We just got back from our spring break trip and it was fantastic! It was my husband's first trip to Germany & Austria and our boys' (15 & 11) first trip overseas. I had been to both, but it was in 1994, and travel as a solo 20 year old college student & as a 44 year old mom is VERY different! I have been planning the trip since fall and am a type-A, so we left with a fairly detailed plan that went remarkably smooth.
We landed in Munich around 8:45 AM and took the train direct to Salzburg (thanks for the suggestion, Dave from Spartanburg!) Buying our Bayern ticket online before leaving was a good way to just get going without wandering with excited kids & luggage. Being that it was Good Friday, it was standing room only, so the plan to rest on the train was a no-go. We followed general advice from the forum and took a taxi to the B&B-15 euros well spent. We stayed at Pension Katrin, which is right on the 5 bus line and 20 minutes or so walk to old town. Definitely recommend - Sandra was a fantastic host who served a delicious breakfast (including special homemade Easter treats) and the junior suite, which was a large room with a sofa bed for the boys, worked wonderfully.
The 72 hour Salzburg card was a good deal for us. I figured we saved 20E per adult and 10E per kid between free/reduced admission and bus rides. Walking around old town was a good way to fight jet lag & an impromptu visit to the Salzburg museum was very interesting (my 15 year old saw a billboard for their special exhibit on the 80th anniversary of the Aunschluss and wanted to stop). Mozart birthplace was OK-very crowded and not worth the 11E, but included in the card.
The next morning, we headed for the Hallein salt mine. This was one of the highlights of our trip. I got "package deal" tickets at the OBB desk in the train station, which included round trip train & bus tickets plus admission to the mine. Not sure if I saved anything, but it was worth it to me to just pay once and be done. FYI-this does not prevent you from having to wait in line at the mine to redeem your tour vouchers and if you buy tickets on site, there is no Salzburg card discount despite it being advertised in the promo material. The tour was in both German and English & was so unique with the slides, underground lake, and train in & out of the mine. The Celtic village there was just okay--since it was cold & rainy, there were no interpreters and we didn't spend a ton of time. Food there is good too for a tourist spot. Heading back to Salzburg, we toured the fortress before resting prior to dinner. Not having reservations caused us to check out a couple spots before finding an open one-not sure if this was due to the holiday weekend or just a normal Saturday night.
Sunday was Easter and our day trip to Hohenwerfen (thanks for the suggestion, Russ!). It was super interesting to tour and offered fantastic views-but (and this is a big but)-the walk from the train station is challenging. Their website says a 30 minute walk along a shady footpath. They are right about it taking around 30 minutes, but only the first 10 is along a footpath. The rest is a fairly steep uphill climb on either a trail through the woods or a paved sidewalk which is partly on the side of a busy road. It is similar to the walk to Neuschwanstein, but with no bus or horsecart options. It was do-able, but we had no heads up and there is only a rudimentary map in the far corner of the unmanned train station. All that said, I am glad we went. We didn't see a falconry show due to the timing of the train, but getting chocolate from the Easter Bunny wandering around was fun for my 11 year old. Lunch there was also good for a tourist spot.
Posted by
OP
Greenville, SC
94 posts
That night we attended the Mozart dinner concert at St. Peter's. This was the big splurge of the trip (around 240E for tickets and beverages, which aren't included in dinner) but well worth it. Food was grand and the entertainment top notch. Opera isn't our thing, but the 2 singers & 5 musicians were fantastic. I assumed that they sang while you ate but instead, they sing about 20 minutes of selections from one of Mozart's operas and then a course is served (3 courses total). The singers were theatrical and funny, not just standing around. It was a truly special way to celebrate Easter.
The next morning, we took a train to Munich. This was my first experience using the ticket machine to get our Bayern ticket and it couldn't have been easier. Just select the English flag and follow the instructions on the screen. We stayed at Hotel Angelo Leuchtenbergring. It was booked as a package deal with our flights and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked it. Location couldn't be beat-3 minutes to the Leuchtenbergring S bahn stop, not in a "charming" part of town but certainly safe, good breakfast and pleasant staff. They are in the middle of a remodel and conversion to a Holiday Inn, but will be done by end of April. I would certainly stay here again.
