GAS tour sept 26. Planning free time activities

GAS 2014. Kathy, they sent a little booklet with some suggestions for free time. Here's what we did: don't remember Trier free time - probably shopping, ATM, etc. Baden-Baden - some people went to the spa, others walked the rose gardens or other walking routes. Mürren - almost the whole group went up the Schilthorn; walked to Gimmelwald; walked to cheese-makers; hiked the many trails; relaxed on sunny deck; some people went parasailing. Munich - went to Oktoberfest; some went to BMW tour (with reservations); Dachau; English Garden; walked around Viktualienmarkt and the Mariaplatz; Salzburg - lunch at the fortress; some did Sound of Music tour; most went to music shows. Hallstatt - salt mine tour; visit old church; view from platform up the mountain. Vienna - plenty of museums and palaces to see; the Naschmarkt; coffee shops; music.

So there was plenty to do, and we didn't plan ahead because weather was a factor, especially in Switzerland. Some people did things alone, or in small groups. Sometimes it was enough to have a nice leisurely lunch, and relax. The tour leader always had advice and instructions, and if she was doing something -like going up the Schilthorn - she always invited anyone else who was interested to go along, and arranged for group tickets or reservations. We had a fabulous time and did not feel rushed.

Took the GAS tour in 2015 and we did a lot of the same things that Stan did. In Baden Baden we took the funicular up the hill of Merkur mountain. We had good weather and could see a long way. It was beautiful. We saw several parasailers taking off and gliding over the valley. In Munich we walked around the viktualienmarkt and did some shopping. Many of the tour members went to a concert in Salzburg. Some people saw a puppet theater and loved it. You see a lot of the "Sound of music" sites on the tour. We visited the Imperial apartments in Vienna. Read your tour books ahead of time and see what interests you. You might tag along with other tour mates if they have made decisions that sound like fun. It is a great tour! You'll love it!

Hi Kathy! My husband and I will be on that tour. It will be our 4th RS tour. I've just started thinking about the details of GAS, as we did the Loire to the South of France tour last month. We too will get to Trier a day early - thinking about maybe a boat ride but more likely just relax and wander.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions about the "tour" experience. Obviously we're fans!

See you in a couple of months!

Priscilla

Stan has pretty mush summed it up quite nicely.

I'll add in Murren there's the option of tandem paragliding.

And a little clarification. BMW factory tours are only available Monday to Friday. Call in advance for reservations. Also nearby are the BMW museum and BMW Welt which is their flagship dealership. It's sort of a mini museum as well. If it's a nice day you may want to walk through Olympic park.

I did this tour the end of last summer and it was wonderful!!

Trier-I got there 2 nights ahead. I did the Landesmuseum which had a special Nero exhibit and the Roman bath ruins. I also did the Konstantin Basilica and the Dom ahead so I could spend time in there. It was so hot the end of August I didn't get everything done on my list. You should not have that problem a month later!!

Baden-Baden - Many did the spa but that is not something I enjoy. Many took the bus/tram up to the mountain view area. I walked the Lichtenthaler Allee along the river and birded and people watched. I loved this town!!

Muerren - I had spent 2 nights in the area on the 21 Best of Europe and knew what I wanted to do here. As a group most of us went up the Schilthorn on Day 1 (guide bought cable car tickets and we paid him back) then met again as a group to go up the Almendhubel funicular. We split up and hiked different trails down. The guide got us started. Day 2 we went as a group down to Stechelberg to see Truemmelbach Falls then the bus took us to Lauterbrunnen. Most of us went up to Mannlichen to hike to Kleine Scheidegg. Everyone was on their own but the group made sure everyone got started on the right trail. One guy went up to the Jungfraujoch.

Munich - I did an art museum on our free afternoon. It was hot here which impacted my sightseeing.

Salzburg - Revisited some of the things we saw on the walking tour. Many did a Mozart concert one night.

Hallstatt - Some did the salt mine tour, some walked up to the waterfall, I did the ossuarium and enjowalking around this small village.

Vienna - Many did museums which were near the hotel.

If you are interested, here is a link to my Trip Report from last year.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/trip-report-8-27-16-gas-tour

I did this tour last year with Pam (hi buddy!) and you've gotten lots of good suggestions from the previous responses. Two I would add: in both Munich and Vienna there will probably be concerts in the evening that you can take advantage of; in Munich I went to a beautiful harp concert in the Holy Ghost church, and in Vienna attended a combined performance of the White Stallions and the Vienna Boys Choir (really!!). In Switzerland, if the weather is good and you want to go to the Jungfraujoch in your free time, you'll probably need to skip the group visit to Trummelbach Falls in order to have enough time. (Discuss timing with your guide to see if that's true for your particular tour.) Only one of our group managed to make the trip to Jungfraujoch, but the weather was perfect for the mountain when we were there and in retrospect I wish I had taken advantage of that gorgeous weather and skipped Trummelbach and gone to Jungfraujoch. Whatever you do, you will have a great tour!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information and suggestions! Pam, I read your travel report and that too was filled with great ideas. I am really looking forward to our first RS tour!