Month in Germany
 

OK, here I go. I have the rare opportunity to spend a month in Germany from the middle of November until the middle of December. I am functional in German (not quite fluent, but getting there), and I would like to have a nice sampling of German culture, history, food, way of life and language. I will be travelling alone.

I have decided to take the trains, not just for the savings but also to hopefully take in the scenery and interact with Germans. Perhaps even practice some German!

I intend to visit a friend in Aurich for a week, with trips to Hamburg and Lübeck, and possibly Holland. I will then study German for a week in Berlin, staying with a family. I can also study for an additional week there, or in another city such as Stuttgart, Wiesbaden, Munich, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Dresden, Dusseldorf or almost any other medium to large city.

The remainder of the trip will be for sightseeing in Nuremburg and Munich and the surrounding areas. Possible sidetrips I'm thinking about are Bamberg and Rothenburg.

So a question I have is, the prices for flights to just about any international airport in Germany is about the same. Frankfurt is the obvious choice, but I am wondering if it might make more sense to fly into another airport where I can stay either on the front end or the backend for a couple days for an additional city to visit. Or since I'm seeing Munich for example (probably last), it would save on a travel day, freeing up time for something else during the trip.

My other question is, does this sound like a good plan? Would you change anything? Is there somewhere else (or instead) I should visit? My focus is experiencing Germany, not sightseeing as much, if that makes sense.

Thanks for any contributions!

Mateo- As far as airports, I would still recommend Frankfurt as it is the most "central" of the major airports and provides excellent train connects to all of Germany. Though many "tourists" do not like Frankfurt, it is a vibrant cosmopolitan city and within easy reach of the Rhine and Neckar Valleys. To really experience Germany I would urge you to spend some time in the countryside and smaller villages. Have a wonderful trip.

The only former East city you've mentioned is Dresden.

I have friends who lived in Leipzig for two years '98 & '99. I was able to visit them for a total of 6 weeks during those two years. I made it to Wittenberg, Dresden and Leipzig and had a great time. In just the two years I saw a lot of change as train stations, old buildings, roads, etc. were upgraded from years of neglect under Soviet rule.

I really enjoyed seeing a part of Germany that many tourists didn't and still don't bother to see. This area may provide you more of a "real" German experience than a sightseeing experience.

For the language thing you might want to be careful. Leipzig is in the Saxony area and has a very distinct accent. From what I gather the accent is looked down upon as a rather backwooks sounding form of German. You may not want to spend your second full week of study in Saxony. Hannover is supposed to have the "best" accent.

For logistics I think you might consider an open-jaw into Amsterdam and out of Munich. Can your friends meet you for a couple of days in Holland when you arrive? Next you'll visit them in Aurich for a week. Week 2 you'll be in Berlin for school. That leaves you one week of "open" travel. You could work your way down the former East and Bavaria for a week. Do your last week of study in Munich then fly home.

This is such a wonderful opportunity. You'll learn a lot no matter which way you go.

My sister and I went to Germany last year, but we found air fares to be quite expensive for Germany, so we landed in Amsterdam and took the train to Cologne. It wasn't a long trip--three hours, if I recall correctly. We'd prefer to fly open jaws--into one city and out of another--but it was so much cheaper to arrive and depart Amsterdam that we decided on that.

One thing I'd really wanted to see was the Spreewald, which is south and a little east of Berlin, but we had to skip that. I think the travel by train idea is especially good. I agree that it's easier to interact with Germans on the train.

I enjoyed Rothenburg the first time I went there, but repeated visits have palled. It's the tourist capital of the world, jammed with groups of Japanese and American tourists. I know that it's better off season, but if you do go, I'd suggest that you stay overnight. I found it much nicer early in the morning or in the evening, after the day-trippers have departed. I loved Bamberg, on the other hand. Charming city and not too touristy. I like Nuremburg also. My personal view is that Heidelberg is a lovely town, but it has been--at least in the past--filled with American military. Maybe it's different now, with so many troop withdrawals, but much as I enjoyed my time there, and as much as I support the troops, I don't travel there now because I want to see Germany and Germans, not Americans.

If you have time in Berlin you might want to include either the Nieuw Palace or Sans Souci in nearby Potsdam..the interiors are worth the short trip out.

Going to someplace like Munich will give you a nice broader view of Germany and the Germans...the two cities are like going from "New Wave" to "Bible Belt" but both are certainly worth a visit.

Being a military retiree myself I can assure you that you aren't going to feel like you are in America anywhere you go in Germany, whether there are Americans there, or not..and those GI's mentioned above will definitely not be in unifrom!

Have a wonderful trip.

Remember that the Christmas Markets will be in full swing most of the time you're there. The bigger ones all start the last week of November and run for a month. This website is a really excellent resource for most of the bigger markets.

http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/index1.htm

Hope you have a fantastic trip and really get to experience the day to day life of Germany. We spent almost four years there and I wouldn't have traded a day of it.

Japanese and American tourists combined make up something under 40% of the visitors to Rothenburg.

What about Regensburg? It's a city of about 150,000 on the Danube, largely spared in WWII, with a life of its own.

Rothenburg wasn't my cup of tea. It's a very small city, perhaps 11,000 residents, that seems to exist solely for tourism. I prefer to visit cities where tourism is incidental to the life of the city. Regensburg is a city with a rich culture, including an opera.

Bamburg is also wonderful. Population about 70,000.

I loved both Bamburg and Regensburg.