 Poster: A snowHead
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We are driving down to Austria (Tyrol) for half term. Heading off on the Friday - with a visit to some WWI trenches in Belguim scheduled to (hopefully) appease the school. Has anyone got and recommendations for places to stop over on the Friday night? Somewhere pretty to spend a couple of hours on Saturday morning before heading off to resort?
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Alsace: Strasbourg; Colmar
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@annaa, I'd suggest you get as far as you can on the Friday as Saturday half-term/changeover traffic will be very bad through southern Germany from 8am onwards. Neuschwanstein Castle is a lovely place to visit on the border of Bavaria/Austria.
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@annaa, depends very much on where in the Tirol you will be heading as to which route is advisable. Plus echoing @AthersT, the weekend of some UK school Half Terms coincide with the Winter Break for a great deal of Northern and Western Europe. Last February Half Term guests coming into one of the apartments I look after took over 24 hours to get through Germany alone (sheer volume of traffic being the main cause of the hold-ups). Get as far as you can and save the WW1 trenches visit for the journey home when you are not trying to drive through a narrower and narrower "funnel" with most of the population of the Netherlands and several German States!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Eek..don't tell me that @Samerberg Sue, we chose Austria on the understanding that half term this year DIDN'T clash with most of German and Austria holidays. We are heading for Kappl in the Pazanun valley. Can't do the trenches on the way back as DH is insistent on doing it in one hit.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@annaa, honestly this could well be traffic like you have never seen before and even worse if the weather is bad - luckily as you are going to Western Austria it's not as bad as you don't have to drive around or near to Munich. The traffic is bad around there every changeover day let alone a peak week. Be prepared with alternative routes and in car supplies.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Thu 21-01-16 13:31; edited 1 time in total
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Which date is your Half Term? If it includes the 8th &9th February, it is Fasching Week and lots of Austrian 4 Provinces) as well as Bavaria, Saarland and Saxony are on holiday. The Austrian regions on holiday will not cause too many travel problems across Germany though. The week beginning the 8th February is Fasching (Carneval) week and there is great fun to be had on the slopes that week 
As you are heading to Kappl you should still make it as far as you can on the travelling day. Aiming for the area around Füssen would put you within spitting distance of Neuschwanstein (Ludwig II's fairy tale castle) and Hohenschwanstein (his Dad's older castle). Seeing Neuschwantstein surrounded by snow really does make the image more beautiful and understandable why they built their castles in this location. All the towns around that part of Bavaria are not on the skier's list so it is relatively easy to get good cheap rooms in some pretty swish hotels as you are "out of season". Also from the border crossing nearby at Reutte, you only have another couple of hours to drive (over the Fern Pass to Imst, then hanger right/west to Pians/Paznaun/Ischgl).
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Fernpass on a saturdaymorning in highseason can (will probably) be disastrous.
Bregenz>Arlbergtunnel>Landeck might be better. But best is to be there very, very early
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| annaa wrote: |
| Eek..don't tell me that @Samerberg Sue, we chose Austria on the understanding that half term this year DIDN'T clash with most of German and Austria holidays. |
This is what I thought as well. Driving to Kitzbuel area on 12/13 Feb for half term. Stopping near Gunzberg then on to Kitz the next morning. Are there routes to avoid around Munich?
Thanks
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@knackered knees, you can go through Munich to avoid the traffic on the A99. Most Saturdays it is dead easy especially now the tunnel work has been finished on the B2R (A96 round to the A995) On a Saturday there is never anywhere near as much traffic
@Langerzug, depends on the weekends and the volume of traffic. The number of areas having school holidays the weekend beginning the 13th Feb are very few, if any outside of the UK; none in Germany or the Netherlands for example. This season I've only heard them talking of Blockanfertigung once (beginning and end of New Year's week).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Most UK areas have half-term from 13-20th Feb this year, so Fasching is the week before. There will be a lot of traffic coming out of Austria, less going in, but the half term also corresponds to the Danish spring break and Saxony has a 2-week holiday which overlaps with the half term, so anyone fighting their way around Munich could be affected. For Kappl, you should be OK.
We're travelling through Friday 12th, aiming for Rosenheim on Friday night...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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We are travelling on the 12th/13th. Thanks for the suggestions - will go and do some googling and check out the various routes/places, thanks
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@annaa, Where are you driving from and what time is your crossing? Most Belgium WW1 battlefields are an hour or so from Calais. Vimy Ridge (in France) is just off the A26 north of Arras around 45 minutes from Calais and is well worth a visit. The trenches are preserved and from what I remember there is a small museum.
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You know it makes sense.
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We are crossing to Dunkirk, and had thought about visiting the trench of death at diksmuide, which, from what I recall from when we visited about 10 years ago would make a nice short stop for a 5 and 7 year old. A small, restored trench to run around in and a small museum with a few artifacts, hopefully enough to interest them, but not so much that they will get bored.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Samerberg Sue, all sorted thanks - we're in Zur Post in Rohrdorf for ease of access and exit, so as long as we arrive before midnight we should be fine. We're leaving Calais around 0900, so allowing 10-11 hours for a "normal" trip we should have plenty of contingency built in, plus we know the route and possible detours reasonably well now
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@annaa, enjoy Kappl. Love the resort and your kids are a good age for it. Sorry completely off topic 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Samerberg Sue,
You're right about holidays, but still this is high-season, and if it is a sunny day, many daytrippers from Southern Germany and Switzerland will join the anyway high number of Dutch/German/Belgian/Danish drivers.
