noe847

Hello!

I am looking for help with planning for the second week of a trip to Germany next month. My two college aged daughters have the same spring break (for the first time in 5 years!) and we are excited to travel together to Germany. We have all been to Germany several times before and we all speak at least a few words of German.

The focus of the first week of our trip will be Berlin, which 3 of us love and the other 1 hasn't yet seen. We are flying into Frankfurt (from 3 different cities in the US, all meeting up at JFK). We land on Saturday morning, March 15, and will hop directly on a train, heading in the direction of Berlin. We all enjoy train travel and it will allow us to sleep/doze in our jet lagged state.

Thanks to previous advice on this forum, we have reserved rooms in Erfurt for Saturday evening. We’re hoping to see a few sights, eat a nice meal and crash. On Sunday we will attend services at one of the 3 main Catholic churches and then catch the train to Berlin. We will stay in the Gendarmenmarkt area for 7 nights. Our day trip from Berlin this time will likely be Hamburg.

On March 23, my husband and older daughter will fly home from Berlin. My younger daughter and I will stay an additional 6 nights before flying home from Frankfurt. This daughter is quite proficient in German – she’s a German major at college and spent last summer in a German language immersion program. Her roommate from the summer is studying this semester in Freiburg. We plan to visit her there, and while there we will possibly venture over to Switzerland for some genealogical purposes. We hope to visit our relatives near Aschaffenburg (have been there several times) and poke around some of our ancestral villages (Dorndiel, Mosbach, and Radheim). Finally, I would like to see the Icon Museum in Frankfurt, which I think would be best on the day before we fly home.

My preliminary itinerary:

March 15: land in Frankfurt. train to Erfurt, 1 night in Erfurt

March 16: train from Erfurt to Berlin

March 16-23: 7 nights in Berlin; day trip to Hamburg

March 23: travel to Bamberg, 1 night in Bamberg

March 24: travel to Freiburg, 2 nights in Freiburg

March 26: travel to Aschaffenburg area, 2 nights nearby

March 28: travel to Frankfurt, see icon museum, 1 night in Frankfurt

March 29: fly home from Frankfurt 11:30am flight

I’d love guidance:

1. Does this itinerary sound do-able?

2. Is Bamberg the best choice for the one night stopover between Berlin and Freiburg? I also considered Rothenburg o.d.T. Whichever one we choose, I think we could stop at the other for a look around. Is there somewhere else that I’m forgetting?

3. We will most likely rent a car for at least part of the second week. A car seems necessary to get to the little villages and to make the longer distances a bit more direct. I’m not sure where/when to pick it up or to turn it in. For example, from researching the DB website, it looks like Berlin to Bamberg is a direct route, but that it will take us 3 trains to get from Bamberg to Freiburg. So should I rent the car from Bamberg, or just get it as we leave Berlin?

4. For the last night I am considering staying at the Frankfurt airport. I would turn in the car after I check in the hotel, and take public transportation from the airport to the Icon Museum (I think it’s downtown). Then the same back to the hotel. Since we have a morning flight, I will be happy to be nearby. I plan to investigate Gemut for the rental.

5. What is the drive like from Bamberg to Freiburg? Are there preferred routes for scenery, pretty towns, etc.? I don’t care about taking the fastest route.

6. Similarly, what about the drive from Freiburg to the Aschaffenburg area? Are there things we shouldn’t miss on that drive? What would be our best route?

Thanks so much for any help that you can give!
Nancy

quokka

1. Yes, sounds good to me.
Except one point: You've got two nights in Freiburg, which means just one full day, your daughter wants to see her friend, you may want to see a bit of the town, and you want to go to Switzerland from there - that's quite a lot.

2. Stick to Bamberg. First, it's situated on the main ICE route, while getting to Rothenburg would require some changes of trains and take much longer. Second, it's a wonderful town and not yet as tourist-trappy as Rothenburg.

3. You won't need the car before Bamberg. The drive from Bamberg through Franconia and the Black Forest is scenic (and there is enough to see for at least a week along the way), but since your time in Freiburg is so limited I wouldn't linger.

