Franconian Beer Message Board
Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 |
| Posted by Eric on 2006-04-07 06:19:18 |
| Hi everybody. My name is Eric and my drinking buddy (Joe) and I will be making another trip to Germany this year in September. This will be his second trip and my fourth or fifth. Before I go any further, I want to warn anyone reading this that this post is going to be big. I have lots of information that Id like to get thoughts on from anyone willing to contribute and Im afraid Im going to ask lots of questions. In years past I have "winged" a good deal of the planning and that has resulted in some mistakes. This year Im determined to do it right and get as much information from as many people as I can. The first thing Id like to do is provide a copy of the proposed itinerary. None of this is etched in stone but it is pretty firm. What Im looking for is some comments re: local breweries in or near the towns we will be visiting. Also local breweries that may be en-route between towns we are visiting. A comment like Oh, if you going from X to Y you should stop off in Z for lunch and try the Blah Blah, its fantastic or Hey, while your in X, take a ride to Y. Its only 9km away and they have the best Yadda Yadda is what Im looking for. Also, suggestions about lodging would be great. We REFUSE to stay in hotels. Our lodging preferences are as follows; Brauerei mit Zimmer frei is always our first choice. Even if the beer is no good wed rather stay at a brewery. Gasthaus mit Zimmer Frei is second and Pension is third. I already know about this organization www.braugasthoefe.de and have used them frequently in the past but they are by no means all inclusive. Ok, heres the (proposed) itinerary: DAY 1 - Arrive in Munich in the morning. Get the car and drive to Ulm. Sightsee in Ulm and then drive to Tubingen. Spend the night in Tubingen. ***Would anyone happen to know of a pretty little town with local brewery that is between Munich and Ulm? Its roughly 100 miles between the two so Im thinking well need a place to stop in between to take a break from driving and have a little snack (with beer). I know Augsburg is just about exactly half way but were trying to avoid the bigger cities on this trip. DAY 2 Day trip to Hohenzollern and Lichtenstein castles. Spend the night in Tubingen. DAY 3 Spend a few hours in Tubingen, then drive to Schwabish Hall. Spend the night in Schwabisch Hall. DAY 4 Spend a few hours in Schwabisch Hall, then drive to Dinkelsbuhl for lunch at Weibs Brauhaus. After lunch, drive to Rothenburg o.d.T. Spend the night in Rothenburg. DAY 5 Spend the day enjoying Rothenburg. Spend the night in Rothenburg. DAY 6 Spend a few hours in Rothenburg, then drive to Bamberg. Spend the night in Bamberg. ***The last time we went to Bamberg (2004) we stayed at Fassla. Great place with parking for your car but not really located that well. We are considering staying at Klosterbrau this time. Has anyone ever stayed there? If yes, can you tell me a little about your experience? Is there parking for the car? How have the beers been there lately? I saw on the message board that someone thought the current owners had it up for sale; anyone now the status of that situation? DAY 7 - Spend the day enjoying Bamberg. Spend the night in Bamberg. DAY 8 Spend a few hours in Bamberg, then drive to Wurzburg. Spend the night in Wurzburg. *** Would anyone happen to know of ANY kind of place to stay that is near the Wurzburger Hofbrau? My friend and I have both been to Wurzburg before and have done all the touristy stuff. We are going to Wurzburg specifically to drink Julius Echter Hefeweizen at the brewery and would like to stay as close to the brewery as possible so we dont have far to go to get to our rooms. DAY 9 Have lunch at the Wurzburger Hofbrau then drive to Mespelbrunn to see the castle. After the castle, drive to Darmstadt. Go shopping at Maruhns beer market (billed as the largest beer market in the world). Spend the night in Darmstadt. *** Has anyone ever been to Maruhns? If yes, is it worth going to? DAY 10 Drive to airport in Frankfurt for long, tedious flight home. Ive posted this itinerary other places asking for feedback and the first comment made is that there is too much driving. The typical suggestion is to establish a centrally located base and make day trips places. This is of course an excellent suggestion but doesnt really work for us. We deliberately select smaller towns so we can do them in a day, then move on to another. We like seeing a new place every day and are very careful that the driver that day never drinks more than two beers before driving (one if theyre strong). Can anyone offer any suggestions as to the best (cheapest) way to get a car? Here are the places Im getting prices from: Gemut Nova Europcar Auto Europe Kemwel SIXT Has anyone used any of these and know them to be particularly good or bad? Are there other car rental organizations I should be investigating? Ok, thats it. Have I forgotten anything? ANY comments, suggestions, critiques, criticisms, etc. will be greatly appreciated. Please assume I know nothing and tell me all you can. Thank you thank you thank you, Eric |
| Followups: |
 Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Fred Waltman on 2006-04-07 08:14:18 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by m artello on 2006-04-07 08:26:04 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Eric on 2006-04-07 08:49:45 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Eric on 2006-04-07 08:53:21 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Uncle Jimbo on 2006-04-07 15:29:49 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Fred Waltman on 2006-04-07 17:22:57 |
| Pensions in Bamberg by Uncle Jimbo on 2006-04-07 20:31:29 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Eric on 2006-04-08 07:36:49 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Eric on 2006-04-08 07:44:14 |
| Pensions in Bamberg by Eric on 2006-04-08 07:51:30 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Nick B. on 2006-04-09 06:24:00 |
| Wupps...oops...forgot to add a ;-) by Nick B. on 2006-04-09 08:27:44 |
| Trains by Nick B. on 2006-04-09 08:30:47 |
| Wupps...oops...forgot to add a ;-) by Fred Waltman on 2006-04-09 20:33:33 |
| Pensions in Bamberg by mike004 on 2006-04-10 01:17:04 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by John Conen on 2006-04-11 01:23:21 |
| Trains by Eric on 2006-04-11 03:50:11 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Eric on 2006-04-11 03:54:20 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Michael Dalager/Dalle on 2006-04-11 15:17:59 |
| Tripping to Germany in Sept. 2006 by Eric on 2006-04-12 06:11:12 |