This season so far is hardly indicative because of the poor snowconditions up til last week, and January being lowseason anyway.
But maybe the fact the Pfänder tunnel near Bregenz is doubled things aren't so bad anymore.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Langerzug wrote: |
@Samerberg Sue,
You're right about holidays, but still this is high-season, and if it is a sunny day, many daytrippers from Southern Germany and Switzerland will join the anyway high number of Dutch/German/Belgian/Danish drivers.
This season so far is hardly indicative because of the poor snowconditions up til last week, and January being lowseason anyway.
But maybe the fact the Pfänder tunnel near Bregenz is doubled things aren't so bad anymore. |
The Dutch and Belgians aren't on their hols. Only two,not so big, German regions are off.
It's a good week for us this year.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@boabski, you are entirely responsible for my choice of resort...so I really hope you are right!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Langerzug, do you live here or do you just visit once a year? Do you listen to the hourly and half hourly traffic reports every day on the radio but particularly on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays? If you do, then perhaps you do have as much uptodate info as I do. I live in Oberbayern, right on the border with the Tirol, my flat actually looks into the province. I listen to Bavarian Radio all day Friday and Saturday and often on Sundays because I have guests travelling to and from Austria every single week of the season. The weekend of February 13th is not high season in Austria in European terms, just for the Brits! The day trippers are not travelling in the numbers they did in the past, I'm having trouble getting any of my skiing friends in Munich to even consider day trips because the day tickets are said to be too expensive - over 50 Euro in some places now. They don't buy season tickets either. The Fern Pass route has had no big jams this season, the Blockanfertigung they imposed over the New Year period was only really activated for the returning traffic on the 9th January. The people heading into the Tirol had no long delays whatsoever.
@ousekjarr,that is exactly the place I was going to recommend, fabulous restaurant and superb accommodation, literally just a hop, spit and a jump from the autobahn. I often pop down there to have my lunch and regularly took my previous landlady out for Sunday lunch there in the summer. The kitchen tends to shut up shop at 21:00 so it might be worth asking them if they could leave out something cold for you for when you arrive if you know you are going to be late. They've just opened a new annexe across the road from the main hotel, very swish modern rooms with all mod cons.
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@annaa, oh pish. I put kitenski on track with the Hubertushof in Stuben, which he goes to ever year now (I think) so hopefully same with you and Kappl
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@Samerberg Sue,
I'm not in Oberbayern, but have been driving from The Netherlands every winter for over 30 years. And following the "broader ski-news" for 20 years.
We have seen major trafficjams on sunny saturdays as early as end January. Highseason is not confined to two weeks in February.
Christmas and early January don't say a thing about February, and especially not this poor season up till now.
And traffic has only become more over the last few years. And -e.g.- SkiArlberg has had its best season in 2014-2015. They also had their day-skipass limitation up on several days, similar to other seasons. (again, just as an example).
So no real decline up till now...
But it is definitely true that the British have a good week this year. But how many Brits are driving actually?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I travelled to Fieberbrunn last February half-term and we hit Munich about 5.00 - 6.00am. It took us until 11.30am (or so) to get to Fieberbrunn. The year before was much worse. I hope it is better this year. I was wondering whether it would actually be better to approach from Lichtenstein/Switzerland. I know the route is supposed to be 'longer', but would it actually be quicker considering the 6 - 8 hours it has taken me from Munich on the last two attempts! @Samerberg Sue, what do you reckon? I see that you have said it should not be so bad this year - the last two half-terms have been a horror getting down for me.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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In my opinion the best way to Kappl is Arras, Reims, head for Strasbourg but turn north just before, into Germany, Stuttgart, Ulm, and then down towards Lake Konstanz then Bregenz and through the tunnel. Stops I have used include the Novotel Tinquez near Reims (great for families and just off the motorway with very cheap fuel at the Carrefour next door) and the Four Seasons by Sheraton just off the motorway in Dornbirn if its late and you can't make Kappl / you want to arrive early next morning (less than 1.5 hours from there).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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depends what route you take
I sometimes go via Bregenz to Innsbruck, and sometimes via Munich. all depends on time of day, day of week, and if I just fancy the scenic route or not. certainly I've never seen anything that could even remotely be called traffic between Ulm and Feldkirch. When the autobahn turns in to a 1 lane schnellstrasse I certainly have.
Don't forget that there's also a toll fee for the Arlberg tunnel, unless you take the even more scenic route.
My record was 4 hours from the Allianz Arena to the vicinity of Salzburg, but that was me being stupid and stopping off overnight "nearly half way" to Ljubljana rather than "just past half way" and driving onwards on a saturday morning in the summer holidays. Not bad when it's 3.5 hours from Frankfurt to Munich.
If going the Munich direction, stopping overnight, I won't stop until past Rosenheim.
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@JayDub, on my phone right now I'll eply when I get home
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FAQ
don't forget the photographic proof that you did the "visit"! 
