# Critique my 1st ED Alpine Trip



## NotM2 (Dec 30, 2014)

Hi,

We are planning to pick up our M235i at BMW Welt in late June. My wife and 10 year old daughter.

Here's the initial itinerary I have come up with.

Day 1: Arrive in Munich and explore the city a little
Day 2: Welt, factory tour, drive to Salzburg partly via alpenstrasse
Day 3: Explore Salzburg
Day 4: Explore Berchtesgaden
Day 5: Drive from Salzburg to Grossglockner and stay the night in Kitzbuhel
Day 6: Drive to Garmisch/Fussen. Explore Linderhof, castles etc & Zugspitze
Day 7: Drive alpenstrasse to Lake Constance and on to either Grindelwald or Lucerne
Day 8: Explore Jungfrau region or Lucerne
Day 9: Explore some more
Day 10: Drive to Zurich, drop off M235i, and fly home

I would appreciate if you can suggest places to visit, things to do, side trips, restaurants, and hotels.

Is the BMW factory tour worth it? How does it compare to the Performance Center factory tour (which I am also doing)?

Where should we base ourselves in the Fussen/Garmisch area?

Is Salzburg to Grossglockner to Garmisch/Fussen easily doable? Or should we plan to stay the night in Innsbruck or some other town on the way?

The big question is Switzerland. What would we recommend: Lucerne or Jungfrau region? Which has better driving, scenery, and hiking etc?

Are there any alpine passes that I should drive through? Klausen, Furka, Susten, etc?


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## miata13 (Nov 22, 2007)

"Where should we base ourselves in the Fussen/Garmisch area?"

We stayed at the Hotel Sonne in Fussen. 
http://www.hotel-fuessen.de/de/

Very nice hotel along the main Fussen street and it has limited underground parking for your new BMW..be sure to reserve parking when you make your reservation. We had dinner at the restaurant there and the breakfast was very nice as well. If the opportunity presents itself again, we'd stay there again.


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## M FUNF (Apr 2, 2008)

Hotel Fraundorfer in Partenkirchen has parking behind the hotel free. Nice rustic hotel (old style Germany) fun dining area but it is closed on Wed.

http://www.gasthof-fraundorfer.de/english/historie.php

Skip eastern portion of Alpenstrasse least interesting part, instead after GG then Alpenstrasse to G-P.


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## Me530 (Feb 17, 2005)

While in Salzburg don't forget to stop by Berchtesgaden and Obersalzberg. There is a lot of nice stuff to do there, including a neat salt mine tour that your 10 year old will probably enjoy. I really like it there. Your itinerary looks great otherwise, you're hitting great spots and not killing yourself with switching hotels every night and a million hours on the road (although your drive to Grossglockner is going to be a very long day)!


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## NotM2 (Dec 30, 2014)

Me530 said:


> although your drive to Grossglockner is going to be a very long day)!


Google Maps says 6-7 hrs but I expect it to be much longer. Any suggestions on some place to stay that's on the way? Innsbruck shaves only about an hour from continuing to Garmisch. Somewhere between Lienz and Innsbruck would probably be good.


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## M FUNF (Apr 2, 2008)

after Salzburg, I would connect with the B178 going Southwest then south thru Zell Am See and up the Grossglockner returning to Kitzbuhel for the night that should be a total of 5 hours driving without any stops. From Kitzbuhel I would head sort of North and connect with the Alpenstrasse at Oberaudorf and then take it to G-P for the night. You should be able to include a stop at Linderhof on the way for a castle tour. While in G-P do not miss a trip to the top of the Zugspitze. Then a visit to Weiskirche on the way to Schwangau for the castles.


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## Kamdog (Apr 15, 2007)

Hallstatt is very pretty, but is worth about 3 or 4 hours, including lunch. 

I know it is corny, but the Sound of Music tour is fun in Salzburg if you are at all a fan of the movie, and you get to see lots of the area, so maybe consider it. 

In Lucerne, if it is a clear day, the tram to the top of Mt. Pilatus is awesome, and so is the train. ( we took the train up, and the tram down, but they are not near each other, so without pre-arranged transportation, you need to pick one over the other. In that case, the train is slightly more interesting.


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## Trinitony (Feb 10, 2010)

I think your ED trip is well planned. You have focused on Salzburg/Hallstatt, Fussen and Lucern/Grindelwald/Jungfrau allowing at least two nights in each area and allowing some time to explore these areas. Also, dropping off in Zurich is a good solution as it will save you quite a long drive back to Munich. Here are a few suggestions:

*On Day 2,* when driving from the Welt to Salzburg, include as much of the Alpenstrasse as you can. Although you plan to drive the the section of the Alpenstrasse between Fussen and Lindau on Day 5 that section is not nearly as scenic as the section between Berchtesgaden and Fussen. As an alternate plan you could do a loop of the Grossglockner and Hallstatt during your stay in the Salzburg area. Then you could drive the Berchtesgaden/Fussen section of the Alpenstrasse on *Day 5 *when you are heading from Salzburg to Fussen.

I agree with *Me530 *that you should include Berchtesgaden and Obersalzberg while in Salzburg. You might also consider the Eagle's Nest which offers beautiful views of the Berchtesgaden/Salzburg area. Also a Lake Konigsee boat ride is very restful and scenic. And may I make a brief plug for a short stop at the church in Ramsau which is the leftmost pic in my sig. It and its graveyard are very pretty and in a very scenic location.

