I'm doing some late-ish planning for a December 2008 trip to Germany. I found decent fares and am flying into and out of Düsseldorf (arriving Dec 12 and departing Dec 21). My daughter is studying in Berlin for a year, and I will be visiting her for a few days (and we will travel home together). I will have several days to travel solo (I'm a early-50's female).

I've been to Germany several times, including 3 visits to Berlin in the past 2 years. I am excited to get back to that city!

My initial thought is to base myself out of either Düsseldorf or Cologne for the first 2 or 3 nights, seeing both of those cities and taking a day trip to Aachen. I visited Cologne for 2 nights last year, and would like to see more of the Romanesque churches. Which city should be my base? I'd like to stay in the old stadt and be able to walk to a nice Christmas market, if possible. Also, easy access to the train for day trips would be great. I'm leaning towards Düsseldorf, but have never been there (that's part of the attraction).

I'll probably stay for 4-5 nights in Berlin, with a possible day trip or two from there. I have 1-2 nights that I could go to another town/city, but I could also add it to Berlin and do more day trips (saving me a lot of moving around, since I'll be carrying some things for my daughter).

I'm looking for atmospheric places preferably with Christmas markets featuring handmade items. I'd love to get back to Dresden, but it's a bit out of the way (and a bit far for a day trip from Berlin). I've never been to Hamburg, so would love some info on that city in December.

There's lots of info on markets in Southern Germany, but not as much guidance for the northern half. I'd appreciate your help!

I'm not clear on something - you think Dresden is out of the way and too far from Berlin for a day-trip but you think Hamburg might be an option?

Dresden is about 160 km from Berlin and Hamburg is about 260.

I see what you mean Aramis. But one thought would be to stop in Hamburg between Cologne/Duesseldorf and Berlin. Also, I think there's a very fast train that runs from Berlin to Hamburg, making it more feasible for a day trip. But I probably should consider Dresden also.

Hi noe, it looks like it's time for you to putter around northern germany again!

Here are some facts:
Berlin-Hamburg takes 90 minutes by ICE train.
Berlin-Dresden takes 2 hours by EC direct train, or 3 hours by ICE train via Leipzig.
Berlin-Leipzig takes less than one hour by ICE train.

Both Hamburg and Leipzig have a very dense concentration of shopping inside their Innenstadt, but Hamburg has more indoor interconnecting shopping Passagen which are great for the winter weather. Hamburg has a nice metropolitan feeling, more upscale,grown up and sophisticated than Cologne even Duesseldorf.

Leipzig is smaller to explore(but more weather exposure due to less interconnecting Passagen)and has more churches with easy access and a big music hall. Leipzig has a large student population, has more of the DDR quaintness.

I'm no expert, but I do know that some of the most touted Romanesque cathedrals in Europe can be found in Mainz, Worms, and Speyer.

Mainz has a bustling and attractive Christmas market right at the cathedral (Dom) and would make a good base in winter - large enough to provide some downtime entertainment. There's a small but nicely preserved pre-war pedestrians-only quarter with cobblestones, cafes and wine bars south of the Dom along Augustinerstrasse, and a larger, more modern shopping zone to the south. Mainz is a short train ride from Rüdesheim, which has a really atmospheric Christmas market

Speyer, furthest south, is a nice city about an hour away by regional train; it also has a nice Christmas market.

I haven't been to Worms in many years - don't remember much about it.

A regional daypass to see these towns from Mainz would run about 19 Euros.

I like DAX's idea of a day trip (or an overnight) to Leipzig. It has a very atmospheric Christmas Market on the main square, right in front of the Renaissance town hall. If you haven't been there yet, then this would be a great city to explore. I like the shopping arcades a lot. That aside you might try to attend a (Christmas) concert in the Gewandhaus or the St. Thomas church where Bach was cantor. Fabulous!

I.

noe,
I did a similar solo trip in May. I flew into Dusseldorf, hopped a train to Hamburg and spent 4 days there with a side trip to Lubeck. From Hamburg I went by train to Leipzig for a couple of days. From Leipzig I took the train to Cologne for four days and spent the last night in Dusseldorf.

