romantic road

Old May 31st, 2006, 08:44 PM
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romantic road

Hey!

I was wondering how long it takes to go from fussen to rothenburg by way of car. Also what places between the two are good to stop at and see? Do you just go along b17 the whole way?

thanks for the help!
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Old Jun 1st, 2006, 05:21 AM
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It depends of course on how many times you stop along the way, but we drove it in a day, stopping at least 3 times. You could easily turn it into a multi-day trip. The towns of Dinklesbuhl and Nordlingen are both walled towns similiar to Rothenburg, but less touristy. IMO, the northern half has the prettier towns. Landsberg in the south is very photogenic. We were in somewhat of a hurry, so we passed through several towns I would like to have seen.

We were able to leave R. in the morning and still take the last tour of the day at Neuschwanstein that night. I don't have a map in front of me, so not sure on the road #, but it is well marked all the way as the Romantic Road.
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Old Jun 1st, 2006, 05:24 AM
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I agree with what Bob said. It really depends on what you want to see along the way, and how long you stop.

www.viamichelin.com is a good reference, as it will give you driving directions, mileage and approximately times.

Tracy
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Old Jun 1st, 2006, 05:45 AM
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http://www.romantischestrasse.de/?lang=uk
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Old Jun 1st, 2006, 10:29 AM
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We left Schwangau (just outside of Fussen) after breakfast, about 9 AM and arrived at Rothenburg around dinner time. Took the Autobahn most of the way in a small Opel, so we did not keep up with the big stuff.
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Old Jun 1st, 2006, 11:03 AM
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The Romantik Road is a fairly recent creation of the German Tourist Office and in my experience is hardly romantic but a traffic-plagued two-lane road. Some of the best sights are just off the road - the WeissKirche just out of Fussen. Point is the towns on the Romantik Rd, esp Nordlingen, Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg are very cute (and hopelessly overrun with tourists in summer) but how you get between them could vary - to drive the whole Romantik Road in a short time frame could be very tedious - not quite as tedious as taking the Romantic Road Bus - an 8-hour marathon on its full routes. I don't know but i found the Romantic Road anything but romantic.
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Old Jun 1st, 2006, 11:26 AM
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I would agree with PalQ on the 100 or so km above fussen. However I found the part from Wurzburg to there to be very charming and not alot of traffic. Anyway, you can't go wrong driving in that part of the country, most of the towns are pretty.
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Old Jun 1st, 2006, 11:49 AM
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I just did the whole Romantic Road the week before Christmas and would recommend it, but encourage you not to rush. We did it in 5 days, 4 nights, roundtrip from Stuttgart. This was our itinerary:

Day 1: Stuttgart to Wurzburg
Walked around the city in the afternoon

Day 2: Wurzburg to Rothenburg
Walked around Marienberg Fortress, stopped in Bad Mergentheim for lunch,
Checked in at Burg Colmberg (a fabulous castle-hotel about 12 miles from Rothenburg), walked around Rothenburg and had dinner there

Day 3: Rothenburg to Augsburg
Spent the morning in Rothenburg, stopped at Dinkelsbuhl and drove through a couple other towns on the way to Augsburg

Day 4: Augsburg to Hohenschwangau (just beneath Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau, near Fussen)
Shopped in Augsburg in the morning, stopped at Landsberg-am-Lech and the Weiskirche

Day 5: Hohenschwangau to Stuttgart
Toured both castles in the morning before heading home to Stuttgart

The Romantische Strasse is well-marked all along the way. Obviously the major attractions aren't all right "on the road." The Romantic Road concept was developed shortly after World War II to encourage tourism in Germany, by highlighting a series of its most popular attractions. There are a number of small towns between Fussen and Rothenburg that are considered part of the Romantic Road. The Weiskirche is also worth a visit - if only to see such an incredibly ornate church out in the middle of nowhere (it was especially amazing to find it in a snowstorm!).

Since we made so many stops I can't tell you exactly how long it took, but it is definitely worth taking a couple of days to make the trip from Fussen to Rothenburg. Unfortunately it may very well be true that the towns are overrun with tourists in the summer. Augsburg is a good stopping point and is interesting, with good shopping on the main street through the old city, but I prefer the older walled towns. Dinkelsbuhl was charming and I wish we had spent more time there - it has a series of wonderful towers along its walls - each one architecturally unique. We had to skip Nordlingen entirely - the days are just too short in the middle of winter!

