7 Days in Southern Germany

My wife and I along with our 17 year old son will traveling from Amsterdam mid June for 7 days to the southern part of Germany. I have gotten us a 10 day 3 country (Ben/ Ger/ Aus)eurail pass so train travel is how we%26#39;ll get around. We%26#39;ll be traveling light so packing the bags in a locker at the train stations to see a town in a day is what I%26#39;m thinking.?

I am thinking of stopping in Koln for a few hours then on to the Rhine for the ferry from St. Goar to Bacharach. Staying in or near Bacharach. From there we want to see Rothenburg and spend the night in town and then see Neushwanstein and some of Austria and Munich. I am thinking of Munich for the last day and taking the Sleeper train back to Amsterdam.

Any sights that are a must see? Should I pre-book a place to stay or play it by ear on where to stay. I%26#39;d like to stay at B%26amp;B%26#39;s. Suggestions?

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If you are leaving Amsterdam and then returning there 7 days later you certainly won%26#39;t be spending 7 days in southern Germany, and that%26#39;s leaving out your inclusion of Austria. What you will be doing is spending a lot of time on trains and waiting to make connections. You will be in only Bavaria and not the other southern German state Baden-Wuerttemberg. Someone else has recently posted spending 7 weeks in southern Germany, which certainly would be time enough to see many of the numerous highlights and give reasonable amounts of time in a few places. There are enough interesting places to visit and things to do in almost any place in Germany and its nearby surroundings to easily spend 7 days there and still have plenty of excellent things that you have missed. After all, Germany has over 30,000 palaces and castles alone. You will have traveled a great distance to see a few places for a few hours having bypassed a large number of other excellent places.

%26quot;Should I pre-book a place to stay or play it by ear on where to stay. %26quot;

With your very rushed itinerary you probably should have everything well planned out, including hotels as you don%26#39;t want to spend any of your valuable time looking for them.

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7 weeks is a fantasy for any normal person or family from America. The guy must be very wealthy or Rick Steves. Most people wouldn%26#39;t have a job to come back to.

I realize we won%26#39;t see everything but it%26#39;ll most likely be the only time we travel with the son to Germany and I%26#39;d rather see a little of different places than a lot of one or two towns.

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I enjoy using the train in Europe and often utilize a pass for the transportation to different parts. However, IMHO, you would do best to choose a base town or two for your hotel and then making day trips to/from that town. The Eurail pass is an excellent product for that. Markopolko is describing your train ride time very accurately. Then add in the time to the station from your hotel, finding luggage lockers, orienting yourself, etc.

Any town on the Rhein Gorge (Bacharach or Koblenz are good choices) is a good base for a two-night stay in that area. Then a one-night stay in Rothenburg, going on to Munich, which would be a good three-night base if you wish to see Neuschwanstein( though there are so many other sights in the region). By %26quot;some of Austria%26quot; do you mean Salzburg? It can also be seen on a day trip from Munich if you really want to see as much as possible in such a short amount of time.. By then, you will have used up six days, mostly in transit to/from the sights you want to see.

Your night train to Amsterdam might involve several transfers during the night. I%26#39;m unaware of any express on that route, but perhaps others can clarify this.

I hope you keep reviewing all the possiblities for your trip.

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Don%26#39;t miss Salzburg. It%26#39;s just gorgeous - every bit as picturesque as any postcard I%26#39;ve seen of it. And from there you are only an hour and a half by train across the border to Munich.

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