Heading to Europe for 3 Weeks

[fidler4]

Heading to Europe for 3 weeks for the first time next month with my wife, sister and BIL. Here are the preliminary plans:

Fly to Munich from US for Oktoberfest for a couple of days. Drive to Fussen for two days. After that drive up to Wertheim (wife’s old Army base)

Drive to the Rhine area for a few days then down the Rhine to Freiburg. Dump the rental car in Freiburg.

Take a train to Chur, Switzerland. Sightsee for two days. Get on Berenia Express to Tirano, Italy. From there train and ferry to Bellagio, Italy. After that Venice for a few days.

After day 15 say goodbye to sister and BIL who are flying back home.

DW and I will take a week to head up to Berlin for our flight back home. Probably get on a train and head to Salzburg, Austria then up to Praque, Czechoslovakia then on to Berlin.

We have booked a few places ahead of time through AirBnB and some other similar site.

 

[rodi]

Sounds like a nice trip.
I'm planning a longer version for next summer... spending 9 weeks in various parts of Europe - mostly in 1 week increments to maximize the VRBO deals.

Is your wife excited to go back to her old military stomping grounds?

 

[audreyh1]

Same here. Flying into Amsterdam. Overnight train to Munich, then touring Austria. Then visit Fussen for a couple of nights before flying home from Munich. Our Munich visit is a couple of weeks before Octoberfest starts. Using trains and other public transportation to get around.

Predictions indicate daily highs will be 63-69 degrees most locations. Vienna might actually hit 70. Nights 50s down to 48. That's quite a bit cooler than what we're used to.

 

[RunningBum]

I don't know how locked in you are but Hallstatt, Austria is a wonderful stop-off between Salzburg and Prague.

 

[fidler4]

I don't know how locked in you are but Hallstatt, Austria is a wonderful stop-off between Salzburg and Prague.

Sounds good I will look into it. We don't have any specific plans after Venice other than to be in Berlin the day we fly out.

 

[fidler4]

Sounds like a nice trip.
I'm planning a longer version for next summer... spending 9 weeks in various parts of Europe - mostly in 1 week increments to maximize the VRBO deals.

Is your wife excited to go back to her old military stomping grounds?

She is really looking forward to it. She hasn't been there since 1989 so I am sure things have changed.

 

[braumeister]

Probably get on a train and head to Salzburg, Austria then up to Praque, Czechoslovakia then on to Berlin.

If "probably" means you're not sure yet, I can heartily endorse both Salzburg and Prague. Neither should be missed if you can help it.

 

[audreyh1]

I don't know how locked in you are but Hallstatt, Austria is a wonderful stop-off between Salzburg and Prague.

I'm so locked in that we already have 3 nights booked for Hallstatt!

That was the toughest place to reserve lodging as it fills up really fast and a flood last year meant fewer rooms available. As it stands we are at a pretty minimal B&B type inn, that will do. The location is excellent.

And one day will be spent going up the Dachtein cable car from Obertraun to explore the ice cave and the five-finger lookout over the Hallstattersee.

Thanks for the suggestion!

P.S. Oh I see your response was to the OP.

FWIW our Austria tour is 3 nights Salzburg, 3 nights Hallstatt, 5 nights Vienna. From Vienna we're doing a major day trip to Melk, Wachau Valley cruise, and Dürnstein.

 

[Meadbh]

Probably get on a train and head to Salzburg, Austria then up to Praque, Czechoslovakia then on to Berlin.

I too highly recommend Salzburg, Austria and Prague, Czech Republic.. Both are located in beautiful countryside.

 

[fidler4]

OK my wife corrected me (again). She wants to head towards Vienna after Venice then on to Prauge. I think we are going to head over to Salzburg at the start of our trip while we are in Munich. We are actually staying at Lake Chimsee near Munich.


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[braumeister]

If you're only going to be in Munich for a couple of days, as you said, be aware that Salzburg is well over a two hour drive from there. You will need an entire day just to see the highlights, and that limits your visit to Munich where there is SO much to see, even aside from the Wiesn.

 

[fidler4]

If you're only going to be in Munich for a couple of days, as you said, be aware that Salzburg is well over a two hour drive from there. You will need an entire day just to see the highlights, and that limits your visit to Munich where there is SO much to see, even aside from the Wiesn.

Thanks that is good to know. We arrive in Munich on a Sat and leave on Weds. A few ideas are Dachau, Oktoberfest, Eagles Nest and/or Salzburg.


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[braumeister]

If you've never been to Oktoberfest (the locals call it Wiesn), that will be a full day (and ideally, far into the evening). If you don't already have reservations at one of the beer tents, start working on that now. You'll be glad you did.

 

[MBAustin]

If you're going to the Rhine area, I'd suggest diverting over towards the Mosel for a day or two. When we lived in the Frankfurt area, we'd take day trips over that way and after a while found we enjoyed the Mosel more - not as foreign touristy, great scenery, and better wine.

 

[check6]

Fussen has become crowded and we stay in a small town 14K north called Seeg. Pension Heim is where we have stayed in the past. One of the best bakeries in town as well as a wonderful gasthof Alder for dinner are down the street. In the fall we may try nearby Landhotel Panorama.

 

[audreyh1]

I had no trouble at all getting lodging for two nights in Fussen - it was one of the easier places to book a hotel. And since we are traveling by train, we like to stay close to a station or easy public transit. The town looks lovely. It's quite an historic location. We look forward to a hike to the waterfall, and some of the old churches.

It looks like their city heritage museum is well worth visiting, so we'll probably leave a couple of hours later than originally planned the day after our tour.

