Germany - Hanover/Borgholzhausen/Duesseldorf/Heidelberg/Frankfort
 

Hi,
We're traveling by car in Germany along the route provided above. Travel dates are from November 28 - Dec 4 and we already have our hotels booked. We'll only be in Hanover for one short night and leaving early the next morning. We travel for one night to Borgholzhausen (an ancestry town for me). The following night will be in Duesseldorf. From there we'll travel to Heidelberg and stay for three nights and end up with one night in Frankfurt.
While in Heidelberg we plan to visit the Heidelberg Christmas market and another day drive the Romantic Road from Wurtzburg to the Neuschwanstein Castle.
Along the route described, can anyone provide some additional stops or things to see. We've never been to Germany before. Any tips on driving. Is it easy enough for people who don't speak much German? We plan to have a GPS. Do we need to pay the extra for winter tires on the rental at this time of the year?
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks!

Heidelberg to Würzburg and all the Romantic Road down to Füssen and also back to Heidelberg or Frankfurt in one day? What for?
Even if you stay overnight in Füssen this is a full day in the car. You have nine hours of daylight that time of the year and you will need more time to drive that route. The Romantic Road is just another country highway. The countryside is grey and dull in early December. The "romantic" bit are the places it connects - towns, villages, castles, churches... All these require parking the car and walking to see them but you will have no time to do so.
Neuschwanstein is no day trip from Heidelberg. Visit a nearby place instead. Bad Wimpfen or Ladenburg, for example, if you want a small 'romantic' town with historical architecture. Speyer or Worms if you want a cathedral. That way you won't waste most of the day on the road.

Depends on how much time you plan to devote to your ancestry town, you could make a stopover in Hameln when going from Hannover to Borgholzhausen.

Between Borgholzhausen and Düsseldorf, you could make a stopover in Münster.

Both is not exactly the fastest route, but also won't take you too far off the route.

Hi Jessie

Quokka is right! Heidelberg - Würzburg - Neu Schwanstein and back to Heidelberg in on day winter time won't be a day you will enjoy. It is just to much. Let it snow and you won't make it in a day.

If you want to see at least Würzburg add a stop at Seligenstadt. Way enough for a winter day, driving around.

Your Question: "Do we need to pay the extra for winter tires on the rental at this time of the year?"

Yes, usually you have to order this extra and therefore pay extra. I don't know any car rental in Germany that does winter tires for free. The want to make money, you konw. :)

Since posting this question today I saw that the Romantic Road is not a day trip. I will investigate what towns we'd most like to see. We'll probably visit towns between Wurzburg and Highway 6 (Rothenburg and a few others).

Between Duesseldorf and Heidelberg I think we're planning on visiting Burg Eltz, Valwig, Cochem, and Bacharach. The total km is about 247 so we should be able to make a day of that and see quite a few things. Does this sound reasonable? Anything else on that route?

Another question, on Google maps I don't see many bridges across the Rhine. In Bacharach is there a bridge, because I believe the castle is on the north/east side of the river.

Again, thanks! Can't wait!

The Heidelberg Christmas market is not that much (IMHO). I second going to Bad Wimpen. I don't remember if there is a bridge at Bacharach or not but probably a ferry that goes every 30 min. Have a great trip. You will get great info here that will help with that. CJ

There are no bridges across the Rhine between Koblenz and Mainz. There are a couple of car ferries, though.

I think you are still trying to squeeze in too much. Again: Take into consideration that you have no more than nine hours of daylight.
Düsseldorf to Heidelberg is 290 kms on the shortest route via Autobahn. With the detours on country roads that you are planning, it is notably more.

And yes, winter tyres are advisable that time of the year. Snow is one thing, not too frequent that early in the winter, but your bigger worry should be black ice which occurs far more frequently and is more dangerous.

Thanks all!

CarolJean, what Christmas markets doe you recommend. We are staying three nights in Heidelberg, so that's why we decided on it.

Quokko, you say that it's still too much to see between Dusseldorf to Heidelberg. Out of the towns I mentioned above (Burg Eltz, Valwig, Cochem, and Bacharach), which would you recommend. The first three are very close.

What is the typical speed limit on country roads in Germany?

