We were there for a week and a half last May (2006). I have some very rusty German but my accent is northern, and English worked best in southern Germany. We did a large loop from Frankfurt up to Bacharach and Coblenz, through Stuttgart to the southern castle country, Garmisch, Oberammergau, Innsbruck, Munich and Rothenburg. Very rarely indeed did I need German, and what I do have worked better the farther north we went. Roads are easy but detailed maps are a must, and preplotting your route is important as navigation is more intense than you're used to, since essentially nothing anywhere is on the standard rectangular grid plan. The autobahns I find actually easier than US freeways as everyone stays to the right, passes on the left (remember when we did?:-), since it's legally required. The old habit of flashing your lights if you need someone to pull over is now illegal. The currency is easy. We had good guidebooks for the larger cities but stayed in places we found along the way otherwise and had universally delightful stays. All in all, we'd love to do it again as soon as possible!

PM if you wish for places we stayed, saw and ate.

__________________
Craig Bethune

'97 SL500, 40th anniversary edition

'04 Olds Bravada (SWMBO's)
'06 Lexus ES330
'89 560SL (sold)


SL--Anything else is just a Mercedes.
(Kudos to whoever said it first)