My husband and I are traveling in early August to Interlaken, Switzerland. Our neighbor is giving us their home to stay in. Our four kids (19, 15, 13, 9) will be coming, too. We are thinking of going to Munich for a couple of days by rail. Is this a realistic option?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
Realistic? Doable? Yes. The trip by train is about 6½ hrs each way. Realistic? That's a lot of travel time for a couple of days in Munich. Cost effective? If you had booked three months in advance, you might have gotten Europa-Spezial fares for €144,45 each way for four adults and two children, but at this late date it's more like €222, or a lot more, each way. Munich is neat, my favorite city in Germany, but that's too much travel time and expense for a few day. There are a lot of interesting places in Switzerland.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32355 posts
Catherine, Munich is also one of my favourite cities, but as the others have said that's a lot of travel time for only a day or two. You might consider spending a few days in Lucerne or other parts of Switzerland instead. I haven't checked the times, but some parts of northern Italy should also be within easy travel distance. Happy travels!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33869 posts
It can be done, as said by PP, but it really is a drag. An ICE goes directly to Germany at 0800 and with a single change (8 minutes) in Karlsruhe. Station/Stop Date Time Platform Products Interlaken Ost We, 06.07.11 dep 08:00 7 ICE 276 Intercity-Express Bordrestaurant Interlaken West dep 08:05 1 Spiez dep 08:22 2 Thun dep 08:32 3 Bern dep 09:04 Olten dep 09:32 7 Basel SBB dep 10:12 11 Basel Bad Bf dep 10:22 4 Freiburg(Breisgau) Hbf dep 10:57 1 Offenburg dep 11:30 3 Karlsruhe Hbf We, 06.07.11 arr 11:58 3 Transfer time 8 min. Adjust the transfer time Karlsruhe Hbf We, 06.07.11 dep 12:06 7 IC 2261 Intercity Bicycles conveyed - subject to reservation, Number of bicycles conveyed limited, Bordbistro Bruchsal dep 12:19 3 Stuttgart Hbf dep 12:53 16 Plochingen dep 13:09 4 Göppingen dep 13:21 6 Ulm Hbf dep 13:55 2 Augsburg Hbf dep 14:39 4 München-Pasing 8
München Hbf We, 06.07.11 arr 15:14 17 7:14 seems like a longish trip to me.... but maybe not too long. Lots of stuff in Switzerland (and Italy) which is closer and faster to get to.
Posted by
OP
Riverton, New Jersey, USA
4 posts
Hi Nigel, You mentioned Italy. That seems farther. Can you give me some suggestions? Cathi
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33869 posts
Milan in Italy is only about 3 hours from Interlaken, Como on Lake Como is even closer, FYI. Even Venice, on the Grand Canal, can be about an hour quicker than Munich, 6:18 or so...
Posted by
OP
Riverton, New Jersey, USA
4 posts
Thank you for the Milan and Como suggestions. That may be good for us. If anyone has a hotel suggestion, please let me know. Cathi
Posted by
washington
837 posts
Several years ago, we stayed at the Hotel Canada and liked it. I see it is rated #24 by tripadvisor, so I don't know whether the ratings have slipped a bit. It was nice, modern, good breakfast included, short walk to the duomo, and convenient to public transit.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
For Milan, we stayed at the Best Western Major. It was steps away from the metro station and located in a nice part of the city. The breakfast buffet was huge and the rooms were very nice. The Best Western Hotel chain is very different than the one in the States. For your size of family, you may need several rooms. Sounds like a great trip. Have fun making lifetime memories.
Posted by
washington
837 posts
I don't know the Best Western Major. However, Denise makes a good point. Perhaps the most elegant hotel in which we have stayed was the Best Western in Vienna. Only one which served champagne for breakfast. Suggest going to tripadvisor.com and reading comments and, most importantly, look at the pictures.