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Things to do in Bavaria when you're not listening to Wagner

duncan

duncan

...
By amazing good fortune I've managed to get tickets for Das Rheingold at Bayreuth this summer.

We're keen to make a short holiday out of the event and will hire a car from wherever the cheap flights go to (Nuremburg or possibly Munich).

What are the team's suggestions for things to see and do in the general area? The party will have more interest in culture and scenic beauty than free improv. or techno.

The obvious thing to do is make it a full-on Wagnerpilgerreise and visit Neuschwanstein but I note it's a hefty 400km from Bayreuth.
 
You're lucky the bonkers Prince Ludwig went on quite a building spree. I was over there 2 years ago and we visited both Neuschwanstein if you like Wagner and the Linderhof palace which is built on an island. Garmisch is also worth a visit as it's very beautiful, I used to go climbing, walking and skiing there when I was in the army.

Bavaria is an amazing place and make sure you try the Hofbrau house in Munich and drink some Lowenbrau as it's nothing like the crap we got in the UK during the 70's / 80's.
 
Flights to Innsbruck are much cheaper than Munich, we stayed in a little place for a few days called Rosenheim to visit some friends but you really can't go wrong with anywhere in Bavaria.
 
duncan.

seriously? c'mon dude...

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vuk.
 
Go on a tour of the BMW factory, sneak off in the middle of the tour, hack into the order book and make sure every M car with a custom interior gets one of Tartan, My Ladies Boudoir or 70s Pimp Shag.
 
JR, best suggestion EVAH! Respek, innit.

Lucky you with the tickets, it's not my thing, I get bored after Tannhauser, but Bavaria is lovely. I wouldn't bother with the huge cross country schlep, just get the local tourist guide and explore some towns and villages.

vuk, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the woman in your pic. She's all woman. There is of course the possibility that you might not make it out alive, but the same applies to climbing Everest or doing the Cresta Run and plenty of people want to try that.
 
Jonathan Ribee said:
Go on a tour of the BMW factory, sneak off in the middle of the tour, hack into the order book and make sure every M car with a custom interior gets one of Tartan, My Ladies Boudoir or 70s Pimp Shag.
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No need to sneak off, then.

Duncan, Bayreuth is nice but Bamberg is nicer.

Pencil in some time for Munich, some great museums there, my favourite being the Deutsches Museum. Also spend some time driving through the Voralpenland and/or the Bayerische Wald, beautiful scenery.
 
Deutsches Museum - just stunning and needs an entrie day. Check out the Mining Engineering section... They dug out a mine under the Museum - crazy.

And don't miss the surfers under the bridge at the Englischer garten.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI6_MRV2rJY

..And go for a wander around Manufactum, I love that shop.

Very touristy, but also the Hofbrauhause. Augustiner keller/garten is better.
 
Thanks all.

(and thanks to whoever - Markus? - corrected my typo in the subject)

Sounds like flying to Munich and spending a couple of days in the area might be on the cards. As a scruffy and humble Skoda driver (and driver of a scruffy and humble Skoda) I'd be rumbled immediately if I attempted to infiltrate the BMW plant though.

Bamberg looks lovely and has a certain symbolism as my first ever classical purchase was a cheapo cassette of Beethoven Symphonies with the local Orchestra.

TheDecameron said:
.....and just how did you get tickets for Bayreuth Duncan?......well?
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We've been applying by post in the usual fashion for the last 6 years (typical wait is 10 years) but in October it was announced that one performance of Rheingold would be sold on-line to all-comers, first-come first-served. We got lucky.
 
stevec67 said:
vuk, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the woman in your pic. She's all woman. There is of course the possibility that you might not make it out alive, but the same applies to climbing Everest or doing the Cresta Run and plenty of people want to try that.
Click to expand...

absolutely. i deliberately chose that particular picture because it is both the true reality and what the fantasy should be. it makes me sad to live in a world where people want to emaciate a bavarian beer maid for more effective marketing. only a profound lack of culture can lead to such travesties. it's not as bad as the bradley manning scandal, but produced by similar social failures.



vuk.
 
vuk, you have done a terrible thing. I have just imagined said barmaid without pigtails and I am now having Impure Thoughts.

Very Impure.
 
The Bavarian wine treading dance springs immediately to mind.

 
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Hallo,
I just stumbled upon this thread.Coming from the particular area around Bayreuth, maybe I can give some further tips.

First, cities with a lot of history:

There are three that are quite popular in Bavaria. That is Bamberg (lived near it), Regensburg (lived in it) and Rothenburg ob der Tauber (was often there).
All three have their charm and historic value. The latest "Three Musketeers"-film was shot in Bamberg and Rothenburg, among others.
Bamberg is the one that I like most and it is conveniently placed near Bayreuth. So if you come from the airport (Nürnberg, Munich) it should be definitely on your to watch list.

Nature:

The area between Bayreuth, Nürnberg and Bamberg is called the franconian switzerland. It is a hiking and rock-climbing paradise and definitely the most beautiful part of north bavaria. If you want nature near bayreuth, go there...
I went there dozens of times on sunny sundays, and even just driving there in your car all day (having lunch here, coffee there and dinner somewhere else) is quite a nice experience.


And then, well there is south bavaria.
Munich, Neuschwanstein, Alpenvorland, ... all nice.
But the south of bavaria is a little bit different (language, culture, behaviour) than the Franconians in the north of bavaria, where I come from. So others can give better advice here maybe.

Enjoy your stay
Florian
 
Florian, that's very helpful.

I'm an obsessive rock-climber, so know about the Frankenjura, but it is important that this holiday is classified as "non-climbing" to permit other dedicated climbing trips!
 
Bayreuth is a bit of a stroll from Munich, but if you intend to visit en route then OK.

Munich Airport is about 30kms outside the cityhas a good train link to Munich centre. It could be better to be carless for the time you stay in Munich. There is parking in the centre, but not much of it and it's fairly expensive. Underground train system in Munich v.good.

Starting from the centre of Munich, you can visit Marienplatz, look at the famous clock on the Rathaus, from there you can go a few hundred metres north to Odeansplatz, then turn right and go through the Hofgarten.

If you continue NE, you will reach the bridge over the surfers mentioned earlier. To the right is the Kunsthaus art gallery, and also the start of the Englische Garten park. You can walk north through the park to the Chinesische Turm, an open air bier-garden. There is usually an Oompah bank playing, but you might get lucky.

To the west of the town centre are the large Alte and Neue Pinakothek art galleries, plus Lenbach Haus, (a smaller collection).

The Deutsches Museum is to the east - huge science and technology museum.

Schloss Nymphenburg is to the far west of the city and also houses the Botanical Gardens.

Schloss Schleissheim is about 20km north of the centre and is situated next to the Aeroplane Museum - small collection of mil and civillian planes/rockets etc.

I would personally give the Hofbräuhaus a big swerve and go anywhere else.

Dachau KZ is about 15-20km NW, never personally been yet.

Garmisch and Neuschwanstein is a good 90mins drive/train ride to the SW.

Any questions, please ask.
 
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