4. The Ikonenmuseum is on the Southern bank of the river Main. Take the S-Bahn (S1 or S8, departing from Regionalbahnhof) downtown. The museum website recommends either getting off at Konstablerwache and then taking the bus 30 or 36 to Elisabethenstraße, or the tram 16 from Hauptbahnhof to Textorstraße.
If you want to walk and see a bit of Frankfurt, the prettiest way is getting off at Hauptwache and then walking South to Römerberg, crossing the river on the pedestrian bridge (Eiserner Steg) and then keeping left along the river bank till you reach the next bridge and the museum. That walk should take about 15-20 minutes.

Ingo

The itinerary looks weird if you have a look at the map. But if you cannot fly into Berlin and out of Frankfurt it is the best you can do ...

Good advice from Quokka (Cheers!). I strongly suggest you drop one night from Berlin and add it to Freiburg. With only one full day in Freiburg and a short trip to Switzerland you'll see nothing of the town. Which is a shame.

Otherwise it sounds good to me. You'll love Bamberg.

Ingo

Vttraveler

I agree Bamberg is a great choice for your stop between Berlin and Freiburg and that you should plan to take the train there before picking up a car.

Bamberg is a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage city. Since you have spent time on other trips in the Aschaffenburg/Wuerzburg area you are probably already familiar with the sculpture of Tilman Reimenschneider, the mayor of Wuerzburg. His tomb of Henry II and Cunegunda in the Bamberg cathedral is a masterpiece, and there is a wealth of other art and architecture to admire. Not to mention the famous Rauchbier...

I also agree it would be better to have more time in Freiburg especially if you go into Switzerland, too

It is really nice that you are able to take a family vacation this year and I hope you have a wonderful trip.

traveller1959

Your itinerary looks good. You will enjoy your time. Here a few remarks:

- It may be somewhat strenous, but think about stopping in Eisenach on your way from Frankfurt to Erfurt. The Wartburg is a highlight and historically most significant (Luther). Also UNESCO World Heritage.

www.wartburg-eisenach.de

Early evening and the next morning will be sufficient for Erfurt.

- 7 nights in Berlin will give you enough time to see at lest a few of hundreds of world-class attractions in this vibrant city. Certainly include a day-trip to Potsdam.

Here some of my recs for Berlin:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/GoListDet...of_Berlin.html

- Whether one day in Freiburg is enough, depends on how far your destination in Switzerland is. Freiburg is a quaint town, but a stroll in the morning and a stroll in the evening might be sufficient. However, there is much more to see in the area: the Black Forest, Alsace. A second day might be good.

wolfmisc

Hi,
guess you guys are statesmade. And used on >eating miles<.
Anyway, I would not do Bamberg to Freiburg in 1 day. You are on holiday and not on a business trip, are you? There are so many beautiful places between the 2 cities.
If you are train fans, I would take the train for the whole journey. Even regarding the fact that Bamberg to Freiburg asks for 2 interchanges and Freiburg to Aschaffenburg for one.
In March sometimes there is still snow and/or ice or at least heavy rain. So driving a car is not always pleasant.
Why just a daytrip to Hamburg? Germany s 2nd biggest city is worth an overnight IMO.

Surie

noe-- your trip sounds wonderful to me. How great to have 2 weeks there!!

We have a family trip planned too for that time and I am excited. We will be visiting our daughter who's living there, and taking our son for his first time to Berlin. I will be re-reading your old spring-break trip report!

Have a great time!!

Cowboy1968

I'd also second quokka's tips re. renting the car in Bamberg (and not already in Berlin), and adding/shifting a day to Freiburg.

For that drive Bamberg-Freiburg: You could make a little detour via Rothenburg which will add many 50km more to your itinerary than the fastest route.

If you stick to the recommended (fastest) route, you would go from Bamberg via Würzburg, Heilbronn, Karlsruhe, and then straight south to Freiburg.

Pommersfelden palace is only a few km south of Bamberg, and worth a visit.
So is Würzburg, but it's not a small town. It also has a great palace which will need some time to explore. Also going downtown, finding a place to park, and getting back to the freeway will take more time than in a small village.
Between Karlsruhe and Freiburg, you will find Baden-Baden, a famous old spa and casino town.

