The historic city of Lindau is located on a small (0.68-square-kilometer/0.26-square-mile) island in the Bodensee, or Lake Constance, and is connected to the mainland by a causeway and railway.  The Bayerischer Hof, prominently located on the promenade facing the lake, is close to the epicenter of activity in this medieval city.
WHERE IS IT?
Lindau is at the common border of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, along the Pfänder Mountains.  Its harbor, casino, historic buildings, and water and mountain views make it popular with visitors.
The Bayerischer Hof is at the heart of the …

A twisty drive on the Alpenstraße brings the visitor to Le Ciel, a 12-table restaurant that offers dining at an altitude of 1000 meters at the InterContinental Resort Berchtesgaden.  The hotel itself is set on a small plateau overlooking the Nationalpark Berchtesgaden in Berchtesgadener Land, Bayern (Bavaria) adjacent to Salzburg, Austria.
On Christmas Day it had started to snow in the late afternoon and the restaurant’s softly lighted interior seemed all the more inviting, the quiet elegance of the place adding a festive note to the visit.
The atmosphere reflects the passion …

Walking into the Kempinski Vier Jahreszeiten from the bustling Maximilianstraße is like stepping into a time capsule, but one that places you inside one of the grand old hotels of Europe.
Whether royalty [former guests include Empress Elisabeth of Austria (“Sissi”), the King of Siam, and Winston Churchill] or business traveler, the salon-style lobby of the 1858-built hotel, which features a mosaic glass roof portraying the four seasons, beckons.
WHERE IS IT?
Built at the behest of King Maximilian II., The Vier Jahreszeiten is, appropriately enough, near the Residenz, the former royal palace …

16 days later, I’m back.  (See Part I as well.)   I found a few things rather useful for those traveling on business and wanted to share these with you.
Skype Pro
Skype Pro is a relatively new offering that costs only $3 per month but offers many features particularly useful to the road warrior.  Most notable is the international traveler calling plan.  Users pay no per minute charges for calls to landlines within the same country or region (a connection fee per call, $0.045, may apply).  Coverage includes 28 countries, all …

I’m writing this from Hamburg, at least I think that’s where I am.  Sometimes trips can be just plain boring.  This one was most decidedly not.  In a 16 day whirlwind tour I would stay in seven hotels and would span 9 cities to cover, however briefly: Munich, Vienna, Munich (again), Hamburg, Flensburg, Sønderborg, Brugge, Düsseldorf, Bremen, and Bremerhaven.  Countries: Denmark, Germany, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Normally my trips last four to five days.  With meetings and events spread out across half a month, this trip would be more than …

Business travelers frequently bring home a souvenir or two for family members when visiting interesting destinations.  Twice in the past year I’ve brought home something a bit different – and much larger – but I couldn’t pack it in my rollerboard.
In recent years, savvy business travelers have joined the thousands of Americans who each year take a trip to Munich, Germany with one goal in mind.  Unlike other tourists, they are not there for the beer, the Schnitzel, the museums, and art galleries.  The real reason for the trip: …

The Holiday Inn München City-Nord is my Stammhotel, meaning that when I visit Munich, this is where I stay (and where I have been staying for the past 20 years).  It’s not the most luxurious, it isn’t the most elegant, but it is a solid, 3.5 star business hotel that impresses me with friendly staff, unpretentious but sparkling clean rooms, and an 11 meter-long breakfast buffet that is said to be the largest in Munich.  When I was there in August, the hotel had just started a top-to-bottom € 5 …

THE 2426 KM DRIVE
In 5 days, I covered 2426 km and four countries (Austria, Germany, Hungary, and Italy). I crossed international borders 22 times.   I planned each day’s drive the night before, choosing my destination primarily based on the promise of good weather.
11. November – 460 km, Germany, Austria, and Italy
Friends Rich and Jill joined me for breakfast and soon enough, we were on the Autobahn in two 2006 3er Series BMWs.  Our itinerary: drive across the Brennerpaß into Italy and then head back north to Berchtesgaden.  I wonder if …

Getting there is half the fun when you visit the InterContinental Resort Berchtesgaden. Few hotels offer amenities such as a twisty drive via the Alpenstraße.  My car’s navigation system guided me through the fog as we climbed to an altitude of 1000 meters.  Even though it was dark, I could sense how incredible the view would be.
And, come morning, the view was incredible.  The InterContinental Resort Berchtesgaden, built on the site of Field Marshal Hermann Göring’s house near Hitler’s Berghof mountain residence, is promoted as being “between heaven and earth,” …

Friday, November 11, 2005, Munich Germany
Last week, we left off with success (insofar as Internet connectivity was concerned) in the Confetti Suite; this after two other suites had no connectivity.  Prior to my departure from the hotel (today’s plans called for a drive from Munich to Italy via Innsbruck across the Brennerpaß
as far as Sferzing, and looping back to Berchtesgaden), I passed by the front desk just in time to hear another guest complaining about problems with Net connectivity.  He was quite upset (apparently, his room had no connectivity) and …