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Trip through the Alps

We had a wonderful 3 week, high-energy trip through the alps with our son and daughter-in-law (we are in our 50’s & they are in their 20’s). We rented a Tesla and did our own version of an Alpine Europe tour. We had perfect weather the last week of May through mid-June. Here is what we did, and our ratings 1-10 of how much we enjoyed them. Hope this helps others with planning.

Day 1 - 3 Flew United (7) into Frankfurt and stayed with friends for a few days in a village an hour away (10).
Day 4 MUNICH: Stayed 1 night at Moma1890 Hotel (7), dinner at Hofbrauhaus outside under the chestnut trees (9).
Day 5 Morning walk through Englischer Garten (9), then drove to SALZBURG: Stayed 3 nights at Hotel Pension Bloberger Hof – beautiful rooms with balconies (10). Drove to Salzburg’s old town and listened to the Rick Steves audio tour (8) -- visited the Dom and St Peter's. (8). Toured Mozart's Birthplace (6), took a horse carriage ride (9), and walked along the river to Augustiner Brau (beer garten) for dinner (9).
Day 6 Toured the Residence (6), took a class at Edelweiss Cooking School -- made apple strudel and knocherl (9), took the funicular up and toured the fortress (7), followed Monchsberg Trail to the elevator at the other end of town (7), saw Mirabelle Gardens (6), had dinner in town, then went to a concert at Mirabelle Palace (9) - musicians were excellent.
Day 7 Berchtesgaden: fun Salzbergwerk - saltmine tour (9), Eagle's Nest - amazing views (10) good lunch, boat ride on the beautiful Konigsee to St. Bartholoma (9), and dinner at our hotel (9).
Day 8 Drove to CASTELROTTO, Itally. Stayed 2 nights at Hotel Cavallino D’oro – beautiful room with balcony (9). Rode the Marinzen lift up and walked back down the scenic trail (9). Picnic dinner.
Day 9 Drove before 9:00 to be able to use road up to the Compatsch, then hiked all day in the Alpe di Siusi. The Panarama Trail was the favorite hike of the trip (10). Stopped at huts along the trail for drinks and snacks (10). Dinner back in Castelrotto at Cafe Liftstuberl – nice outdoor area with views (9).
Day10 Drove back up to Compatsch this morning and got in one more hike – Puflatch gondola up and followed Puflatch signs – Trail of the Witches in RS book. (9.5), then drove to Austria.. Stopped along the way to ride the Biberwier Luge (9). Checked in to Gutshof zum Schluxen in PINSWANG, Austria – fun place to relax in the country (10). Enjoyed the Gutshof’s spa, made pizzas, did laundry, played ping pong, went to the neighbors for fresh eggs and milk for breakfast, enjoyed the views (9).
Day 11 Borrowed ebikes from the Gutshof and rode on the beautiful trail over the hill to the castles (10). Toured Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles (8). Rode the horse carriage between the castles (8). Rode the ebikes to a microbrewery (8) and then through Fussen and along the Lech River back to our Gutshof (10). Gorgeous ride! Evening bonfire (8).
Day 12 Drove to Lautterbrunnen Valley. Lunch in Lindau on the way (7). Took the cable car up to MURREN, Switzerland and stayed at Hotel Bellevue for 3 nights -– amazing views from our corner room (9), staff (5) -- Sadly, hotel has changed ownership. Dinner at hotel (8) and then hiked down to Gimmelwald (9) and cablecar back up to Murren.
Day 13 Train and cable car down to the LauterbrunnenValley, then walked the Valley Trail through beautiful meadows along the river (10) passed Stubbach Falls (8) and Trummelbachfalls (10). Back up on cable car, then later, drinks at Gimmelwald Mountain Hostel – amazing views again (10) and raclette dinner at Pension Gimmelwald (9).

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Day 14 Took early cable car up to the Schilthorn - No clouds and wonderful views! (10) Had the James Bond Brunch – so many choices! (10). Back down to the valley and up the other side to explore Wengen (7). We liked Murren much better. Sadly, Kleine Scheidegg and other recommended hikes still closed due to snow. Back to Murren and had drinks on the sun terrace of our hotel (9). Dinner at Hotel Edelweiss on cliff-hanging terrace – great views (9), service not so friendly (5).
Day 15 Drove to CHAMONIX, France. Stayed at Hotel L’arve for 2 nights (7). Lunch at Le Monchu (9). Explored Chamonix (9), shopped, and relaxed at hotel. Fondue dinner back at Le Monchu (9).
Day 16 Took gondola up to Mont Blanc first thing in the morning - beautiful morning and more amazing views at the top (10). Back down and lunch in town, then train ride to the glacier. Lots of steps down and then up, but beautiful inside (9). Borrowed bikes from our hotel and rode along the river (9). Dinner at Le Monchu again (our favorite) – cooked meats on hot stones (9).
Day 17 Drove to Geneva and returned car. Took high speed train to PARIS – rode 1st class and had a nice meal (9). Stayed at our favorite - Hotel Jeu du Paume on Ilse St Louis for 3 nights (9).
Day 18 Train to Chateau Fontainebleau. Audio tour of Chateau (8) and carriage ride through the gardens (8). Taxi to Vaux le Vicomte. Rented a golf cart to tour the gardens – fun ride (9) and then stayed for the candlelit evening. Candlelit audio tour through the chateau was like a play (10) and then 4 course dinner afterwards overlooking the chateau and gardens all lit up with 1000’s of candles (10) and fireworks show after (10).
Day 19 A Sunday in Paris to revisit some of our favorite museums and sites.
Day 20 Flight home on Air France – very good meal in business class (9).

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158 posts

Almost the exact itinerary of the My way Alpine tour......which I will be doing in 10 days! Sounds like a great trip!

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10 posts

Thanks for your report. My husband and I have booked the My Way Alpine after our guided GAS from last year. We loved the Alps and want more. You have given me some great ideas and confirmed our plans.

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596 posts

Great trip, great report. Thanks for sharing. How did the tourist traffic seem? Lots of fellow travelers or not so many. Plus curious about altitude effects. Did anyone have an issue with this? I’m pondering what time of the year to do the Alpine tour in 2025. You were there end of May first part of June and had some issues with snow on the trails? Were you pleased to have gone when you did?

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2510 posts

Yes! This is almost exactly the same itinerary as the My Way Alpine Europe tour, you even stayed at some of the same hotels. In Lauterbrunnen Valley, our hotel is Hotel Staubbach for three nights. I’m packing now, leaving soon as it starts 9/18, next Monday. Can’t wait!
Thanks for sharing your report, I enjoyed reading it as a preview of mine. I just hope it’s not that hot.

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31 posts

So glad everyone is enjoying the trip report and the rating system. Hope it has been helpful!

Lyndash -- We were really glad we went on the dates we did. Other than a few trails and few lifts in the Swiss alps being closed, we had no other disappointments. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and there were no crowds anywhere. I read some reports that it got much warmer the next week in some areas and that the crowds increased. We did not get altitude sickness. I think it may have been an issue if we had gone straight up to Mont Blanc or straight up to the Schilthorn. We stopped half way up and had some tea to adjust before continuing all the way up Mont Blanc, and since we stayed in Murren, we were half way up the Schilthorn already. We learned this tip from a RS guide on a France tour. Some on our tour who did not do this did get altitude sickness.