While driving mostly on the Autobahn is not really that scenic all the time, I would not drive too many km on 2-lane highways, since these can have much more traffic in Germany than in the US, and will substantially decrease your average travel speed. And you want to arrive in Freiburg at some time same day after all, I guess

Cowboy1968

sorry .. typo alert.. detour via Rothenburg may add maybe (not many) 50km to your trip.

noe847

Thanks, everyone, for your very helpful replies. I’m getting a better idea of where I’m going, how to get there, where to stop, and how best to structure our time.

Quokka: thanks for your hints, especially the directions to the icon museum. We will try to maximize our time in Freiburg.

Ingo, I agree that the itinerary is weird. It takes its shape from a few main goals (nice long visit to Berlin, visit friend in Freiburg, visit relatives near Aschaffenburg) We are flying into Frankfurt because that is the best way that I found to arrange our flights. We leave from 3 different states in the US, and we wanted a direct flight to Germany. I found fantastic fares for each of us. While we could train directly to Berlin from Frankurt, I am looking forward to the opportunity to see a bit of another town on the way.

I know that the suggestion to take a day from Berlin is a sensible one, but we really can’t do it. All four of us will be together in Berlin until the morning of March 23, which is Easter Sunday. We will attend the vigil services on Saturday evening, March 22. My husband and older daughter will fly back Sunday morning, which is when my younger daughter and I will be free to begin our 6 days of touring.

When I found out exactly where her friend is studying, I almost laughed. It would be harder to find a spot in Germany farther from Berlin! The good part is that it will give us a sense of the country as we traverse it and a taste of the Black Forest. Luckily this is not our first trip to Germany (my 6th) and I hope it will not be our last.

Our foray into Switzerland would only be a few kilometers. I think our ancestors lived in towns/villages on either side of the border. My brother has done significant genealogical research, including in connection with people in Germany, so he will provide me with the details. I hope to just see the towns where they lived, and do a bit of photographing of the cemetery, downtown, etc. If it doesn’t work out, that’s fine also.

Vttraveler, we have actually never been to Wuerzburg. We’ve been mostly in relatives’ homes and have seen Aschaffenburg Altstadt and the little village where my grandmother was born. I’m looking forward to seeing the sculpture you mention in the cathedral.

traveller1959 , thanks for the suggestion about Eisenach. I hope to explore the area in more depth, but may not be able to squeeze it this time. Your Berlin highlights list is great! I’m fortunate to have spent 2 weeks in Berlin since last year this time, and have seen nearly all of the sights you mention. My older daughter will be seeing Berlin for the first time, so we will definitely hit the major sights again with her, including a possible return visit to Potsdam.

wolfmisc, you are correct that we are from the USA. I’m really not trying to pile on miles! I’ve visited Germany/Austria 5 times previously and have always taken trains and buses. I am considering a car rental because I think it would be very difficult to visit our ancestor villages in the Black Forest and the Aschaffenburg area using public transportation. And I will keep reading about Hamburg…

Surie, I have a second (written in outline form) trip report from our September Berlin trip, but haven’t yet posted it because I haven’t quite finished it or organized the accompanying photo links. If you want to read it, I can email a draft to you.

Cowboy1968, thanks for the route suggestions. They are most helpful, and I will plan on a mix of 2 lane and autobahn driving.

Cowboy1968

By the way, if you need to get faster from Berlin to Freiburg, there is also a low fare nonstop connection with Easyjet (from Berlin Schönefeld airport to Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg airport). Not saying that it would be better than going by train/car, only if you need or want to shortcut the travel in between both places.

Hamburg is a nice daytrip since trains need only 90min to/from Berlin. Harbor cruises are usually on top of the list of things to do. But there is also a wealth of museums.
If ancestry and immigration is on your list of interests (which seems obviously the case), you may want to check out Hamburg's immigration museum:
http://www.ballinstadt.de/en/index.php

Vttraveler

It looks as though your time in the Aschaffenburg area will be taken up with visiting relatives and seeing smaller places of family interest, but if you have time on this or a later trip, Wuerzburg is a beautiful city to explore.