From Black Forest to Nueschaunstein area possibly to Eagle's Nest

You make me feel much better saying "I'd argue it's too little". I didn't want to give any of it up! So 3 1/2 hours from Black Forest to (Neuschwanstein)castles area. The I believe I was told it was about that much further to Eagle's Nest. I have a bad back, so the whole idea of the flight over and then the car is scary. My daughter keeps insisting we can stop along the way. So hence my fear of long distances between. Sitting is the worst for me. I am hoping that all the walking around we do in between will help me. I just started on Prednisone this morning. Sorry TMI. Are any of the areas I have mentioned difficult to drive in, confusing. I am hoping for some good Autobahn in between. I figure we can meander in the Black Forest. But, as much as I would like to my back may no cooperate. I am going to go for it anyway!!! Oh, I want to see Wieskirche and Linsberg. Would that sway where I should stay??

Sorry, I did not explain my midway point. I wondered if it was possible to have a good hotel based between Castle and Eagle's Nest. I was hoping to just find a place where we could stay up to 6 nights and go between the 2 locations. Probably best to have 1 near castle and 1 near Eagle's Nest. Would going to Salzburg fit this tight time frame??? I need to remember that if we decided to go back on the 13th to Essen, hopefully arriving on Sunday the 14th, we would still have the 15th before heading out next day. It seems to me I have managed to fill in all my days! Oh, I arrive on the 1st and want to be on the Rhine the evening of the 2nd!

In the process of possibly booking in Reutte, Austria. Was a little leary of crossing a border with our rental car. Any tips? Or any other hidden gem lodging that is not too pricey. 3 persons/2 adults and 1 nine year old. The addtl person seems to hike up the price! Booking right about now.....

Would much rather stay in Garmisch, Oberstdorf, or Nesselwang than Reutte, personally. It seems to have made Mr. Steves' book because he uses it as a logistics base for his tours, but it's one of the more mundane towns in a region that is anything but mundane. There's no direct autobahn route from Triberg to Füssen, so you have two options. One, drive more or less east over secondary roads until you hit the A7 and head south directly to Füssen. The advantage of this route is that you can direct your route by Hechingen, and check out the stunning Burg Hohenzollern. The snobs may scoff that it isn't an "authentic" medieval castle, and the interior may not be that interesting... but from the outside, sitting atop a low mountain, its breathtaking. And the view over the countryside is pretty amazing too. Option two is to swing southeast along the Bodensee and have lunch on the waterfront at Lindau. Then head east to Füssen here. Advantage to this option is visiting Lindau and seeing more of the Alps. And if you book a hotel in Reutte, you'll pass several towns you'll wish you had chosen instead.

Ann, there's a small hotel above the restaurant at the ruins in Ehrenberg, just outside of Reutte. I believe there are only six rooms. Very nice and modern - we paid about 60 euros for a double. It's mentioned in the Rick Steves Germany book (which I've lent out since our trip so can't tell you the exact name) and there's actually a picture of Rick Steves being dubbed "The Knight of Ehrenberg" hanging in the hallway.

Thank you Mary. I did some googling and I think you might mean Das Beck? No rooms available, but thanks again. I have booked at a Barn Hof (sp?), I think in the same vicinity. I am going to keep checking around though. The Austria side does seem like a good option though. My only concern is that I have found that from the Black Forest to Castle area is not very direct. I am afraid we are going to get lost big time!

Hi Ann, I agree with basing a few nights in both Fuessen and then the Berchtesgaden area (less than 30 min. from Salzburg). Break up the drive between the two with a stop for luch or coffee for an hour. Driving in Germany and Austria is pretty easy. I actually like it better than here in the NY area. People actually follow the "stay to the right unless passing" rule. Signs are posted with the towns/cities the road you're on is heading towards. There is no north, south, east and west on the signs. After the first day it's easy IMO. Important to know where (towns) you're heading to, of course. There are no border crossings between Germany and Austria. It's like going from state to stae here in the U.S. Again, no problem. If interested in places to stay in the Berchtesgaden area, we can highly recommend: http://www.mayringerlehen.de/ http://www.friedwiese.de/enska/isl.htm We have photo's of both at: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/362557/index.html http://www.worldisround.com/articles/355548/index.html Paul

Wow Paul. Great info, thank you so much. I will check for availability. Now, can I make it there??!! Everything is starting to look reaallly faaar! I am very concerned at this point by the distance from Black Forest to the castle area. It does not look like there is much in the way of a direct main road. Yikes! I have gotten a few tips, but if anyone can help further I would appreciate it!This may make or break this part of our journey. Then from Castle area to Berchtesgaden, another huge trip. Am I wrong about this. Please correct me if I am. I would love to get to these places. Does anyone recommend skipping black forest and heading from Heidelberg to Castle/Fussen area. Help me tweek this!!! The area around Ramsau looks so beautiful! Does anyone know how difficult it would be driving there???
Thanks to everyone for all the info!

