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This information was originally written to help bike tourists find places to stay while touring in Germany and Austria. However, most of the information is likely to be helpful to the non-bike tourist, too. Having a car only makes things easier, as you will be able to widen your search area. If you are traveling by train, you may be limited to choices within walking distance of the station.
On all of our trips we usually stay in a variety of lodgings, from B&Bs (usually) to hotels (occasionally) and hostels (rarely). Although we're not at all opposed to camping while bike touring (indeed, we camp a lot at home in the USA), we find that B&Bs offer such good accommodations for such low prices that it hardly seems worthwhile to bring along all our camping gear. Generally, we pay between 25 and 50 euros a night for a two-bed room, with breakfast. Along all the established bike routes in Austria and Germany you will find a wide variety of B&Bs, most of which are very accommodating to bike tourists. After a day of riding it's wonderful to be shown to a clean, comfortable room in a private house, with the promise of a good breakfast the next morning.
B&Bs in Austria and Germany are uniformly clean and well-kept. Often, they are much nicer than a hotel, and a lot cheaper. Americans often have the idea that a B&B is an upscale lodging alternative, filled with gracious antiques and other amenities. European B&Bs are not like that. They are basically a room in someone's house. However, you will most likely have a semi-private entrance or your own hallway, and will rarely (if ever) see your host during the day. It's not like you are walking through the person's living room to get to your bedroom.
How to find a room in a B&B or pension
So, how does one find a place to stay each night? It's usually pretty easy. In fact, it's the very rare occasion when we have difficulty finding a place to spend the night, even when traveling without reservations as we usually do. I'll discuss finding a B&B or pension (a small hotel that's kind of a cross between a B&B and a hotel), since getting a room in a hotel is pretty much the same anywhere you go in the world.
Along biking routes like the Tauern or Danube, local B&Bs will have advertisements right along the bike path. Also, many B&Bs will have a small red sign or flag hanging from their house stating "Zimmer Frei" (literally, "rooms available"). In very touristy areas they may even have symbols on the outside of the house showing whether they have one- or two-bed rooms, and if they are vacant or not (a green dot signifies vacancy, a red dot means it's full). Or, they may say "frei" (available) or "besetz" (full).
There are several ways to go about booking a B&B or Pension. The most direct is to find a suitable-looking B&B and go up and ring the doorbell. Usually the woman of the house will answer, and you'll begin your spiel: "Haben Sie ein doppelbettzimmer frei heute abend?" ("Do you have a double-bed room free this evening?") Don't expect the person to speak much English, if any. Memorize a few key phrases and you'll be fine (B&B owners in touristy areas are very used to dealing with foreigners). If the owner replies "Ja," often it will be followed by her asking "How many nights?" ("Wie viele nachte?") Generally B&Bs levy a surcharge for any stay less than three nights, as it requires them to do extra wash and cleaning. Occasionally the owner may not be interested in letting you stay for only one night (this is not usually a problem in areas with lots of bike tourists). Once you've established that a room is available, it's common practice for the owner to insist upon showing you the room. After you have agreed to its suitability, you will be told the price. However, I usually try to ask the price up front, rather than wasting my time on something out of our price range. Be certain to understand whether the price you are quoted is per person, or per room. Usually B&B prices are per person (but not always), and always include breakfast. If the price is low, like 10-20 euros, then it's undoubtedly per person. When in doubt, pull out your trusty small notepad and write out what you understand to make it clear.
Bear in mind that when you stay at a B&B you are essentially a guest in someone's house. Usually the host is an older, retired woman. If she doesn't feel comfortable with you being in her house, she's likely to tell you she has no rooms available. It's always a good idea to take a moment to remove your helmet and gloves and comb your hair out of sight of the house before making your inquiry. Also, from my experience, single foreign men (anybody other than a German-speaking person) may not be as welcome as a mixed-gender couple. When traveling with my wife, I always make sure she is easily seen from the door when I ring the bell.
A pension is a bit more like a hotel, and is likely to have separate entrances for guests, hallways with rooms off of them, etc. Bigger ones may have a reception desk. The pensions we stayed at in the Czech Republic are much more like German/Austrian B&Bs than pensions. At a few of them breakfast was not included in the price (although the cost was very reasonable). All were very nice, though.
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| Our B&B in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic, directly along the Vltava River. The white house just to the left of the brown house. | Pension BlaÏena in Hluboka nad Valtava, Czech Republic. Our room was in the upper left of the building. |
A much less threatening way to find a room for those who do not speak the local language is to go to the local tourist information office and let them book a room for you. Most well-touristed towns will have a tourist office (TI), signified by a sign with a large, green lowercase "I." For a small commission they will call around and find you a room. Sometimes you pay the commission on top of the room cost, other times it is deducted from the room charge (i.e. the B&B owner pays it). Usually you will pay the booking agent the commission at the time of booking, with the remainder of the room cost paid directly to the B&B owner when you check in. We use the TI maybe 20 percent of the time, as we generally like to check out the place we're considering before putting our money down. But, it's very convenient to let someone else do the work for you, and the cost is reasonable. If you don't speak any German, or just don't feel like the hassle of finding a place on your own, this is the way to go. On a few occasions we did not like the lodging booked by the TI, and returned to have them book us someplace else (see the discussion in our Czech/Austria trip report). If the TI is closed, you'll often find a brochure listing all the local lodging choices, along with prices. This helps a lot as you set out on your own to find a place to stay. Some will even have a display board listing all the lodgings, with a direct-dial telephone to use when making reservations.
