Popular Destinations

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[edit] Germany

Munich (München) should not just be thought of as a place to merely pick up your new BMW. Plan to spend at least a few days in the city, enjoying the museums, shopping, food, Bier, and atmosphere. Marienplatz is the center of a major Fußgängerzone (pedestrian zone) and the city´s Rathaus (city hall). The Englischer Garten (English Garden) is a very large park in the center of the city and the Chinesischer Turm is the site of a wonderful Biergarten in the park.

The Nürburgring, aka The Ring, aka Green Hell. Contact in Nuerburg: Ed Healey aka "Hammerwerfer", Ed@RSRNurburg.com , or email, or PM here, can show you around, or offer instruction.

Third Reich-related sites: Someone who may be even more obsessive than some of us has created a Google map with a large number of Nazi-era sites. It appears to be quite well done and should be of interest to history buffs..

[edit] Munich Hotels

(The general introduction to several Munich hotels, listed by neighborhood, is now a separate entry under the "Munich hotels and restaurants" main category.)

[edit] Day Trips near Munich

There are several locales in and around southern Bavaria that make for interesting day trips. Many are also definitely worth more than a day. See the "1 Day Itineraries" sub-section of the "Suggested Itineraries" section.

(Andechs is such a popular destination that it is included both here and in the itineraries list.)

[edit] Beer lovers pilgrimage to Andechs

Take a trip to Andechs (45 minutes from Munich) and visit the Brewery, Church, and Monastery.

[edit] Berchtesgaden

Here are some highlights:

  • Hiking in the National Park
  • Visiting the salzbergwerk (salt mine) work to see how salt is mined (Fun for Adults, but even better for the families)
  • Ship ride and/or hiking the Königssee. If you have ever seen a calendar of Germany, you have seen a picture of this beautiful lake and its church.
  • Salzburg 20-30 minute drive makes Salzburg an easy day trip.
  • Schellenberg Eishöle (an ice cave that is a nice way to cool off in the summer)
  • hike in a gorge: Wimmbachklamm or Almbachklamm (with Germany’s oldest marble mill)
  • Visit a distillery: Enzianbrennerei (yes, with free samples!)
  • Visit the picturesque church in Ramsau and the Wimbachklamm (gorge)
  • Rossfelt Ring Strasse
  • "Eagles Nest" (Kehlsteinhaus)
  • Dokumentation Obersalzberg is a museum in two parts. One part covers the history of the area, especially when it contained the vacation homes of Hitler and other top Nazis from 1923-1945. The other part covers much of the history of the Third Reich. There is also access to some of the fortifications and tunnels under the area. This is all handled quite intelligently.
  • Nice farm house B&Bs can be found for 35Euro/night for two people.
  • etc. (yes, there is a lot to see and do near this village)

We have created an overview map showing the relative locations of the Intercontinental Hotel and nearby Documentation Center (A; at Obersalzburg, approx. 5 km E of Berchtesgaden center), the center of Berchtesgaden (B), and the boat dock at Schönau am Königsee (C; approx. 6 km to the S).

Two additional Berchteesgaden links: [1] and [2].

[edit] Berchtesgaden area hotels
  • InterContinental Berchtesgaden Resort is a modern 5-star hotel with 138 rooms. (Built near the site of Göring's and Bormann's houses. See the review in Executive Road Warrior. It is at "A" on this map.)
  • General Walker Hotel was the US Army R&R hotel. Originally "Der Platterhof". Demolished in 2000, it is now the site of the Documentation Center parking lot. The ticket building for the Kehlsteinhaus buses is the site of the Platterhof garage. The remaining arcade area of the Platterhof has been opened as a souvenir shop. See this source for references, photos, and old maps.
[edit] Other locations in Southern Bavaria
[edit] Hotels in the region
  • Hotel Sommer is in Füssen, on the way to the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles; it has received good reviews here and on Tripadvisor.
  • Hotel Mueller is right in Hohenschwangau and gets many positive comments. It is very close to the ticket office for "The" castles. (Inside joke here.) First recommended by Northcar, with follow-up recommendations from several others.

See this map for the relative locations of these two hotels.


[edit] Destinations along the route from Munich to Berlin

Berlin is off the 'Fest standard route, most likely due to the fact that there is no local drop-off site. (Although Hamburg and Bremerhaven are not far away if you do not want to return to Munich.) There are several interesting cities, towns, and regions along the way. The route given here is somewhat straight, from south to north. But it is easy to add locales a bit further off the line, going west to (for example) Erfurt and Weimar or east to Prague, Karlsbad, Marienbad, etc.

Regensburg - BMW plant (3-series), university, Thurn-und-Taxis castle, good lunch stop for tiny sausages along the river. b-y highly recommends the Historiche Wurstküche next to the Steinerne Brücke.

Nürnberg/Nuremberg - castle, DB museum.

Zschopau - (Notes from b-y: When I was in the region I wanted to visit the old MZ factory, but was told it was sold off to Malaysia! There was limited production, especially of spare parts, for a while. Now there are unconfirmed reports of a possible new lease on life. Who knows??)

"Saxony Switzerland" - incredible scenery between the Czech border and Dresden. Scenic train ride through the mountain passes, but would probably also be an interesting drive. Supposedly great hikes and treks also. (Official region website.) Also search for Königstein on the web.

Dresden - Start with a visit to the local tourist office, either in person (Kulturpalast at Schloßstraße) or online. Major sites include the Frauenkirche, the Treasury (Grünes Gewölbe or Green Vault), the Zwinger, and the Semper Opera. Look at the "Fürstenzug" (oddly, often translated as "Procession of the Dukes"), a 101-meter-long mural painted on Meissen porcelain tiles. Cross the Elbe to Neustadt and then climb to the top of Dreikönigskirche (Church of the Magi). You get a great view, including parts of the city that are still bombed out. Also see the "Japanese Palace" and the old Jewish cemetery. Have lunch at Pfunds Molkerei (Pfund's Dairy). You can easily arrange a side trip to tour the Meissen factory and museum. Top hotels include the Kempinski Taschenbergpalais and the Bülow Residenz. (The latter's restaurant, Caroussel, is justly famous. There is a viamichelin article about it and other top spots.)

Leipzig - The architecturally-interesting train station is just north of the ring road. Approximately across the street to the SE is the tourist office at Richard-Wagner-Strasse 1, which had free maps and an English-language guide book (pamplet-sized). It is then a very short walk S or SW to the old town center, which is quite historically interesting. Visit the Old Town Hall and the two churches--St. Thomas's and St. Nicholas's. There are Bach memorials everywhere. St. Nicholas's is considered to have been the starting point of the "peaceful revolution" in 1989 which paved the way for the unification of Germany. Also look for nice arcades with shops, etc. Go to Mädler Passage and have lunch at Auerbach's Keller (look for the statue of Faust). Goethe actually did eat here. (Latest factoid: according to at least one source, it is the fifth best-known restaurant in the world.) The modern BMW assembly plant on the edge of the city has tours (M-F, and sometime Sat, when in production. Usually only in German; see this thread for infomation as of June 2009 on special English-language small group tours at EUR 80.) Book ahead.

