2-week Germany and Austria Itinerary by Train
Last month, my family celebrated my dad’s big 60th birthday with a trip to Germany and Austria! We built the trip around Oktoberfest in Munich. This trip has been years in the making, and I’m so happy we were able to make it happen and that it went off without a hitch. We had 11 people total in our group (my family of 6, two significant others including Korri, and three of my brother’s friends). My dad and I did almost all of the planning ourselves. I started a Google Doc where we wrote everything down (flights, various itinerary options, hotels, things to do, etc.). This doc was shared with everyone but I’m not sure everyone checked it regularly like we did. 😆
Our 2-week itinerary went through many iterations. Originally, my dad wanted to visit Hamburg, Cologne, and Munich (plus Füssen). His side of the family is originally from Cologne, and my late uncle/his brother-in-law had loved visiting Hamburg. It eventually turned into our final version that spanned two countries and that included Berlin, Munich, Füssen, and Salzburg (plus Frankfurt on the way in and out). Because Germany’s rail system is so fantastic, that’s how we traveled from city to city. It was so easy and less stressful than renting a car. Below, I shared our FULL 2-week Germany and Austria itinerary by train.
This is a very long post but I wanted to write out everything before I forget it. I hope it’s helpful for you if you’re planning a similar trip! (And I’m going to be happy I wrote this all out in a few years when I don’t remember everything we did!)
2-week Germany and Austria Itinerary by Train
Day 1: Land in Frankfurt, Germany (stay 1 night)
Welcome to Germany (willkommen in Deutchland)! After a long flight from the states, we made it! Korri and I flew Singapore Air from NYC to Frankfurt, so we had a shorter flight than my family, who all flew direct from Denver. Our flights arrived within about an hour of each other in the morning, so we had to try to stay awake all day. The goal was to stay up until sunset.
My top tip for avoiding jetlag as much as possible is to pick a flight that lands in the afternoon. You won’t have to try to stay up all day long the later you arrive. Luckily, I didn’t have too much of an issue staying awake, though I did start feeling tired in the middle of the afternoon. Movement helped!
We booked a free walking tour that took most of the afternoon, and after that we stopped at & Other Stories because it’s one of my favorite stores! It was great to visit and learn about lots of the main spots and history in Frankfurt. One thing I wanted to do but didn’t get to was go up to the observation deck in the Main Tower.
Things to Do: Frankfurt free walking tour, shopping on and around Goethestraße, Main Tower observation deck
Where to Eat: Pizzeria 7 Bello (near the train station; a hole-in-the-wall with cheap pizza and beer); Panino (for pasta)
Where to Stay: Near the Frankfurt Main Train Station (Hauptbahnhof); we stayed at Bristol Motel which was inexpensive and in a great location but I did not find the beds to be comfy at all
Days 2-5: Berlin, Germany (stay 4 nights)
On day 2, we caught a train to Berlin! We all had German Rail Passes (5 days of travel within 1 month) and reserved seats on the ICE trains (high-speed trains) ahead of time. The train to Berlin took about 4 hours. We booked the train leaving Frankfurt at 11 am, so we arrived in Berlin at 3 pm and then jumped on the tram to our hotel. If you’ve never been to Europe, you’ll quickly find that their public transportation system is the BEST. I loved Berlin’s especially (well, for the most part ha)!
We stayed in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, which is a super cute and quieter neighborhood north of Mitte (the city center neighborhood). Berlin is well-connected with their U-bahn (subway), tram, and bus systems. We took it easy the first night and wandered over to Mauerpark to watch Union Berlin (the local soccer team; unfortunately they lost) before heading to the Bahamas cocktail bar (with sand on the floor!).
The next day, we went sightseeing! First up was Brandenburg Gate (after having to changes plans and take the subway because our tram didn’t show up ha) and then the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. After grabbing a quick bite to eat on the other side of museum island (we did lots of walking, and it was HOT outside), we visited the art museum (Alte Nationalgalerie), where there was a whole room of original Claude Monet paintings plus one Vincent Van Gogh.
That night, we ate a baked potato swimming in sour cream at Prater Biergarten, and my family drank lots of beer. I prefer Radlers myelf (half beer, half lemonade)! We tried the half beer, half cola drink and it was weirdly not as terrible as it sounds. Some people thought it tasted like root beer.