Our afternoon was a 3rd Reich walking tour booked through Radius Tours. Jeff was a great guide for 2.5 hours and it was a good way to see the town. The info he gave provided important background for our visit the next day to the NS Documentation Center. Not surprisingly, this was the 11 year old's least favorite thing. I had figured that when planning, but the other 3 of us love history and he was a trooper. Dinner that night was one of Rick's suggestions-Nurnberger Bratwurst Glockel am Dom. It was tricky to find but worth it.
BMW was our first stop the following morning. I had bought the 3 day city tickets the night before, so we headed right there. The S and U Bahn are very easy to use and I can't recommend the MVV app highly enough. It's free and was in constant use during our Munich stay. I had planned to do a plant tour, but when I tried to book this winter, I learned they were closed for 2 weeks around Easter. Instead, we took ourselves through the museum and had a 12:30 guided tour of the Welt. The museum is well done and interesting enough for non-car folks. We spent about an hour or so, but I suspect those who love cars could spend hours. The Welt was fantastic! It's the coolest car showroom you have ever been in, and you're allowed to touch and sit in many of the vehicles. I would also recommend the tour - lasts about an hour and gives a lot of background info and shows some "behind the scenes" areas. We all enjoyed seeing what the future holds for transport. Including the 60 minute tour and lunch, we spent about 2.5 hours.
At the total other end of the tourism spectrum, we spent the rest of the day at the NS Documentation Center. It's open until 7, so it it is a good day filler for late afternoons. I told my husband we would probably spend 60-90 minutes here but we spent close to 3 hours. The included audio guide is very comprehensive and offers young people & kid's options. There is much to take in, but since we had not planned a trip to Dachau, I felt it was time well spent.
I would recommend Andy's Krablergarten for dinner. They serve the biggest schnitzel I have ever seen (delicious & could easily be shared) and have a lovely beer garden tucked behind. They only take cash, but are fairly inexpensive.
Posted by
OP
Greenville, SC
94 posts
The next day was Neuschwanstein. I know it is touristy, but I kind of felt like we couldn't visit the area and not go. I have previously posted about my reservation experience. Summary--a)you don't necessarily get the time you request; b)double check your reservation form and make sure that the time to pick up your tickets is 90 minutes prior and not 60 since the rules changed on 1/1/18. Our Bayern ticket got us there just fine and the reserved ticket line was about 1/10 the size of the walk up line. The nice woman at the ticket counter didn't feel like our assigned times were very good so she changed them around and gave great advice about how to tour. We first saw the King's Museum-interesting but not a must do. Lunch was a pretzel & Coke while walking up to Hohenschwangau (crappy meal #1 of the day). Toured H then walked down for the bus to Mary's Bridge. Scenery can't be beat and even this height-sensitive mom took in the view. Easy downhill walk to Neuschwanstein. Toured it and got chips and drinks for the ride back to Munich since we didn't have time for a full dinner and the walk up stands were closed by this time. Pizza at the Buchloe station layover (crappy meal #2) rounded out a long (12 hours) but fun day. We lucked out with glorious weather and my boys loved it, but I don't feel a need to ever visit again (it was my 2nd time).
Our last full day in Munich was mainly spent at the Deutches Museum. I really enjoyed my time here in 1994 and had hyped it to my family. Sadly, the museum was disappointing this time around. Yes, there is a ton of stuff to see and some of it is really cool, but the layout leaves much to be desired (lots of backtracking and several staircases closed due to renovation). The renovation is definitely needed as some of the exhibits' descriptions are unreadable due to wear and some are just plain boring. I would say only about 60-70% is in English, which is understandable but doesn't make for a fun visit when I have no idea what I am looking at. We spent about 5 hours including lunch. It was by far our least favorite experience of the trip.
