My ED Itinerary - Looking for tips

All,

First off, thanks a bunch to everyone else that posts on this site. It has provided me with so much information on ED and BMW's in general, and has provided me with the comfort level I needed to go ahead with my ED purchase. Since everyone seems so friendly and willing to share, I thought I'd drop a message and reach out to you all to get some ideas for my ED trip.

I am currently waiting for a re-confirmation of a changed ED pickup date from May 8th to May 10th. Assuming it is confirmed, this is my itinerary:

5/9 - Depart EWR

5/10am - Arrive in FRA, connect, and fly to MUC
5/10pm - Pick up car (woot!!!)
- Factory tour/BMW museum/etc

5/11 - Miscellaneous Munich area activities

5/12am - More Munich activities
5/12pm - Drive to Salzburg, try to attend a Mozart concert, Stay in Salzburg overnight

5/13am - Drive to Hallstat, check out a salt mine and/or ice cave
5/13pm - Drive to Prague, Stay in Prague overnight

5/14am - Do the Prague tourist thing
5/14pm - Drive to Berlin, Stay in Berlin overnight

5/15 - Berlin area activities

5/16am - Drive to Frankfurt
5/16pm - Drop off car (), Stay in Frankfurt overnight

5/17am - Fly FRA to EWR

I'm looking for some ideas and tips. Here are the facts:

I am travelling alone (girlfriend can't leave school for a week).
I don't speak any German.
I want to enjoy my car while I'm out there - I don't mind taking the long, winding road home if it means its a nicer drive.
I like museums, but for some reason, not paintings
I want to see the most impressive castles within driving vicinity of my stops
I'm all for "unique life experiences" - anything I can ONLY do during this trip, I want to be a part of - e.g. opening up my car on the Autobahn is something I won't ever be able to do again on the NJ Turnpike, so I plan to do that as much as possible
Oh yeah, and I like beer.

So now,

What castles should I visit?
What beergardens are "out of the ordinary"?
What roads between my destinations should I make a point to drive on?
Do my destinations and time allotted make sense?
What are some "Don't Miss"'s in the cities I'm visiting?
What other tips do you all have?

Post back here, or send me a PM!

Thanks to everyone!

I will be doing a similar trip in June. As for castles, Mad Ludwig built several in Bavaria. We are planning to see at least two of them when we go. I don't know much about Halstatt. What caught your interest in visiting there?

Originally Posted by targa84

I don't know much about Halstatt. What caught your interest in visiting there?

Through all my browsing/searching things to do, I found that Halstatt was about an hour from Salzburg (to the West?), and I've read about some Salt Mines and Ice Caves there. Both of which I've never been to, and therefore "unique life experiences".

If anybody has recommendations on tourist-friendly Salt mines or Ice caves, I'd love to hear them.

Well, if you want castles, you can try to do a day trip to St. Goar region from Frankfurt if time permits. Hope you have the nav system to guide you.

The basic problem with the itinerary is that you don't really get to spend much time in any of these places. Have you seen the movie If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium.

There are lots of ways of seeing lots of windy roads without jumping each day from city to city.

On my last European Delivery, I stayed in one place for four out of five nights and easily managed 2426 km of great driving, taking long day trips to a bunch of places (going as far as from Berchtesgaden to Hungary and back).

Perhaps pick a few cities you really want to see and then spend more time there and in their environs.

Originally Posted by dapharsyde

Through all my browsing/searching things to do, I found that Halstatt was about an hour from Salzburg (to the West?), and I've read about some Salt Mines and Ice Caves there. Both of which I've never been to, and therefore "unique life experiences".

If anybody has recommendations on tourist-friendly Salt mines or Ice caves, I'd love to hear them.

Glad to see that Alex came through.The Salt Mine was great as far as the Mozart Concert it cosisted of a Piano and a Violin.It was a bit long hair for us.We got our confirmation date and started to put everything together.Got the plane tickets and the first three days so far.
If you want to talk direct my e mail is vwgkag@aol.com. Good luck
cheers
vern

My wife and I will be doing our first ED in late April / early May, so we do not have any first hand experience. We do, however, have an aquantance from Germany who visited the Munich area last year. His recommendations for Munich are:

"In Munich, we stayed a Hotel Leopold (a 7 minute walk to the subway).
Smaller, and clean, about 100 Euro a night, includes a great breakfast. It is maybe 5 miles outside of the city center, but easy to get to with the subway (I would not take the car downtown (it's a big pedestrian zone near the Marienplatz - also a must see). In Munich, leave the car in the garage at the hotel.

http://www.hotel-leopold.de/English/english.html

The best Biergarden Restaurant in my opinion is SCHEIDER WEISSE. A class better then the rest we have visited. Do not eat at the Hofbrau Haus. Go visit, have a beer and move on to Schneider for dinner.

