Brau89

The plan was to be in Germany this year literally at this time, however due to the current situation the trip had to be cancelled. I am thinking of rescheduling for early September next year. Here's the itinerary I've tentatively settled on:

​​​​​​September 3: Arrive in Frankfurt drive to Würzburg
September 4: Würzburg Town Sightseeing
September 5: Day Trip from Würzburg
September 6: drive to Regensburg
September 7: Regensburg Town Sightseeing
September 8: Regensburg - Bike Ride on Naan (Kallmünz)
September 9: En route to Nürnberg
September 10: Nürnberg Town Sightseeing
September 11: Day Trip from Nürnberg (Brauereiwanderung?)
September 12: en route to Erfurt
September 13: Erfurt Town Sightseeing
September 14: Erfurt Day Trip (maybe Coburg or Gotha?)
September 15: En route to Marburg
September 16: Marburg Town Sightseeing / Kayak on the Lahn
September 17: Fly out of Frankfurt
We would rent a car, I think for some of the day trips from the cities train travel may be difficult or not ideal with scheduling. Are there towns I'm overlooking or too much time spent in a certain place? Any thoughts are appreciated! Thank you!

Michael

What you want to see in Würzburg is the Residenz:

https://flic.kr/p/fhxf6G
and an excursion to Rothenburg:

https://flic.kr/p/7wfpY3
I much preferred Erfurt or Bamberg as towns to Würzburg:

https://flic.kr/p/fhhduZ https://flic.kr/p/fhwSr1

Brau89

Awesome photos! I am definitely thinking of doing an afternoon in Bamberg en route between Nürnberg and Erfurt. I'm sure it deserves several days on its own.

Anything in particular you found less interesting Würzburg vs Erfurt? I figured if anything it is a good base for some day trips if we want. Did you rent a car or use train?

Michael

I traveled by car. You can find my trip report by clicking on my name and scrolling through the list of TRs. That trip was through the central part of Germany going from west to east and then north to Berlin. Somehow, the Würzburg as a town did not have the same appeal as Erfurt, perhaps because it was our first stop after a flight from SF. But between the Residenz and the castle overlooking the city, you will use up a full day. The pictures of the interior of the Residenz, except for the one posted here, are not mine, as no picture taking is allowed of the interior.

Here are the parts of central Germany that we saw:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjHhQvi1

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjHhQTHC

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjH7TY8E

lavandula

Hi, I know the areas you are visiting quite well (although I confess I haven't been to Erfurt, although my other half has). For September 14 I would make your day trip to Weimar, if you are prepared to do a bit of reading homework. Weimar has the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek (an amazing library from the 18th century), Goethe as a former resident and the Goethe and Schiller Archive is there also, the Weimar Republic was founded there and the Bauhaus movement started there. Also Lukas Cranach the elder had his house / studio here, on the main square. And the Buchenwald concentration camp is nearby, if you are into that. The city is reasonably well-preserved but isn't all Fachwerk, but there are enough historical buildings to be interesting. But you do have to do some homework to understand why all these things are significant. It is quite a well-known holiday destination for Germans, but is hardly known to others unless they have a good grip on history. I would also recommend Jena as a small nearby town but WWII was not kind to the city and it is not as worthy of your attention as Weimar.

Also if you are looking for places near Marburg, you might consider Limburg an der Lahn (pretty Fachwerk) or Alsfeld (some of the buildings go back to the 13th century). I don't think either will take up a day, but a half-day each would be sufficient.

Good luck, your trip sounds very interesting.

Lavandula

Brau89

Thank you for the tips! Weimar was definitely on my radar. I have not been to this part of Germany before so any advice from those familiar with the area are very welcome. Alsfeld and Limburg an der Lahn are exactly what we're looking for.

​​​​​​​Would you be aware of any festivals in the region this time of year? I think Würzburg's wine festival is around this time but we may miss it depending on when we have it on the itinerary.

lavandula

Oh, and of course I mean the Weimar in Thüringen and not in Hessen, as there is a Weimar very close into Marburg!

Lavandula

lavandula

Yes, I do know of something similar, but you would have to seek out the Strausswirtschaften. This season is the wine harvesting season and there are small seasonal taverns (Strausswirtschaften) in the wine growing regions. At that time of year they have the new wine which is sweet, mildly alcoholic and bubbles. I know it from the Rheingau (between Wiesbaden and Rüdesheim), but the Strausswirtschaften are all over the place. They also call them Besenwirtschaften, so called because they put a Besen, a broom, outside the tavern to show they are open, or did so traditionally. So you go there to enjoy the young wine (Federweisser, the white wine, or Roter Rauscher, the red wine) with a light meal, sometimes onion tart, so that you don't get drunk, and then you and your companions walk onto the next town. In the Rheingau there is a train line so you catch the train between the townships.

Here is a list of the Besenwirtschaften around Würzburg (use Google Translate, or Chrome asks you if you want to translate the page):

Besenwirtschaften in Würzburg | Weinverzeichnis deutscher Weine auf DeutscherWein.de

Every area would have their specialities, and I don't know the ones around there but I think you probably couldn't go wrong. Also in the area around Bamberg you should seek out Zwetschgendatschi, a plum slice, which is also obviously seasonal. Generally sightseeing in Germany is in my opinion optimal in September - you have long days but none of the real heat, and you are just before the time when the leaves turn (which is also amazing).

There are also regional festivals like Erntedankfest (harvest festival, esp. in Bavaria) but this expresses itself mostly as stalls which sell regional produce, it's not really celebrated in a big way but schoolchildren observe it. It's September or October, depending where you are.

Lavandula

Brau89

Perfect! Thank you, I will look into these! I speak fairly decent German so I'll give the website a try auf Deutsch.