Germany Sightseeing Priorites from 2011 Book

Kelly, how long do we have to work on this problem with you? You're not going next week or anything are you? I agree Burg Eltz for a real castle, that might eliminate the need for Neuschwanstein, or at least the inside which in no way is comparable to the outside. But I can see the appeal of the Sommerrodelbahn (luge). Its great fun, even though I left about 8 inches of my forearm skin there. If that's a great attraction for the lad I can't think of another near where you will be going. Is there one at Garmisch? If so perhaps head there. I think if you have been to Burg Eltz you could just do the outside of Neuschwanstein because it really is impressive and hit the luge (not if there is even a hint of rain). Maybe hike up to Marionbrucke. Other than the main square and victuelenmarkt in Munich much of the rest is fabulous museums. If museums are out, that gives you more time elsewhere. Agree with Salzburg and Salzkammergut, can be done by car. If you do get to Burg Eltz I would expect that a boat ride on the best part of the Rhine for an hour would be good for both. Happy planning...

Good thing you didn't want to go to Hamburg! Anyway, there is no way that Rick has visited all the towns of Germany, and believe me, there are charming towns all over this country, so visiting some place that isn't on his list will offer an even better experience, as those towns aren't full of tourists. My favorite is Büdigen, an original, medieval walled town, filled with fachwerk houses, a 13 sided palace, night watchman tours, a witches tower (they executed 400 witches). What it doesn't have are tacky souvenir stands or tour buses. so, you don't have to wait until evening for a special atmosphere, it is there all the time. I am pretty sure that this isn't the only town like this though. Towns like Michelstadt, Miltenburg, Idstein, Seligenstadt or Kronberg could also be on the list of very worthwhile towns to visit.

Rick's priorities for Germany tend toward hypertourism and are pretty skewed, IMO. Munich's a nice city, but I'd put the Rhine/Mosel (Burg Eltz) and Rothenburg (incredibly touristy but still very worthwhile) higher on the list than Munich and the Bavarian Castles (tourists like ants at a picnic.) Even Rick says that Burg Eltz is his favorite castle in all of Europe, making his stated priorities seem pretty inconsistent. What makes you say Burg Eltz is closed? I'd heard there was some renovation going on. To answer your question, such a trip is possible but involves a whole lot of driving and is probably not desirable. If I had 8 nights and had to be in Passau at the end, I'd probably spend them all in Bavaria. What to see? You'll still have to be choosy. Probably Rothenburg and nearby places in Franconia (Nuremberg, Bamberg, Würzburg) Salzburg, Hallstatt, Garmisch, Mittenwald, Berchtesgaden and the Königssee, and Munich, and maybe Ludwig's Herrenchiemsee palace in Prien, on the way from Munich to Salzburg. It and Würzburg's Residenz (palace) or the amazing Vierzehnheiligen Basilica outside Bamberg will make your eyes pop without the tourist hordes south of Munich.

I'm sure many of the fans will disagree with me, but... ignore the itineraries in Rick Steves' Germany book. I find that he leaves out too much and overly hypes some places. I also find that his suggested itineraries, while probably great for an organized tour where all the logistics are arranged, are a bit tight for independent travelers. My suggestion would be to go with another book that covers Germany, and more specifically Bavaria because that's where you're going to be, a little more broadly. Use the Rick Steves book for specific recommendations in certain towns, but don't use it to plan your overall trip.

I myself think this is way too much-we have found we prefer to pick 2 places and spend 3 days in each place rather than to zoom through many towns. Travel does provide the problem of so much to see and so little time-we just prefer quality time spent in fewer places, but I understand why people want to see lots in a short time. For us a quality experience takes more than a driveby. Rothenberg looks like a fairy tale and I think it should not be missed. I was there in April so perhaps that is why it wasn't terribly crowded, but the architecture and the fact that it is a walled city lends such charm and I would go again even if it was high season. Google the town's name via Google images and you will see what I mean. Do not miss it and do not miss the Nightwatchman's Touran evening tour of Rothenberg led by an amazing tour guide (in costume). Very entertaining. If you look at TripAdvisor the NightWatchman's Tour gets high ratings from everyone young and old, tourist and academic. Enjoy!

Hi Kelly, What made you choose Germany as a travel destination in the first place? Think about those reasons and set out your priorities. Rick's books are so handy, but his itineraries are quite general. That said, the places he recommends, he often has quite a bit of info listed about them. How great that your 10 year old gets to travel to Europe. Does he have any requests about what to see?

Oh and Burg Eltz... I was there a few months ago, so perhaps my info isn't completely up to date, but... There's scaffolding over some of the exterior, but as far as I know, it isn't closed.

What Jo said...

I have been know to be a hyper-tourist when traveling alone or just with my husband, but traveling with my youngest son will definitely cause me to relax and enjoy myself more. My whole goal is to give him fond/fun memories of his first time in Europe. We decided on Germany because we will be meeting up with my oldest son who is in Vilshofen on a high school exchange program. We figured it would be fun to bum around Bavaria for a week and then all go to Rome for another week as a family. Thanks everyone for the less touristy ideas. I think we will skip Neuschwanstein. The great thing about traveling with a 10 year old is that he has no preconceived notions about what he is going to see. I am trying to find things that would be interesting for him to do because if he is miserable, we will both be miserable. I can save Dachau, beautiful churches and art museums for when I am on a trip alone with my husband. My son's only requests were to not do anything boring like art museums, to see the BMW Museum/Factory in Munich, seeing/sleeping in castles, and maybe the luge. I think Rothenburg is right up his alley (Night Watchman's tour/Crime and Punishment Museum) and from there we can see some castles on the Rhine and/or Burg Eltz (we can deal with outside scaffolding) and then we can skip the more touristy castles in southern Bavaria. Then we'll probably head to Munich as home base for day trips or explore some of the smaller towns that several of you mentioned.

