dffisher

My son, 16 years old and I will be traveling to Germany for 15 days in August. We will be starting in Goettingen because we are visiting a family from there (exchange student of ours from last year). The mother and son from the German family will be driving us throughout our trip. We have thought about a basic itinerary that would include traveling to Munich, Salzburg, Prague, Berlin, and returning to Goettingen. Several questions:

Does this sound like too much?

Any advice for quaint villages along the way?

We are not big mueseum buffs, more into the outdoors, we love eating good food and of course I want to have plenty of good German Beer! Also would love to see some great castles. Advice here would be great.

Any Chance for ideas for places to stay along the way in a reasonable price range?

Have been to Black Forest and Rhein areas before, but would love to go back to Bingen - Koblenz area again to explore in more detail. I am just afraid that is way too much.

One other thing, we are traveling from Dusseldorf to Helsinki Finland for one week to attend a friend's wedding so maybe some ideas for Dusseldorf area for a day or two.

Please Help!

elaine

Hi
Reasonable price range
means different things to different people. Could you just say what your budget per night is (and for one room, or two?), and what kind of amenities you are looking for in a hotel: elevator, a/c, etc.

Russ

Except for Salzburg, you are scheduling in some major cities - hardly the nature-filled place you say you would enjoy - and these cities will take up the bulk of your 15 days.

Goslar, Hameln, Northeim, Einbeck, Hannoversch Muenden, and Celle are somewhat smaller places you might enjoy near your "home". The nearby Harz mountains are known for their beauty and are popular with hikers.

For castles, look into the "Castle Road" running roughly west-east between Mannheim and Prague. Also south of Gottingen, The Bier road between Bad Windsheim (there's also an open-air farm museum here) and Uehlfeld west of Nuremberg might be worth a drive:

www.bierstrasse.de

But Bamberg, to the north, is also famous for its own "Rauchbier". Palaces in the same region include those in Wurzburg (Residenz), Weikersheim, Coburg, and Pappenheim.

You will generally find great scenery in the river valleys - the Tauber, the Main, and the Altmuehl (interesting white cliffs) are all fabulous and all located in the same general area as the Castle road, the Bier road, and the towns mentioned above.

So far, you haven't gotten as far as Munich, much less Prague or Berlin. I think you don't need to travel so far to indulge your interests.

CharlieB

How fortunate for you and your son! If indeed your host family has offered to drive you around Europe for 2 weeks I would leave a lot of the itinerary planning up to them as I am sure they are anxious to show you a wonderful time. You might offer to take your son and his friend (via train) to a place of his choice for a couple of days to give your friends family a little respite. Above all have your son hit the library or internet to learn something about Gottingen. As starters, it is the home of a famous University which has produced 30 Nobel Laureates. Even Longfellow was a student there! It is extremely considerate of your host family to offer to drive you around Europe and I would certainly allow them to plan a major portion of your itinerary even if it is not completely to your liking. Perhaps your son and his friend could work on a proposed itinerary via EMail.

Chris9

I agree with Russ that you mentioned 4 big cities, pretty far apart, that will eat up your 15 days. I think you'd be better sticking to a region like Munich, Salzburg, Bavaria, Rothenburg and the Romantic Road, and a Rhine river cruise, for instance. And, you could probably fit Prague into that, as well, if you're wanting another big city. That way, you'd get a nice mixture of having 2 larger cities together with some smaller cities/towns and take in some of the picturesque countryside, too. And, you don't want to build an itinerary that is too spread apart or so much of your time will be eaten up travelling. And, as Charlie said, the locals will probably know the best places to take you that none of us even know about! You'll have a great trip - I loved Germany!