Germany with my Girlfriend
 

My Girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Austria and Germany (mainly Germany) and need ideas of what to do and see. We're hoping to do a lot of rural and country side visiting.

We're going to need more information:

1. When are you going?

2. What are your travel dates?

3. Where are you flying in/out of?

4. Will you be renting a car or relying on public transportation?

5. Budget?

6. Hotels or hostels or Air BnB or Couchsurfing or something else?

7. What do you like to do? What do you not like to do?

8. Any weird dietary needs like vegan?

9. Sprechen sie Deutsch?

10. What do you mean by "rural and country side visiting"?

11. Do you like beer and pork products?

12. Do you like movies about gladiators?

13. Have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moon light?

"Any weird dietary needs like vegan?" hahaha

Well, if someone is vegan and are hell bent on spending their time in small villages in Germany then they will be likely eating their meals from the Edeka or Rewe or eating salad and bread every day.

I suggest picking up a guidebook then coming back for more information based on what you have read: http://amzn.to/1YRDCFt

Quite vague request, indeed.
Actually cannot be more vague, or can it ?

OP could have said that they were coming to Europe.

Pet a cow in Bavaria, follow the Danube up or down river, hike through the Alps, bike along the North Sea Coast or the Baltic Sea, see storchs along the Rhine and in the Alsace, do a brewery or vineyard tour ...

Or, I like the idea with looking for a dance with the devil ... as was stated, you gotta be a bit more detailed in your expectations ...

My wife would be angry if I went to Germany with your girlfriend.

Are storches another name for storks?

We did see a stork sanctuary on the road between Colmar and Strasbourg which was quite fascinating.

Störchen is storks.

Stock Santuary, eh? Very interesting. I should visit that the next time I am in Germany (but not this weekend as it is a Bayern only trip).

Yeah sorry guys I just wanted some swift replies so I didn't want to bombard you all with pointless info but I heres my answer to these questions:

1. When are you going?
We'll get there on the 1st of December and will fly out on the 5th of Jan

2. What are your travel dates?
Munich from the 1st to the 5th, Frankfurt (surrounding areas) from the 5th to the 10th, Berlin from the 10th to the 20th, Vienna from the 20th to the 26th, Innsbruk (Not sure how it's spelt) from the 26th to the 2nd of Jan then back to Munich to fly home

3. Where are you flying in/out of?
Sydney Aus, to Munich

4. Will you be renting a car or relying on public transportation?
Public

5. Budget?
well moneys not really an issue but we're hoping to keep travelling and food to about $1500 each

6. Hotels or hostels or Air BnB or Couchsurfing or something else?
Staying with Family in Berlin and yeah Air BnB for the rest most likely

7. What do you like to do? What do you not like to do?
I love History and food and my Girlfriend like wine and Art. And there's not much we don't like doing


8. Any weird dietary needs like vegan?
Yeah she's a boring Vegetarian

9. Sprechen sie Deutsch?
Ja. Quite well

10. What do you mean by "rural and country side visiting"?
Well I want to see a lot of the country side and towns and what not.

11. Do you like beer and pork products?
Awwww yeah

12. Do you like movies about gladiators?
As long and they're not Sparticus or Russell Crowe's "Gladiator"

13. Have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moon light?
Obviously?

And I don't really want a reply from "Whathello" because they sound boring, un-enthused and quite honestly a kinda shitty person.

Thanks guys Can't wait to hear back :) Except from "Whathello"

I am sorry to write this, but December is really the worst month to travel to Germany. Everything is grey, daylight hours are short, lots of rain, cold weather but not yet snow, except on the mountain tops.

So, try to make the best of it.

Countryside is advisably only if you catch a day with fine weather. So be a bit flexible with your itinerary.

South of München you find enough countryside to please you - if there is a good day, rent a car for a day a drive the A 95 southwards to see the Kochelsee and Walchensee, Mittenwald and Oberammergau and a bit of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, maybe also Ludwig's castles.

If you stay near Frankfurt, drive into the Rhine Valley (even if the weather is not the best). There are many picturesque villages (the most famous one is Rüdesheim), Kloster Eberbach near Oestrich-Winkel ("The Name of the Rose") and the Marksburg in Braubauch, south of Koblenz, one of the finest medieval castles in Germany. Doable by train.

Also, northeast of Frankfurt you find some of the most picturesque villages with half-timbered houses. Again, a car would be advisable to see these villages.

And I don't really want a reply from "Whathello" because they sound boring, un-enthused and quite honestly a kinda shitty person.>>

as Whathello suggested in his witty response to your vague enquiry, that "pointless" info that you omitted is vital for anyone trying to give you assistance that is worth having.

and as traveller has said, your expressed wish "do a lot of rural and countryside visiting" is at odds with the time of year; in fact unless you want to ski, it's really going to restrict what you can and want to do, not least because of the length of the days which will be at their shortest.

As you don't want to drive, a knowledge of local transport is going to be vital - have a look here for lots of info about trains in both Germany and Austria:

http://www.seat61.com

[he also talks about Rhine cruises which may be helpful].

You will get plenty of history in Berlin and Vienna, but I'm not sure what you'll find to do in Innsbruck for all that time unless you ski; you might try the Innsbruck tourist office for ideas.

Anyway presumably you had some idea what you were going to do in these places before you decided on where to go and how long to stay there.

finally for a positive view of Germany in December, you might like this:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...eutschland.cfm

PS - you say you like pork but your girlfriend is a vegetarian. To suit her, you may find yourselves spending a lot of time in Italian restaurants; traditional German and Austrian restaurants tend to be long on pig products but short on vegetarian options.

>> traditional German and Austrian restaurants tend to be long on pig products but short on vegetarian options <<

This is true only for VERY traditional restaurants which mainly cater for American tourists. And even those restaurants have several vegetarian options. You always find interesting vegetarian options among the starters. Also, you can get each dish on the menu without the meat or fish. Just ask. We have many vegetarians in Germany and Austria by now, most of them young ladies.

Any modern German or Austrian restaurant has creative vegetarian dishes. No need to go Italian while in Germany.

What about January? Flights haven't been booked as of yet. Is January/Feb nice?

And thank you for all the help guys!

Define "nice".

Well, not unpleasant like December seems to be.

Nobody can say with any certainty really what the weather is going to be. It could be snowing or raining or clear and bright.

At least in December you have the Christmas markets.