If you are looking for an inexpensive place to stay in the Berchtesgaden/Salzburg area do consider the Kugelmuhle in Marktschellenburg. We have stayed there on both of our EDs. Mountain view rooms are very scenic and the owners are BMW owners and enthusiasts. Here is their website:
http://www.gasthaus-kugelmuehle.de/

On *Day 6* consider visiting Linderhof Palace. It may not be as exciting as Neuschwanstein will be to your daughter but it is a lovely place. When visiting Neuschwanstein take the bus up to Marienbrucke for the view of the castle. From this bridge it is an easy walk down to the castle.


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## Kamdog (Apr 15, 2007)

I liked Linderhof way better than Neuschwanstein as a place to go through. Take an external of the Neuschwanstein castle, but a visit to Linderhof is more interesting inside.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

It's a solid itinerary.

My critique is that you might miss some cool cities in south Bavaria (Benedikbeuren, Mittenwald, maybe even Bad Tolz) at the expense of time in Switzerland. 

I say "expense" because there was a time when Switzerland was much nicer than the rest of Europe, but everything has caught up (and perhaps exceeded the Swiss (but don't tell them I said that)) and now it's really just an overpriced Germany/Austria/France, IMHO.

I've found there's a lot along the way to Salzburg, so no need to blast through it.

(I really enjoy Lake Konstanz btw.)


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## Trinitony (Feb 10, 2010)

Kamdog said:


> I liked Linderhof way better than Neuschwanstein as a place to go through. Take an external of the Neuschwanstein castle, but a visit to Linderhof is more interesting inside.


I agree. I was disappointed by the interior of Neuschwanstein and loved exploring the grounds of Linderhof. OP could visit Linderhof on the way from Salzburg to Fussen. I'd also recommend a stop at Wieskirche near Steingaden.


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## NotM2 (Dec 30, 2014)

M FUNF said:


> Skip eastern portion of Alpenstrasse least interesting part, instead after GG then Alpenstrasse to G-P.


Thanks.

Which section of the Alpenstrasse is the most scenic in your opinion?


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## NotM2 (Dec 30, 2014)

M FUNF said:


> after Salzburg, I would connect with the B178 going Southwest then south thru Zell Am See and up the Grossglockner returning to Kitzbuhel for the night that should be a total of 5 hours driving without any stops. From Kitzbuhel I would head sort of North and connect with the Alpenstrasse at Oberaudorf and then take it to G-P for the night. You should be able to include a stop at Linderhof on the way for a castle tour. While in G-P do not miss a trip to the top of the Zugspitze. Then a visit to Weiskirche on the way to Schwangau for the castles.


Kitzbuhel sounds perfect for staying the night after Grossglockner. I have changed my itinerary accordingly.

Thanks.


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## NotM2 (Dec 30, 2014)

FastMarkA said:


> It's a solid itinerary.
> 
> My critique is that you might miss some cool cities in south Bavaria (Benedikbeuren, Mittenwald, maybe even Bad Tolz) at the expense of time in Switzerland.


Mountains. That's what is attracting me to Switzerland. Southern Bavaria is mostly hilly, compared to what lies south.


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## NotM2 (Dec 30, 2014)

FastMarkA said:


> I've found there's a lot along the way to Salzburg, so no need to blast through it.


My current plan is to take the A8 from Munich to Bernau im Chiemsee and then take 305 to Berchtesgaden and Salzburg. Here is my driving map. Is that good or should I get off the autobahn earlier?


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## Tanning machine (Feb 21, 2002)

NotM2 said:


> Google Maps says 6-7 hrs but I expect it to be much longer. Any suggestions on some place to stay that's on the way? Innsbruck shaves only about an hour from continuing to Garmisch. Somewhere between Lienz and Innsbruck would probably be good.


You could do worse than to stay in Heiligenblut at the south end of the Grossglockner. It would give you more time driving in the mountains, without having to wrry about another 3 hours + at the end to get to Kitzbuhel.


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## NotM2 (Dec 30, 2014)

Got my pickup date. June 22.


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## NotM2 (Dec 30, 2014)

Now that I have booked my flight, here's my revised itinerary:

June 21: Arrive in Munich in the morning and explore the city
June 22: Welt, factory tour, drive to Salzburg partly via alpenstrasse
June 23: Explore Salzburg
June 24: Explore Salzburg/Berchtesgaden
June 25: Drive from Salzburg to Grossglockner and stay the night in Kitzbuhel
June 26: Drive to Zugspitz via scenic route & go to the summit. If there's time, visit Linderhof place. Stay in Fussen
June 27: Visit Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles and Wieskirche. Also, Linderhof if we couldn't get to it the day before. Stay in Fussen
June 28: Drive to Lake Constance and then to Lauterbrunnen via Oberalp and Susten passes (or Grimsel & Furka passes, depending on time)
June 29: Explore Jungfrau region
June 30: Explore some more
July 1: Drive to Zurich, drop off M235i, and fly home in the early afternoon


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## Rowanbuds (Dec 8, 2014)

miata13 said:


> "Where should we base ourselves in the Fussen/Garmisch area?"
> 
> We stayed at the Hotel Sonne in Fussen.
> http://www.hotel-fuessen.de/de/
> ...


Thank you for this tip. I have booked Hotel Sonne and with your heads-up have requested a reserved parking spot for my M.

In case anyone else may need the information: Per the reply I got from Hotel Sonne, there are two parking options. First is a parking lot directly in front of the hotel for 6.00 Euro per night - No reservation is possible here. Second, in the hotels underground parking garage for 8.00 Euro per night - here a reservation is possible.
"HINT: To guarantee a parking spot we advise you to reserve a place in our underground parking garage, especially during the main season (summer), on weekends and holidays."


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

Are going to go up the south side of zugspitze from ehrwald/obermoos? It should be a lot less crowded and cheaper too I believe plus faster coming from kitzbuhel.


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