Salzburg / Berchtesgaden area

Depending on where you're headed next, and if you have a car, I don't see why you couldn't stay in the same location near Salzburg. You can accomplish all that you listed as a daytrip from Salzburg. Plus, this gives you some flexibility in case of bad weather. I would switch your plan to Jenner in the morning and Königsee later on. The weather tends to be better in the mountains earlier in the day. If you take the ski lifts all the way to the top, Jenner won't take more than an hour or two. You can pad it out by doing a little hiking. There's at least three mountain restaurants, two of which sit at the terminus of the ski lifts.

I think I agree, if the weather in the morning is clear, go up the Jennerbahn right away. Anyway, it's possible to spend more than half a day on Königssee, so plan that half open-ended. There is a bus to Berchtesgaden from in front of the Salzburg Hbf. If you buy an RVO Tagesticket, for 9,50€/p, it will cover your RT bus to/from Berchtesgaden an all of the local buses in Berchtesgaden. The area around the boat docks at Königssee is very tourist oriented. I'm sure you can find restaurants there.

Lee - thanks much for your Lake Konigsee suggestions. Makes good sense. How much time should we alot for this venue ?

PS- there's also a restaurant and beer garden out by St. Bartholomä. Unless you use this area as a staging point for a hike up into the mountains, there's not much to see and do, so you may as well take some time for a bit of food and drink.

Roy - you mention going to Hallstatt - what time did you arrive, having left at 11? What did you do once there? Are you traveling by car ?
Carole

Thanks for the prompt reply. I should mention that we will have a car and are traveling in mid September. Appreciate your suggestion of staying in Salzburg outskirts and doing a day trip to Konigsee and Jenner Mt. Also reversing our choice for boat ride/Jennerbahn. My thought of staying in B'gaden was to wake up there and experience the feel of the town. Altogether, We have 3 1/2 days before we need to head back to Nurnberg to catch our flight home. Spending 2 nights at the Blobergerhof and touring Salzburg on the 1st evening and the next full day. Would like to attend a concert on either of the 2 nights. Any thoughts on this? Any "not to miss" suggestions? The next full day was to do the mt ride & boat ride on K'see. Regards-
carole

We just happen to be in Salzburg right now. We visited Berchtesgaden (Obersalzberg / Eagle's Nest) and Lake Konigsee on Monday. Stay right where you are in Salzburg...Konigsee is close by and Berchtesgaden was one big traffic jam, overrun with tourists. We drove to Hallstatt yesterday and it was the highlight of our vacation...easily doable (left Salzburg at 11 AM, returned by 9 PM). Please PM with any questions and I'll be glad to pass along our observations.

P.S. We attended a concert at Mirabell Palace and much preferred it to one we went to in Vienna...lovely venue, great musicians.

I agree that there is not much to see at St. Barts, but there are a few interesting things to see on the boat ride to it. However, IMO, the best thing on Königssee is the Obersee, across the bar from Salet, at the far end of the lake. Spend the extra 3€ for the round trip on the entire lake. Last time I was there, we got off at St. Barts and walked around, didn't see much, then went back to the boat dock and there was a huge line. We then realized that the line was for the boat back to Schonau. There was almost no line for the boat on up the lake, so we went to the Salet. After seeing Obersee, we got back on the boat and returned to St. Barts, but we didn't get off. The line to get on back to Schonau was still very long, but we already had a spot on the boat. We might have spent less time going to Salet and back than we would have spent waiting in the line, and seeing the Obersee was certainly worth the trip.

You mention lots of people and traffic. That could be because it' summertime.
We will be there in Mid September - hopefully, it'll be less crowded. I've read that B'gaden is a small but charming town. Thanks for the concert suggestion. I will check out the times and dates. How far in advance did you buy your concert tkts ? Expensive? Could you use a cc? What about the concert at the Fortress or at St Peter's Church? Due to the traffic in B'gaden - did you not spend any time there ? Or did you bypass it and go to Halstatt instead? Did you ride the Jennerbahn to the top of Jenner Mt ? Or ride the boat on Lake Konigsee ? What should we avoid seeing or doing in Salzburg? Where did you overnight while touring Salzburg? Thanks so far for your input :)

Hello again, Carole: (1) Took 90 minutes to drive to Hallstatt. We walked the town, had lunch waterside, toured the Catholic Church / Bones Chapel, took the funicular and saw the salt mine, had ice cream waterside, and ended the day with an electric boat rental. What a beautiful place! (2) We bought the tickets ahead of time online but it wasn't really necessary...there were plenty of seats. In fact, we bought cheaper seats and they moved us to the second row. (3) We just took the boat on Konigsee to St. Bart, and like the others have said, it is quaint and quiet...except around the dock. (4) We just drove through Berchtesgarden...it's a couple of miles removed from the Hitler-related sites. And I'm sure you are correct about the time of year. Here on the Getreidegasse (ABC Apartments) it was packed with tourists today. But even with the crowds, Salzburg is stunning.

