"No turn is a wrong turn"
Driving Europe for Fun!
(Driving method: "Alertly but not "uptight-ly")
Trip synopsis: Our trip was only about 8 days. Our plan
had no itinerary, but was simply to relax, soak in our surroundings, see, experience and above all, relax. We landed
in Frankfurt, drove down through the Black Forest, crossed into Austria at Füssen, proceeded to near Innsbruck
where we turned south up into the Alps. We toured the back roads toward Zell and dropped down to Salzburg, where
we decided to head back to Bavaria toward the outskirts of Munich, stay a few days and day trip from there. Then
we drove up the Romantisch Straße to Rothenburg o.d.T. (our annual shopping stay) and then to Düsseldorf
where we departed. This month I’ll not give a “real” trip report, but focus on our typical driving experiences
to give you some idea how fun and easy it is to drive in Germany and Austria (don’t forget to purchase your vignette
before entering Austria or Switzerland and driving on the autobahns there!) A later article will go into detail
about where we stayed, what we did, and name the zimmers, with prices and contact information.
As we landed at 0900 on 5/27, the red roofs of Frankfurt were a wonderful welcome sight. The EuropCar rental counter…
where we hoped to pick up our reserved VW diesel… had a “regular” Ford for us. Nope! A little counter discussion
and we drove away in a “free upgrade” of the little diesel Mercedes
A-170 CDI SUV mini! It was dirty, only had ¾ tank of gas (not
full as it should have been) but we were rolling.
We cleared the airport and I asked Suzie, “Which way now?” She said, “Let’s head down through the Black Forest.”
We found E35/5
and put it in 5th gear toward Heidelberg. Suzie held up our trusty 6 year old Hallwag Map and we laughed at all
the open spaces where the folds once were. But Suzie refused to buy a new one, so we had some fun navigation times
ahead of us, as you’ll see.
We cut off the autobahn at Baden-Baden onto Highway 500 and later picked up Highway
33 planning to stop for the night in Gengenbach. About 18 km from there,
I asked Suzie, “Are you tired yet?” and she said, “No” so we continued on toward Villingen. We decided to spend
our first night in Urach. Our drive down was beautiful, and our 2 hours sleep on the plane was “holding in” just
fine. We made numerous little stops for shops, views, and so, but when we drove down the valley into Urach, we
knew we were back to another very special place.
Normally we try to enjoy our favorite Swiss Alps, but this year we wanted to drop down into the Austrian Alp areas
we’ve never seen. Suzie looked between the tears in the map and set me on a course for upper Lake Konstanz, down
thru Friedrichshafen and then over to Füssen. While I don’t detail all the stops, I will mention here that
Rick Steves notes some castle ruins outside Füssen, and we’ve always intended to visit but never took the
time. Well, this trip we were determined to do so. It took us three trips back and forth by the ruins before we
decided to take the only exit we saw and ask some construction workers for directions to the parking area. This
was it! The ruins were up the hill, “just a short hike” according to Rick Steves. Suzie and I looked at each other,
then looked up the steep hill and winding road, and back at each other. Short hike? We quickly decided that this
“castle ruins” was nothing was a pile of rocks that no longer held our curiosity. We decided to drive on and overnight
in Lermoos, Austria.
From Lermoos, we headed south of Innsbruck to the Alpen trails above. Our trail included Kitzbuhel, Pass Thurn,
over to Zell, and into St Johann. At one stop, we learned of a castle for sale by an American owner. We drove to
the castle and found the tour times were two hours hence. But a young man in “cult attire” met and invited us in.
He asked us to wait in a special room in the back while he prepared a tour. The room was filled with Satanic worship
designs and items…some drastic! My gut raised a flag, and I told Suzie… she knows my gut reactions are not to be
ignored, so we immediately left! Trust your guts!
While the Austrian Alps in this area were beautiful, our favorite Alps are still the Swiss “in your face” Alps
of the Lauterbrunnen Valley. So we decided to alter our plans, leave the Austrian Alps and catch the autobahn toward
Salzburg late in the day, hoping to turn off near Salzburg to find a small zimmer. Zooming down the road we rounded
a corner to see a huge imposing castle that looked too good to miss. Then we realized we had passed the last ausfahrt
for miles. When we exited at one of those a-bahn service centers to get our bearings, Suzie noticed a sign that
pointed north to Salzburg and SOUTH to Werfen. South took us back UNDER the a-bahn and to the castle town of Werfen.
Boy do we get lucky!