We got to Marienplatz early for the 5:00 glockenspiel and got a front row seat at one of the cafes directly opposite the tower (beers were much needed after the museum). We then made our way slowly to the Hofbrau Haus. Again, touristy but I felt a necessity. We really enjoyed ourselves sitting on the main level & sharing a table with strangers. The food was surprisingly good and the oompah band fun. It was a great way to spend our last night in Munich.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
4602 posts
If/when you go to Paris, you would love the concert at Sainte Chapelle.
Posted by
3 posts
Thank you for sharing your trip. I enjoyed reading. We are heading to Munich and Salzburg in June and have some of the same things planned. It will be me, my husband and our kids (15 and 13). We will be flying into Munich (from Zurich) and have decided to rent a car for the week. In Munich we have the BMW factory tour scheduled (had to reserve it 6 months in advance and the original day we wanted was already booked!) and seeing Dachau. Would you mind posting a little more about about the 3rd Reich walking tour? My 15 year old son is super interested in World War II and this may be something we would like to do.
Instead of going to Neuschwanstein we have decided to stop at Herrenchiemsee which is a palace on an island halfway between Salzburg and Munich. You have to take a ferry to it and it is supposed to be less of a mad house than Neuschwanstein.
In Salzburg we are planning on doing the Hallein salt mine and Hohenwerfen (which is featured in my son's favorite book Where Eagles Dare).
We are also planning on hiking to Eisriesenwelt, which is the ice cave located in Werfen. We plan to do this the same day as Hohenwerfen fortress. If we arrive there around 1 or 2 after our hike do you think that would give us enough time to explore the castle? It closes at 5:00 while we are there. Did you guys also do the Hohensalzburg fortress?
Posted by
OP
Greenville, SC
94 posts
I booked the 3 Reich tour online directly with Radius. The meeting point is a little building in the Hauptbanhoff right across from track 32-very easy to find & the tour email confirm included a good map. There were about 20 of us on tour & mine were the only kids. My 15 year old is a history buff and really enjoyed it. It was 62E for the 4 of us (2 adults, 1 student, 1 child). Jeff talked for about 15 minutes at the train station and then we rode the Sbahn to Isator (tix included in the tour price) and started walking from there. We ended up by Konigsplatz. Tour started at 3 and lasted until 5:30. Feel free to ask further questions.
Your timing for Hohenwerfen should work. We got there around 12 and took the first tour available--it was via audioguide. There is an afternoon falcon show (at 3 I think) but that would not have worked for our train back to Salzburg. During ice cave season, there is a bus but I didn't look too close since it didn't apply to us. We did tour the Hohensalzburg. The one in Werfen was more impressive IMO, but I would definitely see both. You will love the mine!
Posted by
Southeast US
4045 posts
Wonderful, comprehensive trip report! I really enjoyed reading about all the things your family did in Salzburg and Munich. Thanks so much for sharing.
I, for one, am glad you sprinkled in some touristy stuff -- usually these places draw crowds because at least some component of them is pretty awesome. Perhaps I'm simple-minded and easily impressed, but I thought Neuschwanstein, Mary's Bridge, and the surrounding terrain were all great when a friend and I visited in 2014. It's not a place I'm beating down doors to get back to, but if I had a family with kids your children's age, I would definitely go back there.
I'm glad to hear that going straight to Salzburg worked out well for you and that the trip was a success. I wish you much rest over the remainder of the weekend.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
When I went to Werfen (2012) I walked across the river to the highway, but followed Markt street through the town rather than walking on the highway. I was a much more pleasant walk than you describe. When I came back, I walked along the shoulder of the highway. Not noticeably shorter, and not as pleasant.
The walk from Werfen Bhf to the base of the castle hill is about the same as the walk from the ticket kiosk to Neuschwanstein, but has less than half the elevation gain.
Posted by
Tennessee
441 posts
Thank you so much for your most interesting report. I will be on a Munich/Salzburg/Vienna Rick Steves tour this summer, so your information was very helpful. Especially good to know in advance about the special exhibit in the Salzburg museum on the 80th anniversary of the Anschluss.