So, now you are at the B&B and have staked your claim on the room. On rare occasions the owner may ask you to pay for it immediately; more likely, you'll be trusted to pay the bill the next morning after breakfast is over. Those of us from the USA may find this a bit strange, that the owner would trust us to stick around and pay the bill. The owner will usually ask you what time you would like to eat breakfast, and whether you want coffee or tea. Thankfully, the words for coffee and tea in German are very similar to English (kaffee and tea, pronounced "tay"). Breakfast is "fruhstuck."
B&B owners in German-speaking countries will usually be as friendly or as standoffish as you desire. They will default to giving you privacy, but if you go out of your way to engage them in conversation they will often spend a good deal of time talking with you (even if you don't speak German and they don't speak English!). We have had many good experiences talking with our hosts and learning about their town and their lives. In many instances we are the first Americans to have stayed at their B&B.
Our experiences in the Czech Republic were pretty similar to Germany and Austria, except that breakfast was not always automatically included in the price at the B&Bs and pensions. Be sure to ask. When it was not included, the price was extremely reasonable.
Notes on breakfast etiquette at German/Austrian B&Bs
Breakfast is a bit of a ritualized affair at Germanic B&Bs. It can actually be a bit intimidating the first time you are exposed to it. Be prompt for your breakfast time! As you enter the designated breakfast area (your host probably pointed it out the night before; if not, look for a sign that says "fruhstuckraum"), look for a table set with the places equal to those in your party. If there are only two of you, don't sit at a table set for four. Don't be surprised if your host directs you to a specific table, or asks you to move if you've already sat down. She may have long-term guests who are assigned a table for the length of their stay. If there are other guests already in the room, it's polite (and expected) to say a cheery "Guten morgen" as you enter the room. Breakfast will consist of, at the very least, several rolls/slices of bread per person, butter, jam, and coffee/tea. More usually you'll have the bread and jam plus sliced meats and cheeses (deli style), yogurt, and maybe a soft-cooked egg. Some pensions and hotels will provide a good breakfast buffet with all the above items. You are unlikely to go hungry! As you sit down to eat the other guests may wish you "Guten apetit." Insider's tip: there may be a small, empty plastic bucket on your table; it's officially for "tischabfall" (table trash) -- put your empty butter wrappers, jam containers, tea bags, etc., in it to keep the table clean.
Your host may give you a local registration form to fill out over breakfast. These are pretty common, and are required by either the local police or the tourist office. In any event, they'll want to know your name, address, occupation, passport number, etc. After breakfast is over it's time to pay for your room. Your host will either take your money while you are at the table, or may invite you into an office or separate room to pay (it's considered a bit more polite and hospitable to do it this way). Payment in the local currency is always expected. I've never come across a B&B that takes credit cards or checks; some pensions may take credit cards, but it's unusual. Pay your bill, pack up your bags, and drop off your key on the way out (or leave it in your door).
Hostels in Germany and Austria can be a viable lodging alternative, even for the "mature" traveler, especially in cities where hotel rates are high. There are two types of hostels you may run into: "official" youth hostels allied with one of the large hostel organizations (like IYH), and private youth hostels. Generally, the official hostels offer better facilities, more rules, and less chaos than the private hostels. While hostels still offer large, communal bunk rooms, you can often also find private 1, 2 and 4-bed rooms for rent, usually at reasonable prices. Downsides to hostels include sometimes-limited reception hours, the possibility of school groups on the premises (read: noise), and occasionally remote locations. I've stayed at hostels in Vienna, Salzburg, Melk and Zell am See, and have been pleased with the experiences. All have been very clean and well appointed, reasonably priced, and filled with interesting people of all ages from around the world. Hostels are an especially good choice for a family touring together, and most have family rooms available (you may need to reserve these ahead of time). Technically you are supposed to be a card-carrying member of a hosteling organization (like Hosteling International), but we've never been turned away despite our lack of being a member (you may get hit with a small surcharge, though).
When staying in a larger city on the international "backpacker" route (Salzburg, Vienna, etc.) in the summer, you may run into more of a party atmosphere at the private hostels. In fact, some promote partying in their advertising. If possible, check out their Web site and online reviews before booking a room there. Also, in the summer, advance registrations are almost always necessary to get a hostel room. Usually a few days in advance is sufficient. Sometimes you can get same-day reservations, but you may have to wait at the front desk until they see who is checking out that day. Generally there are no age restrictions at hostels, although hostels in Bavaria, Germany, officially do not allow guests over the age of 26 unless they are accompanying younger guests.
Hostel links:
- Austrian youth hostel association (in English)
- Germany youth hostel association (in English)
- Zell am See youth hostel. I have stayed here three times, and was very pleased with it. A beautiful location, right on the shore of the lake with mountain views all around. About a five-minute bike ride into the center of Zell am See. Private two-person (bunk bed) rooms are available. Read more about it in our Tauern trip report and Czech/Austria report.
- Hostel Ruthensteiner in Vienna. I stayed here twice, once in a single, private room, and once in a four-bed room with my brother. Friendly, private hostel that is a decent value, but can be moderately loud at times. The location is convenient to the Westbahnhof (U-bahn to the center ring; trains to Passau, Linz, Salzburg, etc.), but in a, er, "transitional" part of town (but I never felt unsafe, even at night). They have a very nice outside courtyard in the middle of the hostel. I don't recommend the private single room on the ground floor near the reception; it gets a lot of noise from the courtyard and people coming and going from the reception area.
- ExploreEurope.com (a commercial site) has a pretty good discussion about hostels in Europe.
Still have questions? Feel free to e-mail me.
I'm happy to add useful info from others to this page. Please e-mail me your suggestions.
Page updated Dec. 15, 2005
© 2005 by Brian Wasson