ALKHAN

Hi there, I'm planning a trip to Europe in about a month, this idea started with my dream to visit Oktoberfest! I am single, 30 years old, I live in Los Angeles. Looking to do some partying, sightseeing, enjoying the culture, and also relaxing. I am considering first flying to Amsterdam spending 3 days there, from there spending a couple of days in Stuttgart to check out the festival there and the city/town, I will eventually be arriving in Munich for Oktoberfest! =left
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This will be a solo trip unless I can find someone with a free as schedule as I. I would love to spend at least 4 days in Munich, or as many days as it takes to fully enjoy the festival, Munich, and Bavaria! I want to check out the beer halls in old town and enjoy the culture, sights, and meet locals and tourists. I also would love to see Neuschwanstein castle and go inside if possible, and whatever else you recommend in Bavaria.=left
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This will be my first time in Europe. I don't know where to stay/hotel in Munich so its not too expensive. I know that I am planning this trip last minute as I've read people plan a year ahead. I've heard it is very expensive to stay near the festival if anything is available, so maybe I can stay on the outskirts and take public transportation to the festival? What general advice would you give me regarding this trip? I appreciate your suggestions very much! If you can give me general advice on the entire trip, great!. If you prefer only to advise regarding Munich, I appreciate that as well.=left
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Here is what I have planned so far, please let me know what you think..=left
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I want to fly from LAX Wednesday night September 25th around 11pm directly to Amsterdam, which means I would arrive in Amsterdam Thursday evening September 26th about 6pm? I will get settled in or maybe go out for a couple of hours then sleep and wake up well rested Friday September 27th=left
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I think 3 full days in Amsterdam is enough to enjoy it without getting bored=left
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Monday morning September 30th I want to take the earliest train possible to Stuttgart, Germany. I think the earliest train leaves at 8am and the fastest route is 5 hours, which means I will be arriving in Stuttgart about 1pm. The second largest beer festival happens in Stuttgart. I'll enjoy the rest of the day at the festival and sleep in Stuttgart. =left
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The next morning Tuesday October 1st I'll explore Stuttgart until about 4pm. I want to get on the train to Munich by 4pm. The train to Munich is about 2 hours so I should arrive in Munich around 6pm. =left
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When I arrive in Munich I'll get settled in or maybe go out for a couple of hours. =left
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The next morning Wednesday October 2nd I will spend the day at Oktoberfest. =left
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Thursday October 3rd I will either spend the day in the city and old town sight seeing, or go to the Bavarian country side out of town for sight seeing, nature, alps mountains, etc. =left
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Friday October 4th I will spend the day at Oktoberfest. =left
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Saturday October 5th I will either spend the day in the city and old town sight seeing, or go to the Bavarian country side out of town for sight seeing, nature, alps mountains, etc. =left
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Sunday October 6th I will fly home to Los Angeles sometime in the afternoon.

Macross

Glad you plan to do Stugggart fest first as you would be disappointed doing it second. It really disappointed us but we got dropped there unexpected on a military flight so made the best of it. Book a hotel in Munich quickly and don't be afraid to book in a town outside as long as you are close to a train station.

jeffreycwuk

As you will stay in Stuttgart for less than 48 hrs, you may wish to utilise the 48 hours free stopover on Deutsche Bahn website. When you book your train ticket, you can check if you could enter From Amsterdam to Munich via Stuttgart. The stopover would be say, 27 hours. If you have already booked the accommodation in Munich, you should select the train station closest to your accommodation as the destination.

