Although normally I am that travel consultant kind of person (surprise), who loves to research every option I decided to take a different approach, when we wanted to visit Germany. By only booking our first night and leave the rest open. Ofcourse I did check some places I’d liked to visit. I chose Cochem, Germany for our first stop.

After just 3 hours of driving we arrived. Such a relief! When driving to the south of Europe  you’ll easily drive 10 – 15 hours. So, to be looking over the beautiful river, while drinking a fresh glass of local Moezel wine after just 3,5 hour was absolutely great!

What to do in Cochem?

When you plan to visit Germany, Cochem is a lovely town to wander around for a day or two. It’s smal but filled with authentic buildings, and lots of cozy terraces where you can order a glass of Weissbeer or moezel wine or eat some German flammkuchen. In summer times it’s a great placet o relax at the riverside or take a daytrip by boat. There are a lot of winehouses to visit and nearby this city you’ll find beautiful area’s to go biking or walking.

We stayed in hotel Osteria de Vino, a perfect location for a short visit to Cochem. The hotel is situated in the centre, the atmosphere is relaxing and the rooms are clean and spacious. In the morning you’ll find a wide range of breakfast options at the buffet. Thanks tot he small private terrace you can even have your breakfast outside. Be sure to try one of their home made wines. Waking up without a headache is an additional luxury 😉

From Cochem to the Black Forrest

From cochem we drove off in the direction of the Black Forest, a huge area situated in the southwest of Germany. While planning to visit Germany, this place was on top of my list. We came driving through the outback, passing the Moezel river and had a quick stop in the idyllic village Traben-Trabach. I must say, we liked the route towards it better then the place itsself to be honest.

The Black Forest contains a distance of 6009 m2, so I did’nt find it easy to pick which beautiful places we were going to visit. There were waterfalls, viewpoints, extraordinary castles and even hanging bridges, foating through high trees.

Alhthough we planned on going camping, this did not work out like we hoped. It apperead there were no campsites available around the area. Eventually, after a day of calling, typing e-mails and contacting campsites in my best german, I found a small campside for two nights close to a town called Rastatt. This place was fine but not ideal, I would recommend Hotel Schutzen in this area. This hotel offers home cooking options and it also has their own restaurant. The area turned out to be beautiful though!

”Filled with walking paths, crossing lakes, waterfalls and authentic villages, you really feel like you walk around in some enchanted forest”.

 

Because we really wanted to go further into the south of Germany, we packed up our stuff after two days and drove of to Tirol, Austria. After again, some hours of finding a place to stay, I found a campside available for 2 nights. Happy Camp in Lermoos. This place offers hotelrooms and campingspots. The location is just perfect,in walking distance from the centre and with a magnificent view of the Mountain Zugspitze. I will share more details on this destination in the following blog.

Would you like to read more about this route? Check out the other blogs that zooms in on the places we visit in Austria.

Tip: Visit Germany – Füssen, the end of the ‘Romantische Strasse”

On our way we made a stop at a stopover at Fussen, the final stop of the so called ‘’Romantische Strasse’’. A very famous route crossing several authentic towns in Germany. We were happily surprised by the lovely old centre and the amazing blue waters of the river ’de Lech’, wich is a side river of the Donau. Definetely a must visit! The famous castle Neuchwanstein adjacent to this place, unfortunately we did not get a change to visit it.

In total we made a trip of 12 days, with a stay up to 2 – 3 days per destination. What’s ideal of this route, is the amount of variation. You can visit lovely cities as wel as astounding natural areas. There are lots of options to choose, based on your own preference. The fact that every stop is only 3 – 4 hours away is great. This way you can see plenty, but also relax and enjoy your holiday.