mhull

We are visiting our daughter and son in law who are working in Muhleim near Dusseldorf arriving December 20 and leaving January 3, 2014. The tentative plan is to leave on the 21st for Nuremberg and surrounding areas until the 24th and then drive to Dresden then Berlin. Will anything be open on Christmas Day? Or the day after? Also we have been told that the fireworks in Düsseldorf are wonderful on New Year's Eve. We live in Orlando. How do they compare to Disney's? Is it worth it to spend a lot of money to stay at a hotel on the Rhine to see them?
Also reasonable hotel and dining suggestions would help along with "must see" sights. We will have a car. Thank in advance.

Ingo

Will you be driving to Dresden on 24th or on Christmas Day? Makes a big difference: On 24th you could still catch the last hours of Christmas markets in Dresden (close at 2 pm) and make good bargains as they sell much of their stuff with discounts then. Also, the Christmas Eve services/mass are fantastic in Dresden (Kreuzkirche in particular).

Except for shops most everything will be open on Christmas Day: Restaurants, churches, museums ... For the State Art Collections see their website www.skd.museum or use this link to download the opening hours on holidays in 2014: http://www.skd.museum/fileadmin/SKD/...rtage_2014.pdf
You'll see that almost all the museums are open, except for the few that are closed in winter anyway.

quokka

Striezelmarkt is still open for a couple of hours on the 24th but the other markets in Dresden are not. Skip Nürnberg, go straight to Dresden so you are there before, not during the holidays - or you'll miss the best.

mhull

We have some flexibility on dates. There are some things in Nuremberg that we want to see along with the Christmas markets.
Really wondering about New Years Eve in Düsseldorf.

Mainhattengirl

No matter where you are in Germany, there will a zillion fireworks set off. Any open area, bridges, and river banks will be a good spot to watch them. Fireworks are legal to purchase the 3 days before NYE, and Germans go wild with them. In a big city, expect them to be going off at least 30-45 min. at midnight.

Düsseldorf has special fireworks though. Google images and you will see. I think I would go for this. NYE is not going to be like Disneyland. Don't stay in a hotel, go down to the river.

Dukey1

If you are talking about that fireworks show at the World Showcase you need to remember that in this case the buildings are REAL.