pennythoughts

My husband and I fly into Prague on December 20th and out of Berlin on January 3rd. We have been planning to spend 7 nights (including Christmas) in Prague, 2 in Dresden, and 5 (Including New Year's Eve) in Berlin. We like to walk around enjoying atmosphere, eating good (but not expensive or fussy) food, and I like museums and architecture. Does this sound like a good plan? We planned a couple of extra nights in Prague to help us get over jet lag and still enjoy the city (we're flying from the US), but I keep reading fabulous things about Berlin and wonder if we should leave Prague sooner, or if we should skip Dresden. Obviously, hiking and outdoor activities will not be a consideration at this time of year.

Second, are the bank holidays in Germany going to be a problem? I haven't had any luck finding reliable information on this.

I'd appreciate any help!

Ingo

Skip Dresden? Why? And you said you like museums and architecture?

Why would hiking and outdoor activities not be a consideration at this time of year? We locals LOVE outdoors in winter time! There's that fantastic National Park between Prague and Dresden with the sandstone rock formations, canyons, flat-top mountains, endless hiking trails and viewing points ... called Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland. Less than an hour by commuter train from Dresden. And the internation trains stop in the spa town Bad Schandau e.g.

I would definitely drop two nights from Prague (jet-lag considered) and add one to Dresden and one to Berlin.

Mainhattengirl

Depends on what you mean by problems with bank holidays and not sure what you mean with "not having luck in finding reliable information about them"? What do you want to know?

Michael

I would drop a couple nights from Prague and add them to Berlin. You might want to look for this book, maybe through Abe Books:

Peter Fritzsche and Karen Hewitt, <u>Berlinwalks</u>, 1994

It gives five different walks through different parts of the city, and is still valid.

Michael

I have written travel reports in different times on Berlin; click on my name to find them. The original references to the photos no longer work, but I've mentioned the new location of my photos farther down in the posting. I would not recommend a canal trip in the winter, even if it is offered.

Aramis

If it were my trip, and I have been to all three places, I would allocate my time as follows;

Prague 5 nights
Dresden 3 nights
Berlin 6 nights

However, I notice that that would mean you are moving from Prague to Dresden on Christmas Day (presuming you mean that you ARRIVE in Prague on the 20th making a 5 night stay there Dec 20 - 24). If you leave the US on the 20th then, obviously, you would move to Dresden on the 26th. I don't know if that is an important logistical point for you. I am sure that you can get to Dresden on the 25th, I am just not sure that you want to move on Christmas Day. Of course, it would be quiet and maybe a good time to be in transit. INGO can probably give any specific advice on considering transportation on the 25th.

My second choice would be;

Prague 4 nights
Dresden 4 nights
Berlin 6 nights

That could solve the Christmas Day transfer issue, but borders on short changing Prague if you think you want 1-2 days of a slower pace to recover from jet lag.

I see you are getting the expected advice of not skipping Dresden. You can visit Meissen, Bautzen, or Goerlitz as a day trip from Dresden if you want to experience something on a smaller scale.

Good, inexpensive, non-fussy food....hmmmmmm.... I know, Try Germany!

nytraveler

IMHO while Dresden is cute I think that 2 full days there is enough. Prague and Berlin are fairly similar in the amount they have to see/do - plus you might do a day trip fro Prague.

I would let the holidays decide - assuming you don;t want to travel on Christmas EVe or Day, similar for NY.

pennythoughts

Thank you so much, everyone! We will leave Prague earlier, for sure.

Ingo, wow, I had no idea there was so much to do outside that time of year. I live where it is warm all year, so I tend to think that you have to stay indoors in the winter. Do we need to have special gear to do the hiking?

Aramis, thanks for the suggestion about traveling on Christmas day. I wondered about doing that and don't mind it, but I thought maybe too many things would be shut down (restaurants and such), especially since it's a Sunday. France seemed completely shut down on Sundays while I was there last year. I thought we might be better off staying in our apartment in Prague, where we'll have a kitchen. What do you think?

Mainhattengirl, what I meant about the bank holidays is that I read somewhere on a forum that the holidays are challenging this year because Christmas Eve and Christmas fall on the weekend. This person said that Monday and Tuesday would then be "bank holidays" in Germany and that many businesses would be closed. I can't find this comment again to ask the person for more details, and I can't find anything else that says this online. I tried looking up German holidays for 2011 and didn't see anything about this. My question is whether we'll be able to travel, see sights, and eat in restaurants on December 26th and 27th and January 2nd. What do you think?

Mainhattengirl

It doesn't matter when Christmas is, the 25th and 26th are always holidays, with all stores closed. Just like a Sunday. Public transportation will be on a Sunday schedule too. Some restaurants will be closed, but enough should be open to not be a problem. The 24th is a day when in Germany, all stores close at 1400, most museums will just be closed that day and pretty much all restaurants are closed after 1400 too. Check with your hotel in Prague if they offer a Christmas Eve dinner.

