Bavarian Honeymoon

Munich is the cradle of Bavaria. The city is steeped in a rich history and a modern outlook. In the same day one can visit the famous Glockenspiel and can take a peek at BMW's latest inventions at the BMW Museum. While Munich definitely has a lot to offer, the surrounding towns are some of Bavarias jewels. Our first stop, thanks to a horrible travel agent, was Bad Reichenhall. This is a town where Germans go to be healed. It is known as a "spa town" where you can encounter scores of older Germans trying out salt-filled air at Graduation Plants and sipping on spring waters. Our next stop was Berchtesgaden, not only home to Hitler's infamous Eagle's Nest, but also home to the most beautiful scenery in all of Bavaria. Just west of Berchtesgaden is Fuessen, the location of the fairy-tale Neuschwanstein castle and Hohenschwangau castle. Definitely awe-inspiring! Just up the Romantic Road is Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a medival city surrounded by a 16th century wall. We encountered some rain here, but the gloomy day only enhanced the romanticism of the area.

Quick Tips:

This being our first trip to Europe, we did a lot of things wrong and consequently learned many things!
1. Don't bring luggage if you don't have a car! Bring backpacks!!
2. The train system is fairly easy to coordinate, but try renting a car for atleast some of your time there.
3. Don't depend solely on a travel agent's advice. The internet IS a reliable way to plan your European Vacation as long as you use it wisely.

Best Way To Get Around:

We only used the train. In Munich the public transportation systems are fantastic! If only they have more of that in the States. It is easy to follow as you can get information in English from the EurAide office in the trainstation. We were there very often. We stayed in two hotel systems. Minotel and Best Western. They claim to locate their hotels near trainstations, or at least that is what our horrible travel agent told us. This was false and we were often forced to walk a long distance with our luggage...except for the time when kind strangers gave us a ride up a mountain to our hotel. Taxis are not readily available in small towns, but are easy to catch in bigger cites.

The central location of this hotel is the best thing that it has to offer. Located just west of the Hauptbahnhof and on the tram tracks, there are many opportunities for city travel. We stayed there on two separate occasions. Our first room was a triple, which had two twin beds pushed together and one separate twin bed. The bathroom was very small and the shower stall didn't drain properly. The room was tiny and had no character. The second time we stayed at the Amba, we had a very large double room with a huge bathroom this time with a bathtub. This room was more like what we had hoped to be staying in for our honeymoon. The hotel provides a breakfast every morning with a variety of foods available. There is access to a computer which has internet capabilities but it is 2,60 Euro per 1/2 hour and more money for every 1/2 hour thereafter. Really, all in all, the hotel was standard but it's location and convenience were a plus for us.

Our travel agent informed us that all Minotel hotels are close to the train stations. This may be true in some cases, but not for the Minotel Panorama. The hotel is situated on top of a hill and overlooks some beautiful mountains. The building is split into two sections: a hotel and an apartment complex where people actually live. The room was decorated very nicely, but the bathroom was quite small and once again, the drain didn't work. We had a balcony which overlooked the mountains so we were able to relax in the two lounge chairs and look at the stars. The resort part of the hotel's name refers to the spa. There is a pool, sauna, solarium and other services available. The pool was very clean and open to all guests for no fee. One negative side to this hotel was the restaurant. It claims to be open until 9pm, but when we went for dinner at 8pm we could only choose from about 5 entrees and the staff wasn't very accomodating. The breakfast was very good and included pastries and breads that no other hotel included. Many of the front desk workers didn't speak English, so be ready to struggle with your German at this hotel.

Unfortunately for us our travel agent was unfamiliar with traveling in Germany and booked us into the Minotel Alpenrose in Nesselwang. Nesselwang is a tiny town which is 20km away from Neuschwanstein Castle. The train station and all other businesses close at 4pm. We arrived in Nesselwang at 7pm with no map and no idea where we were. Luckily some strangers helped us find our hotel and actually drove us up the hill to it. The brochure said that it was located 1km from the train station. This may be true, but you have to walk up some pedestrian walkways to shorten the distance to 1km. Without a map or any information, you would never know that this route exists.

When we arrived at the hotel we entered the front door to find the place empty. Hearing some talking behind a door, I opened it to see a meal being served. I spotted someone who seemed to be in charge and told them that we had reservations. She said, "Alpenrose?" and I said "Yes." She told us to go back outside, down the driveway and into another door. So we did this and once again encountered an empty hotel. A phone had a sign on it in German with a phone number to call. We called it and the owner answered. She said she would be right down. She got to the desk, checked us in and gave us our key. Her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend came in and she told them to show us our room. We followed them outside again and into the boyfriend's car. They loaded our suitcases and us into the car and drove us two doors down to Christina's Guesthaus. The daughter pointed to the building and told us our rooms were upstairs. By now we were REALLY confused. We went into the hotel and there were no lights on and no one was there. Our key said "Wiesensee" so we began to search for the room with that name.

