Monday, May 01, 2006
WGBD Travels to Germany & Austria 2005
In 2005 was our third trip to Germany and to Austria. We decided this time to write about our trip and put it online. Thanks for stopping to read and to visit WGBD Germany & Austria travels.
Day 1: We flew from Chicago to Munich on Iberia Airlines with a stop over in Madrid. Upon arrival we took the S8 subway from the Munich airport to the Hotel Bristol where we planned to spend the night. The subway ride is about 40-45 minutes. Exit at the underground station Marienplatz and change to U6 and exit at the next stop called Sendlinger Tor. Take the stairway or escalator up to the street level where you find Hotel Bristol on Pettenkofer strasse. This hotel is recommended by Ric Steves (Update 2006 Hotel Bristol changed management. We have heard of other hotels nearby: Hotel Reinbold & Hotel Atlanta all in close proximity). All these are in a great location to the Marienplatz. You can easily walk to shops, but if you need to take the subway to museums or to the zoo find the subway stop just outside the hotel door. A very large department store the Karstadt is not far from the hotel and it great for shopping. We recommend Panini a cafe for lunch which is walking distance from Hotel Bristol. They serve soups, salads, desserts, pasta, and breads. There are many restaurants with a wide of foods and good prices. Also, for a German flair with a fantastic accordion player check out the German restaurant at the Marienplaz.
Day 2: After breakfast we will checked out of the Hotel Bristol and walked to the Munich train station. We could have taken a cab or the underground but decided to walk. The train station is not very far from Hotel Bristol which is another reason why we liked the location of this hotel. We traveled on the ICE 880 to Hamburg, Germany. The train departed the Munich station at 09:44 am and arrived Hamburg-Altona station at 16:09 pm. We stayed at a private residence in Hamburg, but if you plan to go to Hamburg you can find a large selection of hotel accommodations. We reserved seats on the train and this is recommended if you are traveling in the summer time. We purchased our train tickets from Rail Europe and we bought a German 4 day pass, which allowed us to travel 4 days to anywhere in Germany including Salzburg, Austria. We asked for non-smoking seats! We were placed in a non-smoking car which was described as a club car. Be sure you have had the ticket validated by the train ticket office before boarding. Validation of the train ticket only needs to be done once. We purchased our train pass from Rail Europe which was the cheapest and easiest. We avoided the middle man – the travel agent by purchasing from Rail Europe. Before you purchase you must be able to tell them what train you want and when. To find out that train information online we used the German Die Bahn. Also there is plenty of luggage space on the trains, but it is handier to take one piece and a back pack. Be sure the luggage has wheels this is handy too.
Day 3-4: While in Hamburg we made a visit to St. Michaelis church, and took the elevator to the top. It was worth the trip up to see the skyline of Hamburg. We also took a day trip to Bergedorf which is a very nice village south of Hamburg. This village has nice shops and easily reached by the Hamburg subway system. As in Munich it is very easy to get around by either subway or bus system.
Day 5: We took an early train ICE 1515 train from Hamburg at 06:21 am to arrive Lutherstadt Wittenberg Germany at 09:26 am. We had a 2 hour tour of Wittenberg and we ate lunch there too. The Wittenberg Tour Office was very helpful and even arranged lunch for us at the Schlosskeller next door to the Castle church. Then we departed on the ICE 1519 at 13:30 pm for Munich. We arrived Munich at 19:11 pm. and changed to train RB 31035 at 19:42 and arrived Salzburg Austria at 21:47 pm. As you can see this was along day but we traveled many miles all by train and left the driving to the conductor. We could take a nap on the train, and eat in the dining car, and watch the German scenery as it went by. Traveling by train in Germany is very easy and fun.
Day 6-8: We stayed in Salzburg at a Youth & Family Hostel located on Josef-Preis-Alle 18 A-5020 Take bus # 5 or bus #25 from the train station. Get off at Justizgebäude (7th stop). It is a clean hostel, but noisy. Ask for a room on the inside court rather than a room facing the front of the building. We had a bunk bed room with toilet and shower. They also have rooms with shower only, but you will have to use a toilet room down the hall. They had a sufficient breakfast which comes with the room and board. Plus they have Internet connection for a small price. They were very helpful and the location to the city center was very good. It was an easy walk from the youth hostel to the center of Salzburg, but if you want you can take the bus which is just at the corner. Shopping: on Getreidegasse strasse is a must. Salzburg is a lovely city with lots to see and do.
Day 8-14: Before we left the USA we arranged with Europe Car a van rental. We picked up the van at the Salzburg train station. We drove to Schladming and Schladming - Rohrmoss. We stayed at the Pension Wiesenweg for one week. The Shutter family has a beautiful pension with lovely view of the Dachstein Mountains. They chalet is located on the sunny side of the Dachstein mountains. There were wonderful hosts, very helpful, and an excellent location to spend a week. Their location is ideal for driving any direction and they are close to Schladming and nearby villages. If you want a view, great location, and beauty simply spend a week in the Schladming-Rhormoos area.
Day 1: We flew from Chicago to Munich on Iberia Airlines with a stop over in Madrid. Upon arrival we took the S8 subway from the Munich airport to the Hotel Bristol where we planned to spend the night. The subway ride is about 40-45 minutes. Exit at the underground station Marienplatz and change to U6 and exit at the next stop called Sendlinger Tor. Take the stairway or escalator up to the street level where you find Hotel Bristol on Pettenkofer strasse. This hotel is recommended by Ric Steves (Update 2006 Hotel Bristol changed management. We have heard of other hotels nearby: Hotel Reinbold & Hotel Atlanta all in close proximity). All these are in a great location to the Marienplatz. You can easily walk to shops, but if you need to take the subway to museums or to the zoo find the subway stop just outside the hotel door. A very large department store the Karstadt is not far from the hotel and it great for shopping. We recommend Panini a cafe for lunch which is walking distance from Hotel Bristol. They serve soups, salads, desserts, pasta, and breads. There are many restaurants with a wide of foods and good prices. Also, for a German flair with a fantastic accordion player check out the German restaurant at the Marienplaz.