As someone who goes to Europe every summer and while there takes a RS tour, soon to be #9, we find RS suggested itineraries to be just about twice the pace that my wife and I travel and we are a fit couple. We like to spend a little more time "smelling the roses, rather than just seeing them as we pass by".

Rick makes the typical neophyte's mistake of assuming you can just list places and how long you want to stay there and somehow is will all fit. It takes time to get from place to place. Even from Bacharach, which is on the end of the Rhein closest to Bavaria, to Rothenburg takes 2½ hrs by car. That wouldn't be so bad if you were flying into Frankfurt and going to Passau, but you'll probably be making a round trip to the Rhein. It would be 5 hrs RT from Rothenburg, but you probably won't be coming back to Rothenburg. Make it 7 hrs Rothenburg to Bacharach to Munich. Even though I have spent 9 nights on the Rhein/Mosel and enjoyed it, that part just doesn't fit logically with your time and end points. Skip the Rhein. There is plenty to see in Bavaria. In eight days you'll barely scratch the surface. Your boy might enjoy the aviation exhibit in the Deutsches Museum. In addition to a cold war era F-104 jet fighter and a WWII Messerschmidt, they have a Fokker Triplane in the Red Baron's colors. I would not skip Neuschwanstein. It might be a nineteenth century reproduction, but it's still an icon for Germany. By staying in Bavaria, you'll be able to avoid renting a car. You can get everywhere with Bayern-Tickets, save money, and avoid the stress and hassle of driving in a foreign country. And I bet your ten year old would really enjoy the train.

Kelly:
My wife and I just returned from a five day stay in Munich; it was our first visit to Bavaria so we wanted to get a "feel" of the area rather than rush from venue to venue. We found Munich to be a fine place to do a lot of walking and people-watching and a great place from which to make several day trips. I understand that your son may not like art museums, but he might enjoy the Deutsches Museum. The lift up into the tower at the Neus Rathaus may also be an interesting way to see the city. We included a visit to Dachau and while there saw many German 10-15 year olds. It's touristy, but Neuschwanstein was still fun, the view from the bridge is quite remarkable. As previously mentioned the luge and BMW museum would be must dos. I'd suggest Salzburg--your son can run off some steam climbing the hill to reach Hohensalzburg Castle Then there's Augsburg. All these could be done without packing and unpacking every day; in fact you could visit all the places noted and remain in a hotel in Munich, so long as you were near a U Bahn or S Bahn stop. You might consider a trip north to Rothenburg and Nuremburg if you want to move about a bit more. (Nuremburg would be of interest to your son so long as the significance of the city-- both it's early history and that of the Nazi era--were explained to him beforehand).

"Even from Bacharach, which is on the Bavarian end of the Rhein" I just want to pre-emptively defend Lee on this, before anyone tries to call him out. Yes, Bacahrach today is not a part of Bavaria, but before the creation of the modern state of Rheinland-Pfaltz, the region existed as an exclave of the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Bavarian Palatinate. The region is still occasionally referred to as "the Bavarian Rhineland", although I don't think anyone ever refers to Nordrhein Westfalen as the "Prussian Rhineland". Some of the hints of its Bavarian past are the large number of roads named "Ludwigstraße" and the typical onion-domed church steeples found in Bavaria proper are also common here. Whereas on the other side of the Rhine where I live and work, in the historical Grand Duchies of Hessen and Baden, that architetcural flourish is absent. OK, enough history... when you do a lot of hiking around here, you see many of the old border stones and it becomes fascinating to read about which piece of land belonged to which political entity and why.

Kelly, I agree with some of the others in that Rick's suggested Itineraries are somewhat "over ambitious" at times. While it may be feasible to visit all the locations listed in the seven day Itinerary, there wouldn't be much time to actually stop and see much. That's too much moving around for my preferences. I'd recommend spending a few days in Munich if at all possible. It's one of my favourite cities, and there's lots to see there. I agree with a previous reply, that your Son may enjoy a visit to the Deutsches Museum. There are 16 kM of exhibits, so more than enough to see! As I recall, one of the original Telstar satellites is displayed (those of a certain age will recall the song by "The Tornados"). It's incredible to see how far technology has evolved since that time, which is also evident in the V2 rocket. Munich is also a very convenient base for visiting Neuschwanstein, which you can do either on your own or with a day tour (check Radius Tours for details). If you decide to make the trip on your own, you'll have to pre-book an appointment for the "official" Castle tour. If your Son wants to sleep in a Castle, one possibility is Burg Stahleck in Bacharach. It's a Hostel and a great location for families (when I was there last year, there were several school classes staying there). It's well above town, so you'll probably need to pre-arrange a Taxi. Happy travels!

Your son may enjoy some of the Open-Air museums that dot the landscape of Germany. Much more fun and interactive. For castles, he might like the Marksburg castle in Braubach on the Rhine. The castle in Heidelberg is pretty amazing looking too, though not quite as old. If he likes cars, why not head over towards Stuttgart? They are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the invention of the auto and there should be lots of interesting things for both of you.
Lots of good information from one of the Destination Experts for Stuttgart on Trip Advisor. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187276-i703-k4460516-125th_anniversary_of_automobile-Baden_Wurttemberg.html