Cowboy1968 - I think we'll make the stop in Hameln on the way to Borgholzhausen. I'd love to see the town spoken of in the Pied Piper!

We live in the US midwest and are very accustomed to snow and black ice. Our climate is very similar to Germany's. We're just hoping the snow comes a little later this year!! In the US, tires are all-weather, so we don't need to change to winter tires. I thought PitWhiteHall's comment was humorous regarding the rental companies need to make extra money. :-)

Thank you all so much. This board is so helpful! I am so excited about seeing Germany. My entire ancestry came from Germany and I wish I had a more than a week to spend there. Please, any other advice suggestions you have, please let me know.

The general speed limit is 100km/h - unless posted otherwise.
Don't always expect a sign with a lower speed limit at bends or similar.

Country roads often have a good share of traffic and often also go through many towns and villages, so the average speed will be much less than 100km/h - more like 60km/h.

The yellow signs with the name of towns or villages on it also indicate the beginning and end of the 50km/h urban speed limit - unless posted otherwise.

No passing on the right.
Exceptions: Within city limits, on multi-lane roads which are not motorways. Or in a traffic jam/ very slow moving traffic.

Winter tires are a must, otherwise you void the insurance in case of a ice/snow-related accident.

Most signage is international. If you have driven anywhere else in Europe before, you'll recognize the signs. And you'll share the road with many drivers from France or Sweden or Belarus who also have no clue about German :-)


If you make that stop in Hameln, there is also a nice Christmas market. It's considered one of the nicest in all of Northern Germany - but I may be a bit biased because it's also my home town :-)
http://www.hameln.de/_mediafiles/1714-weihnmkt2-big.jpg

The general tourist info in English is available here:
http://www.hameln.com/tourism/index.htm
You can see more pictures if you click on "Sights".

This was my Trip Report that I wrote this year after visiting multiple Christmas Markets in the Rhine Main region. Maybe it will help you decide where else to go. Dates are important though, as some of the smaller markets may just be held on one weekend. Enjoy!

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ain-region.cfm

Again, thanks for all your inputs. It's all helpful.

Another question. I've currently double-booked some of our nights until I establish exactly where we're staying.

I had three nights booked in Heidelberg at the Marriott where we are using points, but I have also booked the first night of those three in Cochem and the last night of the three in Rothenburg. We plan to cancel one and stay in one. We plan to visit both cities regardless, so if you had the choice, where would your rather stay? I'd like to see the castle at Cochem, they have a Christmas market, and the town looks beautiful, but the idea of staying in Rothenburg and seeing during they're Christmas market at night sounds fun.

I've finally understood what the former posts have said about daylight. I didn't realize days are so short (roughly 8 1/2 hours) in Germany at that time of the year.

My DIL comes from Borgholzhausen :).

Sound advice from those that have already posted. I personally enjoy the Heidelberg Christmas market as it is spread out over 5 different squares, one of which has an outdoor ice-skating rink with the castle ruins as a back drop. Very romantic and colorful at night.

In the Heidelberg area, my favorite markets are Speyer and Bad Wimfen. Ladenburg is very cute, but very small and only open 3 or 4 week-ends, so you would need to confirm your dates on that one. All 3 of these are reachable by train should the weather be bad enough that you don't want to drive that day/night.

One of the more original (and less glitzy) markets is just outside of Heidelberg at Kloster Neuburg. The monks put on quite a shindig with roasting whole pigs on the spit, fried trout from their pond, and much of the products that they make (honey, jams, wool clothing, wine, etc) on sale. They sell christmas trees and it has a much more intimate feel about it that most markets. Note: you buy tokens that you use for all food and drinks, so don't wait in line until you've purchased some!

Up in the Rhine area, we really thought Rüdesheim was great fun and enjoyed both day and night-each having their own charm. There is a car ferry here if you choose to take A61 back to Heidelberg (avoids A5/Frankfurt this route).

Check the closing date of the Christmas Markets in Heidelberg. Generally, most markets (in Germany esp.) close on Christmas Eve around 2pm.

Generally, most Christmas markets in Germany will have their last day on the 22nd or 23rd. Very few will be open on the 24th at all. Small towns will only be open for a weekend.

Last year, in the Rhein-Main area, we had a lot of snow in November and all of December. I would not have wanted to be driving in it.