Wörlitzer Park - (formally The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz). Official English language website.

Colditz - Home of Colditz Castle, near Leipzig, Dresden, and Chemnitz. Used as a workhouse for the indigent and a mental institution for over 100 years, it became notorious as Oflag IV-C, a prisoner-of-war camp for "incorrigible" Allied officers who had repeatedly escaped from other camps. (Description taken from Google Maps via free license.) This is where the actual glider was built for an escape attempt during WWII. [3] To get good feel for the place, see Guy Hamilton's 1955 movie, even though the glider does not appear in this version of the "story".

Dessau - This one of the homes of the Bauhaus. Here you will find the school building with "Bauhaus" in block letters on the side that is shown in numberous old photos. (Approx. E or NE of the train station.) A bit further on are the "Meisterhausen" of Klee, Kandinsky, and Gropius (who was the Dean). The Lyonel Feininger house has a nice Kurt Weil museum. Have lunch or dinner at the Bauhaus-designed Kornhaus on the Elbe. {If you want to see the "Historisches Arbeitsamt" (Bauhaus-designed Weimar-era employment office), do not say "Arbeitsamt, bitte" to the cab driver. This will probably take you to the current city employment office thinking that you are looking for a job.} There is an historically interesting Jewish cemetery, a couple of blocks SW (?) of Historisches Arbeitsamt and the main cemetery, along the river Mulde. (It has a wall constructed of the remnants of gravestones vandalized on Kristallnacht and then ploughed under by the communists. Look for "Israel. Friedhof" near a Dresdner Bank off Ludwigshafener Strasse. Bring a hat.)

Wittenberg - Luther-related sites.

Quedlinberg - foot of the Harz mountains. Quaint medeival town with well-preserved buildings and historically interesting castle and church used for SS swearing-in ceremonies and rallies. (You might recognize the interior from old movies and newsreels.) Founded in 922 by Henry the Fowler and his wife Mathilda (both buried in the church) and therefore a favorite of Himmler who saw himself as the reincarnation of Henry I (see this source). Interesting town square with a statue of Roland, over 1,300 timber-framed houses, and the Lyonel Feininger Gallery.

Potsdam - Several Prussian royal castles, all open to the public. Fascinating "waterworks" (engineering) building. Movie studio. (Also accessible by S-Bahn from Berlin, but requires extra fare.)

Berlin - Now a separate section -- see below.

[edit] Berlin

Berlin is the old (and new) capital of Germany with museums, symphonies, and historical sites. There is a nice article (Apr. 25, 2009) in the Wall Street Journal on the activities surrounding the 20th anniversity of the breaching of the Wall.

[edit] Selected attractions

The most popular tourist destinations include the Jewish Museum (Jüdisches Museum Berlin in the Collegienhaus on Lindenstraße, with addition designed by Daniel Libeskind), the German Historical Museum (I. M. Pei re-do), walking along Unter Den Linden, the KaDeWe department store, the remains of Gestapo HQ (Topographie des Terrors) on what was Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse (now Niederkirchnerstrasse), Postdamer Platz (now with the Sony Center), the Bendlerblock (ex-Army General Staff HQ), and whatever is currently open on Museumsinsel. b-y was particularly fascinated by the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way reconstructed at the Pergamon Museum. (Some consider this represents a theft of cultural heritage equivalent to that of the Elgin Marbles or the Rosetta Stone. See it before the Germans have to give it back.)

Modern art is in the Neue National Gallery.

Take the tour of the Reichstag, with its new "dome".

Recommendations from voltigeur include:

  • bar hop in Kreuzberg; have a Schnitzel at Gasthaus Dietrich Herz (or more casually some Turkish)
  • saunter along Unter den Linden
  • Bauhaus design Museum - see the roots of much of what we consider modern household design (post WW1 to early '30s)
  • new architecture, Potsdamer Platz
  • pick and choose your food at Rogacki desliktessen in Charlottenburg
  • check out the 'Ku-damm' & KdW .. and ponder at the ruins of the Kaiser-Wilhelm church - mute testimony to the terrible effectiveness of Allied bombing
  • Jewish Museum / Holocaust memorial, http://www.stiftung-denkmal.de/
  • day trip to Potsdam

Update on Gestapo HQ: The former HQ building was demolished after the war. (Photos from 1933 on the web here and here.) There has been an interesting outdoor exhibit built around the partially excavated basement prison rooms since 1987. The plans for a more permanent exhibit have gone ahead at times, but the current status is somewhat unclear.

Berlin now has an Umwelt or Green Zone. (More information here.) Cars are restricted inside the U-Bahn ring. Use the green sticker supplied with your car at the Welt.

[edit] Hotels

There are lots of top places, and the prices are lower than Paris or London. The main center has moved from Kurfurstendamm (the "West") to Mitte (formerly the "East" but now again the center).

This list starts with two places that are historically interesting, with top service, and differ according to size and location:

  • The Adlon. Although it was reconstructed following unification, it still has the charm of the original. Directly opposite the Brandenberg Gate at the start of Unter den Linden.
  • The Schlosshotel im Grunewald. A bit far out, in a residential area with ambassadors' residences, etc. Live like one of the Kaiser's ministers or the head of a puppet state. (It was in turn the residence of each.) There are only 53 rooms and suites. Interior redone by Karl Lagerfeld. 10-15 min. walk to the S-Bahn if you won't have a car or don't want to use cabs.

Other options for luxury hotels include:

One-half a step down are a number of chain hotels including:

  • Grand Hyatt (Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 2, just S of the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz; nice dining room and short walk to the Philharmonic)
  • Marriott (Inge-Beisheim-Platz 1, just N of the Potsdamer Platz S- and U-Bahn stations). This map shows the relative locations of the Marriott (A), the Grand Hyatt (B), and the Ritz Carlton (sort-of in the middle).

[edit] Restaurants

There is not an equivalent to the Viktualienmarkt, but the food hall at KaDeWe rivals Dallmayr's. There are food bars serving all sorts of great stuff and provisions to buy. Places to eat in the store include Le Buffet in the Wintergarten (7th fl.) and the Art Nouveau Silberterrasse. A few years ago Mrs. b-y treated herself to a light dinner at KaDeWe before a concert at the Philharmonie. It is truly a great experience for foodies.

Another delikatessen-like option is Rogacki, at Wilmersdorfer Strasse 145 in Charlottenburg. There is a short write-up in the NY Times (October 2009).

This list leaves out all hotel restaurants despite the fact that some are quite good.

b-y's favorite is actually Italian. Don Camillo is in Charlottenburg, and is quite possibly the best Italian restaurant outside of Italy. See the write-up here. Cash only, so take lots.

Reinhard's Landhaus is in Grunewald, within walking distance from the Schlosshotel (who originally recommended it). Reasonable prices and easy neighborhood parking. A cross between German and Continental cuisine. English menu available here.