The little berg of Werfen is nice, quiet, and from all appearances, more a “pass by” than a “tourist stop.” We
checked a few zimmers, and chose one. Little did we know, this was to become one of our top 10 favorites in all
our travels to date. (Name and info in later article.) Evening dinner was at a sidewalk café. Even though
locals were in and out, sitting and visiting, we appeared the only tourists in the town.
The next morning after a wonderful breakfast, we headed for the Hohenwerfen Castle, majestically towering high
above. It too required a hike from the parking lot, around winding trails to the top of the hill and the castle.
But this one was worth it. And, as is often the case, when we arrived at the top, we found that a taxi service
was available for those not wanting to hike. But this castle was definitely worth the effort, and the morning proved
fun as we met and visited with other American tourists as we toured the castle. The actual history of this castle
pales in comparison to its intimidating majesty imposed on the countryside. (Remember the movie “Where Eagles Dare”)
At this point, I’ll explain why we enjoy our travel methods so well. We don’t “watch our clocks” and don’t have
obligations to be anywhere at any time. We travel in a casual manner, stopping whenever and wherever either of
us wants, or we just look and drive on (without any guilt feelings) if nothing catches our fancy. Laid-back “go
with the flow” travel. Up-tight is for shoe laces, not fun travel.
Back on the road, we were heading down the autobahn toward Munich, just a few klicks out of Rosenheim when all
traffic came to a screeching halt. We were lucky to exit into another Travel/Gas Center to wait it out. Suzie took
the time to call our daughter (bought the calling card at the candy counter). I visited with the driver of the
BMW Z-3, with top down and parked next to us. She was the Penthouse type, whose head-turning attire matched the
car. One hour, two candy bars, one ice cream bar, and some great visits with locals later, traffic began moving,
so we jumped back into our Mercedes and zoomed behind the Z-3 (Did I mention the importance of “common sense navigation?”…truckers
let her pass just to get a glance) back into the a-bahn traffic before all the trucks and busses could block the
Travel center ramp back onto the a-bahn.
Our intent was to exit the autobahn to avoid Munich traffic, and take the back roads to Andechs area southwest
of Munich. We know and love this area, and always try to stay near the S-Bahn (metro train service) lines that
serve Munich.
Somewhere west of Holzkirchem on our way to Starnberg, detours (Umleitungs) brought major road changes thorough
towns not on most maps. Traffic was backing up big-time, and Suzie was following on our very precise Ravenstein
“book map” trying to figure out just where these detours were leading us. Traffic was terrible. Finally, I found
a narrow unmarked road heading west, winding through some farmers’ fields. As I turned onto the road, Suzie asked,
“was there a sign?” I said, “No, but it’s heading west and that’s the direction we need to go.” The roads we were
taking were not even on her detailed Ravenstein book map. We laughed and relaxed. Through two unmarked intersections,
we just kept heading west. Through the green fields of crops. Blue Skies. Peaceful. No traffic. About 20 km later
we came into a small town. I asked, “Is this town on your map?” Suzie said, “We’re just where I wanted to go but
the maps don’t show any direct roads to get there!” We evidently traveled the “known only to local farmers roads”
from fields to market. From here we followed the signs to Starnburg and then Andechs.
Just another prime example of “Laid back, go-with-the-flow” travel we enjoy and prefer. The excitement of accomplishment
far outweighs the fear of a dead-end road. Years ago, one such trek took us to a road that came to a dead end -
at the home of a little old basket weaver. Suzie collected baskets back then, so she excitedly limited her purchase
to two reed baskets (which we still have) and we back-tracked to the right road.
In Andechs, we checked into the Garni Post owned by the Familie Hemberger. We stayed in one of the newer buildings
in the rear, the “Haus Anna” that abutted a field of deer raised by Herr Hemberger. Our room was very large, with
a hall entry bath shared by only one other room. More on this place later.
To this point, it was so hot we would have been miserable without the A/C in the car. But this was about to change.
Suzie was wishing for cooler weather. How do they get cooler weather here? The rains bring the temperature drop
and cooler weather. Suzie’s wish was about to come true!
From Andechs, the Herrsching bahnhof for the S-5 leg of the S-Bahn was only 5 km away. We parked the car, bought
a 24 hour ticket for two (DM24) and day tripped into Munich via the S-Bahn, then via tram around Munich and finally
to the Nymphenburg Palace. The ticket covered all travel on S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram, or bus travel. When we arrived
at the Bahnhofplatz, it was raining so we stayed underground and found the station entry to the huge Hertie department
store. We took the escalator up about 5 flights to find their cyber café, where we checked our e-mail (office,
home, etc) and e-mailed all at home. This huge store has it all! In fact, if you’re looking for a great place to
eat in the center of Munich, look on the 4th floor of Hertie!
