Germany June 2022 with 2 Kids - Munich, Alps & Saltzburg

Day 2: Survived Munich Heat Wave @ Nymphenburg Exhibits & English Gardens
• We got out early to beat the worst of the 92 degree heat & toured Nymphenburg Palace a bit. Mostly saw the inside of it & the carriage/sleigh museum portion. By then the kids & DH were already wilted & it was approaching 90 so we skipped the gardens (Yes, I know it’s the highlight there – I was sad but the “troops” would have revolted if I took us there next!). Inside of palace was ok – the carriages & sleighs were neat though. I’d say it was worth the trip/time only because it was the only palace near where we planned to be for the trip & I wanted the kids to get a flavor for one.
• Ate at Augustiner Keller beer garden on the way back for lunch. Kids found the playground there neat. Food was ok, not great but realize that’s to be expected somewhere like this where the food’s a side feature. Temp was surprisingly fine in the shade there & there was plenty of space at shady tables since not many people were there. (Note – walk back to the Sbahn stop at the train station felt much further than google’s 10 minute estimate, perhaps because it’s a highly UN-scenic walking route; I’d suggest timing the bus for the trek.)

• We were supposed to have done a guided biking tour that afternoon but both the guide and we decided the heat was not a good idea to combine with biking so we nixed that. Instead, we set out on a late afternoon foray into the English Garden where we watched the surfers at the Eisbachwelle a bit (so amazing what they could do!) and then walked into the park a few minutes to a spot along the Schwabinger Bach (the slower stream running through the park going straight north up in it) where tons of people were floating down the stream. We did that too for awhile & just enjoyed cooling off along with what looked to be half the city! 😊
• Rode the scooters available for rent back to the hotel which youngest kid deemed the best part of the trip.
• The restaurant DH picked was closed when we showed up so we shifted gears and ate at the sushi spot at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel & did dessert there too. It was our only splurge dinner of the trip and it was a really cool experience even if not “traditionally German”!)

Day 3: Legoland
• DH and the kids really wanted to do Legoland (we don’t live near one in the US and they thought it was be cooler to do in Europe anyway). It was neat. We took the EC to Guenzburg to save time & reserved train compartment car seats so the kids could experience that old-style of train riding.
• Although the main target age for Legoland is a bit younger than my kids I think we ran out of time to do all we wanted to do at the park before our train home was scheduled for (the EC again). Marveling at the Lego world set-up’s, doing a few of the rides and just taking it all in made for a very fun day. Note – the shuttle busses only run occasionally so are not a great option unless they happen to line up with the train you want. There were no taxi’s there & no ride-share options were showing up for me, but customer service at Legoland called a taxi and they arrived in just a few minutes.
• Dinner was around the corner from us at Zum Franziskaner – nice location and pretty good food. Checked out the Feldherrnhalle in Odeonsplatz & the Residenz courtyard area afterwards.

Day 4: Munich in AM; Train to Salzburg then Car to Berchtesgaden in PM
• This was a “choose your own adventure” morning – youngest picked scootering; oldest picked doing part of the Deutsches Museum. DH planned to do the BMW Welt but got too late of a start to make it out there so ended up just relaxing a bit.
• Kids and I scootered over to the Deutsches Museum for a short visit there. Mostly saw the Physics section (which was excellent!) & the Toys section – brief looks at a few others but with limited time we knew we had to pick the highlights.
• Lunch to go from train station & a local train (thank you 9 Euro tickets!) to Salzburg to pick up our Hertz rental car from the train station there. Train was jammed despite it being mid-day on a Tuesday.
• Did the Keltenblitz sommerrodelbahn in Duerrnberg – both the ride & the loooonnngggg open-air ski lift up were very fun.
• Dinner at Gasthaus Vorderbrand (thanks again to this forum for the suggestion!) where our reservation yielded us the best outdoor table – right in the shade & at the very end of their patio with a fantastic view. Food was very good – especially the dumpling soup – and the view was unbeatable; service was excellent as well. Kids enjoyed the see-saw on the small playground next to the eating area.
• In hindsight I would have left Munich in the morning as we just loved this Alps section of Germany so so much and could have used slightly more time there.
• In Berchtesgaden we stayed at the Edelweiss Hotel – it was pricey but also very beautiful, tons of space in our room with the kids and excellent service. Food and drinks on the rooftop terrace were surprisingly well priced.