There are now lots of top-quality centrally-located restaurants. Two that provided good, but not perfect, experiences are:

Lutter & Wegner is right in the Gendarmenmarkt and has been for almost 200 years. It is almost everyone's ideal of a classic Berlin restaurant; great food and service. Only two downsides: (a) Their Flash intro does not always work in either German or English, so no link to their menu. (b) Not quite ancient report: "We went one time when the cigarette smoke ruined Mrs. b-y's dining experience. But the law has changed, so that should no longer be a problem."

Ana e Bruno - Italianish, higher-end then Don Camillo. The food and service were very good, but possibly not worth the price, unlike DC. Jacket & tie required.

For someplace less expensive and completely different: Sushi Circle in Potsdamer Platz. It is part of a small chain, with two restaurants in Munich and four in Berlin. (Half of their locations seem to be in Karstadt stores.) It is surprsingly good and--even more surprisingly--reasonably priced given its central location. You catch onto the color-coding of the plates quite quickly.

For lunches, b-y recommends Gosch Sylt and similar things. Just what a chain of casual seafood places should be. There was one right in the middle of Potsdamer Platz, but possibly this Berliner Zeitung article says that it has closed. The website now lists one at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

Moderately-priced places in Mitte The Fall 2009 NY Times Travel Magazine has a short write-up of five smaller restaurants, all on Torstrasse in Mitte.

[edit] Black Forest

The major driving routes are covered in the Suggested Itineraries part of the this Wiki. ViaMichelin ran an article in Sept. 2008 with a 3-day trip. Options include the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, which runs along the ridges at approx. 1000 meters altitude, the Black Forest Spa Route, which is basically an intesting loop in the northern half, and the Schwarzwald Panoramastraße. This link lists several of the routes.

Two of the best restaurants in Germany are in or around Baiersbronn:

  • The Schwarzwaldstube. Great for lunch or dinner, whether you stay at the Traube Tonback or not.

AblertG and Northcar recommend the Schlosshotel Bühlerhöhe. Two smaller hotels in Baden-Baden, Der Kleine Prinz and the Belle-Epoque, were recommended by dkreidel.

Larger cities and towns include Baden-Baden (spas & resorts), Karlsruhe (Schloss, KZM media museum, Majolika museum, university), and Freiburg. SusieBelle used Freudenstadt as the base for a 10-day stay.

Unlike Juliet's Balcony in Verona, you cannot visit the Schwarzwaldklinik. It went off the air in 1989.

[edit] Rhine & Mosel Valleys

[edit] Industrial Germany: The Ruhr & environs

The Ruhr Basin is not what it once was. (Think Cleveland or Pittsburgh or even Gary, Indiana.) The steel mills are basically all gone. Don't expect to find any memorials to Dam Busters. But there is the German Mining Museum (Deutsches Bergbau-Museum or DBM) and the Railway Museum (Eisenbahnmuseum Bochum-Dahlhausen) in and near Bochum., respectively. Warner Bros. Movie World is in Bottrop, and Duisberg is now a university town with a modern sculpture museum (Wilhelm-Lehmbruck Museum). Villa Hügel, the Krupp mansion, is outside of Essen on the north shore of Lake Baldeney; it is open to the public. (Those not familar with the Krupp family history should read Wm. Manchester's The Arms of Krupp; originally published in 1968, with a new paperback ed. in 2003. Trivia: the U.S. branch of the family uses the old Bohlen family name. Henry Bohlen was a Civil War general; Chip Bohlen was instrumental in uncovering the text of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and later became an ambassador; Celestine was a NY Times reporter and is now at Bloomberg. Henry was Gustave Krupp's grandfather.)

[edit] Hamburg & the areas near the Baltic & North Seas

Hamburg is a commercial center, a seaport, and an interesting destination for tourism, food and culture. The Alster basin is directly in the middle of the old city, with the top hotels and shopping areas facing the water. There are several popular boat rides covering the working port, the interior waterways, etc. The Kunsthalle (Fine Arts Museum) has a superb collection that ranges from 17C Dutch to 19C German (C.D. Friedrich, etc.) to modern (everything from die Brücke and Blaue Reiter to Richter). A new attraction is the BallinStadt Museum, documenting the mass emigration of a century ago. It is built in the emigration halls on Veddel Island and named after Albert Ballin, the president of the shipping company HAPAG. Ballin was written out of German history by the Nazis and has only been recently recognized as a transportation pioneer.

Top hotels include The Atlantic (of James Bond fame; has a "BMW Suite") and the Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten, both directly on the Alster. Both hotels have excellent rooms and service and have been personally inspected by 'Festers JSpira and b-y.

[edit] Other parts of Germany

[edit] Austria

One of the most popular destinations in Austria (Österreich) is, of course, its capital city, Wien (Vienna) but there are many beautiful and distinct areas of the country you can visit since you will be driving a brand new BMW.

Make sure to have purchased an Autobahnvignette and Warnwesten (safety vest, one of the latter for each occupant of the car - and they must be kept inside the vehicle) before entering Austria.

Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. Modern Austria dates back to the ninth century, when the name ,,Ostarrichi`` (Old High German for ,,Eastern Territory``) was first used in an official document.

There are nine federal states (Bundesländer)

  • Burgenland - capital Eisenstadt;
  • Carinthia (Kärnten) - capital Klagenfurt;
  • Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) - capital St. Pölten;
  • Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) - capital Linz;
  • Salzburg - capital Salzburg;
  • Styria (Steiermark) - capital Graz;
  • Voralberg - capital Bregenz;
  • Vienna (Wien) - capital Vienna

[edit] Burgenland

The Burgenland, Austria´s youngest Bundesland, shares the Neusiedler See, Austria´s largest lake, with Hungary. Eisenstadt (Kismarton), its capital, was the seat of the Eszterházy Hungarian noble family and Joseph Haydn lived there as Hofkapellmeister under Esterházy patronage. 2009 is the Hadyn-Jahr (Haydn Year) in honor of the 200th anniversary of the composer´s death. This area was once referred to as "German-speaking western Hungary".

[edit] Eisenstadt

The capital has a lot of worthwhile sights. (Web site under construction.) The Schloß Esterházy, esp. the Hadynsaal, is worth spending time in as is the Schloßpark. The former Jewish district is also noteworthy and near the Schloß: visit the "Österreichisches Jüdisches Museum" (Austrian Jewish Museum) in Unterberg. Inside is the Wertheimer'sche Schul, a private chapel from the 18th century that was somehow spared destruction after the Anschluß. Samson Wertheimer was a key financier for the Esterházy family and the Holy Roman Emperors in the late 17th and early 18th century. Not only is this museum the first Jewish museum to open in Austria after the Second World War but officials found hidden Torah scrolls and other sacred objects hidden in the walls. The Schul is still used for occasional services. Also visit the historic Jewish Cemetery in this district. (Remember to bring a hat if you visit either the Schul or the cemetery.)

Haydnhaus, where the composer lived, is also nearby and very much worth a visit. His mausoleum (the composer was reunited with his head in 1954) in the Bergkirche is also worth a stop. If you are lucky, you may find a concert being played on the church´s organ, the same one that Hadyn himself (and Beethoven one time) played.

