Need some initial thoughts on itinerary - Dresden, Potsdam, Berlin
 

I'm trying to book flights for September before my practical side kicks in and tells me that my finances don't allow a trip this year so I want to book this weekend without any recent reading on these locations.

Looking for number of days in each location. Without counting travel days nor arrival day, I'm thinking of 3 days in Dresden, 2 days in Potsdam (including travel from Dresden), and 5 days in Berlin. This seems about right to me but I'm wondering if I need more time in Dresden or Potsdam. Perhaps for some small side trips. I can take up to 2 weeks for the trip.

I like everything, especially churches - all kinds from Baroque to Cistercian - and enjoy a leisurely style rather than running from sight to sight.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

adrienne,

if you can, I would stretch the trip to the full 2 weeks to give you a few more days in Dresden, which is a great centre for side trips.

only 3 nights [ie 2 days] in Dresden will not give you time to explore both the city and the surrounding area using the boats and other public transport. you might also want an extra night in Potsdam so that you have a chance to take in all the sights there too.

hopefully Ingo will chime in here as he lives in Dresden and knows a huge amount about what there is to see and do - you could try a search for his previous threads on Dresden.

Relocating hotels to me at least is a real pain. Potsdam is about a half-hour S-bahn train ride from central Berlin - base in Berlin and do one day, more than enough, in Potsdam, which I love - Sans Soucci taking a few hours plus rambling around the vast park this Prussian Versailles sit on the edge of - seek out the various follies - whimsical edifices serving no real purpose - scattered around the park.

But one day is enough and there are loads of great day trips from Berlin to use those two days on: Sachenhausen concentration camp; Boat rides thru the canals at Lubenow, a dash over to Poland, etc.

ann - I'll definitely take your advice on 2 weeks. I need to use FF miles for the air and have found flights that give me the 2 weeks. Thanks for reminding me about Ingo as I'd forgotten he resides in Dresden.

Pal - I hear you about changing hotels but for me it works best. I like to sight see all day and then go back to the hotel for a rest, shower, and change and then go back out for dinner and a stroll or evening activity. I would get too tired for a day trip to Potsdam from Berlin and would not want to stay late.

As far as your "mad dash" to Poland - another trip without the mad dash. My next Poland trip will be driving through the SE and then a few days in my beloved Krakow hence a leisurely trip.

I'll be looking for more specific itinerary feedback after booking flights, and reading, reading, reading. Previously, I've copied links to tons of threads and TRs that I have to sort through.

If anyone has anything specific that I should not miss then comment away.

Thanks!!!

Of course I'll chime in :-)

Whatever amount of time you have in Dresden, it can easily be filled with things to do and see. Especially if you do a couple of excursions to the nearby towns and the National Park Saxon Switzerland you could easily spend all the two weeks here.

I suggest once you booked the flights and have done some reading you come back with specific questions. Right now I don't know what exactly to recommend.

I.

adrienne - I agree with you about being able to go back to the hotel, have a nice rest, then go out in the evening - that's what we like to do too.

we had a day in Potsdam and it wasn't really long enough to see everything plus the town itself is picturesque and interesting. I think that you get so much more out of a place if you stay for 3 nights as opposed to 2 - and why not if you've got the time?

you can click on my screen name to find my trip report from a couple of years ago - our first stop was Potsdam and our last was Dresden which might help you to locate the bits of the TR which may help.

adrienne - I agree with you about being able to go back to the hotel, have a nice rest, then go out in the evening - that's what we like to do too.>

Well I certainly understand that - we have different styles of travel - I never go back to my hotel until night - but I see your reason and I think it is great and yes Passau is much more than just Sans Souci Palace.

I enjoyed walking from Potsdam to Babelsberg Park (a don't miss IMO)to the old border bridge where spies were traded - then along a sandy beach along the Wannsee (totally naked bathers everywhere!) to Peacock Island (loved it!) to Wannsee B-Bhan station - if into longish walks really nice.

ann I love your TRs. I was looking at my notes and see that I had already copied a link for your "...Go to Eastern Germany" into my Word file.

Thanks, Ingo - looking forward to your future comments!

