Choosing a good halfway point in Germany for a trip

Rothenburg is an old walled town - magnificently preserved, but with hundreds of shops and tourist-oriented services and many many international tourists. Berchtesgaden is very different - a mountain town of a resort nature in a beautiful setting, and visitors tend to be Germans. So it depends on your preferences I imagine.

If you can't decide, do Berchtesgaden, as it would be possible to daytrip to Rothenburg from Frankfurt later during your stay there.

Hi Tamara,

Depending on your route, out of the two, Berchtesgaden seems more the mid point of your drive. While you have two B&B's "picked out", You may want to consider the Pension Mayringerlehen in Ramsau, 10 to 15 miuntes from Berchtesgaden. We loved stays (2006 and 2007) at the Pension Mayringerlehen.

www.mayringerlehen.de

As I don't know your starting point (1 hour from Venice), I don't know if you have considered the route via the Brenner Pass and Innsbruck. With this route, I'd recommend staying in Hall in Tirol, Austria (charming old town) or Mittenwald, Germany (our favorite Bavarian village).

If you're interested, we have some photo's of all these places at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel15.html

Hope this helps.

Paul

Thanks for the input everyone!

Paul, yes, Mayringerlehen is one of the guest houses I contacted! You're right, it is not directly in Berchtesgaden but it is close by. The link for it was on the graffiti wall here. It looked great already, and your pictures from it make it look even more awesome. I'm trying to re-arrange some things so that we might be able to spend two nights there instead. The more I read about the area, the more time I want to spend there.

We usually do drive the route that you mentioned through Innsbruck when we go north. The drive through Cortina d'Ampezzo is just gorgeous. But a friend recommended the Salzburg route instead because of the chance of snow on the Innsbruck route this time of year. We have the tire chains in the car because we are required to, but would rather not have to use them!

Right now I think we're definitely going with a stay in Berchtesgaden on the way up. We'll try to do a daytrip to Rothenburg if time and circumstances allow, but might have to just swing through it on the way home. I guess that could work out too. I really do want to see it! That would help break up the drive home in to smaller parts. If we are going the Salzburg way, I don't mind doing that at night since it is on bigger roads.

Just an aside... Driving on the teensy mountain roads late at night is not something I want to do again! I will never again set the GPS to the "avoid toll roads" setting on the way home from Germany! oh my goodness!! I gladly pay the toll now that I know what the alternative is! Gerne!!

Anyway... All of your pictures are great! Thanks for sharing!

Tamara,
If you decide to stop over in Berchtesgaden, I would suggest staying at Hotel Wittelsbach. Its a great little hotel inside the city with great views of the Alps. The rates are amazing and the woman who owns it is very sweet and helpful.

http://www.hotel-wittelsbach.com/

Amanda

I will keep that in mind for the next trip, Amanda! Thanks! I'm sure we will go back some time this year.