We mainly decided to stay in Füssen because we selected the Bavarian Highlights scheduled day tour with European Castle Tours. This to avoid ticket lines, reservations, some of the tricky castle access issues, and timing and transport issues in general. We will visit Neuschwanstein, Wieskirche, Oberammergau, and Linderhof. If you look at the locations on a map, that's quite a bit of driving! Most of their group tours are quite small, but this being a regularly scheduled day tour they offer, I could see how the group might be larger. I'm sure it depends on the day.
Offered on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays: Bavarian Highlights Day Tour from Füssen

Customers are in general very complimentary of this company, and if you browse you'll see they offer some pretty extensive tours of castles all over Europe. Uh-oh I just started drooling over the French Chateau trip.

 

[audreyh1]

You know, it's really a shock how crowded the tourist areas of major European cities are. Visiting family in Amsterdam - where they lived was nice. But you head anywhere into the Zentrum (center) area and it is sooooo packed with people.

Downtown Munich is just as bad if not worse!

DH is complaining about this. Can't be helped I think.

 

[braumeister]

Precisely why I almost always travel in the off season.
Weather isn't as nice, but the lack of crowds more than makes up for it IMHO.

 

[audreyh1]

Precisely why I almost always travel in the off season.
Weather isn't as nice, but the lack of crowds more than makes up for it IMHO.

How far do you have to go to get the "off season". Bruges, Belgium was absolutely packed at the very end of September last year. I don't think we're willing to go much later in the year. May or September is about the best we can do.

I can't imagine what it is like in July and August, the supposedly "crowded" months!

 

[In-control]

I was in Europe in July and did not experience terrible crowds. We were in Hungary/Check Rep./Poland/Germany/Austria

Accounting to our tour director, you get twice the time for the same $ when you stay away from from Italy/London/Paris. Berlin is the place to be - we had a great time and I large can of Berliner Beer was .89cents - small can of Coke - .95cents!!! Go to the supermarkets and get your meals like the locals. We also stayed at 4 star hotels that provided breakfast. We made sandwiches each morning for the road.

Guess what I drank....

 

[braumeister]

How far do you have to go to get the "off season". Bruges, Belgium was absolutely packed at the very end of September last year. I don't think we're willing to go much later in the year. May or September is about the best we can do.

I can't imagine what it is like in July and August, the supposedly "crowded" months!

OK, there are special cases. Brugge, being one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is naturally a top tourist destination and is usually crowded. I was there myself in early June this year, and it was already pretty well packed. But I have been there in late September and it was great. Well, at least far better.

And I have been in Denmark in December, Iceland in January, and Germany in February, and had a great time. I'm fine with cold weather (but I can't stand a lot of heat), but I know it's unpleasant for some. Still, if your objective is to enjoy a visit to another country, weather is really just one of the parameters, and shouldn't be the main one IMHO. I think too many travelers rank it higher than necessary.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I large can of Berliner Beer was .89cents - small can of Coke - .95cents!!! Go to the supermarkets and get your meals like the locals. We also stayed at 4 star hotels that provided breakfast. We made sandwiches each morning for the road.

Guess what I drank....

I found the beer in Prague to be cheaper than the bottled water in restaurants. I managed to choke down a couple.

 

[fidler4]

Just a quick update. We are on day 13 of our trip and are in Bellagio, Italy. It has been a great trip so far. Oktoberfest was a blast. We started too early however. We got into a large tent around 1400 hours but only lasted until 1730 hours. The place was packed! I had to assist my BIL in walking out. The underground near the Oktoberfest had people in Orange vests lined along the edge of the track to keep the drunks from falling onto the tracks. That was a smart move.

Everywhere we have stayed has been great and the food awsome. Switzerland was beautiful but expensive.

We changed our plans for next week and plan on heading to Rome b train after Venice then catching a flight to Prague skipping Vienna. Then on to Berlin for two days and then flying home.


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[Chuckanut]

I

Accounting to our tour director, you get twice the time for the same $ when you stay away from from Italy/London/Paris. Berlin is the place to be -

My experience is that you can get 50% more for your money by walkingaway from the most tourist areas. Visit the site you want to see in those areas. But, when searching for a restaurant, walk in a direction away from the tourist centers. Sometimes all it takes is 3 or 4 blocks. Of course, nice weather is a good excuse for a picnic in the park.

Also know what foods to order. Pizza in Venice was good and cheap compared to most other things on the menu. Add in a glass of the house red, and you're set.

+1 on Berlin. A great city, very interesting and not as expensive as Paris or London. I lived on these 2-3 Euro sandwiches they sell at the entrances to the S-Bahn stations.

 

[audreyh1]

Just a quick update. We are on day 13 of our trip and are in Bellagio, Italy. It has been a great trip so far. Oktoberfest was a blast. We started too early however. We got into a large tent around 1400 hours but only lasted until 1730 hours. The place was packed! I had to assist my BIL in walking out. The underground near the Oktoberfest had people in Orange vests lined along the edge of the track to keep the drunks from falling onto the tracks. That was a smart move.

Everywhere we have stayed has been great and the food awsome. Switzerland was beautiful but expensive.

We changed our plans for next week and plan on heading to Rome b train after Venice then catching a flight to Prague skipping Vienna. Then on to Berlin for two days and then flying home.


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How many liters did you all drink?!? I couldn't believe how many people were drinking eine maß (huge liter mug) at a time. More empty maß mugs on the table - and this under ordinary afternoon consumption. At 5.5% alcohol on average that is huge consumption. I just can't believe how much beer the average Bavarian can put away.

I always got a small - which was still usually half a liter!!!