We climbed up three flights of stairs (there was no elevator) and found our room at the very top. We opened the door and found ourselves in a very large suite. In the ceiling there are two skylights which open up and show us a view of mountains and the town below. One skylight was over our bed. We looked at the stars for hours. The room also included a full kitchen, which we didn't use. We still are not sure on why we weren't staying at the Alpenrose, but we are glad that we were able to stay in such a beautiful room.

This was by far the smallest room that we stayed in during the course of our trip. It was clean and affordable and had a nice breakfast. The hotel is located not too far from the trainstation. It is next door to a gas station which was a nice way to get a late night snack. This hotel definitely wasn't the best hotel in Rothenburg, but it offered us a clean place to lay our weary heads.

Fun. Fun. Fun. I am not a beer drinker, nor am I am big partier. However, I had a blast at the Hofbrauhaus. It is filled to the brim with tourists from all kinds of places (expect to see a lot of drunk Aussies). You can order a mass beer and a Bavarian pretzel and sit back and watch the roudiness. The band plays mostly English songs and there is plenty of opportunities for you to get up and do the chicken dance! Don't expect to get the best German food here or even the best service, but it shouldn't be missed.

We took the Munich Walking Tour Company's Dachau tour. Our tour guide, Brian, is an English speaking-American who is very knowledgable about WWII and Nazi history. The tour provides all transportation costs, which includes the train and a bus. Upon arriving at the camp our guide gave us a brief, but consise history of the Nazi party. We entered the camp and were guided through its beginnings and liberation. We were given about 45 minutes to view the newly updated museum which has English translations of all of its exhibits. Our group watched a documentary about the camp, which was very outdated and boring. Luckily, Brian took the time to expain newly discovered evidence which was not shown in the movie.

Please don't visit Dachau expecting to get some great historic photographs. It was very disheartening to see families snapping pictures of the "kids in front of the ovens." This is a memorial to the thousands who died on its grounds, not a tourist attraction. Please visit it with respect and rememberance.

A must visit for all tourists. The glockenspiel is interesting, but don't give up your day to stand and wait for it to move. I highly recommend climbing the Rathaus tower to get a view of downtown Munich and the surrounding areas. The cost to go up to the tower is 2,00 Euro.

If you are looking for WWII sites and history, look no more. Take the English speaking Eagle's Nest Tour hosted by David Harper. You are driven in a mini-van all around Berchtesgaden while David shows you old Nazi sites, such as the train station and Hitler's personal platform, Hitler's Architect's house, Bormann's experimental farm, the location of Hitler's "Berghof" and the former sites of Nazi offical's homes.

Your first stop is the museum and bunker system. David breezes you through the museum, only looking at Berchtesgaden-related information (you can use your ticket to come back again the next day to see the rest of the museum). Then you are led into part of the underground bunker system while he explains how and why they were built.

You then board a special Eagle's Nest bus which drives you up the 27% grade mountain to the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest). You walk through the tunnel and take the brass elevator up to the top. David shows you the inside of the haus, which is not open to anyone who isn't on a guided tour. The building is now a restaurant whose proceeds go to charity. The view from the top of the mountain is amazing and there are plenty of opportunities for great pictures. We were lucky enough to be there on the very first day of it's unseasonably early opening. There was still mounds of snow on the ground.

David's tour is the only licensed tour of the area, due to the fact that German's do not want to give Nazi sympathizers any pilgramiges to these sites. If you plan on going to the Eagle's Nest, you should take this tour. You will not be disappointed. The cost is 36,00 Euro per person and it includes all transportation and entrance fees.

The church was built in 1311 and is spectacular! There are two main altars and a couple of side altars. One of the two main altars is made entirely of hand-carved wood. The other main altar is made of gold and wood. After paying a small fee (I think it was 1.50E), you are allowed to walk freely around the church. If you are lucky enough, someone will be giving a guided tour in your language nearby and you can listen in. If you are unlucky, like we were, there will be tours all over the place that don't speak your language! Take your time though and let it all soak in.

Heidelberg is many things. It is a college town, a historic site, a river city, and a great place to visit. We were lucky enough to have a guide with us on this leg of our honeymoon, but it is an easily navigable city. Obviously the castle is the main attraction here. It sits atop a hill and can be accessed by foot or by the funicular (a train that requires a ticket). We went up on foot and while it is a long, steep hike, it was an interesting way up. Atop the hill you have to buy a ticket for the Castle Gardens, which also includes the Grosses Fass (Big Barrel), which is the largest wine barrel in the world. Once in the gardens, you have to buy another ticket for the guided tour. We decided to skip the tour because we had heard that it was short and boring. Instead we wandered around the gardens and the inside courtyard, which was well worth the price of our admission. After spending some time atop the hill, we made our way down and found an outdoor cafe to have lunch in the Markplatz. Our German friend then suggested that we take a walk up the Philosphenweg, little did we know what we were in for! We walked across the new bridge, away from Bismarckplatz and then followed the road upwards. This way is pretty steep at the beginning I'm afraid. We actually walked up through one of the most expensive areas in Heidelberg to live - most of these houses have got great views of the old town and castle. We also passed a number of University buildings. By the time we made it up to the top, we were very out of breath. We walked back down the other side of the hill and found ourselves the closest Italian Eis shop. We took our Eis and went down to the river "beach," where hundreds of college students were laying in the sun. This was a great way to experience the local scene. We thought about taking a ferry to another town, but it was getting late and the boats weren't going out again. So we made our way back into the old section of town and found an Italian restaurant for dinner. We had the best pizza ever here!! There is something about European pizza, very different from American Pizza Hut (yuck!).

