I know that I normally wouldn't do this, and I'm taking a chance on getting flamed, but I guess I will have to put up with any negative remarks.<BR><BR>I'm planning on going to Germany at the end of September for 3-4 weeks and intend on going to the following cities/towns, however I am open to additional suggestions. I want to visit Bremen, Hamburg, Hann Munden, Hannover, Lubeck, Berlin, Dresden, Pottsdam, Leipzig, Cologne, Mainz, Munich, Nuremburg, and Ulm. I would also be interested in traveling on one or more of the "Road" trips.<BR><BR>I'm looking into doing this both independently via train and bus or possibly either on one or more organized tours. However, if someone is interested in joining me on this trip, I would be interested in exploring having a traveling companion for either all or part of the trip and doing it independently.<BR><BR>I'm not sure if I am comfortable sharing a room, but I would be interested in a traveling companion. If anyone is interested in exploring this with me, please email me or post your thoughts here. My proposed budget is not to exceed $1000 per week (excluding airfare).<BR><BR>I am not interested in organizing a group trip (like Rex has), I am just exploring the possibility of 1 traveling companion.

Hi, Leslie. While I would love to go back to Germany, autumn is financial close out and I'm chained to my desk. However, I can suggest that you might want to head west of the Rhine to the Pfalz where they have many, many wine festivals during September. There are lots of small towns (Bad Durkheim, Diedesheim are great) along the Weinstrasse. It's the warmest area of Germany with rolling hills, covered in grape vines, and winding roads, incredibly wonderful little towns where people actually live and work (that is, it's not gentrified up for tourists, although there are tourists, mostly German), lots of trails for hiking and the occasional Roman ruin. If you are driving, I would indeed suggest a companion for navigator/co-driver. I found it easy to get lost trying to maneuver tight turns while reading maps. You can, however, get to these towns by train - the two mentioned above have central train stations. The area is only about 50 miles SW of Frankfurt. Darn, now I want to go too! Have a fun trip. Late September is probably the best time to go to Germany.

Leslie,<BR><BR>I wish you all the best of luck in finding the travel companion(s) you seek here - - and not getting this thread flamed into destruction.<BR><BR>To me, the "principle" is to be able to find one companion - - or many - - here on this forum - - and there has been a very low tolerance for that. Fodors has removed threads about it and others have attacked it as "people who are too lonely", thinly disguised crusing for an "escort" - - or profiteering - - when there is no reason to believe that it is any of the above.<BR><BR>Art Hussey - - god love 'im - - is the only other person who has done this so successfully. My hat is off to him for succeeding and staying below the radar.<BR><BR>Best wishes - - and I really mean that.<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

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The Oktoberfest in Munich is actually held the last two weeks of September. If you do not like big crowds, don't go to Munich then. I couldn't wait to leave the festival grounds.

Leslie,<BR><BR>while your selection of places you would like to visit sounds interesting it will involve a lot of time on trains and moving around. I would make a selection of areas where you can homebase and make daytrips, but don`t have to pack and unpack every other night. For example a hotel at the Rhine, where you can make a cruise and see the Dom in Cologne. I don`t know why Hannover is on your list. If you don`t have personal reasons for it I would skip it. If you are flying into Frankfurt you could do Mainz on the first day. I would recommend a car, but the cities are doable by train as well. You just will miss all the beautiful little villages around N&uuml;rnberg for examplewhich I think is a shame. Maybe one other suggestion- I was in Baden-Baden 2 weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Made a side-trip to Strasbourg (ok, not in Germany) and a little Elsass tour, as well as a trip to Freiburg and the Black Forest (Titisee etc.) which I highly recommend. Maybe another idea for your list?<BR>If you have further questions, just ask<BR><BR>Miriam

Aside from Hannoversch M&uuml;nden, you're visiting cities, not towns. I'd think about getting out into some of the smaller places as well where you'll find a bit more charm and where the war took a smaller toll on the country's architecture. Hann. M&uuml;nden is a good choice. I second Miriam's suggestions for the Rhine - September is a great month to visit for the small-town wine festivals and the "Rhine-in-Flames" fireworks/pyrotechnics events. The Mosel, which meets the Rhine at Koblenz, is similarly interesting in September; towns like Bernkastel, Cochem, Traben-Trarbach and Beilstein maintain their old-world character. The scenery of Titisee is spectacular too - not terribly far from Ulm. In the north, near Hannover, the towns of Hildesheim, Hameln, Rinteln, Goslar, and Celle would make good substitutes for Hannover. L&uuml;beck is a good pick - it won't require a lot of time, but it's very charming. If you're set on going to Munich at Oktoberfest, book now - most everyone who goes has already done so.

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