There's not much between Landsberg and Fussen, so you can make good time there (unless you want to go to the Weiskirche).

If you don't stop at some of the towns, like Dinkelsbuhl, Nordlingen, and Landsberg, and only go from Rothenburg to Fussen, then you aren't really doing the Romantic Road. Likewise, Wurzburg is a wonderful city that has been lovingly restored since WWII and the fortress is amazing.

Bottom line - it's important not to rush it and try not to do it during peak tourist season.



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Old Jun 1st, 2006, 05:51 PM
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I think I just fell in love with the HausFrau. Excellent post on the Romantic Road...

The stretch from Würzburg to Rothenburg is some of the best. South of Dinkelsbühl (except for Nördlingen) you might as well take the Autobahn as much as you can.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2006, 12:28 PM
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Why thank you, bavariaben!

I'd like to reiterate that the Romantische Strasse is not "just" Rothenburg and Neuschwanstein (I see a lot of posts focusing on these 2 locations). It is unfair to judge the entire route based upon what may be 2 of the biggest tourist traps in Germany. I will point out that the route does not take you through the most beautiful landscape of Germany (for me that award goes to the Schwabische Alb south of Stuttgart, in the springtime) but it is a great way to visit a series of incredible German towns in a short time, and lends itself well to a linear, one-stop-to-the-next sort of trip.

Honestly - and I will probably make some enemies here - I am a HUGE castle buff but I just don't get the hype about Neuschwanstein. If you are going to see it, you really should visit Hohenschwangau first so that you understand the environment that King Ludwig grew up in and what inspired him to build his famous Schloss.

(There are so many other castles in Germany where you can spend hours wandering around exploring every nook and cranny, with much more fascinating histories...Burg Hohenzollern is one example...but I digress!)



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Old Jun 2nd, 2006, 01:16 PM
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I agree that Neuschwanstein is just so much hype and overrun with tourists. While it makes a pretty photo, there are so many other castles in Germany that are just as pretty but not nearly as crowded.

We also enjoyed Dinkelsbuhl even though it seemed "busier" than Rothenburg due to all the car traffic.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2006, 01:37 PM
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We found Wuerzburg at the northern end of the R road to be great.

Between W'burg and R'burg is a town called Weikersheim (sp?) which is kind of neat and missed by most tourists. Also in that area is a small church with an incredible wooden-carved altar that is worth a stop. It is just a few KM off of the main R Road route.
As someone else mentioned above, Burg Elze just east of R'burg is worth a look and has very good food and very nice rooms.
And, don't miss the night watchman's tour in R'burg, in English at 8pm, I think.
EK
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Old Jun 2nd, 2006, 02:30 PM
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I remember Weikersheim, I think that is the town that I accidently drove around the town square, where cars weren't meant to be . It was a picture perfect town though.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2006, 08:58 PM
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Burg Colmberg is a very nice place to stay. Great views if you get an outside room.

The fascination of Neuschwanstein for many is the bizarre history of the Ludwig, the castle, and Bavaria overall during the last half of the 19th Century. Not to mention that it just looks great in its natural setting. While much of the interior was never finished (Ludwig's controversial death ended the castle building spree), what is completed that you see on the tour is some of the finest late 19th Century craftsmanship anywhere--and some of the strangest subjects you'll see anywhere.

Bavaria under Ludwig was a great example of what was happening to monarchies throughout Europe at that time--the decay and rot, the wretched excess, the rule by whim. And the inevitable collapse. Seeing Ludwig's castles and the strange stories behind each one (e.g., the Wagnerian mythology connection) just brought it all home to me.
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Old Jun 5th, 2006, 10:54 AM
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Thanks all.... We dont hve much time in the area so we will with no doubt feel like we did not see it all! Basically we will be staying in Hohenschwangau for a few nights with a great castle view from out room. So one of those days we will explore the area seeing some of the lower RR sights such as Weiss church. But we have a hotel booked in rithenburg for the next night and were trying to decide if we should just take the autobahn or drive the RR.

Thanks for the help! I know we will be back again so just the important sights are a must!

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Old Jun 5th, 2006, 10:55 AM
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sorry I ment Rothenburg ..lol
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