There are a couple of nice restaurants just behind the Twin tower church (opposite the hustle and bustle - a bit more relaxing). Many have nice outside seating. Just walk around the church and you will find them (also go into the church)

Walk through the city market (Vikalien Market) just outside the gates (maybe a 1/4 mile from the Marienplatz). Cool place.

There are many beer halls and restaurants downtown. A nice visit however is to go to the English Gardens and have a beer under the Pagoda."

Hope this helps. We will post our experiences as well.

Originally Posted by zfore

My wife and I will be doing our first ED in late April / early May, so we do not have any first hand experience. We do, however, have an aquantance from Germany who visited the Munich area last year. His recommendations for Munich are:

"In Munich, we stayed a Hotel Leopold (a 7 minute walk to the subway).
Smaller, and clean, about 100 Euro a night, includes a great breakfast. It is maybe 5 miles outside of the city center, but easy to get to with the subway (I would not take the car downtown (it's a big pedestrian zone near the Marienplatz - also a must see). In Munich, leave the car in the garage at the hotel.

http://www.hotel-leopold.de/English/english.html

The best Biergarden Restaurant in my opinion is SCHEIDER WEISSE. A class better then the rest we have visited. Do not eat at the Hofbrau Haus. Go visit, have a beer and move on to Schneider for dinner.

There are a couple of nice restaurants just behind the Twin tower church (opposite the hustle and bustle - a bit more relaxing). Many have nice outside seating. Just walk around the church and you will find them (also go into the church)

Walk through the city market (Vikalien Market) just outside the gates (maybe a 1/4 mile from the Marienplatz). Cool place.

There are many beer halls and restaurants downtown. A nice visit however is to go to the English Gardens and have a beer under the Pagoda."

Hope this helps. We will post our experiences as well.

The Leopold, which is on the Leopoldstraße slightly south of the Holiday Inn, is not a great value at EUR 100,- when you can get the Marriott for EUR 60,- through priceline.

It has the same nice breakfast that most small German non-chain hotels have; the Holiday Inn´s breakfast buffet is 3x the size, more variety, and you can sometimes get there rooms from the corporate Web site for EUR60-90,- incl Breakfast.

Sorry, Jspira. I should have indicated that the recommendations are not my own. We will be staying at the Marriott ($58/night, Priceline).

Great Roundel article, by the way. It was perfect timing for our trip.

Originally Posted by zfore

Sorry, Jspira. I should have indicated that the recommendations are not my own. We will be staying at the Marriott ($58/night, Priceline).

Great Roundel article, by the way. It was perfect timing for our trip.

Actually, you did indicate they came from a friend!

But I still wanted to update the information.

Glad you liked the article and that it was helpful.

Originally Posted by arnolds

Well, if you want castles, you can try to do a day trip to St. Goar region from Frankfurt if time permits. Hope you have the nav system to guide you.

Yep, I got NAV, and will be requesting a DVD from beewang shortly

Originally Posted by jspira

The basic problem with the itinerary is that you don't really get to spend much time in any of these places.

Yes, completely agreed. My problem is that I only have a limited time out there, and so I want to catch the "highlights" of each of these larger cities. If I find something I like in a particular place, I'll make a point to spend more time there the next time I visit Europe.

As for the hotels, I've got all my hotel rooms booked using Starwood and Marriott points - with the exception of one night in Prague. Any recommendations on hotels there? I'd prefer one with Hi-Speed Internet, to allow me post pictures and keep in touch w/ folks back home.

Keep those suggestions coming in though, I really appreciate them.

Thanks!

If you're flying out of Frankfurt (Continental, eh?), then I strongly, highly, enthusiastically recommend you drive a bit farther west to start and go to the Nurburgring. If you want to enjoy your car....

Nordschlief is a tough pitch thou Jupeman. Not everyone understand the value and history behind the Ring. It is also fair to say that not all BMW owners are hardcore car enthusiast.

cheers,

beewang

Originally Posted by Jupeman

If you're flying out of Frankfurt (Continental, eh?), then I strongly, highly, enthusiastically recommend you drive a bit farther west to start and go to the Nurburgring. If you want to enjoy your car....

