My husband, 2 boys and I will be in northern Germany for the month of July. We have three 3.5 day weekends (Thurs noon - Sunday night) to do whatever we please. We have rail passes. We love nature and food (not to mention wine and beer!) and nice (but not exorbitantly priced) hotels. We generally hate cities, crowds, and shopping malls. I don't want to stress myself out seeing every last thing in the country. I'd rather come home relaxed, having seen some beautiful things and eaten some fantastic foods. It's getting late and I've made no plans or reservations. Can anyone help me figure out what to do and where to stay?

You'll probably like Lübeck. The area north of it - of which I know Eutin - is good for some fresh air.
Another good destination is the island of Rügen. I've once stayed in Sassnitz. From there it's a nice walk through the woods towards the iconic white cliffs of Königsstuhl and back along the beach.

I am not sure how "north" you are, but Wernigerode might be a good fit. We had a wonderful time there with our boys a couple of summers ago. There are great apartments up by the castle. The whole Harz area is full of hiking and charming towns and not a lot of tourists. We hiked the Brocken and visited the caves at Ruebeland.

Although we had a car, there appeared to be a really good public transit set up for the Harz attractions.

Apartment: http://www.schlossferien.de/

Caves: http://www.blankenburg-tourismus.de/...and-caves.html

Brocken: http://www.uncommon-travel-germany.com/schierke.html

If you're in the Hamburg area, go over to Luneburg to see a beautiful old city (with crooked houses because of the salt mining) and a national park filled with heather ("heide").

https://www.virtualtourist.com/trave...de-TG-C-1.html

Thank you so much! I will look at all of these. I just had a chance to look at Rügen and think that will definitely be on the list! Any thoughts on whether it is feasible to catch a train on Thurs. and go to either the Berchtesgaden or Zugspitze areas? They look like amazingly beautiful places. Thoughts on places to stay?

For what's possible or not, use this train planner of the Deutsche Bahn: www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml

>Thank you so much! I will look at all of these. I just had a chance to look at Rügen and think that will definitely be on the list! Any thoughts on whether it is feasible to catch a train on Thurs. and go to either the Berchtesgaden or Zugspitze areas? <

Coming from the north, you will loose a day for travelling. From Rügen (Binz) to Berchtesgaden it's a 13 hours train ride, from Lübeck it takes 9:30.

The north of Germany has some combined river and canal bike paths that make visiting Hamburg, Lubeck and Luneburg very easy on hired bikes. Some useful links here http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Elbe_Guide.php

You could also visit the lake area north of Berlin and of course visit Copehagen by Ferry, bike or car.

I was just recently on the Zugspitze. Even from Düsseldorf, we took a flight to München and rented a car to drive to Garmisch. I strongly recommend to stay in Grainau which has some old village feel and is close to the Zugspitze (both cogwheel train and cable tramway). Or stay directly at the lovely Eibsee.

Same for Berchtesgaden. If you can, fly into Salzburg. Alternatively München. And rent a car. Stay directly in Berchtesgaden, there are a lot of hotels. Most beautiful lake, also the moutains.

In North Germany, you also find many charming places. From West to East, check out Bremen (lovely historic city centre and city hall), nearby Papenburg (picturesque little town with a most interesting cruise ship shipyard), Münster (charming town, many castles nearby), Celle (historic town) and Lüneburg, Lübeck and surroundings (Travemünde, Ratzeburg), Sylt (beaches, seafood), Schleswig (Viking ship), Wismar (historic city), Mecklenburg (many lakes and castles) and, as said, Rügen (chalk cliffs) and Usedom.

And the Harz has more historic towns than Wernigerode, especially Quedlinburg.