Visit Germany in 10-12 days
Oct 25th, 2012, 02:52 PM
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Visit Germany in 10-12 days
We are a Canadian couple with one 12 yr old boy, haven't been to Europe twice but not Germany.
The kid will have a school break from Dec 21 2012 to Jan 13 2013, I know it is the best time to go but that's life
We would like to tour Germany in 12 days including flight time.
Because the kid, we would like to have a laid-back vacation/sightseeing and enjoy the culture there.
My wife is NOT interested in WII history(so no labour camp visits) and we may not have much time for museums.(maybe one or two at max). We are interested in castle, German architecture. I love to see the canal and boat tour.
I've done some research and realize we simple cannot visit the entire Germany, so I would like to get your pro opionion on:
1)Which part of Germany to go. I think the Southern part, skip Berlin/Hamburg
2)Which town/site are considered the most important of the 12 day trip (actually it is 10 day deduct the flight time. I would appreciate if you can break it down by priority.
3)Should we drive the romantic road? I know train is the best, I would like to experience the autobahn but have concerns since it is winter as I don't want to drive on snow/black ice. But being winter, maybe driving is a better option to beat the cold?
4)Any suggested route? We will arrive/depart from Frankfurt as this is the only direct flight from Seattle. I'm thinking start from Frankfurt, visit along romantic road and all the way to Munich, fly/train back to Frankfurt.
5)Is Black Forest worth seeing? We love nature but prefer not see any scnery similar to Canada (We have Banff, the rocky mountian and you are welcome to visit )
thanks for your help.
Peter
The kid will have a school break from Dec 21 2012 to Jan 13 2013, I know it is the best time to go but that's life
We would like to tour Germany in 12 days including flight time.
Because the kid, we would like to have a laid-back vacation/sightseeing and enjoy the culture there.
My wife is NOT interested in WII history(so no labour camp visits) and we may not have much time for museums.(maybe one or two at max). We are interested in castle, German architecture. I love to see the canal and boat tour.
I've done some research and realize we simple cannot visit the entire Germany, so I would like to get your pro opionion on:
1)Which part of Germany to go. I think the Southern part, skip Berlin/Hamburg
2)Which town/site are considered the most important of the 12 day trip (actually it is 10 day deduct the flight time. I would appreciate if you can break it down by priority.
3)Should we drive the romantic road? I know train is the best, I would like to experience the autobahn but have concerns since it is winter as I don't want to drive on snow/black ice. But being winter, maybe driving is a better option to beat the cold?
4)Any suggested route? We will arrive/depart from Frankfurt as this is the only direct flight from Seattle. I'm thinking start from Frankfurt, visit along romantic road and all the way to Munich, fly/train back to Frankfurt.
5)Is Black Forest worth seeing? We love nature but prefer not see any scnery similar to Canada (We have Banff, the rocky mountian and you are welcome to visit )
thanks for your help.
Peter
Oct 25th, 2012, 03:30 PM
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I agree that southern Germany would be good for a first time visit. Besides Munich and its attractions, you might enjoy a day trip to see Ludwig's castle, Neuschwanstein. The towns along the Romantic Road are enjoyable as well. I don't know your 12 yo son but I suggest you plan to see some attractions that he would especially enjoy. Read (or buy) some Germany travel guides and plan what the 3 of you would enjoy seeing/doing between Frankfurt and Munich. Hopefully, one of Fodor's Germany experts will offer additional suggestions.
Oct 25th, 2012, 03:32 PM
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Just did this...also from Seattle. We flew into Frankfurt, visited relatives near there for a few days (saw the Black Forest and Freiburg), took train to Munich for 3 days, took train to Salzburg for 3 days, took train to Rothenburg for 2 days, then back to Frankfurt to fly out the next day. It was pretty perfect.
Oct 25th, 2012, 03:50 PM
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Museum: Are you equating museum=fine art museum? There are many types of museum, Pergamon Museum in Berlin displaying Greek, Babylonian and Roman architectures, car museums scattered around southern Germany such as Stuttgart, etc.
