Germany
Experience 7 Unforgettable Days in Germany: From Stuttgart to Munich, with castles and the thrills of Europa-Park.
With a last-minute route change the night before after checking the forecast, our German road trip turned into the perfect mix of adventure and surprises. One of the highlights, and Clara’s biggest wish, was visiting Europa-Park, since she’s always fascinated by theme parks. Along the way we balanced her excitement with our own interests, weaving in castle visits, world-class auto museums, and a taste of city life from Stuttgart to Munich.
DAY 1
Swabian Castle Tour
Bucharest
Got a short sleep and woke up early to head to the airport. Everything went smoothly and our flight was on time.
Memmingen
Two hours later we landed on German ground under heavy cloud cover and rain. I had anticipated this and switched our route from Munich to Stuttgart the night before. We waited about an hour, until 8 AM, to pick up our car from Sixt. By 8:30 we were ready for the adventure.
Sigmaringen Castle
We parked our car underground near the castle and were among the first visitors of the day. After a short walk around the city center, which by the way looks amazing, we explored the castle for about an hour. Afterwards, we crossed the river to admire the architecture bathed in the sun and enjoyed a delicious lunch across from the castle. We left around 12:30, spending roughly two hours in total.
Hohenzollern Castle
Our next stop was one of the most well-known castles in the world and a true gem inside and out. Perched on top of a mountain, we first left our car at the parking lot, from where you can hike or take the shuttle. From the entrance to the top, the circular path offers stunning views, and at the end you’ll be mesmerized by the neo-Gothic architecture. We enjoyed drinks and ice cream while taking in breathtaking views of the castle and surrounding landscape. We left around 16:00, spending about 2.5 hours.
Lichtenstein Castle
Late in the day we reached this place almost at closing time, which was great since the crowds were gone (not that there are many during this time of year). Parking cost just €2. Compared to the other two castles, this one is smaller, but its dramatic placement on the edge of the cliffs, with great views over the valley, definitely makes it stand out. The visit took just half an hour since we decided to skip the interior tour.
Stuttgart
After a quick stop at the grocery store, mainly for drinks and nuts for the next day, we arrived at our accommodation, where, to our surprise, we got free parking 🙂. We took a shower, organized our things, and headed out for a spin in the city center. The S-line was right in front of our hotel, so we decided to experience the public transport, which was terrific in every way. After a short walk the rain sent us back home in a hurry, but we had already managed to cover more than expected for the day.
Dinner
Back at our hotel we grabbed a bite and headed to bed, since we had a lot more planned for the coming days and rest was the main ingredient for it.
DAY 2
Stuttgart Auto Museums & Beyond
Breakfast
Early, but not too early, we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast at our hotel before starting our plan for the day. Since the weather was a bit gloomy we decided to choose something indoors like museums.
Mercedes Benz Museum
Even though it was a Saturday, because we went pretty early we managed to enjoy the whole museum at a slow pace and also avoided the crowds that started gathering after noon. The place is amazing and I can definitely say it is the best auto museum I have visited so far, even though I have seen a few and I am a BMW fan. Besides incredible pieces like the Mercedes-Benz W196R Stromlinienwagen, you are taken on a journey through history from top to bottom with an incredible setup that begins with a white horse. We spent about 2.5 hours here, but you could easily spend the whole day.
Lunch
With a solid recommendation from the receptionist, we decided to give it a try since it was near our route to the Porsche Museum. The place in question? Wichtel Hausbrauerei Feuerbach, where you should definitely grab a beer. Since I was driving I just enjoyed a Viennese Schnitzel.
Porsche Museum
Just a few blocks away from our hotel we reached my favorite car museum. Much smaller and with fewer categories to cover, like planes, engines, trucks or even bicycles, it had a really cool setup. What stood out most was the playground for kids where Clara was thrilled to get inside a 911 Carrera along with other children. We stayed about 1.5 hours, which I find plenty if you are not diving deep into history and engineering. At the end of the tour we could not miss some pictures with the three spikes outside the museum where three Porsches are launched into the sky.
Ludwigsburg
The sky was clearing and we still had a lot to cover on our list, so we decided to head north. After a few rounds of streets I decided to park in WilhelmGalerie Mall. From there we took a walk to the city center, all the way to Marktplatz Ludwigsburg, where we enjoyed the weather and cityscape, relaxing with some pretzels and drinks while sitting on the square’s chairs. Since we were here we also visited Ludwigsburg Palace, which is a great place for long walks and nature encounters, especially birds. We loved the place and wandered until closing hours, so we had it almost to ourselves to explore.