Mmmm....I didn't realize that the track was open to the public. Forgive me, I'm not a 110% enthusiast, but I am DEFINITELY interested. (see comment about unique life experiences). The problem now is that according to the calendar, public lapping is not available on Monday, and is only available Tuesday night from 6-8pm.

So for those that have done this before at Nurburgring, is it possible to get in 4-8 laps in during that time? Is it more dangerous since it will be dark, or is the track lit?

If I decide to do this, I'd have to make special arrangements to dropoff at Harms after hours, which from what I read in another thread, is not that big of a deal.

Originally Posted by dapharsyde

Through all my browsing/searching things to do, I found that Halstatt was about an hour from Salzburg (to the West?), and I've read about some Salt Mines and Ice Caves there. Both of which I've never been to, and therefore "unique life experiences".

If anybody has recommendations on tourist-friendly Salt mines or Ice caves, I'd love to hear them.

Hallstatt is one of my favorite little places! It is actually about an hour to the East of Salzburg, best reached by taking the road via Mondsee and Bad Ischl (both also well worth a stop). Hallstatt has been on chocolate boxes and jigsaw puzzles the World over, it is just so picturesque and unspoilt! Perched on the side of one of Austria's deepest lakes, the place is full of history, there's been a settlement there for the last 7,000 years and the whole village is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a 400-year stretch of the World's history is officially called the "Hallstatt Period".

The World's oldest salt mine here is well worth a visit (closed in Winter, re-opens April 29th 2006), and great fun too for both adults and kids alike. In the village, visit the "Beinhaus" in the graveyard by the catholic church. It is full of human bones and skulls which used to be removed from their graves every few years to make space for others as the graveyard was so small.

Just a 5-minute drive around the lake, at Obertraun, take the Krippenstein cable-car. At the mid-way changeover station, get out and visit the Ice Caves and/or the Mammuth caves (for stactites and stalagmites).

Accommodation in the village is not luxurious but to experience the real atmosphere of the place stay in a lake-view room at the Gruner Baum hotel, right on the village square. http://www.gruenerbaum***** See, too, these reports http://www.tripadvisor.es/Hotel_Revi...r_Austria.html

Stay over a Saturday night when the band plays in the square.

For more, check out: http://www.hallstatt.net/besucher/index.php3?lang=en and do a search on the web and you'll find loads of private write-ups like this one: http://www.end.com/~jynx/travel/europe/hallstat.html

Have fun!

OK... I think I should put my 2 cents in here. Since you are already driving to Salzburg, why not stop at the Eagle's Nest, Hitler's notorious mountain retreat. For obvious reasons, this place is not listed in many travel brochures.

http://www.kehlsteinhaus.de/index2_e.htm

And since everyone recognizes this place from all the history channel specials, wouldn't this make some excellent photos to scare your friends with

The location is only 13 miles from Salzburg on the German side. I am actually going to stop there for a quick tour on the way to Salzburg. It is so close, it makes sense.

One of King Ludwig's castles is also on the way to Salzburg from Munich. It is located in the middle of lake Chiemsee. The castle is called Herrenchiemsee.

Also when you drive west from Prague, on the way to Frankfurt, you will pass a large town called Plzen which translates to Pilsen, where Pilsen beer comes from. You can tour this brewery.

Tom

Prague and Munich...Beer heaven for me-those cities produce my two favorite styles.
My advice in Munich is to do www.mikesbiketours.com , you will be taken to a biergarten halfway through the ride(ours was the pagoda in Englischer garten, where they served Hofbrau). If you want to go to the Hofbrauhaus, the bike tour departs and returns within a block of it.
German Hefeweizen (weissbier, weizenbier) tastes different than our mico Hefs here in the USA. It's spicy, clovey and different. If it tastes strange to you, discreetly squeeze and drop a lemon wedge in- then the bavarian product becomes sublime!
I wish I had known this trick on my first trip to Munich. I am absolutely addicted to the stuff now.
Try Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr.

In Prague you will find Pilsner Urquell and other excellent pils.
I'm jealous...and thirsty now!
Enjoy!!

Originally Posted by dapharsyde

All,

First off, thanks a bunch to everyone else that posts on this site. It has provided me with so much information on ED and BMW's in general, and has provided me with the comfort level I needed to go ahead with my ED purchase. Since everyone seems so friendly and willing to share, I thought I'd drop a message and reach out to you all to get some ideas for my ED trip.

