annhig

thanks, Ingo. The problem is that we're not sure how long we want to spend in the Harz, or where we want to go afterwards. Weimar and Bamberg? or Eisenach and Würzburg? we really don't have enough perimeters - so long as we end up in the Pfalz on the Friday afternoon [ie a week after we arrive in Hannover] it doesn't matter where we go. Just too much choice!

Patrick - I agree. The same with breakfast and parking - you'd think that for what you are paying, you'd get more inclusive services, not fewer.

annhig

ok, spurred on by Ingo, I've now made bookings at the Best Western hotels in Weimar and Bamberg. Both can be cancelled with no penalty up to 6pm on the day of arrival so we don't lose anything if we change our minds.

And i collect Best Western points if we do stay there. [which is an advantage as my favourite business hotel is a Best Western in Plymouth so i might qualify for the odd free night or two]. They always have free wifi, though not free parking, but I'm willing to pay for that for the car to be safe.

Pegontheroad

I returned to Leipzig in June of this year but stayed in the Best Western near the train station. The main reason I returned there was to spend more time in the Nicholaikirche and the Stasi museum (Musem an der Runden Ecke), primarily because they are both so important to eastern Germany's history.

When I returned home last year and thought about them, I realized that I hadn't spent enough time in either one. So when I returned there in June, I dropped into the Nicholaikirche on Sunday afternoon, where it turned out they were having a Catholic mass, so I stayed until it ended.

There was really beautiful organ music, which continued for a while after the Mass ended. Almost everyone stayed seated until the music ended. I was pretty impressed. I thought, "That is so German!" They do seem to love good music. In my church at home in Spokane, everyone seems to leap up and rush outside for a cigarette or downstairs to the church hall for coffee and donuts as soon as the priest leaves the altar.

Last year I went through the Stasi museum with a German-speaking guide, and since my German isn't flawless, I wanted to go through the museum again with an audio guide to pick up whatever I missed last year.

Just an aside, I think those business-class hotels charge so much for Wi-fi because they think "guests" are on business and their companies will pay for their accommodations. Ditto for outrageously expensive breakfasts.

Annhig: Weimar and Bamberg would have my vote. I really enjoyed both of those cities. Würzburg has my favorite baroque palace and court chapel, but I liked Weimar and especially Bamberg.

annhig

thanks for checking in on your own thread, Peg. It's good to have your endorsements for my tentative destinations. I have it in mind to stop off for a few hours in Würzburg on our way from Bamberg to the Pfalz so I will make a bee-line for the palace and chapel when/if we get there.

and thanks so much for your posts about Germany - they make most interesting reading.

Ingo

"Nicholaikirche on Sunday afternoon, where it turned out they were having a Catholic mass" -

Really? I doubt it. It's an Ev.-Lutheran church and they might have an oecumenic service there, but not a catholic mass. ;-)

quokka

Or maybe a Lutheran mass, or just the normal Lutheran service. But definitely no Catholic mass.

Pegontheroad

Ingo and Quokka: Yes, it truly was a Catholic mass, not a normal Lutheran service. I promise. I've attended mass at least once every week for 70 years, so I can tell the difference.

It seemed to be a special deal--5:00 p.m. mass.

That sort of thing does happen occasionally. On Pentecost Sunday 2004 in Schwäbisch Hall, I attended a mass at St.Michael's church, which has been Lutheran since the Reformation. First mass there in 500 years.

It was loooong, but the music was glorious.