There is a tourist office in the rebuilt old town hall on Hauptstraße, the main pedestrian-only street. (The building is architecturally and historically interesting itself.) The top restaurant, also named Esterházy, is in the old stables building opposite the Schloß (basically at the top of Hauptstraße), and there are several simpler places to stop for a light lunch.

[edit] Rust

Rust is a wonderful area to visit, right on the border of Hungary. Explore the Weinländer ,,Neusiedlersee`` (north and east of the Neusiedlersee) and ,,Neusiedlersee-Hügelland`` - both famous for Spätlese and Eiswein as well as Traminer.

Storks are part of the city´s essence as well; Rust is sometimes called ,,Die Stadt der Störche`` (,,Stork City``) and you will see many storks as you wander around town.

Consider staying at the Seehotel Rust, directly on the Neusiedlersee.

[edit] Other Neusiedlersee locations

The Neusiedlersee is a broad shallow lake and marshland area with the exact borders shifting from year to year. The Leitha River used to be the border between Austria and Hungary, but the border moved east in 1921 with the formation of the current Austrian Burgenland. Lake access is at Rust and the town of Neuseidl am See. There is public swimming, sun-bathing, and an informal restaurant at the lake near Neuseidl am See. (Possibly this one.) The price is quite reasonable, but be prepared for the mushy lake bottom.

Purbach (formally Purbach am Neusiedler See) is a small town between Neuseidl a. S. and Rust, with walls built in the 16th and 17th Century to defend against the Turkish invasion. (Web site still under construction; local German-language site is here.) b-y recommends Weingasthof Pauli's Stuben for both its food and rooms. It was an amazing bargain at less than EUR 40 per person per night, and the restaurant is popular with both locals and tourists. The food is several notches above the traditional heavy country fare, with interesting dishes (lamb, duck, fish, etc.) in light sauces with fresh local ingredients. Local wines without the typical restaurant markup! Longer write-up here.

Taubenkobel, a pleasant restaurant and R&Ch hotel in 7081 Schuetsen am Gerbirge, now has two Michelin stars.


[edit] Oberösterreich (Upper Austria)

[edit] Kopfing im Innkreis

Kopfing is a community (Marktgemeinde) in Oberösterreich with ca. 2000 residents. It is 547 m above sea level and was founded by the duchy of Bavaria in 1779.

The Baumkronenweg (Treetop Path) in Kopfing is a most unusual way to visit a forest - from the treetops! The 1000m path includes an observatory tower and even a hotel (Baumhotel) and restaurant (Gasthof Oachkatzl). The cost of building the Baumkronenweg was ca. €1 million Euro.


[edit] Salzburg & the Salzkammergut

Salzburg is a very popular destination for those doing BMW tourist delivery due to its proximity to München but incredible vistas, driving, and food await if you drive to the east. Salzburg is a common destination for both day trips from Munich and for short visits. The lake district ("Salzkammergut") nearby is exceptionally pleasant, with interesting small towns (St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang, Bad Ischl, Hallein, etc.), salt mines, sled runs, etc.

A warning: during the music festival season (last week of July and most of August) Salzburg is overrun with tourists, and hotels (and restaurants) book up early.

[edit] Hotels in and around Salzburg

All of the following are from the Michelin Red Guide and right in Salzburg proper. We have no first-hand experience with any of them unless noted. (NOTE: The * ratings below are actually the Michelin hotel "towers" from the print edition and do not match either Viamichelin's online ratings or the national star ratings.)

  • 4*/Pleasant - Sachar
  • 4* - Bristol (highly recommended by BMR2009), Sheraton, Altstadt Radison SAS
  • 3*/Pleasant - Goldener Hirsch (our favorite in the old town; part of the Starwood Luxury Collection), Schloss Moenchstein
  • 3* -Crown Plaza-The Pitter, Castellani Parkhotel
  • many 2* and 1*

Not listed in the Michelin Red Guide:


Outside the city...

In Hof bei Salzburg, about 10 mi out

  • 5*/Pleasant: Schloss Fuschl. It is part of the Starwood Luxury Collection. BMR2009 provides photos and a glowing review. (There is also the Arabella Sheraton Hotel Jagdhof on the same lake-front property)

in Salzburg-Aigen, 4 mi out

  • 2*/Pleasant - Rosenville

in Salzburg-Liefering, 2.5 mi out and just off the A1 exit

  • 2* (but with a one-star Restaurant) - Hotel Gasthof Brandstätter

[edit] The Wachau

The Wachau region along the Danube (Donau) river in Niederösterreich, namely the village of Dürnstein as well as Stift Melk have (thanks to favorable reports from Jonathan Spira) become destinations for Festers. Dürnstein is where Richard Löwenherz (Richard the Lionhearted) was held captive during the Crusades and you can visit the ruins atop a hill today. It is also a wonderful place to bike ride, enjoy good Austrian wine (Grüner Veltliner, for example), and excellent Austrian cuisine. Stift Melk is one of the world´s most famous and beautiful monastic sites. You can purchase local wines, Apricot (Marillen) Marmalade, and Apricot Liqueur (Marillenlikör) to take home with you.


[edit] Wien (Vienna)

Vienna is Austria´s capital and has a population of ca. 1.7 million (2.3 million within the metropolitan area). It is also one of nine Federal States of Austria, the largest city in Austria, and its cultural and commercial center. It has the tenth largest population in the EU and was rated 2nd in quality of living by Mercer.

Vienna traces its origins back to 500 B.C.E. and was a Roman frontier city, known as Vindobona (,,good wine``), guarding the Roman Empire against Germanic tribes to the north.

It was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Empire and continues to play a major role in European and world politics as a bridge between East and West.

Vienna is also a world capital of the arts and music. The Burgtheater is one of the best German-language theaters in the world and the Volkstheater and Theater in der Josefstadt are also well known. The city is home to the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic), considered the finest orchestra in the world by many, based in the Musikverein in the Bösendorferstraße. The Staatsoper (State Opera) and Volksopera (devoted to Viennese operettas) are several of the city´s opera houses and are also among the world´s finnest. The music of Johann Strauß (both junior and senior) resonates throughout the city.

[edit] Preparing for your visit to Vienna

Vienna can be as daunting a city to visit as London or Paris. There is too much to do and see, and you could easily spend days on foot or using public transit in the city center or you can use it as a base for day trips to neighboring regions. It can also be quite expensive. All of this means there is a large payoff to some initial planning. Recommended reading includes Wining and Dining in Vienna for a look at the city, its cuisine, and the many types of restaurants one can visit and enjoy.

Other options include the Michelin Green Guide to Austria, Rick Steves books and DVDs, and the experience of others on their ED trips. (Use "Search" or ask specific questions on the forum.) Another approach is to have a "theme" such as tracking down locations from The Third Man or looking at the classics of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) architecture: the Secession Building, Karlplatz pavillions, etc. Similarly, the former home of Sigmund Freud has a small museum open to the public. Nearby is the former home of Theodor Herzl.

