7 Days in Germany
Mar 5th, 2010, 12:30 AM
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7 Days in Germany
Hi Fodorites. Most grateful for you and all your knowledge.
Me and my friend Dave will be in Avignon in mid-September (after a week at a gite in Languedoc). We plan to go from Avignon via train through Switzerland and Germany to the beaches of Normandy over a period of 7 days. I'm OK figuring out trains (we'll probably end up with a Eurail pass and a few local fares). But I'd love a little advice. It's Dave's first trip. I've been to Munchen, Fussen, Salzburg, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Koblenz, Trier. So how do we make our way north through Germany? Want to show Dave the high points and don't mind covering old ground (we'll probably do a Rhine cruise) but also would like to be in places I've never been. I'm thinking about Eagles Nest, Baden Baden, Mannheim, Strasbourg?Your thoughts?
Finally, I haven't been across the pond for 5 years. Do we need to book lodging in advance? (We'll be in Munchen a week before Oktoberfest and moving north from there)
Grateful for this community.
Me and my friend Dave will be in Avignon in mid-September (after a week at a gite in Languedoc). We plan to go from Avignon via train through Switzerland and Germany to the beaches of Normandy over a period of 7 days. I'm OK figuring out trains (we'll probably end up with a Eurail pass and a few local fares). But I'd love a little advice. It's Dave's first trip. I've been to Munchen, Fussen, Salzburg, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Koblenz, Trier. So how do we make our way north through Germany? Want to show Dave the high points and don't mind covering old ground (we'll probably do a Rhine cruise) but also would like to be in places I've never been. I'm thinking about Eagles Nest, Baden Baden, Mannheim, Strasbourg?Your thoughts?
Finally, I haven't been across the pond for 5 years. Do we need to book lodging in advance? (We'll be in Munchen a week before Oktoberfest and moving north from there)
Grateful for this community.
Mar 5th, 2010, 01:01 AM
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Normally you don't need to book in advance to get a hotel room. The exception are trade fairs with all hotels in a region beeing booked, but in that case the prices are quite insane anyway and it's better to sleep in a different town.
The advantage of not booking ahead is obviously more flexibility but you might miss out on deals and some popular hotels might be full.
Take a look at www.hrs.de which lists the majority of hotel rooms. If you can book a room in a city tomorrow, you'll probably be able to do the same in September. (And if you put in the travel dates for September, you'll see whether there is a huge event somehwere because then the prices have already doubled.)
You can rent a car or you can travel by train. The train connections from Munich to the North-west are pretty good and there's more than enough to see for 7 days. The website of the German rail is www.bahn.de where you can see travel time and prices.
If you want to go from Munich to the Rhine area north of Frankfurt, you have basically two routes.
1.) Go directly north to Nuremberg and then to Wuerzburg. In between you could fit places like Bamberg or Rothenburg.
2.) Go to the West to Strasbourg and then up the Rhine to the Mannheim area. Mannheim isn't really a hidden gem, to be honest, but there's a lot to see in the area, like Speyer or Heidelberg.
You could spend two days around Munich and then 3-4 days on one of these two routes. This would leave you with 1-2 days for the Rhine cruise. You could then maybe go on to Cologne, spend the night there and do a little sight-seeing and then continue in the direction of Normandy.
Have fun !!
The advantage of not booking ahead is obviously more flexibility but you might miss out on deals and some popular hotels might be full.
Take a look at www.hrs.de which lists the majority of hotel rooms. If you can book a room in a city tomorrow, you'll probably be able to do the same in September. (And if you put in the travel dates for September, you'll see whether there is a huge event somehwere because then the prices have already doubled.)
You can rent a car or you can travel by train. The train connections from Munich to the North-west are pretty good and there's more than enough to see for 7 days. The website of the German rail is www.bahn.de where you can see travel time and prices.
If you want to go from Munich to the Rhine area north of Frankfurt, you have basically two routes.
1.) Go directly north to Nuremberg and then to Wuerzburg. In between you could fit places like Bamberg or Rothenburg.
2.) Go to the West to Strasbourg and then up the Rhine to the Mannheim area. Mannheim isn't really a hidden gem, to be honest, but there's a lot to see in the area, like Speyer or Heidelberg.
You could spend two days around Munich and then 3-4 days on one of these two routes. This would leave you with 1-2 days for the Rhine cruise. You could then maybe go on to Cologne, spend the night there and do a little sight-seeing and then continue in the direction of Normandy.
Have fun !!
Mar 5th, 2010, 03:25 AM
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It's possible but the fastest connection I found was about 7 hours (to Caen) with switching trains several times. It's a long ride, in my opinion.
The trains seem to go via Luxmbourg and Paris, so it might make sense to interrupt the ride at one of the two places to make it more managable.
If you want to check for connections from other places, best use http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml You get to the website of the German rail in English. It allows to search for connections within the whole of Europe (but doesn't give the price outside Germany).
The trains seem to go via Luxmbourg and Paris, so it might make sense to interrupt the ride at one of the two places to make it more managable.
If you want to check for connections from other places, best use http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml You get to the website of the German rail in English. It allows to search for connections within the whole of Europe (but doesn't give the price outside Germany).