Dinner
After a few meals of German cuisine we decided it was time for something closer to our taste and opted for an Italian restaurant right in the city center.
DAY 3
Stuttgart City & Zoo
Early Start
With a perfect forecast ahead, we left for the city center early to enjoy the streets before other tourists and locals were up and about. With plenty of places for coffee and breakfast on our list, we just fueled up with a few snacks for our S line journey.
Stuttgart Center
Our stop was Schlossplatz. We stepped out and were the only ones around, perfect for a photo session :). From the famous square and nearby sights we headed southwest toward our planned breakfast stop. Along the way we passed the Stiftskirche and Johanneskirche und Kirchengemeinde, among other interesting places. Our plan was to immerse ourselves in the city atmosphere and experience everyday life.
Breakfast
After a pleasant walk where Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture combine harmoniously, right near Johanneskirche und Kirchengemeinde, we finally found our place to rest. Kaffeerösterei Café Moulu delighted us with an omelette and coffee.
Stuttgart High Grounds
We continued uphill without a precise objective, exploring a high-end area with million-euro homes and incredible city views, from the Chinese Garden all the way toward Rosensteinpark.
Wilhelma Zoological-Botanical Garden
Since Clara loves animals and the weather was perfect, we added this to our list after hearing a lot of great feedback. We were not disappointed, except that it was very crowded for my taste. Everything was great and we stayed until closing, spending about four hours here.
SWR Fernsehturm
With some time on our hands I decided not to miss a panoramic view of Stuttgart, and the best place to be was none other than the SWR Fernsehturm. We arrived right at sunset, so the views were spectacular, even if the wind was quite strong at times.
DAY 4
Europa-Park Experience
Breakfast
It was our closing ceremony in Stuttgart, with our next stop being Europa-Park, but not before energizing with a healthy breakfast at our hotel.
Europa-Park
After 2.5 hours of driving through heavy rain we reached the land of Ed and Edda Euromausi. From Arthur to Pirates in Batavia, Clara enjoyed every moment, although only part of it since some rides required a minimum height of 130 cm, like Voltron or Silver Star. Choosing Monday turned out to be a great decision, and the morning rain helped us check off all the main rides with decent queues, no longer than 30–40 minutes. We wrapped up the fun at 17:30, spending about 7.5 hours in total. A more detailed article will follow another time.
Ulm
Pretty exhausted, we managed to reach our next stop, Ulm. Our stay was right downtown with a beautiful view of Ulmer Münster. We enjoyed a nice dinner nearby at Barfüßer Hausbrauerei and then took a walk through the narrow streets before heading back to rest.
DAY 5
Road to Munich
Checking Out
Before anything, we organized our stuff and took a morning shower to refresh for the day. We placed our luggage in the car and hit the streets.
Breakfast
Being a small city, we needed to wait until 9 for places where you could get coffee or snacks to open. The place we landed at, Aegis Café, had the perfect breakfast to start our day.
Ulm
With a mix of sun and clouds I decided to spend some time in the city and explore it a bit, and we were not disappointed, ending our sightseeing with the main gem, Ulmer Münster. Along the way we also checked Grabenhäusle, St. Georgs Chorknaben, and Pauluskirche und Kirchengemeinde.
Kloster Wiblingen
Just a few kilometers south lies a hidden Baroque gem, a magnificent library where photos cannot capture the real beauty. In the same courtyard you can also visit Basilika St. Martin, which at our arrival was unfortunately under restoration.
BMW Museum
After an amazing experience in Stuttgart where the Mercedes and Porsche museums showcased phenomenal models, I was ready for my favorite constructor. The site is split into two, the Museum (ticketed) and the Welt (free). The museum has a nice setup with an easy route to follow, where you can enjoy early motorcycles to the almighty BMW Vision Neue Klasse, which was my favorite concept car. After spending about 1.5 hours here, we crossed the bridge to the Welt, where you can check out the latest BMW models, as well as some Minis and even Rolls-Royces. A great experience for a BMW fan like myself.
The Hotel
Once at our hotel, we once again met a great guy at the reception who guided us to park our car on the nearby streets and made a nice dinner suggestion just a few meters away.