Hi Ann, Fuessen area to Berchtesgaden area (Ramsau) is not a bad trip. Fuessen to Berchtesgaden can be about 3 hours. Even if it takes 4 hours, it's not bad. Drive 2, stop for an hour, drive another 2. The drive from Fuessen to Berchtesgaden via Innsbruck is still under 4 hours total. Think about it... leave at 10am, lunch midway at noon, hit the road at 1pm and arrive at 3pm. Not a bad trip. As for driving around the Ramsau area, do you drive much here in the States? It's not much different at all. These places aren't all that far apart. Paul

Thanks again Paul. The photos were great. My nine year old daughter would love these places. Your 4 hour plan sounds doable! That makes it seem a lot easier.
I just don't want to pass up this beautiful area. I come from a flat part of Texas....no castles, and certainly no mountains around us! Maybe we could make it over to Salzburg too! I have sent requests to the places you suggested and will keep my fingers crossed! Thanks again Ann

I like Tom's Option 2 for the drive from the Black Forest to the castles. We drove that way, stopping for lunch on the lake. Beautiful! We stayed in Fussen, which was a nice little town. Driving in Germany is easy. You might consider bringing a GPS.

RE, driving in Germany. The painful part of your trip will be from Heidelberg to Triberg on the Autobahn. For some reason at present, the state of Baden-Württemberg has decided that it needs to rebuild massive sections of road all at the same time. A5 and A8 between Heidelberg and Stuttgart via Karlsruhe I would rate as painful as other notorious stretches like the Paris peripherique, the Dutch Randstadt and the Brussels Ring. If you take A61 from the Rhine valley to near Mannheim and Heidelberg, that route can sometimes be congested as well. The A3 on the other side of the Rhine between Köln and Wiesbaden often sees heavy traffic, but it usually keeps moving. By contrast, you'll probably find the secondary roads in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria a delight after enduring the A5. As long as you know the names of the towns in your direction of travel, it is really hard to get lost. I find a GPS only helpful for locating specific addresses on residential streets. For long distance travel, it often directs you onto farming and logging trails (and in one case, it wanted me to drive directly into the Rhine). I've driven the Autobahn network of southern Bavaria much less frequently, but in my experience, I can usually set the car on cruise control and relax. Can't do that around where I live!

Hi again Ann, From either place we recommended to stay (Ramsau and Konigsee) Salzburg is less than 30 min. away. A number of times during our stays at these places (11 nights total at the Mayringerlehen in Ramsau, 4 nights total at the Friedwiese in Konigsee) we would head over to Salzburg for the evening for dinner and a walk around town. It's much easier than you may realize to do. The drive from Fuessen area to the Berchtsgaden area has a lot of beautiful alpine scenery along the way. Even if you took the route via Innsbruck and the highway. We especially love the alpine scenery in the Berchtesgaden, Ramsau, Konigsee area. Paul

Ann, just read over your posts ~ you are planning for a few nights in Salzburg, right?? I have done 4 (planning 5th) trips through this area in the last 10 years with my kids ~ Salzburg still stands out as one of their all-time favorites! Make sure you watch Sound of Music before you go and include the SOM tour (it's worth it!). Also, my daughters loved renting bikes in Salzburg and biking along the Salzach River. St. Peter's Restaurant was a worthwhile treat (explore all the rooms ~ carved into the side of the mountain) as was dinner one night up in the fortress with the strings concert afterwards. We always stay at St. Sebastian Institut (RS book) ~ so close to Old Center and so affordable!! Have fun! Your daughter is so lucky to have a mom willing to include her in this great adventure!

Ann, just read over your posts ~ you are planning for a few nights in Salzburg, right?? I have done 4 (planning 5th) trips through this area in the last 10 years with my kids ~ Salzburg still stands out as one of their all-time favorites! Make sure you watch Sound of Music before you go and include the SOM tour (it's worth it!). Also, my daughters loved renting bikes in Salzburg and biking along the Salzach River. St. Peter's Restaurant was a worthwhile treat (explore all the rooms ~ carved into the side of the mountain) as was dinner one night up in the fortress with the strings concert afterwards. We always stay at St. Sebastian Institut (RS book) ~ so close to Old Center and so affordable!! Have fun! Your daughter is so lucky to have a mom willing to include her in this great adventure!

Sounds like we are doing similiar driving travels mid September. How about you Ann - when are you travelling! Love the recommendations made for Guesthouses and the pics that are included - looks like that was November 2010. One picture had dusting of snow, when is that "typical" to expect?

Hi Patricia, We stayed 3 times (Oct. '06, '07 and Sept. '09) at the Pension Mayringerlehen in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. We stayed at the Guesthouse Friedwiese in Konigsee the end of Nov., 2010. These places are just 10 minutes from each other. We love the Mayringerlehen (and the owners Sabine and Johann!) but they were closed during the time when we visited the area in Nov. 2010. We wound up loving the Guesthouse Friedwiese (and the owner Helga) just as much. The snow was during our stay in Konigsee at the end of Nov. Never had snow in any of our many trips in Oct. Paul