Pal - didn't see your second comment until I refreshed the screen. Hmmm...totally naked bathers - sounds interesting as long as they are young and buff!! :)

>>adrienne on Mar 15, 14 at 11:51am

Pal - didn't see your second comment until I refreshed the screen. Hmmm...totally naked bathers - sounds interesting as long as they are young and buff!! :)<<

Lol, no guarantees there!

We just spent 6 nights in Dresden and could have spent more, but we are not high energy types.

I do like your idea about staying in Potsdam. There's so much to do in Berlin that Potsdam often gets short shrift.

Woohoo - just booked my tickets this morning. Because of FF ticket availability it was a choice of 12 or 16 days. I took the 16 day ticket so have plenty of time to explore and eat good German food!

Pal - didn't see your second comment until I refreshed the screen. Hmmm...totally naked bathers - sounds interesting as long as they are young and buff!!>

Naw - like in Munich's Englischer Gardens and many other public parks in Germany where nudism is tolerated and has been mushrooming they all seem like me - old f's with bellies drooping - eye candy definitely not. (BTW I did not disrobe!)

This is my slightly out-of-date two cents on Berlin with help from many others, things we liked about Berlin - to me one of the most fascinating cities in Europe right now - seeing a world capital being rebuilt into a grand world capital.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...in-journal.cfm

adrienne - 16 days? wow.

what a great trip in the making.

Are you going to spend any time in Berlin first? or go straight to Potsdam or Dresden and work your way back?

Hi Ann - I think it's really 15 days if I don't count arrival day. I'm flying into Dresden and home from Berlin.

When in Potsdam, you may want to check out this church:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_...deemer,_Sacrow
The location is quite nice.

If you like to travel at a leisurely pace, you can do many short or long boat trips from Potsdam.

see - i can't count.

but 15 days is still pretty good.

have you decided how to divide up your time?

<< have you decided how to divide up your time? >>

Not yet. I am planning on 5 days in Berlin. I know as I read the other 10 days will fill in rapidly. After gathering some information I can easily see 3-4 days in Dresden and at least 2 in Potsdam, perhaps 2.5 as the first morning will be transiting from Dresden.

Cowboy - that church is officially on my itinerary. Along with every other church I stumble upon!

If you have a couple of days to fill in your itinerary, Prague is a pretty easy train trip from Dresden.

Thanks for the suggestion but I've been to Prague twice. It is beautiful.

Which day trips from Dresden have you planned? Or maybe even overnights? Are Meißen, Freiberg, Bautzen, Görlitz on your radar? National Park Saxon Switzerland?

<< Which day trips from Dresden have you planned? >>

Hi Ingo - I haven't planned any day trips from Dresden, I didn't get farther than getting information on sights in town so none of those other towns have been considered (yet). I'll be at the libraries today and tomorrow and will pick up some Germany guides. I've downloaded info from this site (postings and info under destinations) and from Let's Go. I'll take a look at the towns you mention, above.

The National Park looks very pretty but also something I'd need a car to get to and I'm not renting a car on this trip. Probably no overnights either as it would be too much moving around in 2 weeks.

Saxon Switzerland to me is one of Europe's most beautiful river valleys - reddish sandstone cliffs topped by old forts - the Basteii, etc. You can take a boat there from Dresden in tourist season or easily take a train along the east side of the gorge - Bad Schnadau is a famous resort town near the Czech border - easy as a day trip from Dresden - at southern end of Saxon Switzerland - an antique tram rumbles from there up thru forests.

<< Bad Schnadau >>

Do you mean Bad Schandau?

It is a short ride - 45 minutes by train. The boat would probably take hours.

What's a good map for Dresden and Potsdam or don't I need to buy one. I've ordered a Streetwise for Berlin but Streetwise doesn't make maps for Dresden and Potsdam.

Yes Bad Schandau and its famous 5-mile tram that goes thru forests to a famous waterfall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirnitzschtal_Tramway

You don't really need a map for Dresden. Pick up a free one from the tourist info or from one of the guys selling tickets for the city tours by bus.

Don't want to talk you into something you're not really comfortable with - but you saw yourself that there are trains and buses going frequently to Saxon Switzerland. The most popular spots like Bastei viewpoint or Fortress Königstein are accessible by train/bus combination. A steamboat ride is recommended between, say, Pirna and Kurort Rathen or Königstein. Everything else is too long. Bad Schandau is the 'hub' for the rear part of Saxon Switzerland, but you must hop on another bus or the tram to get to the mountains, and then it's walking/hiking ...