Dinner
Italian cuisine was once again our choice, but nothing to complain about, especially since this time I had the pleasure of enjoying a beer as well, being on foot :).
DAY 6
Bavarian Castles
Breakfast
With another beautiful day in our hands, we opted for breakfast at our hotel to save some time, since our day involved a fair amount of driving.
Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau Castles
With a wonderful view of the Allgäu Alps near our first stop, we concluded our drive after about 120 km. It was already quite crowded, but being early in the day we parked our car in Lot 3, right across from the info point, and headed to Marienbrücke for some of the best shots you can take of Neuschwanstein Castle. Since we had been here before, we knew the best light shines on the castle in the morning, so we did not go inside this time. From there we took the long route down near the castle to visit Lake Alpsee and Hohenschwangau Castle. For the full story, stay tuned for our detailed articles.
Linderhof Castle
One hour and 60 km away lies another crown of German architecture. Tickets here are based on time slots, and we went for the combo that included the castle and grotto. Unfortunately, after missing our entrance time by just a few minutes because I had not checked the time on our ticket, we were disappointed to learn we could not take any pictures. Other than that, the interiors were amazing and very well preserved. Since the castle tour took only 15 minutes and the grotto timeslot was an hour later, we decided to skip it and get a refund on our tickets.
Ettal Abbey
Another place not to miss if you are nearby is Ettal Abbey, a Benedictine monastery nestled in a mountain valley near Oberammergau. Here we also enjoyed some drinks right across the street at Ludwig der Bayer Bräustüberl.
Early Dinner
On our way back, being in the heart of Bavaria, we decided to stop at a cozy place named Guggenberg Alm to enjoy the local atmosphere. And that was it, another experience to add to our extensive checklist of visited places.
DAY 7
Munich Sightseeing
Breakfast
Since today was time for the all-mighty Munich, even though we did not start that early we decided to fuel up at our hotel before hitting the streets.
City Center – Part 1
Being our last day here, I left the car and took an Uber so I could also enjoy a beer or two. Our drop-off was Isar Gate for the beginning of our journey. Always organized, I had already marked a sweet coffee spot, Kaffee, just 5 minutes from there. Energized and boosted with serotonin from the blazing sun, we continued our route through Marienplatz and all the way to the English Garden, where we finally needed a break for lunch. Of course, along the way we stopped at some other places for delicious sweets, but that is another story for a future article.
Lunch
And where else could we stop but the famous Hofbräu, for Bavarian food and a proper beer. Even if it sounds like a tourist trap, the prices were decent and the food quite tasty, compared to my last experience more than 15 years ago.
City Center – Part 2
Back on track, we continued our route through the park where people were enjoying this pleasant sunny day, some even swimming in the Eisbach River. After seeing most of the sights from the ground level it was time to elevate a bit, and our choice for this was none other than St. Peter’s tower with its 306 stairs, where Clara beat me to the top 🙂.
Relax and Shopping
With some luck on our side, after finishing our panoramic view over the city, we found a table right in Marienplatz where I could not resist enjoying another beer. Fun fact: our waitress was from Romania. During the day we had also explored some local shops, and Clara remembered a few things, so of course we went back to buy them.
Back to Hotel
After an exhausting day, with over 18 km of walking and climbing stairs, we decided to put an end to our tour. Once again we opted for Uber instead of public transport, and it turned out to be the better choice considering time and connections.
DAY 8
Flight Home
Breakfast
Being the last day here, we rested more than usual, also because the weather was rainy and we had nothing scheduled, just free time. Happy that we were able to cover everything we planned and I’d say even more. Thank you Munich, thank you Bavaria! We’ll meet again.
Memmingen
The whole 150 km on the autobahn was full of rain, but once we reached the center it stopped, almost like it knew we needed a break. Here I had also pinned a place for our morning coffee called Kaffeerösterei Simon.
Car Drop Off
A little bit in a hurry since our flight was set for 13:40, we left the car in the parking lot, dropped the key at the counter, and ran into the terminal.
Flight to Bucharest
The airport was packed, but having a kid sometimes helps a lot, so we got the short line for security check and went to our gate. Because of the heavy rain our flight was delayed, but around 14:15 we finally lifted off. Along the way we experienced some really bumpy turbulence, but in the end we landed back home safely.
OVERVIEW
DRIVE
1,425 km
TRAVEL TIME
8 Days
WALK
100 km
PICTURES TAKEN
3,520 Shots
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