Jax1023

Hello-

My husband and I are planning a trop to Germany this coming October so he can attend a conference in Berlin. We will arrive a few days early for sightseeing.

Currently, my plan is to fly into Munich arriving on Saturday afternoon, this day will be shot due to jet lag.

We need to be in Berlin by Wednesday at 5 pm. I would like suggestions as to how to get from Munich to Berlin- should we rent a car or take a train? Is there a scenic route to drive?

Also, I am looking for suggestions on what to do in each city. We should have 3 days in Munich, one travel day on Wednesday and then 3 more days in Berlin. I will be on my own in Berlin during the day.

I would like to see castles and visit a former concentration camp. Are there any day trips that would be doable to see these?

Also, I would really like to visit the Rhine or Mosel river valley. Would you reccomend changing our current plan so that we fly into Frankfurt and can visit this area first, or would you reccomend sticking with Munich. I'm worried that it is too mich city time, my husband has a bit of a low tolerance for museums.

Thank you !

Cowboy1968

Munich plus a full day trip to the castles (rent a car for 1 day) and a (at least) 1/2 day trip to Dachau (take suburban train from Munich) does not leave too much city time eventually.
Frankfurt plus Rhine or Mosel valley is also doable and a nice option since it will be wine season.
It's more a matter of personal preferences than the choose between one better or worse destination.

Munich-Berlin is 600kms. There are scenic options for a drive, but due to the length of the trip, you will need to take the motorway plus one or two short stops to make it in one day. Check bahn.de for discount train tickets, or the websites of Lufthansa, airberlin.com, germanwings.com for cheap flying options.

Frankfurt-Berlin is a bit shorter and can be easily done by train. Yet, if you decide to go down Mosel valley (instead of Rhine) train connections to Berlin get longer and more complicated so you should consider to drop your rental car in that area and fly to Berlin from Hahn or Zweibrücken airport with one of the budget airlines, either Ryanair or germanwings.

When using domestic flights, check if you can "live" with the luggage restrictions (20kg for checked luggage, except 15kg w/ Ryanair) and consider possible surcharges for luggage.

In Berlin, there is more to see and do than just museums. If you don't think your husband is up for the big museums on the Museum Island, you can take him to Potsdam palaces and gardens (by surburban train or boat from Berlin). Yet there are many sights connected with history that may also be of interest for the male audience w/o a preference for typical museums, i.e. the former HQ of GDR Stasi secret police, the Allied Forces museum, House on Checkpoint Charlie (focuses mostly on attempted or successful escapes over the Wall), Airforce museum (100+ fighter planes etc. on a former airfield). Former Sachsenhausen concentration camp is near Berlin, and can be reached by train - but Dachau near Munich is a bit better accessible with public transport.

Mainhattengirl

Berlin has so much to keep you busy I doubt your husband will get bored. A day trip to Potsdam to see the palace is a good idea. Many of the walking tour companies do a day tour to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp for about 15 euro, so this is a reasonable amount for a very moving presentation. You can also get a tour to Potsdam which will give you lots of interesting information. You husband might like a 3rd Reich tour or a Cold War tour. This being the 20 year anniversary of the "fall of the wall", there are special events and tours for this too.

I think flying in Frankfurt makes sense logistically, you can go up the Rhine river on day trips, using a Länder karte for Rhineland Pfalz, which allows you to get on and off the train any time you want. You can either stay in Frankfurt, Mainz, or any of the towns along the river.

The ICE train to Berlin takes 4 hours. We think the scenery is nice, as have done this trip twice now.

Ryan Air does not fly to Berlin from Hahn.

http://www.berlinwalks.de/
http://www.insidertour.com/
http://www.brewersberlintours.com/tours.html

http://www.mauerfall09.de/en/calenda.../2009/month/2/

Cowboy1968

Ryanair got 3 flights per day from Hahn to Berlin-Schönefeld airport. At least when I did a random check for 2nd week of October.

Mainhattengirl

Whoops. So sorry!

swandav2000

Hi Jax1023,

Just wanted to inject an opinion here --

A train trip has to be at least eight hours long before flying becomes an advantage. Remember, this is the time a flight really takes:

Get from city to airport (20-30 mins?)
Wait at the airport (60-90 mins)
Flight (60-90 mins)
Waiting for luggage (10-15 mins)
Get from airport to city (30-60 mins?)

So, if a train trip is around 4-6 hours long, a flight won't be any faster at all. Plus, trains are a lot more fun, with the scenery slipping by, than a boring, antiseptic airport.

Have fun!

s