I'm curious if the community is inclined to endorse a planned visit to Munich during my GTS ED trip or talk me out of it.

As a bit of context, I'm picking my car up the morning of Tuesday, the 1st in Zuffenhausen. My wife and I arrive Stuttgart on Sunday either late morning or early afternoon. Hopefully we're not too trashed from the trip and will rally for a visit to the Mercedes museum on Sunday afternoon after a quick shower. Then Tuesday through Sunday morning involve driving to Zel am See Austria to attend an international Porsche Club thing. So we have Sunday afternoon through Thursday open.

The current plan is:

Lunch in Salzburg on Sunday and late afternoon drive to Munich
Sunday and Monday night in Munich - so basically a day in Munich to bumble around
Tuesday and Wednesday nights in Rothenberg ob der Tauber (pretty set on this...sounds great)
Thursday back to Zuffenhausen to drop car off and train back to Frankfurt for the night
Friday morning flight back home to CA

Any thoughts about alternatives to Munich? Maybe spend Sunday night in Salzburg. Or just stay in Salzburg?

We really like to be active with walking / exploring or day hikes, although we'll likely have had plenty of the latter in Zel am See. Kind of a drag that we'll miss Octoberfest by a week.

Thanks in advance.

 

Munich is very overrated IMHO but based on where you're traveling it seems a logical stop.

Rothenberg ob der Tauber is close to where my girlfriend lives; great city but a lot of Asians with a lot of camera clicking every time I've been there. Maybe check out Miltenberg as well which is one of the most "German" cities the tourists haven't discovered yet and very close by to RodT (okay I guess it's 90 minutes away). The Vietnamese food at "The Saigon Deli" is fantastic and value-priced.

 

I suppose you could visit the BMW factory/museum in Munich and drive to Ingolstadt for the Audi factory/museum...

 

While in Munich, you can go to the BMW Welt and Hofbrahaus.

 

Fussen for scenery and Neuschwanstein Castle. Innsbruck for scenery and drive. Drive from Fussen to Innsbruck is fantastic.

 

If you are near Mittenwald, take the cable car up the Karrwundle (sp?)

 

I think its a beautiful part of Bavaria, and of course there is the BMW museum!

 

Jealous (whatever you end up doing)!

 

Some tough choices. Rothenburg o. T. is a fully intact medieval city with complete city walls and medieval buildings, including hotels in town. Miltenberg is less touristy, but not quite as completely preserved. It has a better atmosphere, in my opinion. But it's Rothenburg if you want to experience a medieval city.

Munich is my favorite large German city. It's a compelling mix of modern metropolitan culture and old-fashioned Bavarian ways. It is big and boisterous yet still retains a bit of a small town feel in places. There are cultural museums and the Deutsche Museum (a museum of technology) in addition to BMW's museum.

If you don't care too much for big cities, I suggest driving along the foothills of the Alps and spending the night in Berchtesgarden, or Garmish Partenkirchen, or Fuessen, or some other place. There are lots of charming small towns and villages. I also suggest you consider visiting the Koenigssee (King's Lake).

The Autobahn from Salzburg to Munich is always busy these days. It can be really bad on a Sunday afternoon. Side roads are usually fairly lightly traveled, unless there is an accident on the Autobahn. If you take the foothills route you can miss the Autobahn entirely or partly.

 

Thanks! This is really helpful.

I'm thinking it'd be nice to checkout Munich and the place we're staying in Rothenburg o. T. looks to be fantastic.

I really appreciate everyone's input.

And thanks Larry, i wasn't even thinking about the BMW museum.

 

Just got back from Germany. Rothenberg definitely worth a 1/2 day. Salzburg is worth it. Munich is nice, but a huge city, tough to see in a day, consider Nuremburg instead, very nice city for a couple of nights.

 

Yeah, trust me, it's not lost on me how great this is.

I'm basically asking, "do I get the hand-massaged Kobe ribeye or the strip." Either way, it's going to be damned great.

 

I agree with Nuremburg instead of Munich. Very historic center of **** power in the 30's with some very cool sites to visit and a great museum (Documentation Centre). Old Town is a walled part of the city with excellent hotels and eateries. It was bombed pretty heavily during WWII but has been rebuilt to it's original splendor.

 

Thanks for the endorsement of Nuremburg. Any suggestions or highlights about the city?

 

If you like WWII history it's a great town to spend a couple days. I stayed in Old Town at Hotel Victoria and would definitely go back--includes a full buffet breakfast and garage parking. The area was heavily bombed but is totally rebuilt and a great walking tour, especially at night. 3 things to do:

1-http://museums.nuremberg.de/documentation-centre/

2-http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Nuernberg-32898/Things_To_Do-Nuernberg-Zeppelinfeld-BR-1.html

3-http://museums.nuremberg.de/courtroom600/