Bavaria

I would not worry about that, Becky. The reason a lot of places become touristy is that people really like them. I thought the two Ludwig castles were great, and I wasn't sure I would like them. We also went to the top of the Zugspitze (sp?) which would surely counts as touristy, but we loved that too. We stayed in Mittenwald, which I thought was a great base.

I'm sure there are plenty of untouristy places that are also wonderful, but I can't tell you about them because our time was filled with the touristy stuff.

Ehrenburg ruins weren't touristy when I was there. Even if the base is covered with tourists, I guarantee you will shake them by climbing to the top.

Another non-touristy option is to hike from Reutte to Neuschwanstein. I didn't do it because I wasn't sure exactly which trail to take.

I agree with James. Nothing really special about Reutte. We stayed at the Gasthof zum Schluxen(?). We splurged on it because it was a "farm". The farm part was a disappointment but the hotel is really nice, if somewhat expensive.

We stayed at the Hotel Moserhof (sp?) in Ruette. What a nice place and the view from our balcony....We stayed there 2 nights and day tripped up into Germany to do the castles

There is a nearby town, Pfronten (www.pfronten.de) that I definitely wouldn't call touristy. There is not an awful lot to do in Pfronten in the summer (that's why it isn't touristy). There is the Breitenbergbahn, a cable car up into the mountains. A lot of people take the cable car up and hike down. There is also Falkenstein ruins, where Ludwig planned to build his last castle (there is a picture of it in Neuschwanstein, along with a knight battling a dragon), and you can hike up to it. Primarily though, it is just a very lovely little town. I've never stayed there (I have been through it five times on the bus and train). I will stay there for two nights in August and will be able to tell you better about it.