I am currently waiting for a re-confirmation of a changed ED pickup date from May 8th to May 10th. Assuming it is confirmed, this is my itinerary:

5/9 - Depart EWR

5/10am - Arrive in FRA, connect, and fly to MUC
5/10pm - Pick up car (woot!!!)
- Factory tour/BMW museum/etc

5/11 - Miscellaneous Munich area activities

5/12am - More Munich activities
5/12pm - Drive to Salzburg, try to attend a Mozart concert, Stay in Salzburg overnight

5/13am - Drive to Hallstat, check out a salt mine and/or ice cave
5/13pm - Drive to Prague, Stay in Prague overnight

5/14am - Do the Prague tourist thing
5/14pm - Drive to Berlin, Stay in Berlin overnight

5/15 - Berlin area activities

5/16am - Drive to Frankfurt
5/16pm - Drop off car (), Stay in Frankfurt overnight

5/17am - Fly FRA to EWR

I'm looking for some ideas and tips. Here are the facts:

I am travelling alone (girlfriend can't leave school for a week).
I don't speak any German.
I want to enjoy my car while I'm out there - I don't mind taking the long, winding road home if it means its a nicer drive.
I like museums, but for some reason, not paintings
I want to see the most impressive castles within driving vicinity of my stops
I'm all for "unique life experiences" - anything I can ONLY do during this trip, I want to be a part of - e.g. opening up my car on the Autobahn is something I won't ever be able to do again on the NJ Turnpike, so I plan to do that as much as possible
Oh yeah, and I like beer.

So now,

What castles should I visit?
What beergardens are "out of the ordinary"?
What roads between my destinations should I make a point to drive on?
Do my destinations and time allotted make sense?
What are some "Don't Miss"'s in the cities I'm visiting?
What other tips do you all have?

Post back here, or send me a PM!

Thanks to everyone!

If you can check out Neuschwanstein castle in Fussen.

Very similar to an itinerary that I did last year:

Day 1 - Munich pick up, drive to Salzburg.
Day 1 - Afternoon in Salzburg, overnight.
Day 2 - Morning drive to Vienna.
Day 2 - Afternoon Vienna, overnight.
Day 3 - Morning drive to Prague.
Day 3 - Afternoon Prague, overnight.
Day 4 - Morning drive to Berlin.
Day 4 - Afternoon Berlin, overnight.
Day 5 - Berlin, overnight.
Day 6 - Morning drive to Hamburg.
Day 6 - Afternoon Hamburg, turn in car, overnight.
Day 7 - Depart Hamburg for USA.

Not a bad trip overall. Make sure you are staying at the Goldener Hirsch in Salzburg. Incomparable!

Originally Posted by Jspira

The basic problem with the itinerary is that you don't really get to spend much time in any of these places. Have you seen the movie If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium.

Jspira,

You are showing your age. I have seen this movie a l--o--n--g time ago and I cannot find it in any of the rental places or online. If you come across where I can find one, please let me know.
It is not just classic but it shows how the travel should be - the same tour guide for the entire trip participating in all activities, depicts people from different back grounds, how the locals behave, etc.
If anyone hasn't seen it, I think this movie should be a prerequisit for all tourists.
Thanks for bringing up.

Originally Posted by racedriver

Jspira,

You are showing your age. I have seen this movie a l--o--n--g time ago and I cannot find it in any of the rental places or online. If you come across where I can find one, please let me know.
It is not just classic but it shows how the travel should be - the same tour guide for the entire trip participating in all activities, depicts people from different back grounds, how the locals behave, etc.
If anyone hasn't seen it, I think this movie should be a prerequisit for all tourists.
Thanks for bringing up.

I don't know about you, but I saw it on TV as a repeat

According to this site , a DVD is coming soon but who knows how accurate this is.

I also found a made for TV movie, If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium from 1987.

Way too little time in both Prague and Berlin. We spent 2 nights and one full day in Prague and it was not nearly enough time. I spent about 4 days in Berlin (back when it was divided) and didn't see everything.

I know you want to see as much as you can for future trips, but trust me, you are going to end up spending most of your time driving, checking in/out of hotels, finding restaurants, etc. Yes, the driving is great (we put 1400 miles on our ED in 11 days) but you really can't get a feel a big city like Berlin in 1 day.

If you could just add a few more days (of course, wouldn't we all?!) But if you can't, I would skip the extra day in Munich and add 1 to Prague, Berlin or even Salzburg

With the time you have you will regret trying to drive such distances. I would certainly delete the longest detour of the lot and go direct from Prague to Frankfurt, allowing you to enjoy Munich, Salzburg and Prague much more.