The next morning, I unfortunately woke up not feeling well. It was a cloudy and rainy day—a typical day in Berlin from what I’ve heard. My family had planned to visit the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. It’s weird to say I was bummed to miss it… Rather, I was disappointed to have come all that way just to end up not being able to visit these places, and Sachsenhausen is an important place. I know they had a hard time visiting. Even looking through their photos was hard so I can’t even imagine what it was like to visit… Or worse, be forced to LIVE (and die) there as thousands of Jews experienced. 💔 Sachsenhausen is about an hour from Berlin but easy to access with public transportation.
I ended up staying in bed for two days (one of those being my birthday, sadly). It was such a bummer to miss so much of Berlin! Though, I will say it sort of felt like I was living there, with my windows open listening to constant sirens, trams, people chatting, etc. My family visited the Berlin cathedral (gorgeous on the inside!!!) and some of them also went up the Berlin TV tower. Korri went out with my brother and his friends one night to try to get into the famous Berlin nightclubs and was out all night long! Lol. He also had fun wandering around Prenzlauer Berg and just exploring. I got out for a walk around the block on my birthday but was so tired by the time we got back.
Things to Do: Union Berlin soccer game, Brandenburger Gate, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, museum island for Alte Nationalgalerie (art museum) and Berliner Dom (cathedral), Sachsenhausen, Berliner Fernsehturm (TV tower), nightclubs, explore!
Where to Eat: Prater Biergarten, Olla Grill & Orient Lounge (Mediterranean), Pane e Vino (pizza), Atix (döner and fries), Konnopke's Imbiss (sausage and fries), Kaffee Marlene (breakfast)
Where to Stay: Linnen Inn in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood
Days 6-7: Füssen, Germany (stay 2 nights)
We departed Berlin for Füssen (pronounced like the “feu” sound in “feud”) on the day of the Berlin Marathon. In hindsight, it was a terrible decision to try to catch a train when everyone was trying to get to the race to watch and the public transit schedules/routes had been modified. The tram that usually took us directly to the main train station from our hotel was not running all the way to the train station, so instead we took the subway and had to make a transfer. It was a very stressful morning not knowing if we all made it on the train until after it started moving! One thing to know about German trains: They leave ON TIME. Lol.
After a long, nearly 5-hour journey on an ICE train to Munich (even though trains leave on time, they often arrive late…at least they did on our trip), we arrived to a sea of people in the Munich main train station on their way to Oktoberfest! Luckily we had no issues catching our 2-hour-long regional train to Füssen (though that one got delayed too). Füssen is best known for being the town closest to the Neuschwanstein castle. It’s the perfect home base and a super cute town in its own right!
We ate dinner and then Korri and I hauled our dirty clothes to the only laundromat in town. We were nearly halfway into our trip and it was time to wash! The owner of the laundromat is originally from Chicago but has lived in Füssen for 16 years. Turns out we could have done laundry at the hotel, which is what my parents did, but oh well. (My brother and his girlfriend had the hotel staff do their laundry; they said it only cost 25 euros and everything was folded and back in their room by noon the next day. How fancy!)
The next morning, we were up bright and early for our castle tours! My dad and I booked our tours back in July. We booked a 9:55 am audio tour at Neuschwanstein and a 12:25 pm English tour at Hohenschwangau. It was super easy to get there via the bus. We caught another bus up to the path that takes you to Neuschwanstein. You can also walk/hike/bike up the hill, but it’s much less fun ha. We walked over the bridge to snap photos of Neuschwanstein and then it was time for our tour! You’re only allowed inside the castles with a tour, and they sell out ahead of time (especially during Oktoberfest, when lots of people come visit for the day from Munich).
The walk back down the hill was much nicer and didn’t take too long. It wasn’t busy at all when we got there in the morning, but the village was bustling by the time we got down at around noon. We did our next castle tour at Hohenschwangau (this one was longer because there was more to see; I highly recommend doing both if you can!) and then caught the bus back to Füssen. My mission in the afternoon was to find a dirndl for Oktoberfest! We checked two shops in town and I ended up finding one at Trachten Wolf. Korri grabbed a few things to finish off his Oktoberfest outfit at Trachten Wolf and Trachten Werner. Trachten Werner offered us a bottle of beer or apple juice while we shopped!
That night, we celebrated my birthday (belated) at Eisen-Schmidt. It was a restaurant recommended by the owner of the laundromat (I wish I caught her name!) and it was very good! I ate schnitzel and it was delish. I love schnitzel. We “kids” grabbed drinks afterward at Deja Vu across from our hotel.