The tram to Nymphenburg was about 15 minutes. Nymphenburg Palace is a “should see” if you like walking (and I do
mean walking!). The grounds are huge and beautiful. The buildings are ornate. And the experiences are wild! We
stood inside one of the rear “outer palaces” and watched a huge hail storm hit. Then walked (almost a mile) back
past the main Palace and to the main tram lines, where a heavy rain hit and soaked us before the tram arrived.
Where were our umbrellas? In the car, of course! And, Suzie was getting her wish… it turned very chilly!
The next day, we drove to Oberammergau to find the home of Josef Bühner, our favorite wood carver and buy
more of his wonderful wood carvings. As we entered the town, I told Suzie, “I think it’s this way” and after a
few turns found Ludwig-Lang Straße and finally the woodcarver’s home, #39. His craftsmanship is beyond belief,
and now his son is proudly following in his father’s footsteps. We bought two pieces while we discussed the sad
demise of true wood carving craftsmanship in Oberammergau. Over 80% of the woodcarvers in Obermmergau no longer
ply their trade. Machines have replaced them with cheaper (although inferior) carvings. How do you tell the difference?
The machine carvings are smooth and rounded… the real, hand carved pieces have the ridges produced by a flat knife
blade carving the wood.
From Oberammergau we drove to the Wieskirche, probably the greatest rococo style church in Germany. It’s definitely
worth the visit.
Back on the road, we decided to taste the bier of the Andechs Monastery. The climb from the parking lot up the
steep hill to the bier garden forewarns the drinker of the perils of a long downhill stumble from excessive intake.
Here we met a the head of a German police academy, and wife - on short holiday - as well as a couple from America,
with whom we enjoyed a nice evening visiting.
The next morning it was back to the Romantische Straße, headed north. Not far down the road, Suzie spotted
“Antike Market Sale” signs, so we detoured through new (to us) little villages to find the flea market. It’s funny
how simple things open our eyes to others values. The most expensive antiques at the market were silver service
items made around 1920 and “imported from New Jersey, U.S.A.” The European antiques were very interesting and offered
great insight to history not found in books. Suzie found a little item and had great fun bargaining with the dealer
of the little booth. He had equal fun and I believe succumbed to her charm, giving her a bargain!
Laid Back Travel allows unplanned, spontaneous side trips that often produce a highlight in your trip.
Again we headed north for Rothenburg o.d.T. and our annual gift shopping stay. Suzie was worried the rain would
ruin her tour of all the Rothenburg shops. I promised her it would clear up for her. Sure enough, as we parked
and walked to the Rothenburg shops, the sun was shining. Suzie would enter a shop, and it would rain. She would
pay for her goods, and the sun would come out for her sojourn down the street to the next shop. As soon as she
would go inside, it would rain…only until she came to the door again, when the rain would then stop. With her focus
on shopping, she really never knew how much it rained….but to Suzie, her wish had come true.
Rothenburg was in the middle of their big annual festival, and the town was packed. The few rooms available were
going for triple the normal prices. And we saw some real “dives” before deciding to forget Rothenburg and drive
to the next little town up the road (11 km) where we found a wonderful little zimmer for only DM50! We’ll stay
there again in the future!
It was time to wind down our trip, so we drove to Düsseldorf, our departing city, and left on a 757 the next
day. Our wonderful trip, impromptu as usual, allowed us the opportunity to relax, rest, meet new people, and still
see so much we haven’t seen or experienced before. No “must do’s” or “must be here at such and such a time”… just
go-with-the-flow travel. We enjoyed many, many stops not mentioned here. Some were mountain pass overviews. Some
were old towns where the red tile roofs were overshadowed by high Alpen peaks. Some were country back road scenes
that made our picnics perfect!
Here’s the final test to happy, laid back driving: Suzie, “What was that you just passed?” Me, “I don’t know. Want
to turn around and see?” Suzie, “Please if you don’t mind.”
What would you do? We turn around!
Suzie and I are lucky… we really like each other. This type travel brings us even closer together. It works well
for us. And it’s easy. Most of all, it’s soooooo much fun!
Finally, how did we like the Mercedes A170? I’ll take the VW Golf anytime! The VW offers better handling, better
against winds, better cornering, and a more positive road-handling feel. Next trip, I’ll insist on the VW… and
buy a new Hallwag map.
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful trip, wherever you travel!
