restaurants. Had asparagus every day for 10 days one year when we were there in May.
Hi Jill,
To piggy-back off what Ms. Norma mentioned, definitely look too see if there are any Spargel festivals in the towns you'll be visiting. The festivals usually take place (if memory is correct) between mid-late May. They can be fun and tasty!
Have fun!