Vienna's 19th and 20th Century history is an integral part of what makes it interesting. You can get some of the flavor of the Allied occupation (from 1945 to 1954) along with insights on Vienna's Imperial past and the early years of the Cold War by watching The Third Man or reading Charles Drazin's In Search of The Third Man. Considered by many to be the greatest British film of all time, The Third Man is appealing on many levels--location, history, casting, acting, plot (a "spy story with no spies"). JSpira can provide you with detailed bios of all the Austrian bit players, and b-y can tell you which of the Allied forces were billetted in which hotels.

In October 2009, the Wall St. Journal ran a nice piece by Danial Akst on the history and architecture of the Ringstraße.

[edit] Hotels

The Imperial is one of the best hotels in the world, located on the Ringstraße. Read the review in Executive Road Warrior for details. The Bristol (also on the Ring; they were particularly understanding about parking and the BMW rules concerning the keys) and Sacher are also top hotels.

Le Méridien is also on the Ring and very modern. Read the review for further details. The Hilton am Stadtpark is also very modern and is located near the Stadtpark and the City Air Train (CAT) terminal.

Here are several lists of Vienna hotels. Both the "ratings" and the classification scheme are somewhat arbitrary, but this should provide a good starting point.

Top classic hotels. This first list consists of old-style (the buildings, some are new hotels in old city palaces; others have been there for years):

  • Palais Coburg
  • Imperial
  • (Im Palais Schwarzenberg is still closed as of summer 2009)

One-half step down but still top 5-star options, also classic style:

  • Bristol
  • Sacher

Modern hotels in modern buildings:

  • Intercontinental
  • Meridien
  • Do & Co.
  • Renaissance
  • Das Triest

More reasonably-priced options:

  • {list to come}
[edit] Dining

A good introduction to a variety of restaurant types plus reviews may be found in "Wining and Dining: Vienna, Austria" in Executive Road Warrior.

Some favorites include:

  • Schweizerhaus is a beer garden with traditional food at a corner of the Prater. There is a short write-up in the NY Times.

An interesting local option is to go to a Heurigen, generally a tavern that is associated with a vineyard. They are usually in outer neighborhoods (including near the Wienerwald) and have buffets for food with table service for the wine. Many also have music. Prices are quite reasonable. There are dozens of possibilities; here are a few that some of us have visitied:

  • Ing. Werner-Welser, Probusgasse 12, in Heiligenstadt (19th district). Closer in than most, good food & wine; accessible by bus and a short walk. (Subway U4 to Heiligenstadt and then bus line 38A as far as Armbrustergasse.)
  • Weingut Reisenberg, Oberer Reisenbergweg 15 (officially in 1190 Döbling), in the hills above Grinzing, with a fantastic view of both the city and the Wienerwald. Take tram & bus, then an uphill walk or drive down a narrow hill road. (As above but take the 38A to Oberer Reisenbergweg; alternative is to take tram 38 to Grinzing and then the 38A bus. The second option lets you walk around Grinzing if you wish. Directions for driving & parking avalable--click on "Anfahrt" then "Anfahrtsplan".)

Another appealing local option is to go to a Beisl for ,,alt Wiener Küche`` or traditional Viennese cuisine. The word ,,Beisl`` is slang for a Wirtshaus, Gasthaus, or pub. One example is Zum Reznicek.

[edit] Museums

The Hofburg (Imperial Palace) houses the Schatzkammer (treasury), displaying the Habsburg imperial jewels. The Sisi Museum is a museum devoted to Empress Elisabeth. (Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria was born in 1837 at Possenhofen, married the Emperor of Austria in 1854, and died on September 10, 1898 in Geneva. She was assassinated by an anarchist while walking from the Brunswick Memorial to the quay and died just outside the Beau Rivage Hotel. More details here.) Across from the Hofburg are the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistorisches Museum.

The Museumsquartier (museum quarter) is located in the former Imperial Stalls. The Museum of Modern Art,commonly known as the MUMOK (Ludwig Foundation), the Leopold Museum (displazing works of the Viennese Secession) are all worth a visit.

The Albertina has been remodeled in recent years and often has quite good special shows.

Do not expect to find the Klimts in the upper part of Schloss Belvedere. They were returned to their rightful owners.

[edit] Italy

Please note that several cities in Italy now have Zona Traffico Limitato (ZTL) or "no-drive/limited access" zones in their centers. Violating these restrictions may result in your receiving a violation notice and a bill for approximately € 100 several months after your ED. You can read about one EDer's unfortunate experience in Florence at this thread . Other cities with ZTL include Bologna (see below) and Milan. There is a Rick Steves article with additional information available at [4] .

[edit] Venice

Once you arrive in Venice, your car will stay in the parking garage during your visit. Many bimmerfesters have used the Tronchetto garage, look here for more info. Although the site mentions bookings, they were not required in Sep 2007, but email them to make sure. Depending on how much you suffer with your car, you may want to park in the VIP section. These spaces are close to the booth attendants, the pedestrian entrance, and the vaporetto (water bus) stop. Also in the VIP section they will roll a wire screen behind the cars to prevent opportunistic vandals from even touching the car. VIP was €5 extra per day in 2007. Other car parks are in Piazzale Roma, see one here. Parking in Piazzale Roma is a little more per day but saves the cost of taking the vaporetto since you could walk to most points in Venice from here. However, many 'festers chose not to park here because the car must be left unlocked (they claim for security reasons(?). If you're staying for an extended period, consider parking in Mestre on the mainland (cheaper) but it is less convenient as you would have to take the train into Venice. Information on vaporetto rates and route maps is here.

(There is another option that costs a bit more but is significantly easier on the visitor. However, some think it violates the ED terms in that you turn your car and its key over to the parking agent. A recent post implies that you can turn over your car with the valet key to a parking service. [Search the ED forum for "Venice parking service" for details.] The service takes you to the vaporetto stop near the Piazzale Roma and will pick you up there if you call in advance before you are ready to leave. The charge was about €35 per day a couple of years ago. b-y's semi-reassuring comment: "I have no idea what they actually do with your car during your visit!")

[edit] Brenner Pass to Bologna and points south

Many 'Fest EDers head south for the weather, Italian food and wine, and the "Northern Italy" experience. This section describes some of the cities and towns just off of the A22 (the Autostrada del Brennero), which is the main toll road running north-to-south through the region. It starts at the Brenner Pass, south of Innsbruck and the Europa Bridge. Signposted as "Passo del Brennero" in Italy, it is the lowest pass (1370 m) through the alps. The northern parts of this area were part of Austro-Hungary up to World War I, and Italian and German are the official languages. (Except in Bolzano proper, there are more German speakers than Italian speakers; many speak both languages fluently. There are also many English speakers in the region.) Officially, the northern part is the "Südtirol" or "Alto Adige", and both the German and Italian names are used here for most locales. The southern part, "Trentino", is almost all Italian-speaking. Most of the selected places are just off the A22, but there are several other interesting destinations that are quite close--Lake Garda to the west, the Dolomites and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia to the east, for example. This map gives an overview of the Autostrada-based route from Innsbruck to Bologna. Driving time is approx. 4.5 hrs, but stops and side-trips are encouraged. (Locales are listed generally from north to south.)

