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Late October Germany Itinerary--Any Feedback Welcome!

Late October Germany Itinerary--Any Feedback Welcome!

Old Sep 23rd, 2014, 12:53 PM
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Late October Germany Itinerary--Any Feedback Welcome!

I'm headed to Germany in late October for a combo vacation/husband's work conference trip! We'll be flying in and out of Berlin, arriving 10.27 and departing 11.9. We'll be doing the bulk of the vacationing on the front end, and will be in Berlin for five days or so at the end of the trip (where I'll continue vacationing while he works!). So I'm trying to determine a fun itinerary for the early part of our trip--nine days or so. Right now, I'm looking at 2 nights each in Goslar, Marburg, Bamberg & Dresden before heading back to Berlin. By way of background, we are mid-30s, active, into small towns, nature, culture, art, food and--for my husband--beer! I don't want to move around SO much as to be exhausted, which is why I went for two nights in each place, but we'd like to see a variety of places too. We'll be traveling by train unless convinced otherwise!

Any feedback would be MOST welcome!
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Old Sep 23rd, 2014, 01:35 PM
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Trains are fantastic and frequent to all those places and cars not useful in cities so yes the train is great. You are moving around enough by train to take a good look at the German Twin Railpass which for very little per day if you do say a 6-day pass would let you hop on any train anytime with few exceptions - www.bahn.de/en - the German Railways site gives walk up fares and also has discounted fares but those are sold in limited numbers so must be booked in stone weeks in advance to guarantee then cannot be changed but refunded with a 15 euro penalty fee, etc.

So for taking long-distance trains as you seem to the pass could be a boon - compare prices with regular fares and discounted fares and see which is best. Again flexibility to hop any train anytime is priceless to many and that's what the pass offers. A Twin pass is for two people traveling together on one pass and is about 20% cheaper than two solo passes.

For lots of great info on German trains I always spotlight these IMO superb sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com (good info on discounted tickets from this one).
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Old Sep 23rd, 2014, 02:09 PM
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Robyn,

we just got back from a trip that took us from Hannover to Stuttgart via Goslar [1/2 day] Wernigerode, Weimar, Erfurt [another 1/2 day] Bamberg and the Pfalz where we have friends with whom we ended our stay.

I can't help you with Marburg, but we very much liked Goslar, albeit we didn't stay there, and it could certainly make a good base for exploring the western end of the Harz, including the Brocken [north Germany's highest mountain] though you will have to drive to a station if you want to take the narrow gauge railway to the top.

Bamberg was OK [perhaps had the weather been better we'd have liked it more] but we really liked Weimar and would have liked more time in Erfurt; but better than all of those was Dresden [which we visited on an earlier trip] where I would strongly recommend at least 2 nights.

looking at the map, and thinking of your doing a large circle beginning and ending in Berlin, I would think about Potsdam [at least 1/2 day] Wernigerode [just because it's closer than Goslar] or Quedlingburg, Erfurt/Weimar, Leipzig and Dresden. IMO both Bamberg and Marburg are somewhat off your route and there is plenty to see within that much smaller circle - Halle [for the Handelhaus and city centre] & Naumburg [fantastic old town and cathedral]. i'm sure that I've missed out things that Ingo, for example, could tell you about, but there is loads of interest in this part of Germany.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2014, 04:01 PM
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If you do get to Bamberg - or any other wine region in Germany - (i.e. not Marburg or Goslar, firmly beer-drinking regions) - that is the right time of year for tasting the new wine. It comes of course as either white (Federweisser) or red (Roter Rauscher), and is slightly cloudy and effervescent. It is stored upright in chiller cabinets without a cork, and typically served with Zwiebelkuchen (a kind of onion tart or quiche). It is widely available.

I do like the route you have chosen, it will be a lot of fun. Goslar and Marburg are very pretty, but as annhig says, Quedlinburg is pretty too - it is one of the jewels in the crown for that region because of the enormous number of half-timbered houses.

Lavandula
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Old Sep 24th, 2014, 07:05 AM
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Quedlinburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - enough said - if in the area don't miss the steam train up to Brocken, one of the most celebrated lookout points in Germany - in the Harz mountains.
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Old Sep 24th, 2014, 11:54 AM
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one of the reasons we chose Wernigerode over Quedlingburg is because you can get the narrow gauge railway up to the Brocken from there and it takes about 90 mins. if you do it from Quedlingburg, it takes about 5 hours.

when we were with our friends in the Pfalz we tried some of the new wine. We only had a small glass as it seemed to be quite potent but there were quite a few people who were really knocking it back.
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Old Sep 24th, 2014, 12:08 PM
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This is fabulous feedback!! Thank you so much, annhig, lavandula and PalenQ! I'm most grateful! Based on what you guys had to say I'm now playing around with the original itinerary or 2 nights each in Quedlinburg, Leipzig, Bamburg, Dresden, before heading back to Berlin!

Anyone else have a thought?

Most gratefully,
Robyn
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Old Sep 24th, 2014, 01:43 PM
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The Leipzig area has so so sweet stuff in a small area - you may want to base in a smaller city like Naumburg or Erfurt or Weimar - all really nice places and all of them are worth a half-day or so - and Eisenach is also in this compact area so well served by trains - here is Wartburg Castle where Martin Luther went into hiding and where he famously had an encounter with the Devil - ink stains are still on his tiny room's walls after he threw his ink pot at the Devil.

Weimar, Naumburg (a smaller town gem), Eisenach for Wartburg otherwise a gritty auto town - Erfurt and Weimar are all for the old East Germany stellar awesome places. May want to add in an extra day there.
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Old Sep 25th, 2014, 05:40 AM
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personally I would not bother with Bamberg but that 's just me - the weather wasn't very nice while we were there so that may have coloured my view.

perhaps more importantly, it's quite a long way off your route and you would have to miss out Weimar, Erfurt and the Wartburg which would be a shame.

I think that i would substitute Weimar for Bamberg - you could see Naumburg on the way there, and then use it as your base for seeing Erfurt and the Wartburg which we really enjoyed, though we weren't that taken by Eisenach.
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Old Sep 25th, 2014, 08:35 AM
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>>>Quedlinburg, Leipzig, Bamburg, Dresden
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Old Sep 25th, 2014, 09:50 AM
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Hi RobynTheBride,

Oooh, I hope you do stick with using the trains. Of course, you get to see lots of countryside from the train -- no one has to watch the road, and no one has to follow on the map.

I think taking the trains is simply lots more fun. You won't be isolated inside your private bubble, so you'll be free to people-watch and culture-watch, and to interact with your seatmates. In addition, you can eat, nap, read, chat, or play cards during the journey.

And of course, taking the train makes your European adventure more of a "European adventure." One can take a road trip practically anywhere in the world, but taking the train is a rare thing. It seems worthwhile to take advantage of it when you can!

Finally, using the train is more green (yaaay!). So you may be really happy to help keep the German countryside beautiful.

Have fun as you plan!

s
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Old Sep 25th, 2014, 11:52 AM
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ditto to everything swandav2000 says - living in Garmisch in Bavaria she knows what she's talking about when talking about those great German trains that simply seem to go everywhere.
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