route to italy, in paticular German part

[Guest JudgeMental]

 

I have sorted out major areas of route for summer break - but it is the German area that I am unsure of.

 

from Calais - luxenbourg we would like to see a bit of the Mosel river before heading down to lake constance but are unsure where to join it as we don't want to go to much out of the way (rest of route is covered thanks to advice received previously)

 

where are the Rhine falls and Eagles nest and is the black forest on route?

 

any suggestions gratefully received as I have little experience of southern Germany

[arturus]

I'm no expert on Germany but as good a start as any would be to go from Luxembourg to Trier and then drive the Moselle as far as Koblenz and then turn up the Rhine. Depending upon what you want to see/visit on the way---this could be a long slow drive to Italy.

Have a look at http://www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/destination_germany/master_tlfstrasse.htm for a bit of a teach-in for Germany.

Enjoy your trip.

BrianM

[arturus]

Found a bit more on Google. http://www.eagles-nest.de/en/kehlsteinhaus.php?navid=1

Rhine Falls

http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/guide/northeast/rhinefalls.html

BrianM

 

[net-traveller]

It all depends how much time you have.

 

Rhine Falls - Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Costs 5 CHF to park.

 

Black Forest - SW Germany. From moselle area head down the French/German border towards Basle. Every thing east of the Rhine from Karlsruhe down to Basle is Black Forest.

 

Eagles Nest aka Kelsteinhaus overlooks the Konigssee south of Berchtesgaden in SE Germany, not a stones throw from Salzburg, Austria.

 

So for an idea of how to do it -

Moselle, Black Forest, then take the road via Titisee towards Donauschingen where you can drop down to Schaffhausen (avoiding the Swiss motorway tax), return to Germany and head east. You will probably need to go via Munich ring road to get to the A8 which will give you Berchtesgaden. If you are going to Italy via the Brenner (Innsbruck) you will need to retrace your steps along A8 until you reach A93 junction - don't forget the Austrian motorway charge.

 

Hope that helps

 

;-)

[Brian Kirby]

Eddie

I think you may do better to go South-East from Calais straight towards Koblenz, and then pick up the Mosel turning South-West towards Trier.  Then pass via Luxembourg into France and cut across the awkward corner of Germany around Mannheim/Karlsruhe (where the autobahnen get very busy with many jams) and thence back into Germany just South of Strasbourg (which will add a bit of Alsace and the Vosges to the route), and head South East across the Black Forest towards Schaffhausen for the falls. 

However, do be aware that although the roads are well signposted, once you get off the autobahnen in South-Western Germany, there are very few direct routes from any A to any B.  You'll be on the winding "scenic" route, and be lucky to average much above 35-40 mph.  However, it is very scenic and, if you keep stopping, which is a big temptation, you'll go even slower, so don't set ambitious timetables for this bit of the journey!  Navigation will be much more difficult once off the autobahnen as well, with the route running from town to town and a lot of intermediate intersections to negotiate.  The roads cover the ground like a cobweb, and you just have to pick you way along the strands.  It soon becomes clear why Hitler built the autobahnen - the country wouldn't work without them!

[Guest JudgeMental]

Thanks everyone!

 

Brian, I pre plan route on "mapsource" on my computer and download to GPS - not full proof but it helps!