Two Weeks in Europe’s Heartland: Germany, Switzerland, and Austria Tour

Although our trip started off a little rocky, my husband and I really enjoyed our travels in Holland, Germany, Switzerland and ending in Italy. This was the first time we decided to travel out the country doing more of a self guided tour rather than a tour with a guide and 40 other people. 

I was a little nervous about how it would all work out and my husband and I were both stressed when we left because we were hit by Hurricane Irma one week before we were scheduled to leave. We were without power for 5 days and did not get it back until 2 days before our departure date. I wasn't sure if we were going to have to cancel at the last minute and that made for some unwanted stress. However we were able to leave without much of a hitch.

When we arrived in Amsterdam, our itinerary told us we were to be greeted by a driver at the airport who would then take us to our hotel. After searching for our driver for about 45 minutes and not finding him or her, we gave up and ended up taking a hotel shuttle to our hotel. Unfortunately, when you are stressed to begin with and you have just gotten off of an 8 hour overnight flight, this can cause some anxiety and angry feelings. Needless to say, it did not start out well. Our travel agent contacted me as soon as he found out what happened and made every effort to get out trip back on a positive track. Our time in Amsterdam could have been better had we been more relaxed, but because of the rocky start, we were so unsure about how the rest of the trip was going to go. There was some miscommunication and confusion with our itinerary, but eventually we did get things figured out and our second day in Amsterdam was much better.

We left Amsterdam by train to Cologne the evening of our second day. Again, there was some confusion at the train station as instructions were not very clear, but we did make it. We spent the night in Cologne and the next morning we were picked up at our hotel and driven to the Rhine River where we were to take a two hour cruise. When we arrived at the pier we waited for another guide who was to meet us to take our luggage and meet us at the end of our River Cruise. We were greeted by a wonderful guide who we then spent the next 3 days traveling around the Black Forest Region and having a wonderful time. On our third day with our guide, we headed to Munich where he took us to the BMW World Headquarters for a tour and then dropped us off at our hotel.

The next morning in Munich we met another guide who was also very nice and brought us to see some of the iconic castles in Bavaria. He also surprised us by taking us to see the Pilgrimage Church of the Weis, which was magnificent. From Munich, we took a short flight to Zurich and then a train to Lucerne. Not sure I liked this part of our tour. Too much time in airports and train stations.

We followed our itinerary to the letter when we arrived in Lucerne and enjoyed our time in Alps. From Lucerne we took the train to Milan where we had about a day before we left to go home.

There were a few glitches along the way, but our travel agent did the right thing and offered us a small refund for our troubles. The true gage of a good business is how they handle things when they don't go as planned and when the customer is dissatisfied. In our case, our travel agent did the right thing by us and made us whole. Although I'm not sure if my husband and I will be able to travel like this again in the future, I may consider using this travel agent and his company again.

We found this company through Zicasso.  We were contacted by our travel agent within couple of days.  We exchanged communications both via email and phone call for the next several weeks.  Our trip were to three cities in Germany and Austria and we wanted to splurge a little.  A few weeks before hand, we were given a day to day itinerary.  She gave us options for lunch and dinner each day as well as suggestions and options on the tours each day that we did not have a tour guide.  We travel to Munich, Salzburg, Oberammergau and Rothenburg.  

We were pick up when we arrived in Munich.  As we entered our hotel room, our travel agent had already left the package with day to day itinerary,  maps as well as a I-phone for us to use.  All the locations were input in the contact list so that we can easily retrieve time.  Any of the non-guided tours, our agent has given suggestions on where to park.

We had booked a private tour to Neuschwanstein Castle and Linderhof Palace.  We were surprised that private tour was really a private tour, just my wife and I!!!  It was definitely worth it, no line and the guide answered all our questions and did not rush us along.

The dinner suggestions were fabulous.  Most of them were walking distance to our hotel.  However, if you are not a smoker, you might want to skip Carpe Diem in Salzburg.  They have great food, the restaurant is on the 2nd floor (non-smoking), however, the bar is on the first floor (smoking).  The smoke comes right up the center stairway.  Food is great though. 

All the hotels that we stayed at were wonderful!  We had a room that overlook the Viktualienmarkt in Munich, a corner suite overlooking the river and historic city of Salzburg.  An awesome room in Oberammergau.  And a charming suite in a 800 year old building in Rothenburg where the hotel staff were friendly and attentive.  

We wish we could have make it a 3 week vacation and tour more cities in Germany.  If we ever go back, we will definitely use  this company again.

The planning and organization for our trip to Germany and Austria was expertly handled by Zicasso's travel partner. We could not have asked for a better trip. 

We gathered our adult children and friends together to celebrate Christmas and New Year in the Old World. In and around Munich, we saw Neuschwanstein and many of the city's beautifully ornate churches. We also visited the Christmas markets and beer halls, and ate way to much fabulous German food. 

Our agent contracted private guides in Munich and Salzburg. These guides were superior. They had detailed knowledge of the area, its history, and people. 

We spent Christmas in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is a lovely, magical town in the shadow of Germany's highest mountain, Zugspitze. On Christmas Day, I took the cable car up the mountain and the sights from the top were tremendous. On the day we were there, we could see 230km in all directions. Of course, when in the Alps, you must ski, so we visited Hintertux for a day of skiing and glacier exploration.  

Then we went to Salzburg to explore the sites of Mozart's birthplace, but there is so much more to the town than that. The town has over 1,000 years of history and the people there could not have been more hospitable. 

From there, we went back to Munich to celebrate New Year at Tollwood. 

Thank you, and a special thanks to our travel team for all the planning that went into the trip. It was pleasantly unforgettable. And I cannot forget our guides. The guides in Munich and Salzburg were excellent – extremely knowledgeable, personable, and always there when needed. I cannot wait to go back, and when I do, I will be planning our trip through your company.