The Romantic Road: Travel Notes

Over these 4 days we tried to combine the pleasure of visiting castles and medieval villages with the relaxing feeling of being surrounded by a peaceful and magnificent nature... So we decided not to stop in all the towns usually indicated in the "Romantische Strasse" itinerary but to choose some of them, researching among official sites and comments from other travellers (among others, I'd point out the site that lets you request information material which is sent free of charge to your home within a week at most). These notes are meant to be, more than a travel diary, a collection of information and advice that I hope may be useful to anyone who wants to travel through romantic Bavaria! Our itinerary was as follows: Day 1: arrival in the early afternoon in Schwangau, from Trentino, passing the Brenner and Austria (in Austria it's worth filling up with fuel because the price is lower).

We chose to stay here to be ready, the following morning, to visit the two famous castles of the place (in reality Fussen is also very close but then you have to leave the car in a paid car park..and then, come on: starting the day without touching the car?). After taking a look at (a site that was very useful to me for previous trips) I decided to rely on the advice reported by other travellers and opted for a family-run hotel which in fact turned out to be very nice (see site, cosy and very close to the castles (€67 for a double room). Unfortunately the weather on arrival was really bad: mist and drizzle certainly don't do honour to the magnificent scenery of the place...and it was really cold (8°) but the forecast I checked before leaving gave us hope of having sun the following day!. In the afternoon we visited Fussen, very nice for its very characteristic pedestrian centre.

There's also a castle: you can't visit the interior but from the outside the painted decorations that create a three-dimensional effect are striking. Excellent judgement also for the restaurants (we stopped here on the way back too): we ate very well and at low prices -the two of us never spent more than 40 euros- when you order bear in mind that the portions are very generous!!!. I recommend the Gasthof Krone (excellent the little mushroom fritters with garlic sauce and the potato soup served in a loaf of bread) and L'Aquila (despite the Italian name, you eat truly excellent local dishes, such as the veal shank with red cabbage and a big potato dumpling and the swordfish accompanied by a very particular lemon risotto. Looking at the Gasthof Krone, which is easy to spot, it's at the end of a little alley on the right).

If you want to go shopping bear in mind that in all these towns the shops stay open all day but close at 18 during the week and at 16 on Saturday. The restaurant kitchens generally close around 21-22 too. Day 2: with magnificent sun (18°) we visited the two castles. They both really deserve a visit, starting with "Hohenschwangau". We didn't find queues at the ticket office but we were told that in other periods the wait can be long (if you have little time, with a surcharge you can book the tickets, even online). The kings who had the castles built had chosen this place for the splendid surrounding nature...we appreciated it so much too that we decided we would come back to spend the last day here, to relax before setting off again! In the afternoon we reached Rothenburg o.d.

Tauber (there is a convenient motorway linking it to Fussen; the romantic road is pleasant for the scenery but a bit less so for the traffic that greatly slows down travel times). Here we stayed in a hotel (Kreuzerhof) that instead was not much to our liking, not very faithful to its presentation on the site: cheap (double: €54) but a bit shabby. The town, however, is really beautiful. Interesting: - the museum of the historic vaults, in the town hall, which also gives you access to some rooms of the old prisons - the largest Christmas shop in the world: it really is a unique spectacle! - the city walls, which you can walk along - the gates and the gardens - the churches and, if you're into that sort of thing, the crime museum Day 3: morning in Rothenburg o.d.

Tauber and afternoon dedicated to visiting the smaller towns: Nordlingen, built in the crater left by a meteorite: nice but very similar, in miniature, to Rothenburg; Donauworth, characterised by its main street: very pretty for its colourful houses but nothing more Schongau: a flying visit because we arrived when everything was already closed and it didn't seem that special to us. In the evening we happily returned to the Romantic Pension and dined in Fussen. Day 4: relax on the lakeshore in Schwangau, lunch in Fussen, last purchases and...back home!