I liked Cologne better than Dusseldorf. In Cologne I was able to visit six of the old Romanesque churches. There is an interesting beer in Dusseldorf, called something like Alt Dusseldorf. Very dark and heavy, but good. Lots of people drink it for breakfast. Dusseldorf would be great for a pub crawl, wall-to-wall beer halls with a Thai place thrown in here and there. Dusseldorf is so close to Cologne that it would be easy to get there for a day or two and use Cologne as a base.

I'm not sure why you want to go to Aachen. The Christmas market wasn't very impressive, in my opinion. Nice Cathedral.

I really enjoyed Hamburg. It was a nice diversion from Berlin. Was it better than Berlin? No - just different. Interesting architecture, some wonderful mansions, and a lewd, sleazy red light district. Great seafood.

Leipzig is interesting. A lot of construction was going on when I was there. There was also a gothic-punk convention of sorts going on while at the same time. My hotel was full of black leather, chains, tatoos, piercings, black spiky hair, high healed boots, etc. It was like one of those disco vampire movies. Kind of cool. I love Bach, so there is a draw for me in Leipzig.

Good luck with the planning.

Hi noe!

I'm not expert, but have you been to Dessau? There're plenty of Bauhaus architecture, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

>>Nice Cathedral.<<

What an ignorant barbarian wrote this!

In this cathedral Charlemagne was crowned in the year 800 - this is certainly more than "nice".

Besides, Aachen has a fine medieval city hall, warm springs/spas and some nice restaurants (go to the historic Postwagen, tucked at the city hall's wall).

You will enjoy Düsseldorf. It is a city with many faces:

- Germany's most elegant shopping street, the Königsallee.

- A vibrant riverwalk, with architecture of five centuries.

- The baroque Friedrichstadt.

- Germany's most spectacular museums of modern and contemporary art.

- The Altstadt with hundreds of bars and restaurants ("Altbier" is served there).

- Two fine baroque churches, including the Maxkirche where Schumann and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy worked as organists.

- In the vicinity, the Neanderthal Museum, a state-of-the-art museum of mankind (including the original bones of the Neanderthal Man).

As mentioned, Düsseldorf is close to Cologne, so it does not matter too much where you stay. Nightlife is more exciting in Düsseldorf, so it might be reasonable to stay there overnight.

BTW, this is my favourite hotel in Düsseldorf (best location in town):

http://www.hotel-orangerie-mcs.de/

Why not base yourself in Dusseldorf for 3 days...at least you can shake off a little jet lag. We will be flying into and out of Dusseldorf in late November to visit relatives there, our exchange student in Cologne and take in several Christmas Markets in the area.Aachen, Trier, Bernkastel Kues,Cochem, Rudesheim, and Cologne

If you visit the website www.cometogermany.com/christmas_markets you can order a free booklet listing all the Christmas Markets as well as city maps of Dusseldorf and Cologne. They come from the US so should arrive rather quickly. Also www.duesseldorf-weihnachtsmarkt.de, go to the places and streets section and you will find a full list of all the markets near/in the Alstat.

Happy travels

I also enjoy Aachen, not just for the "nice" cathedral but also for the whole town quaint atmosphere itself. The oldtown is built on a gentle shallow bowl instead of on a flat plain, so you get a unique view of the town as you meander through the alleys in the pedestrianized center.

>>What an ignorant barbarian wrote this!

Yes, Ignorant Barbarian is my middle name.


JNLYBJ

"What an ignorant barbarian wrote this!"

Traveler1959 - why don't you come up with a name for yourself that reflects the content of your wonderfully personal barb?

And Bird, is that Bird "Ignorant Barbarian" Something, or

Something "Ignorant Barbarian" Bird?

Thanks everyone, for the extremely helpful info. With all these great suggestions, I have lots of great leads to check out as I continue planning this trip.