Rothenburg is the most unique town we came across in Germany. Certainly many other tourists feel this way because even on a rainy day (like we had) the streets were crowded. There are a few actual attractions to this town, such as The Medvial Crime Museum, but its real charm comes from the streets themselves.

This once ´free imperial city` is known over the world and ranks among Germany`s most frequented towns. It lies on a plateau at the intersection of the so-called ´Romantic Road` and the ´Castle Road` 425 m above sea level. Below the town flows the Tauber River in its 180 ft deep valley and this is the reason why the town has the additional ´ob` or ´above` the Tauber.

We found that we were dodging Japanese people and their umbrellas up and down the streets. If you do not like over crowded or "touristy" areas, then Rothenburg is not for you. But if you love history and souvenier shops then you will love this walled-city. Many of the shops are filled with the typical German souvenir: cuckoo clocks, beer steins, Christmas ornaments, etc. But among these stores we were able to find some of the more unique places to shop. We found our most prized take-home in Rothenburg. A shop there makes wooden signs for your home which are hand-carved and can be personalized while you wait.

The town square has its own version of a Glockenpspiel, but this one displays two men: one drinking a beer and one eating a pretzel. We made our way over to the wall for some great views of the Tauber River and also to see the Romantik Hotel Markusturm. The hotel has been in existence since 1264 and is actually built into the wall that goes around the city: a very impressive site.

The much-photographed Neuschwanstein Castle was built between 1869 and 1886, by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Access is by foot, by small bus or by horse drawn carriages from base of hill in Hohenschwangau village.

When you arrive to the town of Fussen, you must buy a ticket for the bus to take you up to the Hohenschwangau ticket center. Then you have to walk up hill past shops and restaurants to the Ticket Office where you have to stand in line for an IMMENSE amount of time. They sell tickets for both castles (Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein) by languange and time. For example, we got an English-speaking tour at 1:40pm. Don't worry, they give you plenty of time to get up the hill to the castle before your tour time. We were unsure of how long it would take to get up the hill, which turned out to be only 15 minutes. You can either walk up, which seems to be the most popular choice for everyone but Americans ;) or you can take a bus or horse-drawn carriage. We took the bus, which also requires a ticket. After it was all said and done we had bought 3 separate tickets to get to see the castle. It is an expensive endeavor, but WORTH IT! When you get up to the castle you can walk around the courtyard where lines are set up for the different tours. While you are waiting you can catch some marvelous scenery of the surrounding area, such as the waterfall. Each line is labeled with your tour time. When your tour time shows up above a line you can get in it and you are taken into a long hallway to wait yet again. We were met with a tour guide who hurriedly draged us through the five rooms of the castle that are finished. The tour isn't long. You can't take pictures and most of the time someone is in your way. The tour itself wasn't the best I have ever been on, but the castle was amazing. If you have trouble walking up or down stairs, this tour isn't recommended. There are plenty of opportunities to purchase souveniers, so don't feel like you have to do this in Hohenschwangau. There is also a snack shop/souvenir shop up at the top of the hill where you can grab a hotdog and a coke for a "small" fee.

We only used the train. It worked out just fine for us. The train schedules are fairly dependable and there is an office available where you can get English information from very a helpful staff. The Euraide office is located in the Munich Hauptbahnhof at track #11. You can purchase tickets for tours here and get any train information that you need. The train system is available in most towns, but you may have to go out of your way to complete a route. For example, we had to go from Rothenburg to Frankfurt and from Frankfurt to Heidelberg to get to Heidelberg. Heidelberg is closer to Rothenburg than Frankfurt is. We spent about 5 hours on the train that day, but that is the exception rather than the rule. Also, you can find train schedules and information online at www.diebahn.de It is in German, but is also available in English.

The transportation within Munich is very convenient. You can purchase tickets for the S-Bahn (innercity train) and U-Bahn (outer city train) for a reasonable price. A two day partner ticket for the innercity is $7.50. To get to the airport, it costs a little more. Train tickets can also be used on any bus or trams as long as it hasn't expired. We never were asked for our tickets on any Munich public transportation, but don't try to go without a ticket. The cost without one is 30,00 Euro per person.

Before we left for Germany, we bought a four-day partner ticket for the German Rail. You can use it for unlimited travel until midnight of that day. We never had any problems using it and actually got away with no one checking it most of the time. We ended up using it again for an extra day because the conductor had not stamped it.