The Ultimate Itinerary for a Road Trip from Bavaria to Cologne
When you get invited to fly business class to Germany and then hotel-hop around the country, you immediately RSVP yes, pack your luggage, and practice how to say guten tag in the mirror a million times. And that's exactly what I did last spring, when Condor Airlines and Altoff Hotels brought me on a road trip that started in the resort town of Tegernsee, took me into Schwangau (in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps), and ended in the bustling city of Cologne, enjoying all there is to see and do along the way. It was, in a word, incredible.
And because I believe that I experienced Germany in the absolute best way (in my humble opinion), I put together this travel itinerary for you, with tips on where to stay, play, and eat while you're cruising through the country. Scroll down and follow my lead for an unforgettable road trip through the mountains and into the city. Ich verspreche, dass Sie Spaß haben werden! (That's "Promise you'll have fun!" in German.)
(P.S. The writer received free transportation, stays, meals, and experiences to write this story.)
I flew Condor's Airbus A33neo from New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA), and felt so fancy flying business class. Not only did the new, modern design make the almost nine-hour flight go by like a breeze—shoutout to the lie-flat seats, mood lighting, and exceptionally good food—but the new plane is also a more sustainable model thanks to enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced emissions, which I love.
In addition to their business class seats, the Airbus A33neo also offers four "Prime" seats, which are comparable to first-class suites on other airlines, which all have extra-large 4K TVs, large ottomans, and a ton of extra space. But if you're flying on a budget, you'll be happy to hear that the Airbus A33neo also has both premium economy and economy seats, which I thought looked more spacious than competing airlines.
BOOK A FLIGHT TO FRANKFURT
Only a 45-minute drive from Munich, along the shores of a crystal-clear lake, lies the quaint spa town of Tegernsee. Here, you'll find the five-star hotel Althoff Seehotel Überfahrt, which offers some of Germany's prettiest views, according to me.
The rooms are very spacious—surprisingly so for Europe—and many have private balconies and soaking tubs. My favorite touch? The tasty welcome Pilsners at check-in. But I also loved the on-site Michelin-starred restaurant, Überfahrt, and the amazing spa, 4 Elements, which had lovely indoor and outdoor pools.
BOOK A STAY AT ALTHOFF SEEHOTEL ÜBERFAHRT
Just 90 minutes from Munich, the little village of Schwangau in Southern Bavaria is home to the Ameron Neuschwanstein Alpsee Resort and Spa, where you get views of the Alps and gorgeous green forests. The hotel alone is a good enough reason to visit the area, but you'll also find two castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, the latter of which is said to have inspired Disney's Cinderella castle.
I loved exploring the castles as well as the hotel's five buildings, four of which are ultra-modern. My fave was the oldest building, Jägerhaus, complete with 11 swanky rooms featuring canopy beds, elaborate wallpaper, and antiques. It plays into the whole fairytale aesthetic, and I highly suggest booking this building during your stay if you want an authentic experience.
BOOK A STAY AT AMERON NEUSCHWANSTEIN ALPSEE
After soaking up all the traditional Bavarian customs and gorgeous landscapes, I embarked on a five-hour drive to the city of Cologne, one of Germany's most vibrant cities. I stayed just outside of the city at the incredible Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg. This bright white, 18th-century palace has a marble-floored lobby, grand furnishings, a cobblestone driveway, and perfectly manicured gardens. My room was equally as lavish, and the dining experience at their two-Michelin-star restaurant, Vendôme, made for a once-in-a-lifetime stay.
BOOK A STAY AT GRANDHOTEL SCHLOSS BENSBERG
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Italian Sandwich Bobby Flay Always Orders When In Rome
When Bobby Flay is in Rome, he could probably go to any restaurant or eatery in the city and get a table pretty quickly. While in the Eternal City in 2024, Flay didn't spotlight a Michelin-starred ristorante or a sit-down trattoria of any kind on his Instagram page, but rather, a tiny sandwich spot he called, "One of my favorite stops every time I'm in Rome." La Vita è un Mozzico is a 10-minute walk from the famed Spanish Steps and always worth a stop, according to Flay. His go-to order is a porchetta sandwich. Flay explained that patrons have lots of choices as far as which kinds of cured meats they can select for their sandwich, but he opts for sliced roasted pork with crispy skin, pesto sauce, and stracciatella cheese that's placed inside a square of pizza bianca. In this case, pizza bianca refers to a type of flatbread, not a slice of pizza with cheese on it. The salty bread -- which is made from a pizza crust-like dough -- is sliced in half to make a space for the ingredients, and the assembled sandwich is placed in a panini press to warm everything up. Flay warned his fans to be prepared to wait, as the shop is popular and usually busy. Even though he clearly knows the proprietor, Flay himself doesn't get special treatment when he drops by, and he takes a number like everyone else to patiently wait his turn to order. There are no tables or chairs at La Vita è un Mozzico, so this sandwich is best enjoyed standing up on the cobblestone streets of Rome. Read more: Regional Sandwich Chains We Want To See Everywhere Bobby Flay calls this porchetta number from La Vita è un Mozzico "the perfect Italian sandwich," which is quite a statement from a classically trained chef who has eaten all around the world. So what is it that makes this three-ingredient sandwich worthy of his highest praise? It's undoubtedly the quality of the Italian ingredients. The porchetta is a Roman-created dish that consists of a slab of pork that has been stuffed with aromatics, rolled, and roasted until the skin is crisp, though sometimes, porchetta refers to an entire roasted pig. This roasted meat is as delicious thinly sliced and stuffed between a halved slice of homemade pizza bianca as it is as a show-stopping centerpiece, like with this Thanksgiving porchetta. Flay selects stracciatella cheese for his favored sandwich. In Italy, stracciatella can refer to a few different ingredients or dishes. It is a soup made with broth, eggs, and parmesan cheese; it's also a flavor of gelato that is similar to chocolate chip ice cream. But stracciatella as a cheese is a creamy, bright white cheese that is made by mixing torn pieces of fresh mozzarella with cream. The gooey, oozy, creamy center of burrata cheese is stracciatella. Finally, Flay's sandwich order comes with a smear of pesto, which is a sauce that originated in the city of Genoa in northern Italy. It consists of basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and real-deal Parmigiano Reggiano, and it adds a wonderfully fresh yet savory flavor to the sandwich. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