Day 2: After breakfast we will checked out of the Hotel Bristol and walked to the Munich train station. We could have taken a cab or the underground but decided to walk. The train station is not very far from Hotel Bristol which is another reason why we liked the location of this hotel. We traveled on the ICE 880 to Hamburg, Germany. The train departed the Munich station at 09:44 am and arrived Hamburg-Altona station at 16:09 pm. We stayed at a private residence in Hamburg, but if you plan to go to Hamburg you can find a large selection of hotel accommodations. We reserved seats on the train and this is recommended if you are traveling in the summer time. We purchased our train tickets from Rail Europe and we bought a German 4 day pass, which allowed us to travel 4 days to anywhere in Germany including Salzburg, Austria. We asked for non-smoking seats! We were placed in a non-smoking car which was described as a club car. Be sure you have had the ticket validated by the train ticket office before boarding. Validation of the train ticket only needs to be done once. We purchased our train pass from Rail Europe which was the cheapest and easiest. We avoided the middle man – the travel agent by purchasing from Rail Europe. Before you purchase you must be able to tell them what train you want and when. To find out that train information online we used the German Die Bahn. Also there is plenty of luggage space on the trains, but it is handier to take one piece and a back pack. Be sure the luggage has wheels this is handy too.
Day 3-4: While in Hamburg we made a visit to St. Michaelis church, and took the elevator to the top. It was worth the trip up to see the skyline of Hamburg. We also took a day trip to Bergedorf which is a very nice village south of Hamburg. This village has nice shops and easily reached by the Hamburg subway system. As in Munich it is very easy to get around by either subway or bus system.
Day 5: We took an early train ICE 1515 train from Hamburg at 06:21 am to arrive Lutherstadt Wittenberg Germany at 09:26 am. We had a 2 hour tour of Wittenberg and we ate lunch there too. The Wittenberg Tour Office was very helpful and even arranged lunch for us at the Schlosskeller next door to the Castle church. Then we departed on the ICE 1519 at 13:30 pm for Munich. We arrived Munich at 19:11 pm. and changed to train RB 31035 at 19:42 and arrived Salzburg Austria at 21:47 pm. As you can see this was along day but we traveled many miles all by train and left the driving to the conductor. We could take a nap on the train, and eat in the dining car, and watch the German scenery as it went by. Traveling by train in Germany is very easy and fun.
Day 6-8: We stayed in Salzburg at a Youth & Family Hostel located on Josef-Preis-Alle 18 A-5020 Take bus # 5 or bus #25 from the train station. Get off at Justizgebäude (7th stop). It is a clean hostel, but noisy. Ask for a room on the inside court rather than a room facing the front of the building. We had a bunk bed room with toilet and shower. They also have rooms with shower only, but you will have to use a toilet room down the hall. They had a sufficient breakfast which comes with the room and board. Plus they have Internet connection for a small price. They were very helpful and the location to the city center was very good. It was an easy walk from the youth hostel to the center of Salzburg, but if you want you can take the bus which is just at the corner. Shopping: on Getreidegasse strasse is a must. Salzburg is a lovely city with lots to see and do.
Day 8-14: Before we left the USA we arranged with Europe Car a van rental. We picked up the van at the Salzburg train station. We drove to Schladming and Schladming - Rohrmoss. We stayed at the Pension Wiesenweg for one week. The Shutter family has a beautiful pension with lovely view of the Dachstein Mountains. They chalet is located on the sunny side of the Dachstein mountains. There were wonderful hosts, very helpful, and an excellent location to spend a week. Their location is ideal for driving any direction and they are close to Schladming and nearby villages. If you want a view, great location, and beauty simply spend a week in the Schladming-Rhormoos area.
We hiked everyday except for a day trip to Hallstatt and a day trip to St. Johann. At St. Johann we visited the Liechteinklamm waterfalls, and after that we returned to town for dinner and to shop at the large department store known as Adelsberger. This is another town with many shops to visit. The Adelsberger department store has all the German clothing for men and women and good prices. St. Johann makes a wonderful day trip and great shopping. In addition to these two day trips we spent our time hiking. No vacation would be complete without an excursion up to the Duisitzkarsee Hutte (elevation 1,680 metres) in Obertal. Or try hiking to Giglachsee Hutte and its neighboring hutte the Ignaz-Mattis Hutte. The Schladminger Hutte can be reached from the gondola in downtown Schaldming. We also hiked to the to the Reisachleefalls. Before we hiked to the Gohlingming cross you can stop before or after for refreshments: at the Reiteralmhutte. What a wonderful view they have here and this is also an excellent skiing resort in the winter.
If the weather cooperates take the gondola to the Dachstein Glacier. The fascinating cable car ride takes only a few minutes to cover the 1,000 vertical ascents. Visit at the top the Hunerkogel a modern self-service restaurant at the top -- what a view.
Day 15 - We returned our car to Salzburg and took the train back to Munich. This ended our 4 day train pass. We took the walking Hitler Tour, in Munich shopped and made a visit to Dachau. We took the subway to the airport to fly home. If you want to be closer to the airport the night before you depart for home be sure stay at Park Hotel in Erding, Germany. Erding is a small quaint German town with many shops, bakery, restaurant all easily reached from the Park Hotel. The Park Hotel has a shuttle to the airport.
We had a great time in Germany and in Austria. If you have opportunity to go please go!!!!
