missypie

With our summer vacation now over, my thoughts are turning to next years' trip, which should be about two weeks in length and include Holland, Belgium and Germany. Our kids will be 17, 15 and 12. We'll probably spend about a week in Germany.

I've been to Germany on three separate occasions and it's hard to narrow down the possibilities. I do think I'd like to limit our touring to the former West Germany (in hopes of visiting eastern parts in a future trip.)

What are your personal favorite sights or cities in Germany?

hetismij

One of the places which sticks in my memory is the Felsenmeer (sea of rocks) in Lautertal, near Worms. Worms itself is also worth a visit.

kkukura

We just came back from 19 days in Germany and Austria. I traveled with three teenagers- 14, 18, and 18. The two older teenagers, girls, preferred the bigger cities so they could shop- Freiburg and Munich. My son and I preferred the smaller towns. Freiburg was a nice size- seems to have a lot to offer in the area such as outdoor activities- hiking and biking. All three kids loved EuropaPark which is near Freiburg. We all loved Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is very touristy in the day, but early mornings and after 4 it slows down and it is beautiful. We walked the wall, outside the town and down to the valley along the river, listened to an organ concert, ate with the English Conversation Club, went on the Night Watchmen Tour, and went to the Criminology Museum. We also enjoyed a short cruise (Bacharach to St. Goar) on the Rhine and then a hike to Burg Eltz Castle on the Mosel River. We had a wonderful time in both Germany and Austria...enjoyed every place we went for different reasons. You just have to decide what will be best for your group. Enjoy!

kgh8m

The Black Forest is beautiful (I really loved Buehlerhoehe Schlosshotel). Lake Constance is pretty and could be fun (we went on a dreary April day).

If your husband or kids are into cars, the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart is fun. But the Nurburgring is even better. Especially if you splurge on the Ring Taxi. Most fun I've had in years.

missypie

Thanks, everyone!

tribi

I love Heidelberg, Rothenberg, Obersulm close to Heilbronn, Munich

MichelleY

Dear missypie:

I have only been to Rothenburg, the Rhine/Moselle area(Burg Eltz & Trier included) and Cologne. I loved all of them!

Check this website for info & trip reports:

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/index.html

Good luck & have fun,

MY

hausfrau

Hi missypie,
With only a week, you really need to narrow down where you want to go; even "western" Germany is a big place. A lot depends on what your kids like to do...do you want to stay in larger cities or smaller towns...shop or hike? Castles and museums or...? I would suggest narrowing your focus to one or two regions at most, perhaps choosing between the Black Forest, Rhein/Mosel valleys, or Romantic Road towns. I live in Stuttgart; if you're thinking about the southwestern part of Germany, I'd be happy to help answer any questions you might have.

schuba

yea, one week for entire west germany is too quick! take HF's offer.

ira

Hi M,

Are you planning on having a car?

Vttraveler

I lived in Bavaria for several years so that is the part of Germany I know best. In addition to Munich and the Romantic Road (including the city of Wurzburg) I would recommend Bamberg and Regensburg.

It depends a little on which airport(s) you want to use. As others have said, a week is not very long and you want to combine travel in Germany with travel in Belgium and the Netherlands. I would usually recommend seeing the Bavarian Alps including Ludwig's castles, but that would probably involve a long drive to get back to the airport.

missypie

We will fly open jaw....into Amsterdam probably, out of....some German city. We will have a car. What I don't know know is whether it will be cost prohibitive to pick it up in one city and return it to another.

I'd love to start at Cologne, drive down to Heidelberg, visit Strasborg on the way to Freiborg, then drive the Romantic Road, including Rotenberg (please exuse my spelling). But that sounds like the kind of trip where you sleep in a different town every night, which is a way of traveling that I don't particularly like.

yk

Back in April this year I spent 5 days in the Franconia area of Germany (northen Bavaria). It's a lovely section not overrun by (American) tourists. I also find the prices there (hotel and food) quite a bit lower than the big tourist cities. I made Nuremberg my base and did day trips to Wurzburg, Bamberg and Bayreuth. If you click on my screen name you should be able to find my trip report.

hausfrau

missypie, you could do all that but you're right, it would mean a lot of moving around. We did 5 days on the Romantic Road alone, staying in a different town each night. Also you are looking at some very popular destinations...depending on the time of year they could be quite crowded, which means your time will seem even shorter, what with dealing with long lines, etc. Heidelberg and Rothenburg are beautiful towns, but they are also among the most popular destinations in this neck of the woods.

As an alternative, you could pick 2-3 places to use as bases and then do day trips so you wouldn't be packing up and moving every day. (Places like Rothenburg will calm down a lot at night, so you can better enjoy them when the day crowds are gone.)

ira

Hi M,

>What I don't know know is whether it will be cost prohibitive to pick it up in one city and return it to another.<

Check prices at www.autoeurope.com and www.novacarhire.com and then order a car from www.gemut.com - who will get you a better deal.

You don't pay extra for dropping off in another city in the same country.

You do pay extra for airport pickup.

Your plan isn't too bad, if you leave out Strasbourg.

You could go Koeln to Heidelberg (1 night) to Rothenburg (2 nights) to Fuessen (2 nights) to Munich, and fly home from Munich.

Enjoy your visit.

Vttraveler

Another city that would be easy to visit as you leave Belgium is Aachen/Aix La Capelle, right on the border. It has a beautiful cathedral, Charlemagne's throne, an impressive cathedral treasury--I think it might appeal to your kids more than Cologne would.

For the rest of the time in Germany I would skip Strasbourg, Heidelberg and the Black Forest and concentrate on the Romantic Road and Munich. That would allow you to stay in a few places for several nights each

amyb

Missypie, do you have a particular reason why Cologne (other than it's close-ish to Amsterdam)? We took a daytrip there from Amsterdam and while the cathedral is absolutely stunning, and there are some interesting art museums (but none I'd cross the world for specifically), I didn't see much there that would interest kids of any age.

BTilke

Count us out when it comes to the Rhine (or at least the most touristed bits). We just don't find it that attractive.
Our favorite bits include Muensterland, particularly the water castle part, Detmold and the Teutoburgerwald, Baden-Wurttemberg (not just the Black Forest part), and Franconia.
However, Muensterland, while wonderful, does have kind of a Dutch feel to it and I think you'd all enjoy the dramatic change of scenery you'd get in Bavaria. So my vote would be for Bavaria. If your "about a week" is a little less than a full week, then perhaps you should pick one part of Bavaria you'd most like to see and rent an apartment or house there and explore locally. If you've got more than a week, pick two bases...maybe Munich for a couple of days, then ...the Allgau, a lake or Berchtesgaden area (inc. Salzburg, Austria). Bavaria is a bit of a hike from the Netherlands, perhaps your family might enjoy taking a night train (if there is one) down to Munich. Or a budget flight.
Anyway, have fun planning, if only all life's problems were so pleasant!

missypie

I do have to remember that we will be in Germany in the crowded summer time. My last visit was in February...the Black Forest and Bavaria in the snow...with alomst no tourists!

I was thinking of Cologne because it could be "on the way" to other spots and the cathedral blows me away.

Vttraveler

You might like to see at least part of the Roman Limes, the northern border of the Roman empire in Germany. There is a reconstructed fort near Frankfort (Saalburg) and Weissenburg is not far from sections of the Romantic Road
http://www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/de...rasse-id13.htm