Can't wait to hear more details about your trip!!! Any recommendations for shopping and dining during time on your own? I'm glad you had such a wonderful time!
Laurie
Hi Laurie!
We enjoyed all our meals the entire trip - as proven by the 10 extra pounds I brought home! ;-)
Dining on your own places that we liked:
Heidelberg : (we were in Heidelberg one day before)
Cafe Rossi
Perkeo
Crowne Plaza's Bar menu
Waldeck:
We ate at a little Italian restaurant in town, recommended by our guides. It was a taste of "country German life", as they did not speak English. Food was decent and the atmosphere was fun. A good many of our group ended up there that night.
. Other choices were a Greek restaurant and a beirgarten, or the castle's restaurant or room service.
Rothenburg:
We went to a Beirgarten attached to a hotel that specialized in the German "pizza" called Flammkuchen. I believe it was called Reichs Kuchenmeister. We ended up returning with a group of us two nights for after dinner drinks. We are convinced our pictures must be hanging in the restaurant now - labeled "Those Crazy Americans!" Both nights we asked for "table of 10" and had a blast!
Munich:
Schuhbeck's Orlando - located across from Hofbrauhaus. We enjoyed this meal while people-watching everyone on the square.
We ate outside everywhere. The weather was perfect. Remember that if you choose to tip, it is usually 10 % and you have to tell the server before they run the credit card.
***We did NOT eat at the famous Hofbrauhaus, but we did walk through to see it - both in the Munich walking tour and on our own. It was much too big, too warm, too noisy, and smelled. Lol. Also found out they don't do the cooking on premise. Nothing about it was appealing, just the folklore of it.
Shopping:
Best shopping was Heidelberg and Rothenburg. Heidelberg had more "chains".
Rothenburg was by far the best shopping for all things "German". Plus, that is the most time on your own for shopping. We splurged on a beautiful handmade cuckoo clock that will be shipped home. The Christmas store gave 3% discount. If you find a Steiff teddy bear in a Rothenburg shop that you love, buy it there and don't wait for the Steiff factory tour. The gift shop at Steiff changes their inventory and they do not ship back to the states. DD20 found one she loved in Rothenburg, then bought another at the factory. Not much free time at all in Munich, so don't wait for shopping there, except for lederhosen & dirndls. Best prices were in Munich and the guides can tell you how to find the shop.
Hope this helps a bit!
"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
Thanks!!!!
