Germany in May

Frankfurt - Flew in and out of Frankfurt but didn't really spend much time there. At the tail end of our trip we stayed at a hotel near the airport and went into town we walked out of the train station and found all the druggies enjoying the plaza across the street. There wasn't anything we were excited to see in the city so we turned around and bought train tickets to Heidelberg for the day which was a great last minute move. We really enjoyed walking around the town. Not the cutest German town, but nice. There's a famous castle there, but by this time of our two week trip we were castled out. HIGHLY RECOMMEND restaurant Schnitzelbank.

Rothenberg - We spent 2 nights there (Hotel Eisenhut), but primarily 1 full day. Did the night watchman tour. Restaurants: Der Reichskuchenmeister and Alter Keller. There's a fun clocktower show in the plaza if you are there on the hour. This was the main stop on our drive along the "Romantic Road" which strings alot of small towns between Frankfurt and Munich. Another good stop was Nordlingen, then there are Crenlingen, Dinkesbuhl, and Weikersham.

We didn't do any of the other stops on your trip. Just an afternoon and overnight in munich with dinner at the Hofbrauhaus and a beer at an outdoor beer garden in a city park. We went to Dachau the next morning on our way out of town.

Car or train?


That is a whole lot of traveling to not see much.

Salzburg is of my favorite small cities in Europe but it is the outlier on this trip. Either stay in Salzburg or Berchtesgaden.

I have been to all of those places except for Berchtesgaden. This is not a good time to visit there because the Eagle's Nest is closed because of the fire.

Frankfurt
One day is enough there. You can spend a few hours hanging around the cafes and beer halls of Romerburg Square and strolling along the riverfront. That's about all we did there. Really, the main reason to go to Frankfurt is to fly in or out of the major airport.

Rothenburg
A nice little medieval village along the Romantic Road. Walk the streets of the town, visit the historic church and circle the town by walking the ramparts on top of the Town Wall. Well worth a day and night.

Nuremberg
We took a WWII history tour. This was a major base for the Nazi Party. We were shown some of the government buildings and several of the fields where the Nazi propaganda rallies were held, the most prominent of which was Zepplin Field where Hitler gave speeches to the masses.

You can go in the courthouse where the War Crimes Trials were held but the courtroom has been remodeled and does not look the same as it did in the 1940s. We just saw it from the outside but the courtroom windows were pointed out to us.

Tour the castle on top of the hill from where the Holy Roman Empire was ruled. Parts of it are 1000 years old.
Then walk down the hill and through the Old Town to the Main Square.
Well worth the two days.

Munich
The Marienplatz is the main square in the center of town.
You can tour the palaces such as the Residenz where Germany's version of the crown jewels is kept and Nymphenburg Palace.
The Hofbrauhaus is the famous historic beer hall in town. Very lively at night.

Cologne
The main attraction here is the magnificent cathedral.

Salzburg
A beautiful city with a walkable Old Town with good coffee shops. . Plenty of Mozart history, another beautiful cathedral and one of the oldest restaurants in the world. Mirabel Gardens is a short walk across the river.

Bamberg.
It was not bombed during the war, so it has a very well-preserved Old Town. A map of the town from 500 years ago looks the same as the current map.
We were there last year on Good Friday and happened to go in the cathedral while the choir and organist were performing a Bach's St. Matthew's Passion concert.
It is a small, walkable town. There is a 700 year old tavern there that serves smoked beer.

That will be a great trip.