My countdown app let me know this morning that we are twenty-nine days from departure! Good thing we got everything booked and finalized last week…

A run down of our accommodations…

First, Blumental Hotel in Murren, Switzerland. After we pick up our rental car in Zurich, we will make our way to Interlaken to drop off the car again at the lift station to take our tired selves up the mountain. Like many mountain villages in the area, Murren is car-free, so we will be taking cable cars and trains as we explore the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. This is easily our most expensive accommodation but I suppose when rooms are at a premium, beggars can’t be choosers.

Next, we head to Fussen, Germany to check out King Ludwig’s fairytale castles. The City Apart Hotel in Fussen is significantly cheaper then the last and puts us in a great place to be able to see King Ludwig’s fairytale castles. Will be there for two nights which should give us a great opportunity to be able to see the castles, but the area as well.

After that, we head to Salzburg to Hotel Garni Sallerhof, Grödig where Emily and I stayed before and are really excited to see again. Hotel Sallerhof is located outside of Salzburg in a little village called Grödig. We will have to take a bus into the city each day but the location and the price and the hotel are worth it. The best part of the bus ride is that it takes you right past the long orangey yellow wall that Maria dances along in The Sound of Music.

After Salzburg is Munich and our first foray into the world of AirBnB. We are staying west of the historical center, not far from the Hauptbahnhof. (AirBnB in Munich) This will certainly be an adventure, but I am so excited that we will have not only cheap accommodations near public transit – but a washer and dryer as well! Yay!

Next is a slight change in plans – we will be staying overnight in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, one of the most famous German medieval villages, at the Gastehaus Rothenburg. This is our only single night stay (except the last at the airport) but it should be worth it to take the Night Watchman’s Tour!

After that, we will head north to Bacharach, a village on the Rhine, to the Hotel Pension “Im Malerwinkel”. It’s cheap, has good reviews, has free parking, is right on the Rhine and should be a great jumping off point for exploring the area!

And finally, after a cruise through the Black Forest, we’ll wrap it up back at the Zurich airport. The hotel is just plain old Holiday Inn Express, but its location should allow us, if we want, to head into Zurich for the evening, or explore the village around the airport (apparently it’s full of charm). Most importantly, it puts us nice and close to the airport for our flight home.

And that’s it! We’re done! Now all that’s left to do is get ourselves together for another two weeks of fun and exploration – can’t wait!