England train in heated tents to prepare for ‘suffering' at World Cup
England are training in heated tents to replicate the harsh conditions the players will likely experience at next year's World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Thomas Tuchel's squad are currently in the Spanish city of Girona for a training camp ahead of a pair of post-season fixtures. They face Andorra in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday before meeting Senegal in a friendly at the City Ground on June 10. Advertisement Watch every Fifa Club World Cup game free on DAZN. Sign up here now. The German manager is currently assessing how his players can cope with the hot and humid conditions, carrying out fitness tests inside tents on exercise bikes to see how they are fare in recovery. The challenge of unforgiving heat will come sooner than others for some when those of the Chelsea and Manchester City contingent go off to the Club World Cup later this month, which is being held in the United States. Tuchel will follow some of his players on the voyage across the Atlantic to observe how they cope at the Club World Cup, and says he expects them to 'suffer' in the tournament's conditions. "It is important to see matches now in America, and in Miami at three in the afternoon," Tuchel said. Advertisement "I will see that. How it looks, and we need to understand how to cool the players down, to drink. What our options are. Thomas Tuchel leading a training session in Girona (The FA via Getty Images) "Let's see because it is after the season, so it will be very similar. The actual experience is for the players, but I have done pre-season there in Orlando and I will be very surprised if we do not suffer. Suffering is one of the headlines for this World Cup." There are predictions of potentially extreme temperatures at next year's World Cup. A study led by Brunel University found that 14 of the 16 host stadiums would top 28°C on a daily basis in June and July, with four likely to hit 32°C. Advertisement Watch Chelsea and Manchester City at the Fifa Club World Cup free on DAZN. Sign up here now. Fifpro recommends that if the temperature reaches between 28°C and 32°C, cooling breaks should take place around the 30th and 75th minutes. It adds that if the temperature exceeds 32°C, training and matches should be rescheduled. England are well on course to qualify for the World Cup and have won both their qualifiers under Tuchel, currently sitting pretty at the top of Group K.
Axios
13 hours ago
- Axios
Michelin may have dinged Virginia's food scene, docs suggest
The $120,000 a year Michelin wanted to charge Virginia to be in its forthcoming Southern restaurant guide was steeply discounted compared with what other Southern states are paying. Why it matters: Virginia's rate may have been a statement on the state's restaurant scene's lack of "maturity," suggest records from the Louisiana Office of Tourism obtained by Axios New Orleans. The big picture: As we reported in April, Virginia opted out of being included in the Michelin Guide to the South largely due to the price tag. The state tourism office would've had to pay $120,000 a year for three years to be included. Yes, but: Six other Southern states opted in — to the tune of $1.65 million a year in a three-year contract, Axios New Orleans' Chelsea Brasted reports. That includes an annual $350,000 each from Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. And $125,000 annually each from Mississippi and Alabama. Zoom in: Why the different amounts? Michelin tells Axios in a statement that the state rates were set by Travel South USA, a regional marketing agency that contracted with Michelin to bring the guide to the South. Travel South USA then subcontracted with tourism agencies across each of the states, including city partners, to pool the funds and hammer out the details. Travel South USA didn't return Axios' request for comment on the rates. Behind the scenes: A slide included in the trove of Michelin documents and emails about expanding to the South may offer a clue. It shows a map of states across the South in varying shades of blue. The colors emphasize each state's " culinary maturity," according to an email from Michelin. That's a key standard for determining whether the guide enters a market, The New York Times reported. Notably, Michelin has Virginia in a medium shade of blue — lighter than the dark blue for Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee — suggesting the group views the state's restaurant scene as not yet fully mature. The intrigue: Michelin didn't comment on Virginia's medium-blue shade or its view of the state's scene, but its anonymous chief inspector for the Michelin Guide North America did offer some insight into what makes a scene culinarily mature. "Destinations that prove worthy of establishing a Guide have a high-quality culinary scene along with a density of restaurants," per a statement from the chief inspector. Specifically, when inspectors go out, they're "looking for restaurants that embody the five universal criteria," which are, according to the inspector: Quality products. Harmony of flavors. Mastery of cooking techniques. Voice and personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine. Consistency between each visit (each restaurant is inspected several times a year) and through the menu as a whole. Plus, according to the inspector, Michelin won't enter into partner conversations if it doesn't think a dining scene — in this case a state — has "the gastronomy maturity to warrant further exploration." The bottom line: It appears Virginia's discounted rate may have come with a side of shade.
