Monica

Hi everyone! I'm thinking (as usual) about my next trip to Europe and am considering Germany (other ideas are a Mediterranean cruise or Greece with a side trip to Istanbul). I was supposed to go to Germany in April on business for a week and was planning an extra 4 days for touring the nearby. I started to read about the area around Ramstein Air Base and saw many photos! Such a beautiful country with all the castles! And I think it would be great to go down the Rhine River and to drive along the Romantic Road. Also read about Munich, Heidelberg, and Cologne <BR> <BR>Anyway, I'd love to receive suggestions on where to go, the best route to get around without zigzagging, what to see; day trip suggestions (from cities you think would be good home bases); suggestions for small, inexpensive hotels (under a $100 or close to it), and restaurant suggestions (is there a Cheap Eats in Germany??). I'm thinking Berlin may be out of the way if I stick to the southern, western parts of Germany. Comments? <BR> <BR>Thank you in advance! <BR> <BR>

Tom

Monica, <BR> <BR>I've been to Germany on vacation five times, work for a German company, Siemens and will be going back again in November on business. <BR> <BR>I can tell you that it is one outstanding place to visit. I would suggest starting in Munich and making it my base for the first part of the trip. <BR> <BR>Munich is a large overgrown town with very friendly people. It has a nice square, the Marienplatz, wonderful beer hall atmosphere, friendly people and enough in the way of museums to keep you occupied. Try and stay at the Hotel Uhland, conveniently located about 4 blocks from the Marienplatz. Reasonably priced, huge German breakfast friendly people and can be found on the net. <BR> <BR>Day trips from Munich include Fussen and Ludwigs castles. Salzburg, Austria, about a 90 minute train ride is well worth the effort. <BR> <BR>I would leave Munich and drive through the Black Forest and spend the night at Freibourg. A wonderful little town with a magnificent Gothic church. Then on to Strasburg and Colmar France. <BR> <BR>Conveniently located near the Rhine and in Alsace these two little towns are a cant miss. <BR> <BR>Then travel North to Trier, Germany. The oldest city in Germany, it is populated with Roman ruins and from there you can take the Mosel River road all the way to Koblenz. The Mosel is famous for wine and wine tasting. Don't miss Burg Eltz, the very best medieval castle I've seen outside of Scotland. <BR> <BR>When you get to Koblenz, consider taking the KD boat to Koln and visit the impressive cathedral. Magnificent stained glass windows. Then come back and cruise along the Rhine and view the castles, they're everywhere, and possibly stop in Mainz. <BR> <BR>From there to Heidleburg, great little town and university. Then on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber a real gem of gems. It is a magnificent medieval city complete with intact walls. the best of its kind in most of Europe. wonderful restaurants, couple of interesting museums and a great sense of life in <BR>the middle ages. <BR> <BR>then take the Romantic Road back to Munich. hoist a few beers at the Hofbrauhaus, a touristy beer hall with an oompah band. Or go to the Augustiner Beer Hall or the.....fill in the blank. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps, you'll love Germany. E-mail me if I can provide any additional thoughts or help. <BR> <BR>Tom

Tom

Monica...correct e-mail address.

Tom

Monioca, <BR> <BR>I'm going to try this one more time <BR> <BR>e-mail <BR> <BR>[email protected]

Monica

Tom, thanks for all the great information! I'll start my research by purchasing a book on Germany and reading about the places you mentioned in your itinerary. Your itinerary sounds like a good one. Is Freibourg in the Black Forest? Do you recommend Strasburg and Colmar as day trips? <BR> <BR>What price range is the Hotel Uhland? <BR> <BR>Once I really get into my research, I may email you directly. Thanks again! <BR>