ALKHAN

I might skip Stuttgart because the main reasons for me going there was the festival and the MBZ and Porsche museums, but it may be redundant to go to Stuttgart for the beer festival since I am spending 4 days in Munich and will be attending Oktoberfest there. What do you think? I was able to book 4 nights at a hotel 0.5 Km from Theresenwiese for about 150 Euros per night or about 800 total. its a 2 star hotel but it will do, Im glad its close and was able to get something last minute. As far as the transportation to the sights/torns I mentioned, I was thinking, I've always wanted to drive a fast car on the German Autobahn and this may be my chance. I plan on renting a BMW M car and driving it from Munich to Landhut, then Regensburg, then Nuremburg, then back down to Munich. Will be driving on the autobahn 92, 93, 3 and 9 respectively. I was reading an article that stated in June of this year there were some temporary? speed limits issues for some or all parts of the Autobahn becasue the 100+ degree weather may cause cracks to the road which is dangerous for fast drivers. Is this true? If it is true, then I would rather take public transportation since I wont be able to fully enjoy the autobahn, and renting the car will be more expensive than using public transportation. Also, I plan on renting the car and implementing this plan on October 3rd, which happens to be a holiday (German Unity day) I'm assuming people will be off work and the autobahn may be congested with traffic? This would spoil the experience as well. Do you happen to know the status of these roads, speed limits, and if there will be traffic? I really appreciate your help. Thank you!

ALKHAN

[color=left=#323232]I might skip Stuttgart because the main reasons for me going there was the festival and the MBZ and Porsche museums, but it may be redundant to go to Stuttgart for the beer festival since I am spending 4 days in Munich and will be attending Oktoberfest there. What do you think? I was able to book 4 nights at a hotel 0.5 Km from Theresenwiese for about 150 Euros per night or about 800 total. its a 2 star hotel but it will do, Im glad its close and was able to get something last minute. As far as the transportation to the sights/torns I mentioned, I was thinking, I've always wanted to drive a fast car on the German Autobahn and this may be my chance. I plan on renting a BMW M car and driving it from Munich to Landhut, then Regensburg, then Nuremburg, then back down to Munich. Will be driving on the autobahn 92, 93, 3 and 9 respectively. I was reading an article that stated in June of this year there were some temporary? speed limits issues for some or all parts of the Autobahn becasue the 100+ degree weather may cause cracks to the road which is dangerous for fast drivers. Is this true? If it is true, then I would rather take public transportation since I wont be able to fully enjoy the autobahn, and renting the car will be more expensive than using public transportation. Also, I plan on renting the car and implementing this plan on October 3rd, which happens to be a holiday (German Unity day) I'm assuming people will be off work and the autobahn may be congested with traffic? This would spoil the experience as well. Do you happen to know the status of these roads, speed limits, and if there will be traffic? I really appreciate your help. Thank you!

ALKHAN

Also, I know I need a power plug adapter because my US appliances (laptop charger, cellphone charger, etc) the US plugs will not fit in the European outlets. Do I also need a voltage converter? I understand that the voltage in Germany is 230 Volts, in the US its 110 Volts. Is there a combination of these two in one product? Please recommend, thank you!

ALKHAN

Another thing, Im on the Bahn website buying a train from Amsterdam to Munich first class, next question it asks me is Super Sparpreis Europa for 80 Euro OR Sparpreis Europa for 92 Euro... The first one has none of these includes, but the 2nd one includes


1. Cancellation before 1st day of validity subject to a fee in exchange for voucher

2. City-Ticket Included


My questions are what is a city ticket? and does the cancellation option benefit me? I am considering stopping in Stuttgart for a couple of hours on the way to Munich, so I can check out the MBZ and Porsche museums

StCirq

No, you do not need a voltage converter, just a plug adapter.

ALKHAN

Ok new plan, about 3 days in Amsterdam, 4 days in Munich, maybe Austria after Munich, so far I reserved my hotel in Munich and the train from Amsterdam, need to get the hotel in Amsterdam and flight tickets