Day 5 – Mt. Jenner, Via Ferrata, Gorge Hike, Therme Stint

• All of us rode the cable car lift up to the top of Mt. Jenner in Schoenau am Koenigssee – views were breathtakingly beautiful especially with all the wildflowers on the hilltops. We went up just after 9:00 so arrived at the top about 9:30. There were only a few others at the lookout spot at that time; by the time we were hiking back down to the cable car spot from the peak the number of visitors had already begun to pick up.
• Oldest kid & DH did the Schuetzensteig via ferrata route with an outdoor mountaineering company – Steep & Wild. I’d recommend them. In hindsight, you did not really need a guide for this via ferrata route as it was pretty straightforward but the hike down to it from the cable car spot & then back up out of it afterwards were pretty tough – plus our guide brought the equipment they needed so we didn’t need to try to sort that out on our own. Since it was the first via ferrata DH & my child had done – AND they were hanging off a huge Alp! – I felt better that they had a guide with them. 😊 In busier seasons the company does this via ferrata route every Weds morning & afternoon (if at least 4 people sign up) in coordination with a campsite on the north side of Berchtesgaden for a reasonable price. We tried for the group trip but no one else signed up so the company agreed to do a private tour (for a higher price of course) on just a few days notice.
• Meanwhile, youngest kid & I headed back down for our own day trip – we drove to Weissbach bei Lofer to do the Seisenbergklamm because it looked much more narrow and dramatic than the ones closest to Berchtesgaden. It was otherworldly and the drive out there was beautiful – worth the trip. There were other people hiking it at the same time as us but it didn’t feel crowded or jammed up on the path at all.
• As a reward for our hiking we then stopped in at Rupertus Therme in Bad Reichenhall afterwards (half way back along the drive). Oh so so lovely and relaxing. Very few people there on a Weds afternoon in late June; beautiful views of the mountains all around. It has some negative reviews online from non-German speakers who are offended not all the employees speak German there – frankly I found that a refreshing change of pace and the most important things are signed in English or with pictures.
• Dinner was at Ristorante da Branka – food was all very good but do NOT sit inside in summer! It was wildly hot indoors; the outside seating would have been perfect (it was full when we walked up).

Day 6 – Heaven + a Salt Mine
• Took the Koenigssee boat ride – it was sunny yet cloudy/foggy a bit around the mountains in the morning which made for ethereal pics of the scenery. We sat on the right side of the boat so had great views all the way to Salet.
• Hiked back to Obensee & ate at the Fischunkelalm. Arrived there at about 11:30 probably – several people there but not so many it felt crowded per se. It was hot enough I think we could have swam even though the water was quite cold, but we were in normal clothes so contented ourselves with wading instead. We could see the waterfall from the alm so felt no need to hike the extra trek back to see it up close. On the way back we ran into cows hanging out directly on the path which completed my bingo card of wish list items for the day! 😊

• At the end of the day we squeezed in the Berchtesgaden salt mine tour – they are SERIOUS about the tour start time; definitely plan to arrive 15 to 20 minutes early to allow for parking, checking in and changing. Great tour & fun to do the slides.
• Dinner was at Gasthof Neuhaus. It was our best meal food-wise – everything was delicious & the outdoor area was very pleasant to sit in.