nickie

If you are going to be around Ramstein, it would not be that far to go on to the Neckar, where there are some really nice castles. One in particular is the Burg Guttenberg castle, where you can walk up several flights and see many antiques and interesting items, and they have a lovely falconry exhibition.There is a nice hotel called Burg Hornberg close to there, which is a little pricier than you wanted, but not bad. This location then, is not far from Rothenberg, a really quaint, albeit touristed city, and then on to the very best, Bavaria! Berchtesgaden is lovely, and Pfronten is a wonderful place to stay. If you don't mind stretching the budget a little, there is a wonderful hotel high in the hills of Pfronten , with terraces looking out to the magnificent Austrian Alps and the haunting floodlit ruins of Burg Falkenstein. I don't have the particulars in front of me, but I think it was around two hundred a night. If you're interested in any of the above, I will get you more details. <BR>Of course, if it's only four days, that might be a problem. The Rhine river cruise is very nice, and the Koln cathedral is so awesome pictures can't do it justice.

Nancy

Monica, <BR> <BR>I recently returned from visiting my sister in Huchenhousen (spelling) which is maybe 10 miles from Ramstien. It is very near Kaiserslatern. It is beautiful country. I found it much prettier than the countryside around Munich. We did a day trip to Trier. We drove to Bacharach (there & back is possible in one day) and stayed 2 nights & went to Koln (very big city, not easy to navigate in), went on the cruise from Bacharach to St. Goar which I think is the prettiest part of the Rhine. There are wonderful castles to see along this stretch. Even Pfalz castle which is in the middle of the Rhine itself! <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip!

Mary

We have been to Germany many times and we usually fly into Stuttgart (no need to deal with Frankfurt, which is huge). From there it is real easy to navigate. We generally wind up in the hinterlands where we might be lucky to find a menu in English. One of our favorite Black Forest towns is St. Margen. It's not too far from Triberg, where they make the cuckoo clocks. There's not too much to see there, but you are away from the crowds of tourists. There is an 11th century church there that is beautiful. I can try to dig up the name of the hotels we have stayed at in the past. <BR> <BR>We've not been to the northern parts of Germany, but Bavaria is so friendly and pretty. <BR> <BR>Are you planning to go into Austria? If so, we know of a little town about a half hour from Salzburg, called Sizenheim. Let me know if you'd like more info. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps.

kathy

Hi Monica. Next year is the live Passion Play is performed in Oberamegau(sp?). As I understand, it is a beautiful, and is only performed every ten years by the townspeople in thanksgiving for the safety of their city. When we were there in 1997, we walked the area and saw where the Last Supper is staged (+ the stored costumes). Although it will be crowded, it would be a memory for those lucky enough to visit. That particular area (Garmisch too - where past Olympics skiing was held) were delightful, friendly and like stepping back in a fairyland. My memory of the quiet town is still very vivid and enchanting (that's the word I wanted!).The advise above from posters far out weighs what I can contribute, but from seeing some of their suggestions up close, they are right on! We had difficulty navigating by car in the northern parts of Germany (our fault) because of roads not clearly marked and an outdated map we purchased before we left home (get one in Germany) - and there was tremendous construction at that time (rebuilding). Oktoberfest is not to be missed if you go in the Fall and are near Munich (we loved that city too). Great! If Germany is your next stop, you'll love it.

Linda

Berlin is a most incredible city with so much history, culture, friendly people, nightlife and sites. Koblenz is an interesting city with great wine. Hamelin (as in Pied Piper fame) is a cute small city.

Joe

Monica, Don't count Berlin out. It's easy to reach by train and is a spectacular place. We visited in '97 and saw one of the great world cities restoring itself. This year should be the best time to go with the government returning and most of the historical restoration finished. Plus the museums are worth the trip themselves. We stayed at the Gendarm Garni(sp), a nice $100/day hotel in an esepcially beautiful area.

Monica

Wow! Thanks to all for the great information. I certainly have a lot of reading to do. There are many places to visit and I'm sure 2 weeks will not be enough! Joe, I won't forget about Berlin. I know it's supposed to be a great place to visit. I just don't want to hop all over the place where I would miss some other special place. I always remind myself there are trips in the future for us! Once I start to narrow down my plans or after reading I find I have more questions, I will contact you all again. Thanks!