Amsterdam: 3 days, things to do
Rent a bike then canal tour? Try stropwafel, Dutch pancakes (go to pancakes Amsterdam or pancake bakery) herring, de ballenbar bitterballs (fried ragu), puffiches, kapsalon, Nasigoyn(indonesian)
Foodhallen
Albert cuyp market
Anne Frank house (buy tickets)
Rembrandt square nightlife
Adam lookout sunset
Check out Haarlem town Jopenkerk brewery
Friday 1pm organ concert Haarlem
Enkhuisen old Dutch town life
Coffee shops: Greenhouse, dampkring, boerenjongens
Red light district : Casa rossa sex show, prostitution museum , sex museum
Drink Absinth
Bars/Clubs: cafe bulldog, cafe cox, paradiso, mellweg, de school, studio 80, sugar factory, club air, club nyx
Vrolik deformity museum, smallest house in Europe, blue 360 restaurant,
Visit Jordaan (nice part of town)
Vondel park


Munich/Bavaria:

Day 1: Explore Munich
Day 2: Festival
Day 3: Rent a car, autobahn, North Bavaria
Day 4: Festival
Day 5: South Bavaria

Oktoberfest: Beer tents, Oide wiesn (classic area), Rides, wiesnkoks if tired

Munich: Marienplatz, St Peters Church, Asam Church, Munich Residenz palace, Nymphenurg palace, Deutsches museum, Spaten brewery, BMW museum, Hofbrauhaus beer hall, Opera house

Munich beerhalls: Hofbrauhaus, Augustiner Keller & Braustuben, Lowenbrau Keller, Paulaner Bauhaus, English garden Chinese beer garden

Northern Bavaria: Rent car in Munich and explore following towns in 1 day

Landshut: Trausnitz castle, St Martin Church

Regensburg: Explore old town, Peter's cathedral, Old Bridge, St. Emmeram church, Alten Kapelle church, Porta Praetoria (old Roman wall), Historischd museum, Schottenportal (Scottish church stone entrance)

Nuremburg: Explore old town, Nazi rally center, Christmas market, Nurnberg castle, St Lorenz church, St Sebaldus church, Germanisches museum,

Dachau: Concentration camp

Furstelfeldbrück: Church & skeletons

On a seperate day explore southern Bavaria, spots below

Southern Bavaria: Neuschwanstein castle, Hohenschwangau castle, Eibsee lake, Zugspitze tallest mountain, Herreninsel palace, berchtesgaden (salt mine and kehlsteinhaus aka Hitler's eagles nest)


Maybe after Munich spend a few days in Austria


Austria:

Salzburg:
Mozart dinner concert
Untersburg cable car
Mozarthaus
St Abby church 696 AD
Hohensburg fortress
Eat quesaspetzl
Go to countryside lake district
Sakzkamergut lake district
Luje/metal slide (rollerbahn)
Hallstatt lake town


Innsbruck:
Hungerburg fenicular
Hafelekarspirtze view mountain chairlift
Hofkirche
Cathedral
Stubai glacier ski
Skii
Tyrolean evening show (gundolf family)
Hofburg palace

menachem

This is all standard tourist "youtube" and "instagram" stuff. Most of this is standard tourist trap stuff.

Cafe Cox is out of business. Bulldog is severely disappointing and very expensive. De School is good, but book way well in advance, same goes for the other clubs you mention.
Vrolik museum is in the AMC Hospital in Amsterdam Zuidoost (take metro there)
The other things are all facilitated to the utmost degree. Check my thread "Amsterdam as a tourist", where I explore all this.

Rembrandt square: don't go there. It's tacky and well overrated.

Your coffeeshops: all three are excellent. Boerenjongens not to sit and smoke though, and their staff is quite unfriendly.

Sassafrass

ALKHAN

Thank you for your response, I have to jump on a train to Munich Tuesday October 1st in the morning, so Im planning on departing from LAX Thursday evening (will land in Amsterdam about 5pm Friday) which will give me all of , Saturday, Sunday and Monday to experience Amsterdam and maybe something in the surrounding, is this enough? or is it too much time? Maybe I can land in Amsterdam a day later and have all of Sunday and Monday to explore.. please make some recommendations, I want a mix of touristy stuff, must do's in Amsterdam/Dutch experience, but also some authentic things too

