We have friends that we have not seen in years that live south of Krakow that we will be visiting in Feb. We decided to fly in my inlaws as well from Ukraine and do my sons Bday during the trip.

Need advice of things to see in Vienna and Prague as we want to do a full day in each and maybe Munich as well.

I have convinced my lovely wife that we should drive and since it seems decent (re: fun) cards are cheaper if we rent in Germany we will fly into Munich.

What should I know about renting a car in Germany? Looking at renting from SIXT unless someone has a better company as I can get an A6 Avant or 5 series touring at a decent price.

Has anyone driven from Munich to Vienna and Warsaw to Prague/ Prague to Munich?

Route advice sought as well.

quote:

Originally posted by dewhorse:
We have friends that we have not seen in years that live south of Krakow that we will be visiting in Feb. We decided to fly in my inlaws as well from Ukraine and do my sons Bday during the trip.

Need advice of things to see in Vienna and Prague as we want to do a full day in each and maybe Munich as well.

I have convinced my lovely wife that we should drive and since it seems decent (re: fun) cards are cheaper if we rent in Germany we will fly into Munich.

What should I know about renting a car in Germany? Looking at renting from SIXT unless someone has a better company as I can get an A6 Avant or 5 series touring at a decent price.

Has anyone driven from Munich to Vienna and Warsaw to Prague/ Prague to Munich?

Route advice sought as well.

I spent 11 years in Germany, many years ago! Returned to the States in 1968. We drove all over western Europe during those years. Autobahns were great and from what we hear from over there now, are even better. Having said that, if you want to see much of anything other than hi-speed cars and super highway, travel the smaller roads. Road maps were available even back then, but with todays technology you should be able to find good roads with less traffic, and more scenery. There is a huge amount of very interesting stuff to do and see over there. Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, etc etc.

Hint, don't plan too much for each day. Slower is better for sight seeing enjoyment! Some of those autobahn stretches used to have no speed limit and it got to be nerve wracking when I was cruising at 70MPH and was passed by someone doing well above 90! We did encounter a couple multi-car accident pile ups.

And, the LEOs over there are not very understanding!

We rented in Munich and drove west as far as Stuttgart. Turned around and drove east to Berchtesgaden (which I highly recommend). From there we made the short drive to Salzburg. There is a pass you must purchase the sticks to the inside of your windshield in order to pass from Germany to Austria. And they were checking. You can purchase them at any gas station near the border. Can't say if they are required for passage at other borders. We returned to Munich for the flight home returning the car the night before our flight and staying at a hotel right by the airport. This was a six day trip.

We rented from Eurocar. They are everywhere and came recommended by a travel agent friend. We had a diesel Range Rover that was very nice.

Believe me when I tell you that there IS a speed limit on parts of the Autobahn that fluctuates by time and conditions. That miscalculation added $90.00 to our trip. When you are on the unlimited portions, watch your mirrors. Porsche's and Mercedes will come up on you fast. Really fast. Best you not linger in the passing lane. When not in the passing lane it is best to not get the shit scared out of you by the roar and the wind blast.

Enjoy!

We flew into Frankfurt and drove down to Munich area and around, a short trip into Austria.

It was pretty simple overall, we used one of the travel places but I would not do it again. A little difficult trying to get the insurance coverage we wanted, but once that was resolved, it worked worked well. I’ll book direct next time. I’ve not had an issue with any rentals in Europe, but I always get the higher insurance.

Easy enough to get around, bring your own car GPS preprogrammed. Fueling was interesting at some of the smaller places, but easy once you know.

I would suggest an International driving license, easy enough to get and I think it’s required in some countries.

I've rented from Sixt several times and never had any problems. I recommend them. See if any of your credit cards come with car rental insurance.

Visited Prague on a Holocaust travel study in 2012. Did the normal touristy things; astronomical clock, Charles Bridge, etc, as well as visited the old Jewish Quarter.

There is a YouTube channel called Honest Guide that is run by a couple of guys from Prague. They have many videos of stuff off the beaten path to see and lesser known pubs and restaurants to visit. Check them out.

Ditto on the autobahn warnings - you might think that you driving at 90mph is pretty much it, but there WILL be people around you driving at almost double that. The sound of an air-cooled Porsche going by at 150+ will never leave you.

It might even have been me driving it...

Have fun, enjoy your trip, but remember: The left lane is ONLY for passing and you must get out of the way for faster cars. You'll know you are being overtaken because they start flashing their headlights about 1.6km behind you.

In Vienna:
Cafe Diglas, and the bakery catty corner to it.
If you smoke cigars, there's a great cigar lounge in the Hyatt near the only cigar shop downtown - I might be able to find more details in my old notes, if desired.

