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H2babe's 1st trip to Germany - Please Help

H2babe's 1st trip to Germany - Please Help

Old Oct 7th, 2005, 08:10 AM
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H2babe's 1st trip to Germany - Please Help

Many of you might have remembered to have helped me put together my 2-wks July trip to Berlin/Prague/Vienna/Budapest earlier this year. Unfortunately, I never made it to Europe. My grandma died a week before I was supposed to leave so I cancelled Europe and flew to Indonesia instead and stayed there for 3 wks.

I still wanted to go to Europe and I think I could use a small vacation, so I bought tickets to Berlin this morning I'll be going on the week of Thanksgiving for 10 days with Berlin as my main destination. I have an itinerary for Berlin already but would like inputs on whether it'll be worth it for me to make a couple of small day trips to Hamburg, Dresden, or Munich (might be a bit too far) because this will be my first trip to Germany. Looking forward to your feedback!
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Old Oct 7th, 2005, 01:36 PM
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A good and informative message header, with a polite plea for help, and yet so many other threads got attention before your question did. Pity.

I think that few experienced Germany travlers think of Berlin as a
base" for a lot of day trips. Why not relocate for 3-5 of your ten days? There are plenty of people with high opinions of Dresden and nearby destinations, and "we" have a local expert here (Ingo, I think... is the name).

I personally have fond recollections of Weimar from a trip 13 years ago - - and I think it has only gotten better since the years post-unification have passed. It's 2-3 hours from Berlin - - so it's a good "overnight away" - - not so much a "day trip".

I would personally rate Hamburg as "so-so" (especially if you are not personally interested in the Rieperbahn)... though I can recommend the Hotel Hanseatic there (also visited there long ago).

For an alternative perspective on Hamburg, see http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...2&tid=34589329

Best wishes,

Rex
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Old Oct 7th, 2005, 04:02 PM
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topping...
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Old Oct 7th, 2005, 04:20 PM
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i would probably try to go somewhere nearby for a day trip ( munich is too far), OR fly easy jet almost anywhere you wanted to go on your previous trip but didn't, just for a taste.. of prague or budapest.

sorry i am not familiar with the logical day trips from berlin besides potsdam. i understand train travel is a bit expensive.

they have a hub in berlin, so you have a great choice of destinations at good prices.

sorry about your grandma.
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Old Oct 7th, 2005, 05:18 PM
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Dresden is about a 2.5hr train from Berlin (Zoo or Ostbhf) - direct train with no stops after Schoenefeld airport. I would recommend at least one overnight in Dresden so you could enjoy a dinner and perhaps some nightlife, although you could also do a day trip if you wished.

There have been quite a few threads on Dresden. The best way to search Fodors forums is actually using google, believe it or not.

i.e. [Dresden hotel site:fodors.com] or something similar. The text 'site:fodors.com' restricts google to fodors.
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Old Oct 8th, 2005, 11:24 AM
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Well,

I think a trip to Berlin would be a lovely way to be introduced to Germany.

Dresden and Hamburg are great side-trips from Berlin IMHO as both are easily reachible by train. The link Rex directed you to lists times at 2.25 hours to Dresden and 1.5 hours to Hamburg.
I happen to use the Hamburg - Berlin connection quite a lot (about once a month; once a month I travel the route by car, as I am not a train afficionado, although the new connection on the ICE within 90 minutes is really nice).

I believe visiting both Hamburg and Dresden would be nice, as they are very different from each other: While Dresden offers a lot of historic buildings and the some splendor of a formerly royal city, Hamburg always has been a democratic and free city. This basically leads to the absence of such representative venues like generous Squares or Royal Palaces. This city has been thriving on trade for centuries and as such has developped a discrete charm that unfortunately for the visiting tourist lacks any spectacular sights. Still, there are quite a few things to be done, which I tried to outline on the thread that the above link would refer you to.