Canal/boat tours are fair weather activities. They either don't run in winter or you need to stay in cabin.
Driving or not depends what role driving plays in your trip. It seems it is one of the objective of your trip. When the weather turns bad, there are pros and cons. With trains, you have to contend with train schedule disruptions, but you don't have to fight the weather directly. With car, you have to deal with the poor driving conditions yourself.
Regarding flight. You probably need to compare, for example, SEA-FRA-SEA vs. SEA-MUC, then FRA-SEA multi-city trips. Sure, you have to change plane in FRA on outbound, you also eliminate double crossing the FRA-MUC segment.
Canal/boat tours are fair weather activities. They either don't run in winter or you need to stay in cabin.
Driving or not depends what role driving plays in your trip. It seems it is one of the objective of your trip. When the weather turns bad, there are pros and cons. With trains, you have to contend with train schedule disruptions, but you don't have to fight the weather directly. With car, you have to deal with the poor driving conditions yourself.
Regarding flight. You probably need to compare, for example, SEA-FRA-SEA vs. SEA-MUC, then FRA-SEA multi-city trips. Sure, you have to change plane in FRA on outbound, you also eliminate double crossing the FRA-MUC segment.
Oct 25th, 2012, 05:13 PM
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I lifted this paragraph from a trip report I read. I have been to that castle a 12 year old would love it.
"By 11:30 we were riding the Burg Express (Euro 3,00 ea, return) to Rheinfels Castle (c.1245) (Euro 4,00 ea.), which sits above St. Goar. While planning our trip, I wasn’t real excited about visiting Rheinfels, in fact, it wasn’t even on our itinerary. The pictures that I saw looked kind of boring – how interesting could the ruins of a castle be? But finally being in St. Goar, along the Rhine, and seeing the Castle perched on its position above the river, I became intrigued, so off we were to explore. And did we ever… we spent the next two hours visiting the museum and poking our noses into all the nooks and crannies of this wonderful castle ruin. Again, we were glad we travel with a flashlight." Artstuff
"By 11:30 we were riding the Burg Express (Euro 3,00 ea, return) to Rheinfels Castle (c.1245) (Euro 4,00 ea.), which sits above St. Goar. While planning our trip, I wasn’t real excited about visiting Rheinfels, in fact, it wasn’t even on our itinerary. The pictures that I saw looked kind of boring – how interesting could the ruins of a castle be? But finally being in St. Goar, along the Rhine, and seeing the Castle perched on its position above the river, I became intrigued, so off we were to explore. And did we ever… we spent the next two hours visiting the museum and poking our noses into all the nooks and crannies of this wonderful castle ruin. Again, we were glad we travel with a flashlight." Artstuff
Oct 28th, 2012, 04:16 AM
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Hi Peter,
everyone seems to explore the main cities in Germany, however, there is much more to explore when Bavaria. I suggest you travel from Frankfurt to Dresden by plane or train. Dresden is famous for its architecture and museums. Since you arrive just before Christmas I think it is the perfect spot to celebrate the holidays. The Christmas Market -Striezelmarkt is open until December 24th, I believe. It is easy to go around the city by public transport. There are nice hotels (QF Hotel, Hilton, Innside by Melia) at the Neumarkt, which is the center of the city. If you are intereted in nature it is also worth exploring Saxon Switzerland the nearby National Park. The Bastei is the most popular spot to visit. I would recommend 3 to 4 days for Dresden. I hope that helps.
everyone seems to explore the main cities in Germany, however, there is much more to explore when Bavaria. I suggest you travel from Frankfurt to Dresden by plane or train. Dresden is famous for its architecture and museums. Since you arrive just before Christmas I think it is the perfect spot to celebrate the holidays. The Christmas Market -Striezelmarkt is open until December 24th, I believe. It is easy to go around the city by public transport. There are nice hotels (QF Hotel, Hilton, Innside by Melia) at the Neumarkt, which is the center of the city. If you are intereted in nature it is also worth exploring Saxon Switzerland the nearby National Park. The Bastei is the most popular spot to visit. I would recommend 3 to 4 days for Dresden. I hope that helps.