Things to Do: Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau Castle, shop for trachten
Where to Eat: Schnitzelhaus, RIWA, Eisen-Schmidt, Deja Vu, Cafe Loumee (closed while we were there but on my list for next time)
Where to Stay: Hotel Sonne (we had a shower AND a separate tub in our bathroom)
Days 8-10: Munich, Germany (stay 3 nights)
Next it was time for the main event: Munich for Oktoberfest! We made it to Munich in the early afternoon. The main train station was an absolute ZOO—filled with people dressed up and headed to Oktoberfest (or leaving Munich for the day). Korri and I stayed in Lehel, which was four subway stops away from Theresienwiese (Oktoberfest). The rest of the group stayed just south of the train station within walking distance of Oktoberfest. I loved not being in the thick of people everywhere! Our neighborhood was super quiet yet convenient to Old Town and everywhere else we wanted to go.
The first night, we met up for beers at Hofbräuhaus before dinner reservations at La Pizza, the cutest Italian restaurant! The owner is absolutely delightful. The younger guys all went to Oktoberfest at night. The next morning, I had booked a local photographer, Marina of Hey Bella Photo, to take family photos. It was super fun, and I’m so glad to have the pictures! We rarely get pictures all together. She followed us to Oktoberfest, where we took more photos before our noon reservation at the Schottenhamel tent. My dad got two tables for the 15 of us and we had tickets for 30 liters of beer and 20 half chickens. Plus, we also got an appetizer platter! It was a lot of food…and a LOT of beer. I only drank 1 liter of Radler over our 3-hour reservation.
We wanted coffee drinks from Cafe Lehel (they’re SO good), so Korri and I took my brother and his girlfriend with us, and then we went back to Oktoberfest. Lol. It was much busier in the evening. We found my parents and their friends at the Löwenbräu tent, and after a platter of fries and more beer, we rode the Riesenrad (Ferris wheel)! The carriages were little Bavarian houses! Everyone meandered to a couple of other smaller tents/drinking areas and Korri and I wandered around the carnival side of Oktoberfest (all the beer tents were mostly on one side, and the typical carnival rides and games were mostly on the other). Oktoberfest was MUCH more packed at night, as you’d expect!
The next day, my dad had booked another lunchtime reservation at Armbrustschützenzelt but only for 10 people. Pretty sure it was just my youngest brothers and their friends there. Korri and I decided to sleep in and have a mostly chill day. We went out to see the Glockenspiel play at Marienplatz then went to the observation deck in the New Town Hall (the observation deck is above the Glockenspiel in the same tower and you get there via elevators). We wandered to the Eisbachwelle (popular surfing wave on the river) in the English Garden before heading to Tattenbach Wirtshaus for dinner. That was one of the best schnitzel meals we had! The käsespätzle (basically mac and cheese) was delicious too.
Things to Do: Oktoberfest (mid September to early October), Glockenspiel at Marienplatz, New Town Hall observation deck, Eisbachwelle, English Garden, Munich cathedral
Where to Eat: Hofbräuhaus, La Pizza, Cafe Lehel, Munich Surf Kitchen, Tattenbach Wirtshaus (the cafe, this restaurant, and the hotel were recommended by Jessica of Bedknobs and Baubles)
Where to Stay: Unsöld’s Factory Hotel (Lehel)
Days 11-12: Salzburg, Austria (stay 2 nights)
The last city of our trip was Salzburg, Austria! Salzburg is a quick train ride from Munich and another popular day trip destination if you’re there for Oktoberfest. We stayed two nights, and much like our other stops, wish we had stayed longer! It was such a cool city and probably my favorite of all the places we went to. (I can’t say for certain since I missed so much of Berlin.) We arrived in the early afternoon on a regional train. After checking in at the Seminary Guest House (yes, Korri and I stayed in an active seminary!!!), we walked to Mirabell Gardens. It was another QUITE warm day. We really got lucky with the weather.
The highlight of our stop in Salzburg was meeting our friends from Vienna!!! Crazy story time: Korri and I met a couple in the Cook Islands four years ago that were visiting from Vienna. We met them hours before we departed our flight home so we really didn’t get to hang out. We’ve stayed in touch since then and they drove to Salzburg to visit us! And we met their sweet kiddo! We met them for dinner at Sternbräu (more delicious schnitzel) and then drinks at Shamrock (you must try the apple strudel shot; it was delicious and wasn’t strong at all).
The next morning, we met them bright and early to take the Untersberg Cable Car. Admission was free with our Salzburg cards. Unfortunately, it was super cloudy and cold at the top, so we didn’t see ANYTHING. (The next morning was beautiful, of course. Sigh.) After that, we went to the Salzburg Zoo so their kiddo could nap. We got free entry again with our Salzburg cards. The zoo was really cool! And I got schnitzel again, ha! We said our goodbyes and left the zoo early to catch the bus back to the city for the Fräulein Maria’s Bike Tour with my parents.
