European Christmas vacation

[TLSnell1981]

If you could go anywhere in Europe for Christmas vacation, where would you go and why?


Someone had already suggested the military resort Edelwiess in Germany. Has anyone been there before? Downside was that everything nearby shuts down on Christmas Eve and Christmas.

Thanks for any help.

I have stayed at Edelwiess and it is very nice. It may be very difficult to get a reservation at this late date.

My first thoughts were of Italy and Germany. Rome is amazing, but there are no military hotels nearby. There's one in Livorno and one in Vicenza, each are serveral hours away. My daughter was married in Italy and there are many beautiful churches...not just Rome. Vicenza is the nicer of these two.

If you can get into Edelwiess..go for it. Neuschwanstein is beautiful and is about an hour and a half drive. It's about a two and a half hours to Rothenburg. I would stay at least one night, if you can (in Rothenburg). It's easy to spend a few days there and is one of our favorites.

How easy is it for the average American to get around in rental car? !

Very easy, especially from Garmisch to Fussen and also to Rothenburg. We always rent a car and drive when we go to Europe. Just stay on the main roads.

 

[traviesojmt]

How easy is it for the average American to get around in rental car? I looked at the day trips the hotel will arrange and they charge twice, sometimes four times the price of the actual entrance fees. Example- if arranged by Edelweiss, a trip to the Neuschwanstein Castle costs $41 each for adults and $31 each for kids. On the castle site, it states the entry fee as $18 for adults and $9 for kids. Big difference!

I am really good at many things, but directions would not be one of them. Saying I am directional-challenged would be polite. Having said that, I managed to drive through Germany without much difficulty. I drove to the Neuschwanstein Castle and to Garmish. Keep in mind, though, that many times the train is an easier form of travel. Trains are a more popular way to travel in Germany than here in the states. If we were going, we would both rent a car and utilize the train.

 

[plutotek]

How easy is it for the average American to get around in rental car? I looked at the day trips the hotel will arrange and they charge twice, sometimes four times the price of the actual entrance fees. Example- if arranged by Edelweiss, a trip to the Neuschwanstein Castle costs $41 each for adults and $31 each for kids. On the castle site, it states the entry fee as $18 for adults and $9 for kids. Big difference!

As long as you can read a map and/or use a GPS, it shouldn't be a problem. You may have to be a bit more aggressive on the Autobahn, but the back roads and such aren't so bad, and make for some nice scenery. We're doing this on our next trip there.

 

[boyob13]

Even better than Garmisch (which we've been to a lot) is anywhere on the Swiss-Austrian border. My favorite place to go is Nurenberg and the huge Christmas market there.

 

[jsmith]

Add me to the go to Garmisch crowd. My husband was in Germany last December-not on leave on an escort mission-i didnt get to go over-we had already booked a summer trip to italy and a med cruise for post deployment-but he said Germany during the Christmas holidays is amazing. And they guys i work with here have all been stationed in Germany and say Garmisch is a wonderful place for the holidays. We went to italy this summer and its pretty amazing too. Just be prepared for it to be VERY expensive to fly over.

 

[r1lissa]

Thanks again to everyone for the advice!

I think we are def leaning toward visiting the Bavaria Germany area.
We have done England, France, and Italy already, so this would be a different stamp on my passport!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Thanks again to everyone for the advice!

I think we are def leaning toward visiting the Bavaria Germany area.
We have done England, France, and Italy already, so this would be a different stamp on my passport!

You won't regret it. I've been all over Europe and it's one of my favorites.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Thanks again to everyone for the advice!

I think we are def leaning toward visiting the Bavaria Germany area.
We have done England, France, and Italy already, so this would be a different stamp on my passport!

They didn't stamp our arrival in Italy, last year! We departed from Paris and was asked our point of entry. They weren't too surprised or concerned that we had been waved through in Rome.

 

[EllenFrasier]

What? Nobody is suggesting England? You know, Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" and all that? I've never been anywhere in Europe but for some reason England seemed like the answer. I'd go with Germany though because I'm from German lineage. Have a great time where ever you decide to go!