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Amsterdam and Germany (Bremen) in November

Amsterdam and Germany (Bremen) in November

Old Aug 17th, 2015, 10:48 AM
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Amsterdam and Germany (Bremen) in November

We are traveling to Amsterdam with our three children (9, 9, and 12) in November over the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be in Amsterdam for three or four nights and would then like to take a side trip to Germany, as we'll then have an additional 4 nights. We don't mind driving and I would like to go to Bremen to the Christmas market. Any suggestions in Bremen or area for things to do with older kids? They like to be active, love sports but also can appreciate a museum for a little while (typically more modern art keeps them interested - think MOMA or Centre Pompidou!). Any suggestions are welcome, it's our first trip to any part of Germany!
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Old Aug 17th, 2015, 12:08 PM
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Why Bremen = a nice city but not one with much of touristic interest for 4 days - why not say Munich where there is a surfeit of interesting day trips - like to Dachau - even young kids can appreciate the sobering place - or even Neuschwanstein Castle - europe's most famous castle is easily reached by car or train.

You know that renting a car in one country and return in another can result in STEEP drop-off fees - Nurnberg has one of Germany's finest Christmas markets and is a short day trip by train or car - Munich has interesting museums - a nice drive would be to take the train to Cologne - check out the huge Gothic cathedral and rent a car and drive via say Heidelberg - one of the few German towns not blitzed in WW2 to Munich - stopping in Stuttgart for its highly acclaimed modern art museum or to take the famed Meercedes-Benz factory tour - end up in Munich, fly out of there - driving can be fun and fast in Germany with no speed limits on about 60% of autobahns - like the Indy 500!

Or go by overnight train from Amsterdam to Munich - get a 4-person private compartment and bring food and drink aboard - my son at that age thought that that was so so cool - then either use public transportation once in Munich or rent a car - Salzburg, Austria is a short train ride away and it too has a celebrated Christmas market - as does Munich and every German town.

Maybe Bremen's is famous I don't know but I've been to several and they all are fun for folks.

For train info check www.bahn.de/en - German Railways official site with discounted tickets say Amsterdam to Bremen or Cologne or the InterCityNightliner - CNL night train to Munich (http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/pr...t-travel.shtml). For general train info - www.seat61.com - good dinfo on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. It is easy to book your own tickets on www.bahn.de/en.

Well did not anser your question but thought you might want to consider some other places - northern Germany can also be especially cool and dank and dark in late autumn.

But if driving and not returning to Holland check drop-off fees.
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Old Aug 17th, 2015, 03:21 PM
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Are you flying back out of Amsterdam - if so your car rentals will be fine - if dropping off in Geramny may cost a ton. If driving back to Amsterdam consider taking a different route than you take up - like driving over the Enclosing Dyke that separates the old Zuider Zee - now the Ijlsmeer (sp?) from the North Sea and then down to Amsterdam from the north - stop by Edam or Enkhuizen to experience some sweet regional towns - Hoorn too.

Hamburg is not far from Bremen and is a wonderful place - take a boat ride thru the waterways of the Venice of the North - but may not run in November, a dicey time of year for this area. If into car plant tours VW may have one in Wolfsburg, the HQ factory not far away - not sure.
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Old Aug 17th, 2015, 04:30 PM
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There's no need to travel to southern Germany when you have just 4 days, including transport, and you need to return to A'dam.

You know your family best and are best qualified to pick out things to do with them at that time of year. (Cruising is an interesting suggestion but probably isn't one of them.) Below are some resources for you.

Bremen is a lovely town.

https://www.bremen.de/tourism

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...es-Bremen.html



Near Bremen is Oldenburg:

http://www.oldenburg.de/sprachversio...ty-centre.html

http://www.oldenburg.de/sprachversio...e/museums.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...er_Saxony.html


Bremerhaven is also very close:

http://www.bremerhaven.de/tourism/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...emerhaven.html
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Old Aug 18th, 2015, 01:43 PM
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I'd say Cologne is just as close or closer to Amsterdam and has more of whatever than Bremen - but I just wondered why Bremen (and yes it is IMLimitedE there nice- Bremerhaven too - but for a few days coming from Amsterdam and back I'd consider Cologne and Dusseldorf and that area too.

Why Bremen and why not - or is the Christmas Market so so famous there above others?

Originally I thought they were not going back to Amsterdam and thus my Munich suggestions but no if they go back to Amsterdamned then somewhere close like Dusseldorf/Cologne or slight farther in the grim grim north at that time of year - Bremen.
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Old Aug 18th, 2015, 04:29 PM
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Bremen is very pretty. You could use it as an opportunity to introduce your children to the Grimm's Fairy Tales - there is a statue of the 4 Bremen town musicians (a rooster, a cat, a dog and a donkey), and it is said if you grasp the hooves of the donkey that you will return to Bremen. It is also the start of the German Fairy Tale Route if you decide to drive further. Near Bremen is the open air museum in Cloppenburg - check if open at your time of travelling (Freilichtmuseum Cloppenburg), which has houses from all over North Germany transported there. And on the road between Bremen and Groningen is Meyer Werft, where they build cruise ships. I think you can go on a tour of the facility. On the way I would also stop in Groningen (NL), which is a seriously old city. Near Groningen is a tiny star-shaped village called Bourtange, which has been restored to its 17th century appearance and is worth a visit.

If you are driving from Amsterdam you should definitely cross over the Afsluitdijk, which cuts the IJsselmeer off from the North Sea. There is a cafe with photos of the building of the dyke halfway along it and you can park your car and have a good look around.


Lavandula
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Old Aug 19th, 2015, 12:42 PM
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Bremen sounds like a winner and I did that drive once over the Afsluitdijk - awesome!
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Old Aug 19th, 2015, 02:49 PM
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I am going to make a different suggestion.

For charming and picturesque Christmas markets, go to Bruges and Brussels in Belgium. They have ice skating rinks set up in some of the town/city squares. Kids should enjoy that.

They have a ferris wheel or carousel and horse drawn carriages. They are easy to get to by train.

Bruges is gorgeous anyway, a magical place at night. Add the Christmas market and it will be perfect. There are also some nice galleries and museums. Of course - fabulous food!

You could base in one place and visit several others, a new one each day. Close by also is Ghent. Their Christmas market opens later, I think. Check dates. It is still a beautiful place to visit as well as Antwerp. You can visit all of these on very short, cheap train trips.
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Old Aug 19th, 2015, 06:15 PM
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I haven't been to Bremen, but if it were me, I agree with Sassafrass and I'd go to Bruges. You may have to get a little creative in getting there, as I don't think you can get a train non-stop, but driving may simplify matters.

In Amsterdam, definitely take the kids for pancakes! They are the best and perfect for kids of all ages!
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Old Aug 20th, 2015, 05:46 AM
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Thanks for the suggestions! We have all been to Bruges, Ghent and Brussels so although close to Amsterdam we were looking for something different. Chose Bremen because we wanted to go to Germany, Christmas market, smaller town and driving distance because we will be returning to Amsterdam. The drive over the Afsluitdijk sounds like a way to make the trip fun too.

I had heard that outdoor places such as ropes courses were popular in Germany - anyone know if true and any in the area? From a cold climate in the U.S. and a family of skiers, we are fine with outside activities in any weather.
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