As for Aachen, the (nice) Cathedral is exactly why I want to visit. I studied art history (and a lot of medieval history and religion also) at university, so I'm really excited about seeing the church. And now that I'm traveling solo, I can go there. None of my family members will agree to go to Aachen because of a bad travel experience we had in 2003. My husband, two daughters and I visited Germany, Austria and Prague, flying into Brussels (best tickets I could find) and taking a train to Regensburg (with one scheduled connection, I think). Right outside Aachen, our ICE train came to a halt. There had been some sort of bomb threat in Aachen, and the train could not continue. Our fast easy train journey turned into a jet-lagged ordeal of taxi to the next station then multiple local/regional trains until we finally reached Regensburg many hours late and totally exhausted. We had not planned to stop in Aachen on that trip, and now none of my family members will consider visiting Aachen because of the ordeal we had there.

Anyway, the Christmas markets will not be my only focus. I've been to Germany two other times in December and have seen the markets in several lovely Southern German towns/cities. The art and architecture are equally important to me, and you all have given some wonderful suggestions in this regard.

I'll look forward to reading further thoughts and contributions. But play nice, okay?

Sorry for my remark.

I didn't expect that someone took it seriously.

Footballers sometimes play rough but always hearty.

Besides history and culture, Aachen has some culinary delights.

I mentioned the Postwage for its historical ambiance (and decent food):

http://www.ratskeller-aachen.de/inde...mp;p=Postwagen

If you want to eat top-notch you may try La Becasse (with a Michelin star). They have affordable prix fixe menus.

Lübeck is another possible destination in northern Germany. It is a beautiful old Hanseatic city with lots of brick Gothic buildings. Parts of the old city are designated a Unesco world heritage site. The city is a center for marzipan production (and I know there is even a museum with some lifesize marzipan figures!). I don't think you could/would want to do it as a day trip from Berlin but it might work as a separate stop

This web site has information on some of the Christmas markets you are considering in northern Germany
http://www.germany-christmas-markets.co.uk/

We thought Aachen and the Charlemagne history were fascinating and enjoyed the Romanesque churches in Cologne more than the cathedral.

While Luebeck is nice, I would recommend Hamburg, Leipzig & Dresden before Luebeck especially if you are travelling alone. Besides there is no direct train to Luebeck from Berlin. I did Luebeck as a daytrip from Hamburg but wasn't that impressed by it. That said you may enjoy Luebeck more if you read Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann before going there.

With wide-ranging intercity travel you may want to investigate the German Railpass - a few trips at regular fare can pay for it. The other route is to put your trains in stone and get the SPAR fares or whatever they call the online (www.bahn.de or German Rail site) that can be much cheaper but lock you into a certain train at a certain time that cannot be changed (i think)

The German Railpass can be used on virtually any train, including the crack ICEs that go up to 190 mph between Cologne and Frankfurt, any time - total flexibility, just hop on - reservations not required nor needed usually. A Twin Pass is cheaper than two individual passes - two names on one pass. Folks under 26 can get a cheaper Youthpass. For lots on German trains i always mentioned www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com as these two sites contain tons of objective info as well as the usual pass prices and an 'add to cart' option. Check www.bahn.de for fares in Germany in Euros.

I did several Christmas Markets in the Frankfurt area, including Speyer - a neat town with a neat castle and yes what seemed a rather low-key but quite traditional Christmas market spread out along the main pedestrian drag.

Karlsrhue had a very thriving Christmas Market and i saw the one on the Romerhof, i believe, in Frankfurt

The Christmas Markets are often open at night (4pm on) and the one in Dortmund i think is typical - that of an after work gathering point for locals to sip hot GluhWein (sp?) or beer and eat pretzels or Wursts. Colorful lights at night.

Weather should rarely be bitter cold i think at this time of year.

In Düsseldorf I am looking at the Hotel Orangerie and also at the Stage 47 Hotel. I'd love any feedback you all can provide about the two properties. The Stage 47 looks convenient to the train station but still a nice location. Is that right? I'll be taking the train to Aachen and on another day to Cologne. Thanks!