carjaco

My husband, sister and I have an exciting trip planned for the end of July. One reason we're so excited about it is we get to visit friends in Seefeld, Austria and Berlin, as well as having time on our own to tour. I should mention that we are ages 65 to 75 and my husband is a limited on walking distances. Here is our tentative schedule, and I would appreciate your suggestions to help fill in the blanks:
Day 1: Arrive in Frankfort at 7:30 AM from the US. Train (or bus?) down the Romantic Road with a stop one night (or 2?) in Rothenberg (or...?).
Day 2: Continue on by train or bus to Innsbruck where our friends will pick us up. We'll stay with them in Seefeld for 3 or 4 nights. We've been to Salzburg before, so we'll spend most of our time with them there and in Innsbruck.
Day 6: Leave Seefeld (or Innsbruck) by train to make our way up to Berlin. We're looking for a two-night stop on the way, maybe in Oberammergau or Fussen, to see the castles. We're willing to rent a car there as that seems to be the best way to get around in that area. Which town to use as a base?
Day 8: Continue by train up to Berlin. Any place we should stop on the way, such as Dresden? We'll have three nights in Berlin with our German friends who live there.
Day 11: Leave Berlin by train and make our way to Cologne. Should we have a stop anywhere on the way (Hamburg ?), or can we use Cologne as a base and take day trips from there? We'll have three nights in Cologne. We definitely want to take a cruise down the Rhine. I'm thinking of doing that on our last day, winding up in Mainz for a night to fly out of Frankfort on our final day.
The only things that can't be changed at this point are that we have our airline reservations to fly in and out of Frankfort and our days in Seefeld and Berlin are set because of our friend's schedules. We're very open to suggestions on what to see between those points as well as hints on the Rhine riverboat and trains/buses. Thanks!

pja1

Hi

I just wanted to make a comment... Oberammergau is about an hour from Seefeld, Austria. Fuessen, Germany, along with Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, are less than 2 hours from Seefeld, Austria. While in Seefeld, be sure to visit Mittenwald, Germany. It's the "quintessential" Bavarian village surrounded by alps (IMO).

Paul

KarenE

Be aware that Cologne is not a very pretty city. I Would go there only for the Dom but not stay there at all.

bigtyke

go to bahn.de and check out the times for your train trips.

carjaco

Thanks for your comments.
Assuming we see the castles as a day trip from Seefeld, any suggestions of where to stay between there and Berlin?
Also, KarenE, where to base for a few days instead of Cologne?

tn

Carjaco,

Just a few thoughts for you to consider.

I would likely spend 2 nights in Rothenburg. You will have about a 2:30 hr train from Frankfurt to Rothenburg. Additionally, you have at least a five hour train from Rothenburg to Innsburck. I don't know about you, but that is a lot of travel in just two days. So I would suggest two nights in the Romantic Road area if you can swing it.

I agree with the other poster regarding the short trips you are suggesting as a stopover to Berlin. Slightly further along might be Nuremberg, but this will only give you another hour or so. You might also consider making your stops in Fussen or Oberamergau, and continuing on to Munich for a flight to Berlin. The train to Berlin will be long if you leave from this area, but the flight is just an hour and there are cheap fares on AirBerlin (if booked well in advance, they are very cheap, and it is a fine airline) and reasonable fares on Lufthansa.

And, as bigtyke suggested, you can easily look at train times and routings at www.bahn.de or bahn.com (.com will take you directly to the english language site).

Good Luck. Sounds like fun.

TN

carjaco

Thank you, TN. I hadn't thought of that, but two nights in Rothenburg makes sense. Also, we'll check into flights instead of train to Berli. That would mean missing Dresden.
Carol

sarahj3

I stayed in Cologne for 3 nights last year. Two would be enough, spending the whole free day on a river cruise. I think it's KD Cruises who do a full-day cruise, not expensive, they just take you down the river for half the day then the boat turns around and you go back.

We spent the first half on the upper deck (bring a hat and sunscreen!) and the second half in the boat's restaurant, which had a great selection of ice cream. There wasn't much scenery pointed out to us, however we saw some old catles and bridges which was the reason we went there. However, Cologne is a bit far from anywhere for day trips.

I have heard good things about Kassel and it is on my list of "want to visit" cities. I believe they have several palaces/castles and museums which are my main interests.

Also Munich and Berlin are 6 hours apart by ICE train. I take the train but I think a flight would be less tiring for you after the 2 hours on a train from Füssen. AirBerlin are great, but I have never flown Lufthansa because in my experience they are never the cheapest, so I can't compare them.

hsv

"AirBerlin are great, but I have never flown Lufthansa because in my experience they are never the cheapest, so I can't compare them."

Tastes and experiences differ apparently.

I always manage to find much better rates (and service!) on Lufthansa and definitely cannot recommend Air Berlin for serious issues in off-board service.

I do agree that a flight between Munich and Berlin would most likely be more time efficient, is likely not to be more expensive than the train and would be a much better experience than a relatively boring long train ride.