All suggestions welcome and greatly appreciatedfor itinary, places to stay and methods of travel and resturants!!
We have just booked our flight Frankfurt and then by train to Frieburg im Bresigau to visit our student son. We will be arriving the morning of April 14th and departing from Zurich Monday April 24. If anyone has information on what we can expect on religious holiday weekend in please advise. We are arriving on Good Friday.
I know there are Easter Markets nearby on the 14th but fear jet lag. I could push myself! Naturally, the best thing about our trip will be seeing our son- but we would like to make the most of our visit. I do not have a lot of concerns about Freiburg... he will want to show us his 9 month home town.
We are looking at Am Seepark B&B in Frieburg close to our sons student housing on Sundgau alle. Any other recommendations?
We are planning to leave Freiburg Easter Sunday - after Mass at the Cathedral and a meal. From that point we are still flexible.
Freiburg 2 nights- We want to visit Bacrach ( 2 nights) and cruise to Koblenz (2 nights). We are debating train vs car to Munich and Neuschwasstein.( 2/3 nights) We would love to stay in a castle- but other that that we want clean comfortable housing- we will only be sleeping in the room and are looking for reasonable.
Would we be better off traveling to Munich on Easter Sunday and working our way back? I am thinking that might be the best plan because I expect almost everything will be closed Sunday and Monday. We have 10 days excluding travel - 8 with our son but at least two are Holidays- Sunday and Monday. I do not expect anything to be open on Sunday but does anyone know about Easter Monday?
We plan to go to Zurich on Early Saturday the 22 while our son returns to Freiburg to prepare start University ( he will be traveling the three weeks before our arrival to Italy and Siciy-) we will spend Sat and Sunday night in Zurich and fly home from there Monday Morning.
First of all, everything in Germany will be closed on Easter Monday.
You will be tired when you get off the plane, but it is better if you take a short nap, get up (that's the hardest part) after an hour and get going again. Visiting the Friday market would most likely have to take place in the am or very early afternoon, they normally fold up after 2 or 3 pm at the latest. But the point is to get some fresh air and stay awake until 9 pm at the earliest. The Beisgau is beautiful, so you won't have a problem finding lovely areas to walk.
I am not going to comment on either Bacharach or the Rhine/Mosel tour to Koblenz. Both are doable. In your position, I would consider a day in the Alsace while in the Freiburg area- when you are in the Breisgau you are literally a half an hour from the start of the Alsace, it is across the Rhine, and it is a wonderful region. You might consider spending an extra day for this in Freiburg and travelling to Munich on Easter Monday since everything will be closed then anyway.
That is a start..others will come on and comment more on NeuSchwanstein and München...I stay with friends when I am there and don't know much about hotels in the area.
I'm sure I'm one of the people Diana thought would step in to offer some thoughts. Sounds like you have a great opportunity to see your son and experience some of Europe at the same time.
We only briefly drove through Frieburg a few years ago on our way to Alsace. I'll second Diana's recommendation! On our first visit we stayed overnight in Colmar, then the next day (late morning) took several hours to drive up the winding Route du Vin through the vineyards and quaint villages to Strasbourg. We enjoyed it so much that we returned a year or so later to spend a week and did a 50 mile hike in Alsace. You probably don't want to do the hiking on your trip, but you might get some ideas from my trip report and I have some photos posted here. Click on the first photo to make it bigger, and then you can click "slide show" or "next image" in the top right corner to move through all of them.
We have spent a fair amount of time in Munich and also the area around Neuschwanstein. It is almost a two hour drive between the two. There are actually two castles at the village of Schwangau-- Hohenschwangau, which is an older quite fabulous small castle where King Ludwig grew up, and Neuschwanstein, the famous fairy tale castle that he later built. I would suggest spending the night there and visiting Neuschwanstein very first thing in the morning. This is an extremely popular tourist destination and as the morning progresses, hoards of tour buses arrive. You could tour the castle, have lunch and then visit Hohenschwangau in the afternoon. Maybe then you drive to Munich. I'd suggest spending two nights in Munich to ensure you have one full day. There is a lot to see and do there, depending on your interests. You'll just get a taste, but it's very possible you'll decide to return.
If any of this interests you, let me know. I could offer some suggestions about where to stay in Munich and Schwangau (for Neuschwanstein). Our favorite hotel in Munich does have a parking garage. I also have some other suggestions about your visit to Neuschwanstein.
I highly recommend the Easter markets. They may be closing up that close to Easter, but a German Easter egg market is not to be missed if you can possibly get to one. It's amazing to see the artistry that can adorn a humble egg. So put the jet lag on hold if you can, "push yourself" a little, and go. And take lots of Euros!
Diana is spot on that things will close for Easter Sunday and Monday. Please inquire in advance about specific restaurants/sights/etc. that you may want to visit to avoid disappointment.
Schwangau-- Hohenschwangau,... suggest spending the night there...
or nearby
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visiting Neuschwanstein very first thing in the morning....
true.
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tour the castle, have lunch,.. visit Hohenschwangau... Maybe then you drive to Munich.
If this is the sort of trip through southern Germany that sounds attractive to you, I'd be pretty relaxed about it--this time of year at least. Pick a couple of baroque churches in the countryside (I'm not sure where to find a list--http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/0601/) as points to head for, wander around a bit, find a place to stay by late afternoon--nearly every town has a local Gasthof or two--a restaurant/bar with rooms upstairs. Pick one that looks OK--they're all comparable. Walk around town, see if you can find a map with hiking or walking trails, have a typical, unexceptional German meal, a glass of beer or two...
Thanks to all! I am printing everything out-and then back to the tour books and internet. I am sure I will be back with more questions. Thanks again Pat
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on your trip, but you might get some ideas from 