Roy, you have been very helpful with your information regarding B'gaden, Halstatt and Lake Konigsee. Because of your commentary on Halstatt, we may Think of possibly driving there-not sure if we have enough time. Did you take the Funicular up to the summit at the Fortress at night? I am thinking that would be a gorgeous sight, looking down on Salzburg/Old Town at night with all the lights. By any chance did you do that? Can you recommend any restaurants in Salzburg that you especially enjoyed ? We don't need pricey - just tasty and yummy! Thanks again - feel free to give your advice on what not to miss. We have never been to Salzburg - anyone we talk to about it, say how wonderful it is.
Do you think that spending one evening and a full day there is enough?

Btw, Roy have the flood waters from the June time-frame receeded - just wondering.....

We've stayed several times at the Blobergerhof and enjoyed it very much each time. Have their dinner once, twice, or more while you are there - teh food is excellent and the service is really nice. The people you see in the photos on their website are exactly the people you will meet there. I don't have a bad word to say about them. BTW - the brekkie is pretty good too. The bus stop is only a couple of minutes walk away - you don't want a car in the Altstadt Salzburg.

The boat schedule is here. It takes 55 min from Seelände (start) up to Salet or back - 1hr 50min total. It looks like the boats run at least every 30 min (they leave when ever they have a full boat, but at least every 30 min), so add a 30 min stop (more than necessary, IMO) for St Barts and, say, 60 min (or more) for walking from Salet to the Obersee and back - 3hr 20 min, total.

Salzburg - ... Do you think that spending one evening and a full day there is enough? Nobody can say. Everybody is different and everybody want different things when visiting places. One whole day is nowhere near what I would invest there. We have had several visits and always stay for at least 3 nights. Things you might miss if you cut the visit short are: Lovely dinners at the Blobergerhof. Fun dinners at the Augustiner biergarten. The cemetery. The fresh baked bread baked under the church. A ride on the dancing boat on the river - it sounds really hokey but I can tell you it is great fun. A day with the Sound of Music The puppet museum A ride up the mountain to the fortress A walk all around the top of the mountain A magnificent cake and coffee at one of the top Viennese coffeehouses Mozart's birthplace museum - see the actual instrumets Lunch in the Altstadt A stroll riverside and a stroll in the Altstadt
A stroll through the Mirabell Gardens and many more I can't think of at the moment, having just woken up after a short night....

Hi and thanks for all your suggestions,Lee. Where do you suggest for lunch in Salzburg? Did you attend any concerts while there? Did you ride the Funicular to the top at night to see the lights of the town below? FYI : we are spending 2 nights at the Blobergerbof and hoping to add 1 more night there or close by or in Berchtesgaden. Have a nice day !
Carole

"Btw, Roy have the flood waters from the June time-frame receeded - just wondering....." The water level returned to normal long ago. I can't vouch for whether or not all the damage is repaired, particularly in Passau or some of the areas around the Elbe further north... but I don't recall seeing on the news that Salzburg was hit particularly hard.

Carole, I've been through Salzburg a number of times, but only once have I spent time there. That was a day trip from Munich in 2002. We arrived on the train just before noon, walked to the old town, finding Mirabell Palace (do-re-mi steps) on the way. After looking around the old town, seeing one of the churches, finding the residenz (where they hung in Nazi flag after the Anschluss in SOM), we picked a restaurant just by looking at menus posted outside. I don't remember the name, but it was nice, and we didn't have a hard time finding one that way. After lunch we went up the incline to the fortress and saw the town in the daylight. We walked down the front, over the drawbridge, and around the path (Festungsgasse) to the Nonnenberg convent, where Maria lived. After walking around town a bit more, we went back to the Bahnhof and returned to Munich for a late dinner. On an earlier trip, I had a really great dinner at Stieglbräu, which is close to the train station in Salzburg.

Hi, Carole....Sorry if it appeared we ped off the face of the earth, but unfortunately we had to return home. We did not take the funicular up to the summit; however, we did take the elevator down by the art museum. We started to hike along the top but it began raining. The views were great and the trails were paved and easy walking. As far as restaurants, it was very crowded and we just picked spots where we could get an outdoor seat. Our hostess recommended the K&K Restaurant, but we did not eat there. As our trip was nearing its end and we were burned out on schnitzel and weiners, we actually ate Italian (Spaghetti and Co.) and Chinese (can't remember the name, but it's the oldest Chinese restaurant in Salzburg). Both were surprisingly good and reasonably priced. You could not tell there had ever been a flood in Hallstatt, but folks had posted pictures around town showing what it looked like. Pretty amazing comeback, but it's a testiment to tourism, I guess! :) Salzburg is wonderful and an evening and a full day are not nearly enough (we were there 6 nights and it was not enough), but if you plan well, you can maximize your time and get a good feel for the city. You may want to re-evaluate plans for day trips and just check out Salzburg leisurely and soak in the atmosphere.