From: Woodyard, Jon C.
Trip to Europe September, 1996.
Summary: It was a fine trip, expensive, but thankfully, uneventful
Cities visited: Freiburg, DE; Lugano, SW; Bellagio, It; Milano, Torino, Sta. Margherita, San Gimignano, Pisa, Firenze (2 nights) , Venezia, Innsbruck, Aus; Garmisch, DE; Dachau, DE, Munich, DE, Rothenburg, DE, Frankfurt, DE. Used almost very form of travel: air, car, bus, train, boat. DO NOT GO INTO ANY MAJOR EUROPEAN CITY WITHOUT A CITY STREET MAP. Total time: 16 days. General comments: Europe is expensive. Dollar converts to DM at 1.49, to Lira at 1510. Venezia was the most expensive but by far the most beautiful...very romantic.Rooms in Germany are the least expensive. We never stay at 4 star hotels so I'm no expert on these. Two and three star are about $60-70/day, pensiones somewhat cheaper ($50). Almost all include breakfast. We only eat two meals while traveling. You can get really fat in Europe if you don't cut back. German and Italian food is very rich. Driving in Europe is mixed. Germany and Austria have good and predictable drivers. Unless you're a Mercedes or BMW doing 160 kmh or more, stay out of the left lane. Italians are aggressive and fearless...suggest you be, too. No place for the faint of heart.
Air travel: IcelandAir was a bargain. $467 plus taxes and insurance against cancellation or travel date shifts totalled $510 per person roundtrip to Frankfurt. Excellent service and good food. Planes were new 757's and 737-200's. You must travel via Iceland (Reykavik) but no stopover other than changing planes.
Used Alamo car rental: It's confusing but generally if you prepay from the States using VISA or MC, CDW is included BUT this means if involved in accident or theft, you must pay first then VISA will reimburse. Was not comfortable with this so paid extra $10 /day for theft. Good idea if you go to Italy were auto theft rate is high. Car cost $277 for 15 days. Don't try to rent in Italy for it's going to be $900 plus for the same period. City Comments: Freiburg - just stopped en route. Medieval city with lots of history. Nice Gasthof. Lugano - A big tourist city. Dont spend any time there. Bellagio - Undoubtedly the prettiest town on Lake Como. Not terribly expensive in September, but don't try it in June to Aug without a full wallet. Milano - a zoo to drive in. Gave up and went to Turin. Torino (Turin) - Nice but unimpressive. Ristorante Urbano. Fun restaurant! Sta. Margherita (Italian Riviera) - Beautiful room overlooking the Ligure. Much nicer than it's more celebrated neighbor, Portofino. Not too expensive considering where it's located. Pisa - the tower is still leaning but counterbalanced with weights rather than propped with guy wires and poles. Stayed there one night and enjoyed it but once you've seen the touristy things, move on. San Gimignano - located in the "hill towns of Italy" Pretty and lots of history. People very nice. Food excellent. Make this a must on your travels to Italy. Firenze - David was spectacular, Bellini's Birth of Venus incredible. Found a great ristorante. Firenze is trying to clean its buildings but has a long way to go. Duomo is half done and that half is impressive. Spent two days in Firenze. Actually, you'll need more to sightsee and shop. Leather and gold jewelry real bargains. Crazy drirvers! Watch your wallet. Venezia - Do not die before seeing Venice! San Marco Piazza is wonderful. Full of life. Contrary to what you may have heard canals are clean and the city does not smell. Bring LOTS of money. You'll have to park and take a water taxi (don't its L90,000) or water bus (L9). No noise in the city. In the Piazza there is music all night long. Gondolas I can take or leave. Just big commercial tourist thing. No one plays accordian or violin anymore while you float along. Innsbruck - One of my favorite cities. Food at Ottoburg Restaurant among the best in Europe. Stayed in a Gasthaus in Hungerburg overlooking Innsbruck. Felt like I could touch the Zugspitz. Garmisch - stayed in a military hotel (there are three: Patton, Von Steuben and the suites at Flora) Got a suite of four rooms for $95. What a good deal! Rooms are less expensive. Woke up that morning looking the Austrain Alps in the eye...all snow covered. Dachau - it is as impressive as it is sad. Felt there was too much emphasis in the museum on the Rise of the Third Reich and not enough on what happened in the camps. One cannot help but be terribly sad standing in the barracks and the crematorium to think of the tragidy that occured there. Over 200,000 prisoners went through and 31,500 were killed or died by other means. Munich - Oktoberfest. Stayed in Dachau...a Medieval City with a history as impressive as it's Concentration Camp. Rode the train to Munich. Wild crowd of beer drinkers. Combination of County Fair, Ocean City Boardwalk and 1000 person beer halls. Great beer. Fun. Rothenburg - Along the Romantische Strasse. Wonderful Gasthof but unfriendly host. Food OK but I've had better. (Don't misunderstand...I did not have a bad meal in Europe. Food is excellent to superlative) Frankfurt - stayed in Rhein-Main AFB transient quarters. Again a suite of rooms. Total cost was $34. It's typical military but really nice quarters. Ate in Dreieck and had delicious lamb. Returned Thursday evening after a long trip bucking the jet-stream. I have avoided any specifics about shopping or costs for local hotels. If you are interested will pass along my thoughts. They are our experiences not necessarily what Frommers (we used) or Rick Steves says. Good to be home.
Jon Woodyard's Experience in Europe
Updated 10/13/96 by Tom Nunamaker