Day 7 – Round 2 in Bad Reichenhall and Duerrnberg + Taste of Salzburg
• We checked out the small "farmers” market in Berchtesgaden & got some lovely wooden souvenirs from a shop on the main street that morning then checked out.
• Plan A had been to go to Thumsee to swim in it but since it was drizzly and not that warm in the morning we switched to plan B and all went to Rupertus Therme. Kid #2 and I enjoyed experiencing parts of it we hadn’t spent time in the prior day like the cool salt grotto hot tub area & the family pool section with slides. Time flew by. Lunch was there – food was very good.
• Things dried up so we were able to squeeze in a final 2nd ride on the Keltenblitz Sommerrodelbahn before returning our car in Saltzburg.
• After checking in to Altstadthotel Weisse Taube (again – thank you to this forum I believe – it was a great spot!) we headed out to see Getreidegasse & most importantly get cake from a Konditorei. We went to Schatz Konditorei – a tiny spot down a side street – and got great treats in a cozy atmosphere.
• Dinner was at a Rick Steves suggestion – Wokman. Delicious Vietnamese food and friendly service.

Day 8 – Hohensaltzburg + Return to Germany
• Toured Hohensaltzburg fortress in the morning which we all enjoyed as it was the kids’ first castle and I think my husband’s too.
• Caught a bit of the mid-day music organ session in the Saltzburg Cathedral – wow that church is stunning!!
• Lunch from the Saturday Gruenmarkt was a nice cheap eat.
• Shopped for souvenirs a bit more before hopping on the train back to Germany. Had our passports AND our tickets checked this trip – only inspection we ran into.
• Checked in to our last hotel – Victory Gaestehaus Therme Erding – which looks like a very sketchy US beach motel on the outside but our “Bay side” decore rooms were quite fine on the inside & everything was very clean. Great match for our needs which was a crashing spot the final night.
• Went to Therme Erding for a few hours (again, thank you to those on this forum who recommended it!). It was very very full on a Sat night but the noise level was surprisingly fine even in the areas with lots of kids like the slides & wave pool. The outdoor wave pool & lazy river outside were closed which was a bummer – more disappointing though was that the outside slides closed several hours before closing time (and without any signage we could see about this & they also opened a couple hours after the Therme opened the next day – again, didn’t see any signs saying that). Still, plenty to do and enjoy! Supper was there – it was fine for burgers/bratwurst/fries type fare.

Day 9 – Final Therme Erding stop
• Our flight was a late afternoon one so we had ample time before it to do Therme Erding again in the morning & get to enjoy more of the things we didn’t have time to do the prior night. Very glad we did. Ambiance Sunday morning was quite different – much less crowded the first few hours and very enjoyable.
• Getting back home was a bit more “exciting” than anticipated as Lufthansa had disappeared our ticket somehow (and phone lines were jammed the night before plus all Sunday so we had to sort it out at the airport). It was probably for the best that we were there in person at the airport since the staff very patiently worked through the issues with our tickets for at least an hour (passing along to different people but each time getting handed direct to someone vs being told to go wait in a new line). We got out on our same flight & even sat together so it worked out in the end.

General Thoughts
• My kids really enjoyed getting to practice their beginner German; most tourist places seemed to either not have patience with this (we didn’t try this if there was a line behind us anytime) or to “helpfully” switch to English since of course their English was much better than our German. The few that didn’t do this were so refreshing & made for such a neat experience for the kids to get the thrill of communicating in another language even if just for a few phrases at a time.
• The pace of slowing winding down our touring & walking time over the trip seemed to work well. By the last couple days all our feet hurt and so the spa stints were a wonderful change of pace while still feeling like we were experiencing something we couldn’t at home (at least not anywhere near us nor for the prices charged). That said, there was SO much to do in and around Berchtesgaden - i think we could have easily spent a full week there since there was so much we didn't have time to see on the few days we had.
• The 9 Euro ticket simplified things immensely – not having to get train tickets all the time made popping around where we wanted much simpler so I’d definitely get a rider card next time vs. paying as we go. The DB app though was really very user friendly for when we did need it and/or figuring out timing schedules.

