There is a big road trip culture in the US. Why limit it to just there? We decided to take one in southern Germany with a  peak into Austria. Although we couldn’t go everywhere because we were restricted by the notoriously low number of American vacation days, I think we picked some good highlights in the region.  Check it out and tell us what you think!

Day 1: Neuschwanstein Castle with a Füssen stop over

The first day was mainly on the road. We cruised through the stunning snow capped Alps with cascading  snowmelt waterfalls. We timed our drive so we can stop in  the quaint town of Füssen  for lunch to fill our stomachs with the first Käsespätzle and schnitzel of the trip.

Right past the town center heading towards Neuschwanstein, we crossed a river and unexpectedly stumbled upon a great viewing spot for the St. Mang’s Basilica (which dates back to the 9th century). Beautiful scenery was really everywhere.

You cannot drive through southern Germany without seeing Neuschwanstein Castle (or as I call it — the Disney castle). When you take the bus up the mountain, there is a path into a wooded area where you will eventually reach a bridge. It is on this bridge that you can take your very own Neuschwanstein poster photo.

You can further take a horse carriage to the entrance of the castle. But we took the short walk instead and stopped many times along the way to soak up the breathtaking views.

Once we reached the castle, we immediately headed in to buy tickets to go inside. Unfortunately, you must go in with a tour guide and you cannot take any photos of the partly finished interior. Nevertheless, it is well worth the visit — the romantic fairy tale presence of the outside is equally reflected inside the castle with gorgeous decor and grandeur features.

Towards the end of the tour, you can pause on the balcony to further soak in the view — I didn’t want to leave this spot.

As the night approached, we ended our first day’s journey in Salzburg with a schnitzel and beef goulash.

Day 2: Exploring Salzburg – the home of Mozart

We didn’t want to make this post 10 pages long, so we broke up the bigger pieces into it’s own articles. As a quick summary, this day was filled with great views. Heading up to explore Hohensalzburg Castle, relaxing in Mirabell Palace, tasting Sacher Torte, you can check out our 24 hours in Salzburg here.

DAY 3: Tegernseer into Munich

Raise and shine, we left Salzburg to make it in time for a filling Bavarian lunch at Bräustüberl Tegernsee. We had to stop many times along the way to enjoy the breathtaking views.

Lunch was amazing! We sat in the outdoor beer garden with a view of the lake.  How can life get better than this? Please note, I didn’t only have sausages — there was also some potatoes too 😛

Afterwards, we had to stroll along the lake to digest.

… but somehow, we ended up back in the beer garden again for another Maß.

After rolling to the car because we were so filled with yummy German food, we proceeded to Munich to enjoy the rest of our trip. I am still finalizing the article detailing “48 hours in Munich”. If you can check back next week, I will definitely have posted it by then. For now, I’ll leave it here with a little tease that the 48 hours was filled with great food, culture, and Bavarian beer.

Until next time!