Historical source: There is an "official" history of the Südtirol/Alto Adige available on the web. It is A brief contempory history of Alto Adige/Südtirol (1918-2002). The PDF file is here. It is published by the Parliament of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen [Consiglio Bolzano / Landtag Bozen].

Vipiteno/Sterzing John Lance recommends this small town just south of the Austrian/Italian border for a pleasant lunch stop en route.

Brixen/Bressanone (Third largest city in the northern part of the region; population approx. 20,000.) Attractive market city with interesting Baroque Cathedral, Palace, etc. Locally famous hotel: Hotel Elephant.

Bozen/Bolzano (Largest city in the region; population approx. 100,000.) More industrial and commercial than the others, but with an attractive older center. Home of the Alpini High Command (somewhat equivalent to the U.S. 10th Mountain Division); look for their distinctive uniforms and hats. Has several castles, churches (of course), and the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology (with Ötzi--look him up). Among the other interesting sites are Walther Square, with a statue of Walther von der Vogelweide, the German minstrel, and the World War I Victory Monument, built by Mussolini in 1928 (photo here). Bolzano's 20th Century history is somewhat controversial and there are several versions. Mussolini encouraged Italian industry to build facilities here in the 30s. The reasons given at the time were to de-centralize industry from its base in Turin and Milan with the prospect of war and to support regional development. (For example, Lancia built a truck and transmission factory on Via Volta in Bolzano. References here and here.) Some now claim this was part of a conscious effort to "Italianize" the region and reduce the Germanic linguistic and cultural heritage. (See the "historical souce" given above for more of the region's history.) Top hotels include the Park Laurin and the Walther.

Meran/Merano (Second largest city among this northern group; population approx. 36,500. Not to be confused with Murano, the island near Venice. Merano and Bolzano are connected by the MEBO, a limited-access, non-toll parkway.) Meran is a beautiful spa city, built on either side of the Passer/Passino river. The most famous attraction is the spa, now a modern facility designed by Milanese architect Matteo Thun. Other interesting sights include the two river promenades, the ornate Kurhaus, and the Trauttmansdorff Castle (with gardens). There is also an arcaded shopping street--Via Portici or Laubengasse . There are several classic older hotels in the center, on the north side of the river (e.g., the Hotel Palace, the Meranerhof, and the Westend). On the south side is the Steigenberger Hotel Therme Meran, a modern upscale hotel across from the new spa. Outside of the city center are an almost infinite number of guest houses, vacation lodges, and other accommodations. (Castel Fragsburg is now an R&Ch property.) There are many interesting mountain walking trails, breweries (Birreria Forst), and Speck Tirolese producers (yum!). There are frequent outdoor concerts in the Summer. Kallmünz, in the downtown area, is an extraordinary restaurant. Other highly regarded restaurants include the Altmeraner Gaststätte "Santner Klause", the Sissi, and the spa's cafe. Also recommended are the König and the Imperial pastry shops, both in Corso Libertà.

b-y thinks Meran is possibly the nicest small city in Europe and particularly recommends the Pergola Residence, a modern country manor on Via Cassiano in the hills just outside of town (officially in Algund/Lagundo).

There are interesting castles in the Merano area and surrounding mountain villages. Schloss Labers is said to have housed the SS, Nazi loot, and the famous counterfeit British five-pound notes. (See: this NY Times article from 1986.) Tyrol Castle (Schloss Tirol/Castel Tirolo) is in Dorf and has several museums. There is a museum focused on Ladin, the third language of the area, in Ćiastel de Tor (in St. Martin in Thurn).

Kastelruth/Castelrotto is recommended by Chaz58 and M Funf. It is approx. 70 km northeast of Trento and 20 km northeast of Bolzano. Rick Steves wrote a short piece on the area in 2007. The central town square is historically interesting and a popular meeting place weekday afternoons at 14:45 (end of the school day for the youngest children) and on Sundays.

Trento (Largest city in Tentino; population approx. 55,000 in the city and 110,000 in the broader "township".) Has several interesting palaces and churches, including its Duomo (Cathedral of St. Vigilius). Check out the Via Manzi for its mix of architectural styles. Most famous for the Council of Trent (mid 16th C.) and the beginning of the counter-reformation. Has several 4-star hotels and four Michelin 1-star restaurants within a 5-mile radius.

There are winter and summer resorts to the east (and "above") Trento in Folgaria, Lavarone and Luserna. This part of the Trentino Plateau had early Bavarian settlements and, at times, sought to be self-governing. The resorts are less fancy and the roads less exciting than those near Cortina, but the area is quite pleasant.

Verona (Population approx. 300,000; at the junction of the A22 and the A4--the Milan-to-Venice Autostrada.) Famous for Juliet's balcony and the Roman-era arena, but there is much more to see (official tourist office website here) in this UNESCO world heritage city. (b-y's comment: "I find it difficult to explain some of this as I have visited Sherlock Holmes' rooms at 221B Baker Street, London, the site of Miles Archer's death in SF, and Manger Square in Bethlehem. So the crowds walking through the passageway to Juliet's statue and the balcony probably make sense on some level.") Among the sites related to more modern history, the Santuario della Madonna di Lourdes (at Forte San Leonardo / Werk San Leonardo from the Habsburg days) was used to incarcerate and torture allied troops, Jews and anti-fascist suspects when Verona became part of the Repubblica di Salò in the last years of WWII. Galeazzo Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law, was tried for plotting against the republic; he was executed on the banks of the Adige with many other officers on what is now Via Columbo.

At this point you can go west on the A4 to Lake Garda (especially Sirmione at the southern end or Salò and Gardone Riviera with "Il Vittoriale" on the west shore), Brescia (industrial, but with a nice Mille Miglia museum), and Bergamo (with its walled upper town). (Milan is covered separately below.) Or you can go east to Padua and Venice. (If you want to see the Giotti paintings in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, you MUST book ahead during peak season, usually by a week or more.) There are numerous city hotels, guest houses, and resort hotels in this region. The Garda area is a famous center of the "slow food" movement, so there are truly many exceptional dining options.

Mantua (Mantova in Italian.) No reports.

Modena The Duomo is Romenesque (of course) and has an interesting museum. The Biblioteca Estense is one of the great libraries of Italy, and the associated Galleria has a famous collection of paintings and terracotta. Several excellent restaurants. But, you probably want to go for the cars. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and De Tomaso are produced in or around Modena, but it appears that none of them have tours available. One option is to go in late April or early May for the Modena Terra di Motori, which fills the town square with classic cars. See this page from the official tourist center about car-related activities and museums.

