annamb

My sister and I (she's an active 81 and I'm 64) will leave Pennsylvania for Bremen, Germany on Sept. 9 to visit my son who is currently working there. We will visit area sites and then leave for Paris on Sept. 12th, returning on Tues., the 15th. What to do in the remaining time (return flight on the 22nd) is our problem. One thought was Martin Luther's birthplace at Eisleben . Another thought was Prague since we are Slovak. An afternoon cruise on the Rhine might be lovely. We had thought about a few days in Munich, but wonder if the early Octoberfest crowds would make accommodations a problem. Obviously, since I'm all over the lot, I would most definitely appreciate any helpful suggestions as to itinerary and reasonably priced modes of travel. We are in reasonably good physical condition but don't want to over-do things. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Cowboy1968

My first question would be why you don't just stay a bit longer in Paris. 2 days plus what is left of your days of travel isn't exactly too much for Paris IMO.

Oktoberfest starts on Sep 19, and the real crowds don't arrive until that day (or maybe one before). You can check accomodation prices at hrs.com

Since you are Slovak, wouldn't you rather go to Bratislava? Which could be an easy day trip from Vienna, or vice versa.

The Rhine valley would be pretty easy to reach by train from Bremen. You will probably get a lot of ideas here on where to go and stay.

Don't know a thing about Eisleben other than it's a pretty small town with not that much to see or do. You might want to combine it with Wittenberg, his workplace so to speak.

annamb

Thanks, Cowboy1968, for most useful information. (And I am finding some interesting possibilities at hrs.com!) From everything I'm reading on this site, I wish we were staying longer in Paris, but we already have our flight reservations from Bremen to Paris. We had thought about Bratislava since our father was born not far from there (immigrated to the US when he was 17) and we do have some relatives there--but we've not kept in contact with anyone and have no time now for genealogical research. The Rhine Valley is definitely on the list but I'm still not sure about Munich. Thanks again for your ideas. Ann

traveller1959

Bremen is an attractive city, with a picturesque old town, a gorgeous medieval city hall and several outstanding museums in town (including a science museum).

www.bremen.de

Near Bremen, visit Papenburg which is a charming historical village with an impressive shipyard where cruiseships are built. A visit is very interesting, but I think reservations are required.

www.papenburg-tourismus.de
www.meyerwerft.com

Other destinations which are in easy reach from Bremen are Münster (historical town, cathedral, city hall, open-air museum...) and Hamburg (both about one hour by train from Bremen).

www.muenster.de
www.hamburg.de

Unfortunately, the other destinations you mentioned are pretty far away from Bremen and pretty far away from each other.

If you are interested in Luther, I would recommend the Wartburg (where Luther translated the bible - you can visit his study) rather than Eisleben.

www.wartburg-eisenach.de

From Eisenach, you can drive (or ride by train) in eastern direction to Dresden. Other worthwile destinations are Erfurt and Weimar. See also the Sächsische Schweiz near Bad Schandau (would be a good compensation for the Rheintal) and then continue another 2 1/2 hours to Prague. Travelwise, it makes more sense and you will see beautiful parts of Germany and Prague as well.

www.nationalpark-sächsische-schweiz.de

Save Rheinland and München for a future trip.

annamb

Thanks so much, Traveller1959, for most informative suggestions (and websites!). Besides the logistical problem, I'm also thinking that Munich would be a bad idea at the start of Octoberfest--I prefer less crowded to more crowded. . . ! Well, we leave on Wednesday. Thanks again, Ann