. Bad Schandau is the 'hub' for the rear part of Saxon Switzerland, but you must hop on another bus or the tram to get to the mountains, and then it's walking/hiking>

Yup that would be one whole nice day - I did not get a chance to do it and is on my bucket list - I would go just to the Bastei or Konigstein areas in the middle of Saxon Switzerland.

Don't forget Leipzig when you're thinking about day trips from Dresden.

Meissen and its great castle on a hill and famous Meissen ceramics works were to me really nice though not all reviews on Fodor's have been positive - but if interested in Meissen ceramics then tour the factory and extensive museum and chance to buy firsts and seconds. Just a short train ride from Dresden.

if you can get to Leipzig on a saturday afternoon, you can listen to the choir in the Thomaskirche [Bach's church] - here's the 2014 list of concerts:

http://www.thomaskirche.org/f-Pdf-d-...r=2014&lang=en

We so enjoyed this, particularly when we found that we were able to join in part of the singing.

Halle is also worth a trip if you can get there - the Haendel-Haus [Handel's place of birth] was fascinating.

http://handel-house.com/en/

Too bad - I won't be able to get to Leipzig for the concert as I'm arriving on a Saturday and won't have the energy to get on a train and be at the church by 3:00. Nice thought though.

Weimar is a really nice city that is just outside of Leipzig - see Mozart's (Beethoven's) cottage in a park. Was one of the very nicest cities in old East Germany - center of Bauhaus architecture - really neat town for low-key day trip. Nearby Erfurt and Naumburg are gems too - on another trip that area would make a great base for a few days - Eisenach of course having Wartburg Castle where ink still stains the walls of the little room Martin Luther was hiding out in when one day he saw the Devil and threw his ink bottle at him, just hitting the walls.

Thanks, Pal!

I will also be in Potsdam and Dresden in July, both for 2 days. Looking for a good walking tour in each city. Any recommendations? Have looked a bit on Trip Advisor, but would like to hear from the Fodor folks. Not into biking, so walking is better for me. Anything historical is perfect.

I plan on taking the Old Town Dresden Walk.

http://www.dresdenwalks.com/

Dresdenwalks.com is pretty good.

For anyone speaking German (Mainhattengirl, you do, right?) I'd highly recommend Igeltour. They have the usual walks in the old town etc. but also themed walks in other districts. The guides are very knowledgeable, (art) historians aside, other guides are also architects, doctors, actors, musicians ... for every theme the right one.

http://www.igeltour-dresden.de

Pal - Weimar is really quite far from Dresden and Berlin. Not exactly a day trip.

Adrienne - instead of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig you can easily attend a concert of the Kreuzchor boys choir in Dresden's Kreuzkirche. Almost as long tradition, and although J S Bach was never cantor here, the consensus is they are actually better these days. Kreuzchorvesper every Saturday at 5 or 6 pm.

http://www.kreuzkirche-dresden.de

Ingo - I see Kreuzkirche has Vespers on Saturdays. This is a Protestant church - what are the Vespers like? Are they choral? Does the boys' choir perform at every Vespers? I'd love to hear that. I'm very fond of a cappella singing and hope they have a concert while I'm in Dresden. This would be a highlight!

Pal - Weimar is really quite far from Dresden and Berlin. Not exactly a day trip>

Yes I only said this because someone was talking about doing a day trip from Dresden to Leipzig - only a bit more than an hour by train and Weimar and the other towns are only a short train ride from Leipzig - Leipzig never excited me that much - not into classical museum and though well if Leipzig is reachable so is Weimar et al.

But agree from Berlin at least a long way.

The Vespers in the Kreuzkirche are with much music: a cappella, organ, sometimes even other musicians, almost always the Kreuzchor boys - except when they are on tour, but in September they should be there.

Here are a few examples on youtube (crappy amateur recordings, though):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKscP-zCx8g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIDJ6o_HTP8 (fast forward to 2:40)
And here's a live recording in a different church (Lüneburg, northern Germany):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roP6M...&feature=share

I'm definitely going!