If you like hunting stuff, there's a neat hunting jewelry store - its near the Spanish Riding school.

Wellendorf rings, used watches, and good suits are very reasonable there.

It, and Innsbruck, are the only places I'd live outside of the US.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
Ditto on the autobahn warnings - you might think that you driving at 90mph is pretty much it, but there WILL be people around you driving at almost double that. The sound of an air-cooled Porsche going by at 150+ will never leave you.

It might even have been me driving it...

You are absolutely correct. We were driving to Munich, cruising right along at 120 mph in the right lane when a beautiful, yellow Porsche blew by us at at least 200. It sounded like jet with full Doppler effect. Impressive.

You need the toll medallion to use the good roads in Austria. They are available at gas stations and can be puchased for varying durations. Last time we drove in Central Europe, there was a significant surcharge if you were planning to bring the car into the former Eastern Bloc. We limited our travels to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Italy as a result. Definitely worth checking.

I'm in Germany now, was in Munich, Prague and Vienna last week. Doesn't matter which company you rent from. Get the best deal you can. When I arrived at MUC, there was a good 90 minute wait at every rental car counter. It was a total zoo, and I think just about all those folks had reservations.

Austria and CZ require toll decals, have super strict, constantly changing speed limits and cameras EVERYWHERE.

If you want to drive fast, go to Poland. Their max is 140 km/h, but it's very lax and lots of folks ignore it. Seriously, Germany is overfilled with traffic, construction sites and speed limits now. Poland is where to go for fast driving. There are still some pockets in Germany, but the routes between Munich and Salzburg or Vienna you can forget about. You can walk faster.

I got lost in Vienna's beautiful architecture for 12 days. Clean city and friendly folks.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
I'm in Germany now, was in Munich, Prague and Vienna last week. Doesn't matter which company you rent from. Get the best deal you can. When I arrived at MUC, there was a good 90 minute wait at every rental car counter. It was a total zoo, and I think just about all those folks had reservations.

Austria and CZ require toll decals, have super strict, constantly changing speed limits and cameras EVERYWHERE.

If you want to drive fast, go to Poland. Their max is 140 km/h, but it's very lax and lots of folks ignore it. Seriously, Germany is overfilled with traffic, construction sites and speed limits now. Poland is where to go for fast driving. There are still some pockets in Germany, but the routes between Munich and Salzburg or Vienna you can forget about. You can walk faster.

We will be in PL for 4 or 5 days...our friends have a couple rental cottages there.

In 2012 we did the BMW European delivery. Picking the car up in Munich and driving around. Munich, Vienna, Salzburg, OberSalzburg.

Munich:
Drive to Neuschwanstein
City Center

Vienna:
Hoffburg palace
Schonburg
Riding school

Sixt is good. Get a manual shift if you can drive it, it will be much cheaper than auto transmission.

Drove from Munich airport to Prague in 2016 - rented an Opal Mocha (like a Buick Enclave I think) and it did really well. Turn off the stupid gas saving feature that turns the engine off everytime you stop if you can.

Also just went again this past July - Love Prague!!


Stay in Old Town Prague - Hilton there is excellent, and great location.

Have to see the Castle...its a long walk (30 mins) from Old Town but doable. You can cross the Charles Bridge on the way. The astronomy tower is very cool too. Food is excellent and not expensive. Potrefena Husa is one of my faves in Prague for Czech comfort food (get the koleno..or BBQ pork knee).

Believe it or not but there's some great beer where you are going. Gosser, Hirter, Ostravar, Gambrinus, Budweiser Budvar, Radegast, and Velkopopoviky Kozel.

We just got back from a week in Prague and Vienna. The Rick Steve's books are great references. Both are great towns though the food is not the greatest. The best meals we had were at Italian and Indian restaurants in Vienna. Our hotels were centrally located, reasonable and had great service. Contact me via the address in my profile if you want their names.

2nd the Rick Steve's books. Essential for European travel.

In Vienna we ate at a place that Anthony Bourdain featured on his No Reservations show. Google Anthony Bourdain Vienna to find the clips.

The food was great and it was a nice little local place. Called Wratschko Gastwirtschaft

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
Believe it or not but there's some great beer where you are going. Gosser, Hirter, Ostravar, Gambrinus, Budweiser Budvar, Radegast, and Velkopopoviky Kozel.

You don't say

The A6 Avant is a manual that's one of the reasons I am picking it.

Although they have an S6 Avant that is an auto

It's been my experience that when a restaurant gets featured on one of those shows they jack the price way up. Was that your experience daikyu? Was that place expensive?

I tried to go to a BBQ place in Charleston that was featured and they wanted $99 for a family pack.

I'm sure it's good, but it ain't that damn good!

I guess it's all Monopoly money over there though, lol!