Bologna (Population approx. 375,000.) One of the great cities in Italy and home of its oldest university (and possibly the oldest university in Europe). Home to fantastic food. Bologna has an arcaded city center; historic gates and other structures; the usual duomo, basilicas and churches; an architecturally interesting central train station (designed by Gaetano Ratti); and a botanical garden. Both Luigi Galvani and Guglielmo Marconi taught at the university. Ducati is headquartered here. There are numerous hotels at all price points, with the Grand Hotel Baglioni one of the great luxury hotels of Italy, with prices to match. The central square is actually two adjacent squares (Piazza Maggiore e del Nettuno) in the center of the red-roofed old city. At the square are city hall and several palaces. The National Art Gallery is just north of the university.

Bologna now has a restricted traffic zone (ZTL) in the city center. You must make advanced arrangements with your hotel 48 hours in advance to be authorized to enter. Read more about this here.

Parma (Population approx. 175,000. Before you go, read John Grisham's Playing for Pizza.) Parma is 65km the west of Modena (and therefore also to the west of Bologna) via the A1 or the S9. Visit the Palazzo della Pilotta (with the Academy of Fine Arts), the Palazzo Ducale (Palazzo del Giardino), and Casa Toscanini. Justly famous for its cheese and dry-cured prosciutto, the food is top-quality. ViaMichelin has a food-related tour here. b-y has spent time in Parma but explains: "I can not give any first-hand restaurant recommendations for the best possible reason: we were guests of the Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano and Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma for a catered lunch at the Palazzo Ducale so we did not need to venture out on our own. (Lancias of all vintages lined the roads in the Parco Ducale.)"

[edit] Milan / Milano

Milan is the commercial capital of northern Italy. The city is the second largest in Italy, with a population of approximately 1.3 million. It is a controversial destination with 'Festers...Milan is big, crowded, expensive, and now has car restrictions in the city center. But it also has great food, top hotels, and interesting tourist sites (not to mention numerous designer shops). Two of the major sites are the Duomo (dress appropriately) and the Castello Sforzesco (official website here; the only castle I know with a car emblem over the entrance).

In May 2009 MSNBC website is featuring a video and a couple of useful links:

There is a WSJ article on three smaller (neighborhood, but central) restaurants that ran on June 19, 2009.

Parking in central Milan is so complicated (and expensive) that even this city tourist website has difficulty explaining it. Here is a brief description:

Don't drive in the central area anyway! The "Sosta Milano" parking system - tickets to be bought at newstands and placed in your car after "scratching" day and time - is so complicated and expensive that if you really want to take the car, the best solution is to leave it in one of the twenty or so guarded parking lots in the downtown area.

If that weren't bad enough, there is also a congestion charge to just drive into the delimited area. (More information here.)

[edit] Slovenia

The major thing to remember is that Slovenia and Slovakia are two different countries. Highway vignettes are now required to travel in or across Slovenia.

Slovenia was the northern-most part of the former Yugoslavia. The national language is Slovenian, which was treated as a dialect of Serbo-Croatian during the Yugoslavian days. A large part of the urban population speaks English and/or German (or Italian near that border). Slovenia is a crossroads country with some industry (Elan skis, for example). It is also a member of the European Union, the Eurozone, and the Schengen area. This results in relative stability and prosperity, but you will notice that prices in the major cities are not as low as you might expect. However, Slovenia is noted for having the lowest-priced gasoline in Central Europe.

[edit] Ljubljana

[edit] Bled

Bled (Veldes in German from the Austro-Hungary days) is a resort town north of Ljubliana. Most of the visitors seemed to be Russians or eastern Europeans of one sort or another. There were many interesting high-end sporty cars on the street and driving around. The main attractions are Bled Castle on on the oustskirts and Lake Bled and the lake-front streets. There was a Swiss-style health resort from the mid-19th C. on. A major tourist activity is traveling out to the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church in the middle of the lake via a rowboat. Triglav National Park is located in the vicinity.

There are new "sport" hotels, older local hotels (some very nice) and B&Bs, and the Villa Bled. This last was Marshall Tito's summer residence and official guest residence for visitors and is now a R&Ch property. b-y stayed here in 2008 and thought it was great, especially if you remember the 50s. From his post: "We had a large suite that I nicknamed the 'Kim Il Sung Suite' overlooking the lake. We either had Tito's parking space at the front door or the one next to it. We ate a nice dinner there." They provided passes to the pool complex at the Golf Hotel, owned by the same group. Free WiFi in both hotels. Service was odd mix of helpful, but no porters. You want to explore the lake by boat--they give you a boat. You want to host an international conference--they have a secluided "Belvedere" with a lake view. Price: approx. €280 per night plus tax of €1.01 per person per night (this is not a typo). Prices vary by room.

[edit] Goriska Brda

Goriška Brda ("frontier hills") is one of the western-most provinces of Slovenia. It is primarily agricultural and has a local wine route. Tourist sights include a lookout tower in Gonjače and Dobrovo Castle. The major place to eat or stay is Belica (pronounced "Belitsa"), a modern vineyard hotel. Daily price for a deluxe double room is approx. €100-130 and dinner is approx. €20-30 per person. b-y and Mrs. b-y ran into Rick Steves here in 2008.

[edit] Istria

Istria is a peninsula on the Adriatic divided among Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. (Reminder: ED cars not permitted in Croatia as of 2008-9.)

Muggia (Mugls, Milje), a small seaport is at the top of the peninsula and the only Italian city on the Istrian coast. It is scenic but quiet. The bus station had a faded map painted on the wall showing the partition between Zone A and Zone B that lasted until 1954.

Piran & Portorož are two Slovenian cities with lots of tourists. See JSpira's review of the new Kempinski Palace hotel. There is a nice write-up of the area in the NY Times. The seaside restaurants are quite good. A local delicacy is the "date mussel" or "sea date", widely available despite being a threatened species with a European prohibition on harvesting.

Pula (Pola in Italian), at the S end of the peninsula, has an interesting modern history. It was part of Austro-Hungary from 1813 until 1918 and was a major WWI port. James Joyce taught here in 1904-05. It was then Italian until 1943, when it became part of “Küstenland”, a region occupied by Germany. During the Italian period, Alida Valli (real name: Alida Maria Laura Altenburger, Baroness of Marckenstein and Freuenberg; her most famous role was Anna Schmidt, the tragic Czech refugee heroine of The Third Man) was born here. Pula also was partitioned at the end of WWII and administered by the UN. It was re-united and formally became part of Yugoslavia in 1947. (Lidia Bastianich was born nearby, and the von Trapps of TSOM fame lived here.)

Rijeka is at the E end of the peninsula, opposite (i.e., SE of) Trieste. Located on Kvarner Bay, it is the principal seaport of Croatia. Now mostly an industrial city, it has as convoluted modern history as the rest of this region. It was under Habsburg control through WWI, attached to Hungary in 1870. (Hungarian & Italian name = Fiume). (Fiorello La Guardia lived here at the start of the 1900s.) In 1919 Gabriele d'Annunzio led a force of Italian irregulars into Rijeka/Fiume, seizing the city and establishing the Regency of Carnaro. This is one of the major events of what is now know as Italian irredentism. By Nov. 1919, Fiume/Rijeka became a "free state". Next came annexation by Italy in 1924, which lasted for 20 years.