Thank you once again to those that answered my questions, gave advice or have posted here in the past - i went pretty far back into the Germany forums postings reading people's thoughts so very much value all the valuable insights people share here!

Thx, I'm bookmarking this one and I don't have young kids! I truly enjoyed the read.

On future trips, try to stay in small b&bs or apartments in smaller towns where the landlords are not as likely to speak much English and your kids can practice their German. Almost none of the places I stay have any English speakers. I love looking in guest books and discover that I am either the first or among the first English speaking guest

Thanks for the great report. We are planning a Salzburg - Munich week for next summer (with stops in Berchtesgaden and Neuschwanstein in between), and I've bookmarked this for your great information!

Our kids are now 19 and 16, and we have been traveling with them their whole lives. I tip my hat to you for your travels, as well as for allowing them to do some of the "kid stuff" (looking at you, Legoland and scootering!). We've done similar - ie: took a day mid-trip once for a Paris Disneyland break, scootered around Rome, etc... Those interludes seem to give kids a quick "reset" - which might make that next museum more palatable, as well as sometimes just being plain fun. We've found that traveling with our kids opens us up to adventures we might never have found had it just been the two of us - doing only the respectable "adult" stuff. :)

Glad you had a great time. Where are you headed next?!

Heather, so glad to hear it looks useful! :)

Unfortunately I think we're in the US next year since I can only drag my husband around touring about every other year; it needs interspersed with beach vacations in between! :)

Hi,

My compliments on your kids' willingness to use their German to communicate.

Good that you saw the historic site of the Feldherrnhalle, where two of the Bavarian commanders have their statues. The site is the place where Hitler in 1923 tried to pull off his attempt in a Putsch to seize power in Munich, that is, until the police and Army troops opened fire. The Odeonplatz is also another site connected with him.

Don't feel bad about not being able to use German. Germany and Austria are pretty famous for this. Sometimes it's due to impatience and sometimes it's due to wanting to make life easier for the tourist. Next time to try go to smaller shops not in the tourist center.

Shawna, I enjoyed reading about your trip! So, did you buy train tickets ahead of time? Did you reserve your car ahead of time as well? Did the car include Vignette?
Thanks!

We bought the summer month of travel for 9 euros (or some similar price) tickets when we got there but the trains we needed for legoland we bought about 1.5-2 months out so we could reserve the seats.

We did book the rental car very far ahead to ensure we had it. I think it came with whatever we needed as we did not buy an extra thing but we rented it in Salzburg.

I decided to look through the Trip Reports section and spotted this one. What a great read! I'm glad I found it. I really enjoy Munich, Berchtesgaden, and Salzburg. I'm glad you got to experience those with your family!

I'm glad you made it to Königssee and hiked to the other side of Obersee. I'm hoping maybe my comments on this post of yours encouraged you in that direction 🙂. I understand not going on to the waterfall. It would have been a hot trek! I did it (again) in late May on a sunny, warm day. The payoff is standing at the base of the falls feeling the cool breeze coming off the ice-cold water tumbling down the falls.

Here is what I do to try to speak German to people in Germany: I walk up, smile, give a greeting (Morgen/Guten Tag/Hallo/etc), and then say, "Mein Deutsch ist schlecht." (To which the German speaker usually jokingly replies, "Mein auch!"). Then before they can switch to English I say, "Aber ich mag Deutsch sprechen. Wenn Sie die Geduld und die Zeit haben, spreche ich Deutsch."

“ I'm hoping maybe my comments on this post of yours encouraged you in that direction 🙂. ”

It absolutely did, Dave! And it was the best part of the trip! Thank you!!

Appreciate the tip on German use for next time - I’ll definitely use that.

Happy holidays!

Wow. Glad it was the best part of the trip!

By the way, I really like the way you used the Forum… using it to supplement your own research, adding what made sense for your family, but keeping the trip fundamentally your own creation. Strong work! (Not that you need my approval 🙂).

Happy Holidays to you, too!