Overall, I believe Hamburg is pretty much an outdoor city - so try to get here on short notice from Berlin should the weather be reasonably fine (summer or spring in general might be a better choice). Still, I believe it was fellow Fodorite DAX who desribed Hamburg as a "feel-good-city" which basically sums up pretty well what I value so much here.

1.5 days in total for Hamburg should be sufficient. Account for the same time or with to days slightly more for Dresden. That leaves you with 6 days in Berlin which should be plenty.

Potsdam with its Dutch Quarter, the Sanscousis Palace and the New Palace, as well as the spectacular Parks surrounding it is a must and would take one day, too.

See Palenque's ecellent thread on Berlin at

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...reen_name=PalQ

for further suggestions.

Should you need specific advice on lodging and dining, do post here!

Regards
hsv
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Old Oct 9th, 2005, 06:17 AM
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This is what we're (group of 5 - two have been to Germany before - three have not)doing the week of Thanksgiving in Germany:

Arrive Berlin morning of Friday, 11-18 with a full day of touring planned. Mid-day 11-19, two of us will leave Berlin and train to Naumburg to attend a 50th Birthday party. The rest of our group will stay in Berlin until 11-20.
Mid-day Sunday, 11-20, we will all meet in Weimar (Rex is correct, it is a great place to go) and spend the afternoon touring with friends who live in nearby Jena. Leave for Rothenburg on 4pm ICE train. Arrive Rothenburg late Sunday Night.

Monday & Tuesday - We're playing it by ear but will most likely spend time in Rothenburg and Wurdzburg (we have hotel rooms booked for Sunday and Monday night in Rothenburg). Train sometime on Tuesday to Munich.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - Munich and maybe a day trip over to Salzburg.

Saturday 11/26 - Home to Florida.

Now, I know people will see this schedule and cringe. When I originally started planning the trip it was supposed to be Berlin and Munich only (with possible visits to Dresden and Nuremnburg); however, we had to work Naumburg in and then the others "really wanted to see the Romantic Road". So, we'll train all over Germany and have a blast.
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Old Oct 11th, 2005, 11:55 AM
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h2babe,

I am sorry to hear about the reason for the cancellation of your trip.

My offer to show you around in Dresden is still standing. I don't know when exactly Thanksgiving is ... so please let me know

Honestly, I don't think 10 days in Berlin is a good idea. Sure, you can do day trips, but I think a night or two in those other cities would be a better decision. That means a night in Hamburg, and possibly two nights in Dresden.

Munich is too far IMO. Another option for a day trip might be Quedlinburg, a typical medieval town with lots of timber-framed houses.
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Old Oct 13th, 2005, 05:43 AM
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Rex - Thank you for bringing my thread up to get more replies! I chose to stay in Berlin for the entire 10 days because I have a friend there. For right now, we're discussing 1 day (maybe overnight) in Hamburg and potentially 2-3 days in Munich. I will try to see if we'd have enough time for Weimer, or Dresden.

Ingo, I will be arriving in Berlin on 11/19 and flying back to the US on the 28th. I am going to google info on Quedlinburg and see what I can find. I guess I'm looking for a few cities that will offer different feelings, and it sounds like Berlin and Hamburg will be two good places for that.

I'll probably be going back to Europe in the spring so if I don't get to see all of the cities that are recommended here, I'll be able to do it then Thank you everyone for the suggestions.
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Old Oct 13th, 2005, 06:43 AM
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Sorry to hear about the reason for the trip change.

All of your destinations sound fine, but they are all to large cities and you'll aready have spent several days in a large city. Have you given any though to going to smaller cities or towns instead? With Germany's excellent mass transit system, you'd be within easy reach of several smaller cities that would give you a completely different (but equally enjoyable) feel for Germany.
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Old Oct 13th, 2005, 08:03 AM
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BtBilke,

This is my first trip to Germany, so I'm planning to get a "highlight" tour of the big cities first and maybe explore the smaller quaint towns next time.
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