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Just back from Salzburg, Bavaria and Munich

Everyone who helped with our planning,

Thank you for answering our many questions over the last 6 months of planning. Everyone's help made the trip most enjoyable and free of any major difficulties.

We spent 6 days in Salzburg and the surrounding area. The city is beautful and the Salzkammergut must be what heaven is like: WOW!! Great food and beer at the Augustiner, spectacular views from the OberSalzburg even if the 6 inches of early snow canceled trips to the Eagles Nest for the remainder of the winter. Don't miss the Konigsee and its boat ride. All the SOM sites were easily accessible since we had a rental car so we skipped the tours. Spent 3 nights in Mittenwald. Though it was a bit far from the castles and the Zugspitze, the town is quite lovely and the Karwendal is quite an impressive mountain. Don't miss the Olympic Stadium in Garmisch. Get to Andechs. Munich provided great museums, Dachau, a variety of shopping choices, a vibrant city life, the Hofbrauhaus, the biergarten at the Viktualenmarkt, friendly people and some of the most beautiful churches.

Stayed at Haus Reichl, Pension Schwalbennestl and Hotel Uhland. Each of them fit our needs perfectly though the bathroom at Uhland was quite small.

Our car rental was from Sixt. Did not request one, but got a BMW for the same price of the Peugeot 308 that we rented. Picked it up at the Munich City Centre location for a much lower rate than at the airport. Easy access from their location to the autobahn to Salzburg. Don't leave home without your GPS and RS' guides. We have a Garmin NuVe 270 and it saved us many, many times especially when driving back to Sixt, and RS book helped us understand that we did not get as many phone minutes in Germany as in Austria.

Again, thank you all. Can't wait to go back and see what we missed. Happy Travels!!!

Dave and Cathy
Webster Groves, Missouri

Posted by
1568 posts

It is a joy to hear of people's amazing vacations made easy by Rick Steves' books and this site.

I could never have planned our trip without the same help.

Happy to hear you had a wonderful visit. Now you can start planning for the next.

Posted by
2981 posts

Hi Dave,

Sounds great and thanks for the update! Glad you enjoyed your trip. We stayed at the Schwalbennestl in Mittenwald (twice) and loved Andechs also. Again, thanks for taking the time to write.

Paul

Posted by
59 posts

We may have been at the Uhland the same time as you. I think we had the biggest room in the place - our bathroom was huge. The early snow was a bummer because of the cold, but I agree it was absolutely beautiful. Glad you had a good trip.

Posted by
111 posts

We too just had a southern Bavarian trip. We started in Frankfurt and drove to various small scenic towns on our way to Munich. From Munich (Octoberfest) via three days (Bamberg / Wuetzberg / Rothenberg) we ended up in the heart of Bavaria! Two days of Munich with wife and two adult sons, we headed to Salzberg & Eagles Nest, before the snow....unreal!
We rented a BMW too. Small for three adults but adequate. We meet son #2 and headed east theough Austria ending up in N. Italy. Much of our travel palnning was from this Forum. Thanks to all who suggested this wonderful route. Bavaria is special. I am of German hetitage and feel I was experiencing A Close Encounter of a Bavarian Kind!

Posted by
213 posts

Ah...you were in one of our favorite areas north of Italy. Lots of folks look down on Munich & environs, but I think it's a great city. And the Augustiner in Salzburg--isn't that a delightful eating/drinking experience? Glad you got there and had a great trip.

Posted by
76 posts

Good evening,

We stayed in Lauterbrunen at Hotel Staubbach two years ago and loved the Alps there. I think the Bavarian/Tirol Alps are even more impressive. So many more mountains and lakes and all within a relatively small area.

I did not pay attention to the km/liters on the trip. I think we drove about 1000 km and spent about 85 Euros on diesel fuel. Fuel was less in Austria than Germany, around 1 Euro per liter.

I wanted to add that we really felt very safe in all of the areas we visited. Only once did someone approach us asking for something, but we just firmly said, "No" and moved on.

We liked the Augustiner in Salzburg so much that we went there two nights in a row. Go for the pork knuckle: what a treat! Brought home some souvenir mugs from there which were reasonably priced.

Thanks again for your comments.

Dave and Cathy

Posted by
582 posts

I'm glad you had such a great time! Eagles Nest often has early winters. They even close starting October 31st. I was there in November 2006. It was a shame it was closed, but I got to see the area anyway. I'm so glad you spent six days in the Salzburg area. Sooo beautiful! It spent eight days in that area, I loved it so much!