Enticing Food Tour of Germany: Michelin Stars to Local Taverns

The planning and organization for our trip to Germany and Austria was expertly handled by Zicasso's travel partner. We could not have asked for a better trip. 

We gathered our adult children and friends together to celebrate Christmas and New Year in the Old World. In and around Munich, we saw Neuschwanstein and many of the city's beautifully ornate churches. We also visited the Christmas markets and beer halls, and ate way to much fabulous German food. 

Our agent contracted private guides in Munich and Salzburg. These guides were superior. They had detailed knowledge of the area, its history, and people. 

We spent Christmas in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is a lovely, magical town in the shadow of Germany's highest mountain, Zugspitze. On Christmas Day, I took the cable car up the mountain and the sights from the top were tremendous. On the day we were there, we could see 230km in all directions. Of course, when in the Alps, you must ski, so we visited Hintertux for a day of skiing and glacier exploration.  

Then we went to Salzburg to explore the sites of Mozart's birthplace, but there is so much more to the town than that. The town has over 1,000 years of history and the people there could not have been more hospitable. 

From there, we went back to Munich to celebrate New Year at Tollwood. 

Thank you, and a special thanks to our travel team for all the planning that went into the trip. It was pleasantly unforgettable. And I cannot forget our guides. The guides in Munich and Salzburg were excellent – extremely knowledgeable, personable, and always there when needed. I cannot wait to go back, and when I do, I will be planning our trip through your company.

To everyone at Zicasso's travel agency, thank you, thank you, thank you! The private trip to the most remarkable European metropolises you curated for us was, well, in the words of the countries we visited, csodálatos/wunderbar/wunderbar/and trés magnifique!!!!!

Everything and everyone you arranged for us was not only to our liking, but perfect.

The hotels were as we like, boutique, not large conglomerate chains. Each was nicely situated, with the staff attentive. The one we found best was in Berlin, with the others not far behind.

The drivers were all nice, on time, and helpful. The tour guides were all informative and knowledgeable, and answered our many questions with aplomb. While all were good, we found the two guides in Berlin to be our favorites. And while she knew her subject matter, we found the one in Vienna too religious and opinionated. We suggest maybe not using her as much.

We did not really use any of the restaurant recommendations you supplied because we like to find local eateries close to the hotels. Two we went to twice because the first experience was so good – in Berlin and in Paris.

One note: there were two times we took a cab whose driver, after taking us, said they did not accept cash and passed a card scanner for me to tap. Afterward, I received an alert from Visa that the charge was $98 rather than the $9 quoted in Budapest and $168 rather than the $12 quoted in Paris. We suggest letting everyone know to only take cabs that accept cash or take an Uber.

Once again I would like to thank all of you who endeavored to make this adventure such a pleasant and memorable one.

All the best,

Rick and Barb Boyko

We thought the guides were outstanding. We would have paid an additional amount for more upscale properties. Also, the location of the hotel in Munich was some distance from the city center and we would have liked to be presented with other options prior to booking.

A major glitch was that the scheduled tour of The Eagle's Nest could not occur because the site had not yet opened for the season. Fortunately, the great guide suggested the alternative of Herrenchiemsee Palace.

Regarding Neuschwanstein, we requested a "behind-the-scenes" tour, which was listed in the itinerary. I anticipated a tour similar to one my wife took years ago, where they visited areas of the palace that are off-limits to the general public. Instead, we had the "standard" (although interesting tour). Our guide did show us some construction-era photos before we took the tour, which were helpful.

Zicasso’s travel planner and his team planned a marvelous trip for us. We visited five cities, starting in Frankfort and ending in Munich. Every excursion was perfect. The guides and drivers were very knowledgeable and friendly (great English). The hotels in every city were amazing.

One word... outstanding! From my first contact with our Zicasso travel agent saying he would be happy to help us plan our trip to receiving our travel documents, he was exceptional. When he first reached out, I shared the purpose of visiting Germany from America was to attend our granddaughter's baptism with family. The purpose was not a trip of a lifetime, but we were interested in adding side trips and shared our interests. He created a perfect itinerary. Our trip included Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Nuremberg, and Munich, with transport, hotels, which were always in the perfect spot, and amazing things to do, with interesting tours and wonderful guides.

Our travel partner was always easy to get a hold of, with a quick response. There was great collaboration and great ideas. We may not have intended it to be a trip of a lifetime, but it turned out that it was! He started as a travel advisor and agent, and ended as a friend.

When all details were complete, he handed over our itinerary and details to his colleague, who was equally efficient and friendly,

I am very grateful he picked up my request when I was browsing around, not knowing where to start in planning this trip … and there was Zicasso … and our agent! Thank you!