3 weeks in Germany & Scandanavia, what do you think?
 

Hello. What do you think of my "proposed" itinerary for Germany and some of the Baltics?

We had airline miles that needed to be used and we were going to take a cruise through the Baltics, but go to Germany first. In my haste I went through with the air portion... and then read about the short amounts of time in the major Scandanavian cities, so we decided against the cruise. Since it is so costly to make any air changes, we are committed to flying into Frankfurt in July and 22 days later, flying home from Copenhagen. We're going to try our best to see some of Germany that we haven't seen yet, without killing ourselves, and then see what we can of Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen. We've never been to Scandanavia, so we don't know if any of this is doable.

Day 1-4: Arrive in Frankfurt and train to Cochem. Spend 3 nights in Cochem.

Day 4-6: Train to St. Goar, 2 nights here.

Day 6-7: Train to Rudesheim and spend 1 night. I've been reading on Fodors that this town is so touristy but my hubby really wants 1 night here.

Day 7-9: Train to Rothenburg and spend 2 nights here.

Day 9-13: Train to Mittenwald and spend 4 nights here (or maybe Garmisch).

Day 13-15: Train to Munich and spend 2 nights here. See Dauchau.

Day 15-17: Fly from Munich to Oslo. Spend 2 nights in Oslo.

Day: 17-20: Train from Oslo to Stockholm, spend 3 nights in Stockholm.

Day 20-23: Train to Copenhagen and spend 3 nights in Copenhagen, the first 2 in the city and the 3rd night at the airport since our flight leaves about 8 AM.

Is this too ambitious an itinerary? The river cruises we took in Germany, while lovely, didn't allow us much time to smell the roses. I haven't even gotten to the hotels yet. I did receive replies for the Rhine area (thank you) and I'm still trying to find the best towns to stay in that will allow us to travel by train. I know when we went to Italy a few years ago, I was petrified about train travel and many of you on here said not to worry about it. They were right, it was a piece of cake. Are Germany & Scandanavia as easy to travel in by train as well?

Thanks again for any help any of you can give me.

I think you have spaced it out pretty well for a month. You are addressing your stated concerns of not having spent enough time in one place in earlier trips and the distances between overnights are not excessive, expect perhaps for Oslo to Stockholm and Stockholm to Copenhagen. Those are about 6 hour trips each. Had you considered flying between those locations?

As for specific comments; add me to the "meh" camp for Rudesheim. I don't even like the Rhein. Depending on what you want to do , Garmisch might be a better place to spend 4 days than Mittenwald - especially without a car. It has much more to do.

You might want one more night in Munich, at the expense of one in Garmisch/Mittenwald, but you are going to spend some big city time the next week in Scandinavia (Baltics - they are not).

Oh, and the trains in Germany are even "better" than in Italy. A German timetable is the LAW, lol.

The one way airfares I suggested in Scandinavia are only about $70 - 90 US

Aramis: Thank you for your help and information. I'll have to research air between the Scandanavian cities. I'm glad you didn't say we'd kill ourselves on this itinerary!

olijoc

I looked into one more aspect of your trip a little more deeply. Getting to Rothenburg from Rudesheim, St. Goar, or Cochem, is going to be a pain. At least 5 hours and 3-5 changes including buses.

It might make more sense to get back to Frankfurt for a night before you head out to R od T - it still takes 2 + hours and 2 changes from Frankfurt to get there.

Simply put - it is not easy to get from the Mosel/Rhein to R od T in less than 5 hours without a lot of changes.

Maybe someone here knows more about the train connections/routes and how to make that part of your trip work best for you.

perhaps, once finished with Oslo, do the "norway in a nutshell" tour, which takes you over to Bergan, Norway, and catch your flight to Stockholm from there.

In Stockholm, my favorite (other than just strolling the streets, was the Vasa Museum
EK

I think your itinerary looks pretty good, on the whole. It doesn't look too rushed, which is a problem with many of the itineraries I see on this board.

I wasn't impressed with St. Goar or with the Rhine in general. If you can take one of those Rhine river cruises and drink yourself silly, perhaps that would add to the enjoyment. I've done a couple of those cruises on the Rhine and the Neckar and was bored stiff, but then I'm a teetotaller.

Is there a chance you could do any of this with a car? In my opinion that would make some legs of the trip easier.

I'm envious, by the way.

Thank you all for your insights.

Aramis: We're going to have to re-think Rothenburg, that looks horrible.

eKelly: if we see alot in Oslo, will we have time for the Norway in a Nutshell tour? It appears to be an entire day.

Peg: I've been trying and DH just doesn't want to drive at all once we leave the States.

Yes, it is an all day trip, and many folks make it a 2 day trip.

But, you get to see and travel on the fjords. It is quite a trip.

Just wondering if you could catch a flight that evening out of Bergen (although Bergen itself is wonderful too)

Or, another thought. After doing the N in Nutshell tour, and enjoying a few days in Bergen, we rented a car and drove to the southern tip of Norway, crossed the water on a nice ferry overnight, and drove on to Copenhagen. This would leave Stockholm off of your list. If going that way, a night in Aero before hitting Copenhagen would be neat.

EK

Looks like a good itinerary.

A couple of notes:

1) The train ride from Stockholm to Copenhagen is over 5 hours. I wouldn't rule out flying.

2) You may not need to stay at the airport just because of an 8am flight. The airport is only 15 minutes or so from downtown Copenhagen.

oli

It's not so much Rothenburg that is the issue - it is getting out of the Mosel and/or Rhine valleys by train to get to SE Germany, where you are going anyway.

It is going to take some logistical effort to get out of the area no matter where else you want to end up, except if you are going to Cologne, maybe.

If you dropped the Mosel/Rhine, you could spend more time in Franconia on your way down to the Alps. Rothenburg is worth keeping and you could add in Wuerzburg, Bamberg, Nurnberg, etc., - all gems.

Once I read your post again, I am thinking that 3 nights in Cochem plus 2 night in St. Goar is maybe a few too many days on the Rhine/Mosel.
However, I DO love the Rhine/Mosel. Maybe 2 nights in Cochem, and then back thru Ffort to get to Wuerzburg (which is very nice), then that leads you straight down to Rothenburg (don't miss the Night Watchman's tour, in English). From there, bamburg or Nurmburg or both, before heading to Munich.

I know...way too many cooks spoiling the broth, but :)