Mike

I like your idea of focusing your trip on a small area. One idea might be to do what I call the two "R's" instead of the Romantic Road. Rothenburg is touristy but still fun - especially if you stay overnight and get up really early and walk the wall. However, consider dropping by Regensburg, east of Rothenburg. Regensburg is a bit off the beaten path and makes for a fine visit. The walking tour provided by the tourist office is excellent. Make Rothenburg your touristy 14th Century playground and Regensburg your off the tourist trail history lesson -- provides a wonderful history from Roman times, medieval, Gothic, and Baroque. Morever, the town was not damaged during WWII. I would spend a day and a half in Rothenburg and then take a train or drive east to Regensburg - spend the night and then head to Munich in the Morning. After Munich consider picking up a rental car at Garmish and doing a circular tour of Bavaria and the Tyrol...2 days will do. I am not a big black forest fan...I think Bavaria has more travel thrills to offer, however you may read about this region and feel otherwise. Have fun. Probst!!

Dave

It's been several years, but in general this should still be true: <BR> <BR>For cheap food, there are walk-up "Schnell-Imbiss" stands which sell Wurst, Schnitzel, etc. I always enjoyed getting Schnitzel and Frittes (deep fried veal cutlet and fries/chips) from these. Sort of the German equivalent of chip shops in the UK or hot-dog carts in the US. <BR> <BR>There are also lots of Bakereis and Konditereis (confectionaries) with some really great pastries (keep in mind that these are the people who make Black Forest Cake!) for breakfast, or whenever. <BR> <BR>In many cities there is a "Ratskeller" (Town Hall Cellar) restaurant beneath the Rathaus, which serves traditional German food. Also, I believe you can get food in many Biergartens and pubs as well. I had some great pork chops in a pub - quite inexpensive, as I recall. Most places which serve food have menus or price boards outside, so you can compare before going in. <BR> <BR>There are also lots of foreign restaurants. I spent a summer in a VERY small town, and there were two Greek restaurants, one or two Chinese restaurants, and a pizza parlor. <BR> <BR>You shouldn't have much trouble finding places to eat, whatever your budget. Being able to compare menus from outside is a big help. And there is enough regional diversity to make things interesting. <BR>

Dave

If you can fit Trier into your itinerary, I will add my pitch to those above. For its size, I think it's one of the most interesting places I've ever been. It has the best of two very different worlds. One the one hand, it was (briefly) capital of the Western Roman Empire - Constantine made it his official residence for about 10 years before moving to Byzantium. There are some really great Roman ruins, including Trier's signature "Porta Nigra" (a huge black sandstone gatehouse), an ampitheatre, and the Imperial Baths. <BR> <BR>In Medieval times, Trier was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire. There is a lavish Rococo palace and an impressive Cathedral. Trier also has a picture-perfect town square, some very colorful half-timbered buildings, and several beautiful small churches.

Kate

You've got some great ideas to work with. We just got back from 2 weeks in the Bavarian Alps (and Vienna). The area near Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, etc. is beautiful. I've been to the Black Forest too, but I like mountains better.

Monica

Thanks for the recent postings. I was in Deerfield, MA for 5 days visiting family. <BR> <BR>I appreciate all the postings and plan to get to the bookstore today and buy one on Germany. <BR> <BR>Dave, Trier is one place I'd love to visit. I have read that it's very interesting and has a lot of Roman ruins. And thanks for the eating suggestions. Sounds great! <BR> <BR> <BR>

Dave

Monica, <BR> <BR>If you decide to visit Trier and want more accomodation options, consider Luxembourg City. There should be good train connections, and LC is well worth a visit on its own merits. (It's one of the most scenic places I've ever visited.)

Monica

Dave, thanks for the information. I purchased my Insight Guide book on Germany and have started to read it. I'll probably ask more questions in the near future!