Mar 5th, 2010, 03:32 AM
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Cochem is an absolute gem - the type of town most Americans dream about but never really stay in - lots of cozy guesthouses with down comfortors, etc and the castle of your dream popping out of town center - vineyards swirl around town, set on one of the prettiest parts of the awesomely scenic Mosel Valley
The best route by rail would probably be to go from Cochem to Cologne and hop the Thalys to Paris - about 2.5 hours - switch stations -about an hour and then about two hours to Caen -5-6 hours plus an hour from Cocehm so about 7 hrs as hans says
The best route by rail would probably be to go from Cochem to Cologne and hop the Thalys to Paris - about 2.5 hours - switch stations -about an hour and then about two hours to Caen -5-6 hours plus an hour from Cocehm so about 7 hrs as hans says
Mar 5th, 2010, 10:06 AM
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If you do not go thru Switzerland to reach the Rhine/Cochem area then you can go right up thru France to Strasbourg - a really really reallly sweet city with a humungous cathedral that makes this cityeven nice - laced with canals the old-town is charming - then you have avant-garde new architecture in the outlying EU buildings - boats take you thru both the old and new town
Switzerland is fab but in your 7-day wide-ranging trip i'd cut it out or cut out Germany - the best part of Switzerland would take a whole day to get to from Avignon - i'm talking about the Jungfrau Region around Interlaken- the absolute highlight of Switzerland for tourists and an area you have to spend at least a few days in- so so much to see and do.
But if you go straight up thru Lyon to Strasbourg, then hop across the Rhine by train and catch the mainline to the Rhine Area - spend a day or two there then head to Frankfurt to catch the new TGV Est high-speed trains to Paris and over to Normandy.
And you will only be traveling in France and Germany and can then consider the much cheaper France and Germany railpass - a 2-country Eurailpass good on all trains in Germany and France and on the K-D Rhine gorge boats as well.
You will find a wealth of info on trains in Germany and France (and Switzerland too) from these fab sites i always highlight: www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com- download on the latter their free (and superb IMO) European Planning & Rail Guide that has chapters on each country with rail maps, itineraries, etc.
Switzerland is fab but in your 7-day wide-ranging trip i'd cut it out or cut out Germany - the best part of Switzerland would take a whole day to get to from Avignon - i'm talking about the Jungfrau Region around Interlaken- the absolute highlight of Switzerland for tourists and an area you have to spend at least a few days in- so so much to see and do.
But if you go straight up thru Lyon to Strasbourg, then hop across the Rhine by train and catch the mainline to the Rhine Area - spend a day or two there then head to Frankfurt to catch the new TGV Est high-speed trains to Paris and over to Normandy.
And you will only be traveling in France and Germany and can then consider the much cheaper France and Germany railpass - a 2-country Eurailpass good on all trains in Germany and France and on the K-D Rhine gorge boats as well.
You will find a wealth of info on trains in Germany and France (and Switzerland too) from these fab sites i always highlight: www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com- download on the latter their free (and superb IMO) European Planning & Rail Guide that has chapters on each country with rail maps, itineraries, etc.
Mar 6th, 2010, 07:27 AM
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Thanks Palenque and Hans. Although I hate to do it, I think you're right about skipping Switzerland. At initial planning stages we always seem to bite off more than we can chew. Last thing I want is one of those 8 cities in 7 days whirlwinds. But I'm having a hard time giving up Bavaria. Maybe I can take a day away from Paris on the end (3 instead of 4). That would give us 8 days from Avignon to Normandy. Would then spend time in Munich with a side trip to Garmisch or Fussen. Then to Strasbourg (Baden-Baden). Then the Rhine/Mosel (Cochem). Don't mind a couple of longish train rides. Still being unrealistic? What you think?
Mar 8th, 2010, 10:57 PM
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There's a direct train connection between Strasbourg and Paris which takes just a little over 2 hours. You could really save time if you skip the Rhine/Mosel part and instead spend some additional time in southern Germany.
You could add for example a trip to Nuremberg and Bamberg which are easy to reach from Munich or look for some place on the route between Munich and Strasbourg.
You could add for example a trip to Nuremberg and Bamberg which are easy to reach from Munich or look for some place on the route between Munich and Strasbourg.
Mar 9th, 2010, 06:58 AM
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The Strasbourg to Paris train, the TGV-Est, is one of the newest high-speed TGV trains and has set the world speed record for trains on tracks - well over 300 mph - it does not go that fast in service - only about 190 mph - but anyway this lets you experience Europes' ballyhooed high-speedtrains
Mar 11th, 2010, 07:53 AM
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Then the Rhine/Mosel (Cochem).>
A highlight along the Mosel IMO is Burg Eltz, one of Germany's most famous and cutest castles - it is located high above the serpentine Mosel Valley lovingly protruding out of a forest- one of the few really intact medieval castles along the Mosel or Rhine- as most were reduced to ruins by various armies-including many by Napoleon's
Anyway you can take a train to Moselkern and then either hike up on paths thru the forest to Burg Eltz or hop a cab or mini-bus there from the station (if you have a car you can drive up) - For a novel way to go to Moselkern, about 10 miles or less from Cochem is to rent a bike in Cochem - at the train station - and cycle down the Mosel Valley on the superb bike paths (one of Europe's primo cycling venues) and tie up the bikes at Moselkern - hike or taxi up (a really steep bike ride up but possible)and then put the bikes on the train to return to Cochem if not up to riding back.
Something different
A highlight along the Mosel IMO is Burg Eltz, one of Germany's most famous and cutest castles - it is located high above the serpentine Mosel Valley lovingly protruding out of a forest- one of the few really intact medieval castles along the Mosel or Rhine- as most were reduced to ruins by various armies-including many by Napoleon's
Anyway you can take a train to Moselkern and then either hike up on paths thru the forest to Burg Eltz or hop a cab or mini-bus there from the station (if you have a car you can drive up) - For a novel way to go to Moselkern, about 10 miles or less from Cochem is to rent a bike in Cochem - at the train station - and cycle down the Mosel Valley on the superb bike paths (one of Europe's primo cycling venues) and tie up the bikes at Moselkern - hike or taxi up (a really steep bike ride up but possible)and then put the bikes on the train to return to Cochem if not up to riding back.
Something different
