Germany - April - what to do?
 

We will be in Sweden for a conference in April 2011 and wanted to extend our vacation by 12 days and go to Germany. For that amount ot time and never having been there, what and where should we go? There is so much to see from what we read about. Also, do we rent a car or use trains?

Thanks in advance.

It's a very big country. What have you read that interests you?

I always think a mix of big and small, new and old is worthwhile. What about three 4-day stays? Berlin would be good for 3-4 days. 4-5 days in Northern Bavaria for Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg and Würzburg is about right. 3-4 Days in the Rhine/Mosel region (Cologne, Trier, Cochem, Bacharach, and a castle or two) would work. Then fly out of Frankfurt.

http://www.mainriver.de/wuerzburg/

http://www.mainriver.de/bamberg/

www.marksburg.de

http://www.mosel-reisefuehrer.de/mos...ightsengl.html

All of these places are well connected by train. That's how I'd do it. (For Bernkastel, one of the towns on the Mosel site, a bus connection is needed.)

I love the idea of the castles - Munich is great - Garmish. Not sure if we want to do the southern part of Germany and then hit Austria and Switzerland?

Any ideas?

April is sort of early for the mountains and Switzerland - many places will have snow and high mountain roads may still be closed (some don;t open until end of May).

With the days you have you might do 2 cities and a few small towns in between or one city and then a coup;e of other areas (Rhine, Mosel etc) where it will be spring. If you do the latter I would definitely rent a car when you leave the city - since the smaller towns, villages and castles are much more easily seen by car - esp early in the year when opening hours may be shorter than in midsummer.

I love Germany. Get a guidebook or two. That will help you decide what you want to do. I agree with nytraveler's idea that the smaller towns are best seen by car, but I've traveled by both train and car and have found both easy to do. Be sure to differentiate between travel days and sight-seeing days. It's a long drive from Berlin to Bavaria.

Whatever you decide, don't have a car in any large city in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Parking is hell in large cities.

As much as I love Germany, I have to ask, have you considered staying in the Scandinavian countries?

Although it would be a bit chilly in April, I think it is well worth considering, depending on your interests.

Depending on where you'll be in Sweden, check out Ryan Air for inexpensive flights into Germany.

Depending on how and where you arrive in Germany, I think will help determine where you visit. Don't try to see the whole country at once. In twelve days, one or two regions is enough or you'll spend too much time traveling and not enough time visiting.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have fun.

I don't think you should try to cover the entire country in 12 days. Why not stay in the north? You could cover Berlin, then head across the North Sea coast to Hamburg and Luebeck. Maybe you could head down to the Rhine/Mosel for a few days, but I wouldn't try to get all the way to Bavaria, Switzerland and Austria. Or, just keep it to Munich and environs. A lot of people seem to think that once they are in Germany, Switzerland and Austria are just a stone's throw away...but you end up spending all your time traveling and hardly any time "doing."

Whether you travel by car or train depends a lot on your interests and the type of travel you enjoy. I personally have never traveled by train in Germany because my husband and I love to drive...as do many Germans! But if you don't like the idea of barreling down the Autobahn or dealing with complex navigation, trains will be better for you (especially if you plan to stick to larger cities).