ALKHAN

Yes I agree its a lot to do for each day, concerning Northern Bavaria, I could skip Dachau and Feldenfurstbruck, I was going to Dachau to see the camp and Felden to see the church and bejeweled skeletons

concerning Southern Bavaria, what should I change? I was hoping to see all things listed in the south, they sound so interested

suze

I don't think you can do all those things in Amsterdam into only a 3 day visit! I've only been once for 4-5 days and only hit a very few of the things on your list. Definitely keep Vondelpark (if the weather is nice) and you might want to add Leidseplein square at night (street performers, bars, etc.). About half the things on that list I'd scratch. Just not that interesting and you don't have enough time.

cgenster

menachem

Sorry to disappoint you, but there are no authentic Dutch things on your list.

For Amsterdam, 3 days is luxury. Haarlem (on your list) is 15 minutes from Amsterdam by train, Utrecht about 25 minutes. Saturday will not be one of your better days because of jetlag, so why not use that to hang out in Jordaan. Sunday: always lots to do in Amsterdam on Sundays, maybe a museum in the morning and some hanging out and smoking in the afternoon, and a good club at night.
Monday often is a bit slower, tourist-wise, and many museums will be closed, so perhaps that could be the day for your excursion to another city. The entire western part of the Netherlands is one agglomeration, basically, with very good train connections, so for a day trip, you can travel extensively, without it taking too much of your time.
If De School or Sugar Factory have a good line up, go there. Especially De School.

Alternatives to tourist spots:

Jordaan: instead of going to Winkel, go to Hegeraad or Papeneiland, or Kat in de Wijngaard, for a more authentic Jordaan experience. For dinner in Jordaan, De Koevoet is a secret address.
Restaurant Koevoet

Museumplein: instead of the kiosks near the museums, have lunch, or even dinner at Keyzer, next to the Concertgebouw
Keyzerlijk Genieten - Brasserie de Keyzer

Spui/Dam: instead of a pancake place or a tourist eatery near the RLD, go to Luxembourg on Spui for civilized lunch
https://www.cafeluxembourg.amsterdam/

Leidseplein: instead of Lange Leidsedwarsstraat with its pizza/cocaine restaurants, go to De Balie for coffee, or Reynders and Eylders for drinks and bar food.
https://www.cafereynders.nl/en/#2

And lastly: have fondue at Bern, and thank me later
Home english | Welkom bij Café Bern

ALKHAN

Hi Cgenster, I agree its a lot to see, before I get there or once I'm there I will prioritize which places in Munich I want to see the most and see as much as I can until I'm out of time, or something like that. As far as the Southern Bavaria day, yes I am starting at Neuschwanstein castle, then heading East to the other Southern Bavarian places I'd like to see such as Hohenschwangau Eibsee, Zugspitze, Herreninsel, Berchtesgaden, hopefully I can see them all before night time, or I can skip some of the places, I know I'm being optimistic with my time lol. I'm excited for the beer tents at Oktoberfest but also definitely want to check out Hofbrauhaus and maybe another beer hall in Munich, just to get the full experience, so much to see and do, I hope I have enough time, I also added an extra day to my flight and purchased a hotel in Salzburg, I want to see the castle there, Mozart concert in the palace, Mozart house, and maybe the country side too, I'll have all of the 6th and 7th of October to enjoy it

ALKHAN

I'll be arriving in Amsterdam Friday about 5 pm, will get settled in the hotel and hopefully get to enjoy the night, Im sure I will be jetlagged but hopefully get a good nights rest and start fresh Saturday. Thank you for the ideas/recommendations of places and restaurants, I will definitely take your advice and research things to do in Haarlem, Jordaan, and Ultrecht. Those restaurants/cafes look amazing too. its about 4am here so sleep is overdue, but tomorrow I will definitely do some more research based on your recommendations, thanks again!

cgenster

menachem

You're welcome. Because of my photography project I now know the usual places that get recommended here and on tripadvisor a lot. I've tried to give you addresses that Dutch people use and tourists not so much (although Hegeraad is starting to be part of the tourist trail as well)

Enjoy Amsterdam!