The bike tour came HIGHLY recommended, and I can definitely see why! We stopped by a bunch of The Sound of Music film locations and our tour guide (Celeste) was super energetic and knowledgeable about Salzburg and the film. Our bike ride lasted over four hours and we actually rode all the way back to Hellbrunn Palace, which is located on the other side of a hill from the zoo! The palace is where the Sound of Music Pavilion lives. That night, we met up with the rest of the group for our last dinner together.
Things to Do: Mirabell Palace and Gardens, Untersberg, Salzburg Zoo, Fräulein Maria’s Bike Tour
Where to Eat: Mirabell Coffee Bar, Sternbräu, Shamrock Irish Pub, Gablerbräu (possibly closed now…?)
Where to Stay: Seminary Guest House
Day 13: Frankfurt, Germany (stay 1 night)
The trip was coming to an end so it was sadly time to head back to Frankfurt to catch our flights home. This was another long train travel day. We started in Salzburg and ended up catching an earlier train than we had originally planned because we were worried we’d arrive too late to catch our connecting train. It was good we did because we were a bit delayed coming into Munich! While we were on the train to Munich, my dad noticed that our train to Frankfurt had been cancelled. We scrambled to book new seat reservations on the next train (which left only an hour later). We specifically booked the ICE train that travelled through the Black Forest and stopped in Stuttgart since we had stopped in Nuremberg on the way down.
After a little over an hour in Munich (where we couldn’t get luggage lockers because they were full due to Oktoberfest), we caught our train to Frankfurt via Stuttgart! It was another gorgeous ride, and I really loved how cute Stuttgart looked from the train. I’d love to have a proper visit next time! At the Stuttgart main station, our train switched directions; Korri and I started the trip facing forward but then were facing backward after that stop. Just something to note in case you prefer to face forward on trains. The train took about 3.5 hours and took us directly to the Frankfurt Airport. Since its final destination was Hamburg, we had to be ready to hop off at Frankfurt right when we got there.
Everyone except for one of my brothers and two of his friends stayed in an airport hotel. Korri and I had an early flight out and preferred sleeping more to waking up early and catching a taxi or train to the airport. I was definitely glad to be right by the airport! Because of our cancelled train, we arrived an hour later than we had anticipated, so there wasn’t time to head into the city. We ate in the train station and then did some laundry!
Things to Do: Depends on how late you arrive and where you stay! We had no time to do anything except chill and pack.
Where to Eat: Alex at The Squaire (if you stay near the airport)
Where to Stay: If you have an early flight, it’s nice to stay near the airport. Otherwise it’s less expensive to stay in the city! We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn located above the long-distance train station and just walked into the airport from there.
Day 14: Depart from Frankfurt, Germany
Sadly for us, it was time to head home, but not before a stop in New York City. Korri and I flew Singapore Air to JFK and decided to stay a night in Manhattan and fly out of LaGuardia the next day. The Seattle Seahawks were in town playing the Giants on Monday Night Football, and since the Seahawks is Korri’s team, we decided to stay and go to the game! It was also his first time to NYC.
We didn’t have time for much in NYC because we were exhausted and spent a lot of time at the football game, but we walked to the Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, and Times Square (the latter after the game when it was lit up in the dark). We ate a super yummy Italian meal at Non Solo Piada. The next day (day 15), we got breakfast bagel sandwiches at Best Bagel & Coffee (the name cracks me up but they had a long line and the bagels were delicious) then hopped the subway to the One World Observatory for a view from the top floor. We also walked through the 9/11 Memorial before we had to head back to the hotel to catch our ride to the airport.
Because the main purpose of our NYC stay was to head to New Jersey for the game, we stayed in a hotel in Midtown near Penn Station. (It was also a convenient subway stop from JFK.) Getting to LaGuardia is a bit more complicated (there is no subway direct to LaGuardia), so we opted to book a ride through the hotel. It took a while to get there but it was nice not having to handle our bags! We got super cheap tickets back to Boise on Southwest via Denver.
Overall, I felt like our 2-week Germany and Austria itinerary went well and was successful. If I were to do it over again, I’d add more days in each city! Ha. I just felt like there wasn’t enough time to see everything I wanted to see. Of course, it doesn’t help that I was sick for part of the trip. Hopefully we can make it back and see even more cool things in Germany and Austria, including Stuttgart!