[edit] Czech Republic

[edit] Prague

Hlavní město Praha, the Capital City of Prague, is the largest city in the Czech Republic. Situated on the Vltava (or in German, die Moldau), the longest river in the country, the city, known as Prag in German, is the political, cultural, and economic center of the Czech state and has a population of 1.2 million. Its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of ca. 1.9 million.

The Moldau, a musical depiction of the river's course through Bohemia, is also the best-known of Bedřich Smetana's six symphonic poems Má vlast ("My Fatherland") and is based on the same theme as Israel's national anthen, Hatikvah.

Make sure you park in a secured lot during your stay here. The city is navigatable without driving your car, but there are several interesting side trips outside the city that are nice to visit on your way to your next destination.

We stayed at the Hotel Paris in the middle of Prague easy to get to by car, arrange ahead for parking when you make your reservation as the hotel has limited space available. Very convenient to walking anywhere you wish to go on this side of the river and close to public transportation to cross the river and get to the castle area. Paris Hotel is very art deco and well run the restaurant was very good as was the breakfast.

[edit] Terezin Concentration Camp

Day Trip, located about 35 miles to the northwest of Prague.

Most people know about the concentration camps, of course, but we associate the term "concentration camp" with "death camps". In truth, there was a somewhat complex order of camps spread throughout Germany, (then)Czechoslovakia, Poland and Ukraine, in which some camps served a unique purpose. Terezin was a unique camp.

This concentration camp was not one of the notorious "Death Camps", like Auschwitz or Buchenwald. Instead, Terezin was turned into a "model" jewish ghetto, and was used as a consolidation point before some were sent to their death in the East. During the war Terezin was also used by the Nazis for propaganda to show the International Red Cross how well the Jews were being treated, in an attempt to show that the rumors of death camps were just that; rumors. Ironically, in dressing Terezin up for the visit by the Red Cross, the Nazis shipped thousands of Jews to their death at Aushwitz simply to reduce the extreme over-population of the camp and surrounding town of Terezin and make room for their distinguished guests. The story of this camp was featured in the 1970's television miniseries "Holocaust", starring Meryl Streep.

Touring this concentration camp is an eye-opening experience - it provides a very chilling understanding of just how organized the thuggery of the Nazi regime was, and yet how disfunctional they were in executing their grand scheme.

Even though this camp wasn't set up as a death camp, thousands of Jews died none-the-less due to the extreme privation, overcrowding, and poor condition of the facilities.

The trip to Terezin takes less than an hour by BMW (or any car, for that matter). Plan to spend at least four hours and do lots of walking. The fortress is the logical place to start, but don't overlook the museums in the town, as well; they are a very important piece in the bigger picture of what Terezin was during the war.

[edit] Slovakia

The major thing to remember is that Slovenia and Slovakia are two different countries.

[edit] Bratislava

(Pressburg in German; Pozsony in Hungarian; directly on the Danube.) This capital city has an approx. population of 430,000.

[edit] France

[edit] Paris

Entry needed!

[edit] Alsace

If you're headed to Paris, consider making a stop in the Alsace region of France. It is roughly half-way to Paris from Munich. Highlights in this area include Colmar, Strasbourg, and the wine country. For classis car enthusiasts, don't miss the Schlumpf Collection at the Cité de l'Automobile museum in Mulhouse. There are 437 cars from 97 brands on display. (Cité de l'Automobile.) If you are interested in trains you can get a combination ticket that includes admission to the Cité du Train, the largest train museum in Europe. (Cité du Train.)

[edit] Netherlands (aka Holland, Low Countries)

[edit] Amsterdam

Near Amsterdam, check out the gardens of Keukenhof

[edit] Switzerland

[edit] Zurich and Luzern/Lucerne

Zurich is controversial with 'Festers. It is expensive, and some argue it is boring. However, there are interesting art galleries and museums, good shopping and restaurants, and a drop-off location near the airport. See this September 2009 article from the NY Times.

Lucerne/Luzern is probably the more scenic of the two cities. It has a world-quality Picasso Museum and other interesting tourist venues in the old town. Boat rides on the lake are fun. You can go to the transport museum (Swiss Museum of Transport / Verkehrshaus der Schweiz) just outside of the center city or to any of a number of small lakeside towns and cable-car stations.

[edit] Alpine peaks

Interlaken with a trip to the top of the Jung Frau is a beautiful destination.

Please note this medical information: People with cardiac or lung impairments and women who are pregnant should read the medical information at the Jungfraubahn Website. Altitude sickness is a danger in the high parts of the alps.

[edit] The Ticino

This is the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland, essentially just north of Como. There are three major resorts--Lugano, Locarno, and Ascona. But the even more interesting part of the region is in the interior. See this article from the Fall 2009 NY Times Travel Magazine.

[edit] United Kingdom

[edit] London

Note: As of July 1, 2009, the London and Madrid drop off locations will no longer be accepting drop offs for the BMW European Delivery program any more

London is the capital of both the U.K. and England; it's also the largest metropolitan area in the EU with 7.5 million people in Greater London and 12-14 million in the London metropolitan area. Its history goes back to the city's founding by the Romans.

London is a city of buildings of wide varying architecture (including castles of course) and many parks and gardens. The West End (within the City of Westminster) is the city's theatre district and also features many cinemas, bars, clubs, and restaurants. Many music venues merit a visit including the Royal Festival Hall, the Royal Opera House, Sadler's Wells Theatre, and the Royal Albert Hall. Shopping is a favorite pasttime; visit Harrod's, Selfridges, Oxford Street, and Jermyn Street. The area around the Covent Garden tube station is one of many pleasant streets with a wide variety of shops; for something off the beaten path, visit Neal's Yard as well, including Neal's Yard Dairy

London also has other classic shopping opportunities. The original "Foyles' " bookstore has been on Charing Cross Rd. since 1903 (description & map). "Hamleys" has seven floors of toys and is on Regent St. (map & address). Both have additional locations.

Eating in London has never been better. British food has finally shed its once-deserved (poor) reputation and the city's cuisine is now representative of its ethnically diverse population.

A recent discovery is The Little French Restaurant.

For really good bangers and mash (look it up!) try Mother Mash, just around the corner from Regent Street and a short walk from Carnaby Street (which street most likely you've seen in Austin Powers). http://www.mothermash.co.uk/

[edit] (Highly controversial) "things to avoid" list

Feel free to add items or comments to this list, but please do not delete items. Hopefully, everyone will understand that the items on this list represent personal opinions and--to some extent--are influenced by people's level of experience with European travel.

Things to avoid:

  • Frankfurt airport
  • Heathrow airport
  • Hofbräuhaus (OK for beer or a putsch, but avoid the food)
  • Venice in August
  • Florence in August
  • Driving into Milan for a short visit
  • Any city while it is hosting the Euro Cup or World Cup matches
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