Dreiling

We will be traveling to Germany in July--I would like any suggestions regarding packing, money, weather jet lag, etc.

Joe

My wife and I were in Berlin for a week at the end of last July. It was warm but not hot, and we had a great time. Despite talk of Berlin as a huge construction zone, it's a beautiful and impressive city with many of the historical buildings in the eastern sector already restored. While there is a lot of construction, it's not oppressive except in areas like the Potsdammerplatz.

If you like big city attractions -- architecture, parks, museums, zoos, shopping, culture, etc. -- it's worth spending time in. We stayed at the Gendarm Garni (listed by Fodor's). It's a nice hotel on a beautiful square, and the price was under $100.

tom

I have been fortunate enough to have been to Germany 4 times. Twice in the summer, once in the fall and once over Thanksgiving.

You don't give an area of Germany, but I would suggest Bavaria. Start by flyng to Frankfurt and travel the Romatic Road from Rothenberg ob der Tauber( perfectly preserved mideviel (sp) walled city, to Augsburg, to Munich and to Fussen on the Austrian border, They are all wonderful.

Munich is a large city with a small town feel. The Marienplatz, old town square is nice, the beer and food are very good and in Munich a good hotel is the Hotel Uhland on Uhlandstrasse. On our last trip when the dollar had less value, a nice room with a private bath and full breakfast cost my wife and I about $90 per night. The hotel is convenient to an ubahn stop an is only a 1/2 mile walk to the Marienplatz.

Returning to Frankfurt, you can cross throught the Black Forest and visit Freiburg a wonderful little town. Continue from Freiburg to Heidleburg, a picturesque little town where The Little Prince was written. A university town, it is very nice.

Hope that you enjoy your visit. For other information, try some inexpensive Fodors or Rick Steves guide boooks.

alex

We were in Germany last June/July with our 2 children (6 & 9) and visited: Heidelberg, Freiburg and the Black Forest, Munich, Rothenburg, and Berlin over 2 weeks. We got a German Rail Twinpass (flex pass?) and children's tickets for our 2 daughters. If you are traveling first class and want reservations, book them in Germany. We saved in the neighborhood of $250 that way. The first class trains are very nice, but 2nd class is also quite tolerable and sometimes on small regional routes, there is no 1st class anyway. The weather was cool (even rainy! at times) but we had a great time anyway. You can get a forecast a few days before you leave on USA Today and a few other weather sites for the larger cities. The best advice is to travel very, very light if you're going by train (also to avoid checked baggageon the airplane if you can). DO bring a facecloth as the hotels consider them "personal" items. Money: some DM from home (just for the first day or so), use credit cards where possible for the exchange rate and security; bring some $ denominated travelers checks to be exchanged in large city banks like Munich and Berlin. Some say use ATMs, but we were a little unsure if ours would work. Please post again if you have more questions; I also have hotel recommendations if any of the destinations I mentioned are on your itinerary.

Pete

When you get there, force yourself to stay up all day. Plan an activity that is not strenuous, but will keep you moving. Stay outside in the sunshine as much as possible. Eat lightly. About 8PM you can think about hitting the sack. You should feel much better in the AM. If you are flying into Frankfurt, consider a Rhine cruise from nearby Mainz to Koblenz, one of the prettiest stretches of the river. You can either return by boat or by train--the railway runs right along the river. If you have the German Rail Pass, you can use it on the boat as well. Good luck.

Geske Fischer-Hansen

Another way of experiencing Germany is to take a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. Denmark is the like "the younger brother", but if you want to see more of Europe than Germany, I would highly recommend it. I have lived here all my life, so I ought to now.
Have a nice trip !

Lynn

Hi. Tom has a good suggestion. Also, Pete is right
about staying up. If you get there early, you will be excited and "keyed" up anyway. The last time we flew into Frankfurt, we arrived about 7:30 a.m. and rented a car. By the time you do all this, it will be late morning. But then we hit the road and made a quick drive through the Black Forest and made it all the way to the Switzerland border. We were ready to quit, for sure, but it was not bad. The only reason we were trying to get that far is our destination was day 2 in Italy for a meeting. It worked out fine. Any of the destinations mentioned above would work out fine. We leave again April 22 for Munich this time. We haven't been to Austria yet, so we will drive to Salzburg. This is only 70 miles from Munich, but we will make the drive through the Bavarian Alps. By the way, if you do go to the Black Forest, go to Wolfach. It's a small, but beautiful (Disneyland-like) and very clean town.
Also, get Karen Brown's books for itiniraries, scenic drives and great places to stay in Germany (and other countries). This is how we found Wolfach. And lastly, we spend between $200 - $300 a day. Relax, enjoy and you'll do fine! Have a great time!

gilkesl

Can you recommend hotels in Berlin at about $100 per double per night in July? Thank you. Your message was very inspiring. We can't wait to go!

linda

Try the Best Western Hotel Boulevard am Kurfuerstendam. You can look it up on the the Best Western web site (remember they're all different and can be quite European in character, so don't think "Marriott.") This one is right around the corner from the Zoo, the Bahnhof Zoo Station, KaiserWilhelm, and Europa Center. Walking distance to KaDeWe, etc. You can catch a multilingual on-and-off type tour that will take you to the stops you'd like to see in eastern Berlin, the Brandenburg Tor, and so forth on either side of the Ku'damm. Accommodations are basic but have private bath etc (reception is on the sixth floor as I recall), very nice breakfast buffet --you can eat in or out. The roof top cafe serves ice cream (with a view of Kaiser Wilhelm) in the afternoon. At the current exchange (very favorable, even compared to what we experienced last year), this should be under your budget. The location is ideal.

KRISRICH

I was in Germany last October for quite some time. I got the best exchange rates by using the ATM's. Check with your bank to be sure your ATM will be accepted internationally and be sure to use an ATM with a VISA logo on it. We had no luck with the ATM's that did not carry a VISA logo.

Denise Scandiffio

Visited Munich last year-first time in Europe. Also stayed at the Hotel Uhland. Would highly recommend it. Quaint with great breakfast and close to everything, yet in a quiet residential area. Booked it thru the internet and saved money, Cost was about $75.00 Friday thru Sunday. Can't remember the site, but Fodor's may have it listed. If not check a site with hotel's in Germany. Definitely visit the outdoor beer gardens-a social phenomeon. Great cheese, fruit, pretzels, ice cream and pastries, and of course, beer. Go to Fussen by train to see the castle's. If you can, go to Salzburg in Austria. Have fun.

Bev

Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door has a lot of good information for 1st time travelers in Europe. Also his books on individual countries are great. His website: ricksteves.com also has lots of helpful hints for travelers.