Is it safe? Is it strenuous? How much time does it take?
4 days in Fussen in June.
Should we rent a car to get to Zugspitze or will train and bus work OK for a one-day excursion? Are there places we shouldn't miss? We want to do relatively short hikes in the area. 2 to 4 hours. Suggestions welcome.
We will definitely get to the Castles.
I can't tell you about Füssen to Reutte other than you really don't want to do that. Reutte is not that nice a town. Instead go to Pfronten, a little west of Reutte in Germany. I've made the trip by bus from Pfronten to Füssen a few times and I know it would not be too strenuous on a bike.
From Füssen to the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Bahnhof, start of the Zugspitze rail link, you have several options. There are buses (the same bus that goes to the castles at Hohenschwangau) from the Füssen Bahnhof to Garmisch-Partenkirchen via Oberammergau. These take about 2 hours. You can also go by bus to Pfronten, Reutte, or Vils and take the same train, the Ausserfernbahn, to the GaP Bahnhof.
If you take either the bus via Oberammergau to GaP, or go by bus to Pfronten and take the train to GaP, you can do the entire trip, RT, with a €28 Bayern-Ticket for up to 5 of you. I believe that with the Bayern-Ticket, you will also get a discount for the Zugspitzebahn.
Thanks Lee, Very helpful. I wonder what others think about Reutte since Rick favors it over Füssen as the place to stay.
I think Rick's tours stay in a place (Pinswang?) outside of Reutte itself. I was not terribly impressed with Reutte when I stopped there for lunch last August. I spent the next two nights in Pfronten and enjoyed the stay. It's a delightful town.
Reutte is a hole, stay away from it. Spent a full day and night there last fall, mostly due to Rick's recommendation of it, and it was the worst part of our trip. Your time is better spent elsewhere. Having said that, the Ehrenberg ruins outside of Reutte are a don't-miss site.
I've often wondered why Reutte, possibly the most ordinary town in the Bavarian-Tyrolian Alps, made it into Rick's guidebook when so many other (and better) towns are ignored. The reason probably has to do with the manner in which his guidebooks are written... many of them are basically a Europe Through the Back Door tour in written form. Because his company uses Reutte as a convenient logistical base, therefore, it makes the cut, whereas Obertsdrof, Ehrwald, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen do not. Likewise, the ruins of Ehrenburg, which are no more or less impressive than dozens of other castle ruins throughout Germany, get included because of their proximity to Reutte, whereas there is no mention of the countless more elaborate ruins throughout the Rhineland.
Oh, and yes, you can get to the Zugspitzebahn station in Ga-P easily enough from Fussen by public transit. Keep your schedule flexible and make sure you leave early, though, to maximize your chances for good weather.
dont know if reutte is a hole or not...since we didnt confine ourselves to the town, but toured the area by car. we stayed at pension waldrast which is recommended in the guide and thought it was great. the huter family was really friendly and helpful. there was a great hike/walk up from the b&b to ehrenberg castle ruin which we loved.
On the mountain above Pfronten is the ruins of castle Falkenstein, built in 1059. It was on this site that Ludwig planned on building his next castle. There is a picture of it (as proposed) in Neuschwanstein. If you like you can hike to it. There is a road most of the way, but no regularly scheduled public transportation.
Thanks everyone for your very interesting thoughts. I'm sure Rick would be the first one to say explore on your own and find even better places to appreciate and enjoy.
I would like to see someone come to the defense of Reutte! We may now never get there because of this string!