The 31st, stores will close early, probably around 1600, and some restaurants too. Public transportation will be on a Sunday schedule after a certain time of day, but may run longer in the night so people can ride the buses, trams and trains rather than drive. The 1st is a holiday with stores closed and public transportation is on a Sunday scheduled. Check the individual attractions and museums if they will be open on the 1st. The 2nd is business as usual as it is not a holiday.

Some restaurants just close for the entire holiday time period, as it is too expensive paying all the holiday pay. So, they close and everyone has a vacation.

Ingo

No special gear necessary for hiking - just warm clothes and proper boots (you'll be prepared for snow in cities anyway, right?) Winter with snow is considered to be fun time in Germany/central Europe. What's better than sledding or other activities or just a leisure walk in the snow and having hot chocolate or mulled wine afterward?

Mainhattangirl gave you excellent tips on the holidays, so just some additions especially for Dresden here. Most restaurants in Dresden will be open on the holidays. Keep in mind that Dresden as well as Prague and Berlin are popular destinations for vacations over the holidays. Hotel restaurants will definitely be open. They even offer special festive menus (or brunch e.g.) for the holidays. For example, I plan to have brunch with the family in one of these (probably Radisson Gewandhaus) on 26th Dec.

Most museums/attractions are closed Christmas Day (25th Dec) but open on 26th again. Many people take off the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve so this is peak season for many sights/museums/castles etc. as well as the mountains (sports, snow given).

There is a grocery in the train station Dresden-Neustadt (Lidl) that is open EVERY day, even on holidays (8 am to 8 pm if I recall correctly). There are also some "Spätshop" (late stores) for limited grocery shopping in the Neustadt district (the nightlife district) that are open until after midnight.

Travelling on Christmas Day is definitely possible - not sure if the Eurocity train 10.31 from Prague runs, but the earlier connection leaving Prague 8.50 am with changes in Decin and Bad Schandau has daily running trains.

I.

pennythoughts

Here's what we'e settled on, after everyone's input:

5 nights in Prague
3 nights in Dresden
6 nights in Berlin (Just as Aramis suggested)

With your help and some Internet sleuthing, I confirmed that trains DO run on December 25 and that the Zwinger and the Grunes Gewolde museums in Dresden are open that day.

I found studio apartments in Prague and Berlin through airbnb.com, and a private room at Hostel Louise in Dresden through TripAdvisor and Booking.com. The average cost per night for our whole trip is $63. I'm very pleased!

I also booked a night in Karlovy Vary for 45 euro during our Prague stay, which we may or may not follow through on. Booking.com allows no-penalty cancellations up to 4 days prior to the booking.

Thanks again!

rhkkmk

ingo can tell you when the christmas market ends in dresden, but if at all possible this is a wonderful thing to experience...

dresden is a fab small city to visit...tons of world class things to visit there...

if it were me and its not, i would spend equal time in each of the 3 cities...

i drove from prague to dresden to berlin in december and really enjoyed it, even the snow... the mountain area between prague and dresden is really lovely...

watch out for ingo on skis...

Ingo

Friends of mine (Fodorites) from Texas have stayed in an apartment at Hostel Louise a couple of years ago and were quite pleased - good choice.

I am not a fan of one-nighters. Instead of going to Karlovy Vary for one overnight I'd do a day trip - or stay two nights. To have spa treatments and really indulge in some luxury there you would need more time. To see the town/spa district you need a half day. But as you said - cancellation policy is generous.

Heyyy rhkkmk! Unfortunately the Christmas market ends 24th Dec at 2 pm. If we get as much snow as last year the I *might* do some cross-country skiing along the river

I.

pennythoughts

The more I think about it, the more I love the idea of doing some outdoor activities like hiking and sledding. I wonder if we would do well to stay in a smaller town than Dresden for those 3 nights between Prague and Berlin to take a break from museums and "sights." (I plan to return to Germany, so this won't be my only chance to see Dresden.) Someone on another thread recommended Quedlinburg, but that looks really far out of the way. Is there any lovely little town you recommend where we can stay roughly between Prague and Berlin?

Ingo

Somewhere in the Erzgebirge mountains would be ideal - best chances for snow. Oberwiesenthal is best for fun/outdoor activities but probably booked out already. Other options: Altenberg, Holzhau, Kurort Seiffen, Klingenthal.

Annaberg-Buchholz is one of my favourites in the area, but it's really a town, not too much of a tourist place. Central location, though, with options for outdoor activities in the surroundings - like train/steam train and bus to Oberwiesenthal.

Quedlinburg is indeed out of the way. And not exactly an outdoor winter actvities place.

Aramis

I agree that Quedlinburg is well west of the Prague - Dresden - Berlin route, but the Harz are surely a winter activity place, aren't they Ingo?

Ingo

Yes, Aramis, but I would not say Quedlinburg is a good base for that. It's quite some distance even from the foot of the Harz mountains. Wernigerode would be much better. The small towns with real snow activities would be Schierke, Braunlage e.g.