Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Surly Horns

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.
Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business & Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Advertise... Tailgate Donations

Featured Replies

54 minutes ago, Damor said:

@Carl Spackler , that's a good point, and I probably am brushing off the whole area too quickly based on limited prior experience with Neuschwanstein. I think I was also leaning on the Switzerland portion of the trip which I didn't detail (5 days in Wengen/Lauterbrunnen vallley) to scratch der Alpen-itch.

That said, I do have that accidental flex day in there. Do you think a day trip would be enough to hit some of the high points? Rent a car for the day maybe? If so, I could offer up some choices of things to see and do so it doesn't seem like I'm some kind of vacation fascist, ruling the itinerary with an iron fist, and... uh...

Well now that we're having that discussion, I went back a page and found the itinerary I posted for a day trip from Munich to see Ludwig's castles. This is easily do-able in a day:

Leave Munich by 8:00, and take the Autobahn A-95 south toward Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  Exit at the town of Oberau on the B-2 and turn onto the B-23 toward Ettal.  On the right side of road at the town of Ettal is the Ettal Monastery, which is worth a short stop.  And on the left side of the road is a bakery that is a great stop for a quick breakfast.

Just after Ettal you’d turn left toward Schloss Linderhof (https://www.schlosslinderhof.de/englisch/tourist/index.htm).  It opens at 10:00 AM, and it’s best to be early to avoid the big crowds.  It is built as a tiny version of Versailles, and the real interesting stuff is the grotto and the gardens.  The grotto was built for Ludwig to enjoy Wagner’s operas in an immersive environment, and is really very cool.  All in, it'll probably take two hours, but definitely not more than three.

After Linderhof, you go back out to the road and turn left (i.e., not back in the direction you came), and you get a nice little drive through the Alps and into Austria.  Eventually you get to the town of Reutte, where you turn right on Highway 179 toward Fussen.  Just before Fussen, you cross back into Germany and then in a couple miles you come to a T intersection.  Right takes you to Schloss Neuschwanstein, left takes you into town.  Personally, at this point I’d go into town and grab lunch.  It’s a cute little Bavarian town with a pretty little pedestrian area in the center.  There are a bunch of restaurants around.

After that, you can head over to Schloss Neuschwanstein (https://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/tourist/).  But getting up there is a hike, and the interior is unremarkable.  Basically, the Bavarian treasury was emptied before Ludwig could finish it, so there’s not just a whole lot to see inside.  It’s definitely worth hiking up to the courtyard and then around to the side where there’s a bridge from which you can get great photos.  I’m not sure going inside is a great expenditure of time.  From Neuschwanstein, you can look down and see Castle Hohenschwangau, which is the previous royal palace where Ludwig was born.  Again—I’m not sure it’s worth going down there.

On this last trip, we didn't even walk up. We did a paraglyding thing that gave us great photos over the castle. I would recommend that not only because it was a fucking blast, but because it'll save you time on a day trip with walking up to the castle.

Finished with Neuschwanstein, go back out to Highway 17 and turn right.  At Steingaden, turn right on Ammergauer Strasse and follow the signs to the Wieskirche (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/271/).  It’s a rococo church in the middle of a meadow (“Wies” is “meadow” in German) that marks a miraculous spring.  Even if you’re not a church person, this one is worth a stop.

After that, head back to Ammergauer Strasse, take a right, and that will take you right back to Highway 23 (take a right), which goes back to the Autobahn and Munich.

On the way, you’re going to pass back through Ettal.  I will tell you that the monastery has a brewery (as most monasteries in Germany do).  And across the street is the hotel Ludwig der Bayer, which has a very good restaurant with a patio overlooking the monastery, which you may want to stop at for a snack and a beer or for dinner, depending on the hour.

Now--all that being said, if you wanted to take your flex day between Regensberg and Munich and spend it in Nuremberg or Rothenburg o.d. Tauber, I don't think anybody would find fault with that.

 

I would love to see Vienna or Budapest but I think we might head South instead of east so we get to Italy.

Maybe I can do a Prague, Vienna Budapest tour in the future.

48 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

Just after Ettal you’d turn left toward Schloss Linderhof (https://www.schlosslinderhof.de/englisch/tourist/index.htm).  It opens at 10:00 AM, and it’s best to be early to avoid the big crowds.  It is built as a tiny version of Versailles, and the real interesting stuff is the grotto and the gardens.  The grotto was built for Ludwig to enjoy Wagner’s operas in an immersive environment, and is really very cool.  All in, it'll probably take two hours, but definitely not more than three.

Now--all that being said, if you wanted to take your flex day between Regensberg and Munich and spend it in Nuremberg or Rothenburg o.d. Tauber, I don't think anybody would find fault with that.

 

It's actually Herrenchiemsee that was essentially a copy of Versailles. It didn't get finished because the treasury emptied out due to Ludwig II's extravagant spending, but the portions of the interior that got finished before the money dried up are dazzling. Linderhof is the only one of Ludwig II's castles that got completely finished. It's a former hunting lodge that got redone in Rococo style. Both are definitely worth a visit, IMO, but your family may think that one crazy Bavarian king's castle is enough.

I completely agree with Ghost of LL that you could spend your flex day seeing other areas and have no qualms about doing so. I'm biased toward Bavaria because that region is so picturesque and enchanting.

Thanks, @Ghost of LL. I know I've got travel planning fatigue when I've read that post several times in one of the 50 tabs I have open, and it completely failed to register when I asked that. I think I'll look into some daytrip options and let the grad pick. Partnachklamm looks like our speed, and the boys would love one of the alpine coasters. I do like the idea of getting out with a car for at least one day. But then, I also forget that Salzburg is close enough for a wild card day trip if he wanted to say he's been to Austria. Too many options...

@longhorndude, was your Dachau tour an informal local one? I was planning on just the self-guided tour since that was my prior experience, but I never thought of looking for a smaller private guide. Found a well-reviewed one called "In Their Shoes," and it might be valuable to have someone other than Dad who could provide some actual expert historical context and things to think about in... these times.

Nothing about Hamburg in this thread? Will be there 2 night for work next week. Lovely time of the year to visit!

On 1/5/2026 at 10:42 PM, Damor said:


Day 4: Day trip to Kloster Weltenburg (oldest brewing monastery in the world) via Danube riverboat. Indulging beer nerd dad.
Day 5: Flex day, because I accidentally left this out while planning. Furk. Either stay in Regensburg or head to Munich, do a day trip of some sort, or use this for whatever you assholes castigate me for leaving off the plan.

Any ideas for the accidental flex day? Even moving at a relaxed pace, there's obviously a shit ton of stuff we could add on (BMW museum, Olympicpark although I understand it's being renovated, yadda yadda), so we could just fill that in spontaneously with anything that grabs their interest. I could go for an "oldest brewery rivalry" stop at Weihenstephan between Regensburg and Munich or a visit to Andechs, but it's not supposed to be about me and I don't want to induce brewery fatigue for my patient but non-beer-drinking wife.

If you're already doing monastery beer nerd, swing by Stift Engelszell further down the Danube right on the DE-AT border. For a long time it was the 7th trappist brewery in the world, and the only one outside of Belgium except Koningshoeven.

Technically it's no longer trappist because the monastery had just dissolved, but a family bought the facility and is still making the same beers there.

Further into Austria near Linz you could rent a Caterham sports car in Saxenegg and poot around. It's the only place in the continent to do that.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...
Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business & Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Advertise... Tailgate Donations

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.