Trip report Germany - Koln, Dusseldorf, Heidelberg, Wernigerode, Dresden, Meissen and Berlin
 

Here is my trip report from our trip to Germany in September. First many thanks to the posters on Fodors.com for their help and advice. Without it, this trip would have not been near the success that it was. :)

Flight from Houston to Frankfurt - Sept. 16-17th
On American Airlines connecting in Dallas. No problems with delays and the extra leg room that American offers in coach is always a great plus especially when traveling overseas.

Landed in Frankfurt - September 17th. We were met by my former exchange student that now lives in Witten. (Teary happy reunion) The rest of the day was spent back in Witten/Bochum visiting and trying to stay awake until at least 8:30PM. Report continued on next post.

Day Trip to Heidelberg on Saturday, Sept. 18th.
Although a three hour car ride away, our hosts wanted to show us Heidelberg. We arrived without much trouble and decided to get a view of the Old Town and Castle from the scenic street Schlangenweg. It is a good climb to the top but well worth it. The views from up there were fantastic. We then walked to the area where the main bridge crosses into the Old Town. We made our way the sometimes steep trail and walked across the bridge. Old Town was VERY crowded. I have no idea if it is that way every day or if it was made worse because this was a Saturday. We ventured off the main streets and it became much quieter and quaint. I am not a big shopper but did walk down the longest shopping street there and we had a beer at one the of the old student pubs. That was great. That evening we had dinner reservations at Die Schlossweinstube restaurant at Heidelberg castle. What a treat! I have eaten at many fine restaurants, but this has to rank near the top. The food was excellent, the presentation very original and the service first class. I highly recommend it. During dinner, we stopped and walked out on the terrace to see the sunset. After a gorgeous sunset we finished our meal and drove home. A wonderful day. Continued on next post...

Day trip to Koln and Dusseldorf - September 19th. (My birthday with a pub crawl :) )
Started off the day celebrating my birthday at home in Witten. Then church with the family and then on to Koln that afternoon. It was very crowded in Koln as well. It was International Children's Day and there were tents and activities everywhere. Took my friends to see the Cathedral there and we visited a couple of historic brauhaus'. Then took the train on to Dusseldorf. I always love Dusseldorf. I like the feel of the city and walking along the Rhine there. We had dinner at another historic pub and then a post dinner beer at Uerige. Walked some more and took a late train back to Witten. Continued next post....

Trip to Wernigerode - Sept 20th-21st
Got up early and drove with my student's family toward Wernigerode. It was a lovely scenic drive. We stopped in Goslar long enough to check out the Kaiserpfalz and then headed on to Wernigerode. In Wernigerode, we stayed at Hotel Am Anger. This hotel was recommended by Ingo and was a perfect location. They offered a family room that easily slept four with all the extras you like to have. It was the largest room I have had anywhere in Europe. The breakfast was very nice and I highly recommend it.

After checking in, we walked up to the Castle and took a tour. We were lucky that the day was clear and we could see the Brocken peak without fog or clouds. The wind was blowing hard but the locals say it is that way all of the time. The Castle was very interesting and well worth the time and money to tour it. After the tour, we walked back down to the town below. Wernigerode is a very quaint town with local merchant shopping. We ate at the restuarant next to the Rathaus. It was very reasonable and the menu was German food and delicious. On Tuesday morning, some of us got up to shop and others took the town walking tour that leaves from the tourist information center. It was very cheap and in German only. Then we caught the train to Dresden. Continued next post...

Arriving Dresden September 21st
We left our German family in Wernigerode and took the train to Dresden. Two train changes later, we were in Dresden. My other German exchange student goes to school there but he would not be in Dresden until later that night. (If you watch the German boards on Fodors, you will know that Ingo is from Dresden. I must tell you that he was instrumental in our planning this part of the trip and we could not have had the experiences we had if it had not been for his generousity and assistance....as you will see...)
Our bed and breakfast that I had booked was Pension Kaubler. A lovely artists home with reasonable rates and a good breakfast. It is located near the University so it was a good place for us to stay as well as being only two bus stops from the train station. That being said......back to the story.... :)
I had written to Ingo many many times about different things including how to get from the train station to our BandB. Normally, I have no problem with directions but the Dresden train station was under massive construction and we were a little turned around. As we stood in the station trying to decide where the "main entrance" was, and totally by chance, Ingo recognized us, walked right up to us, and helped us to our BandB. That night we all had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant overlooking the city. I have forgotten the name, maybe Ingo will list it as a response. It was a lovely evening with good food. Continued next post...

Ingo's City of Dresden tour - September 22nd
Ingo had volunteered to show us his beautiful city this day so we began at 9:30Am. Again, I can not say enough about his help and knowledge of his beautiful city. We started with an overview of the history and city from across the Elbe river. What a beautiful site....rain and all. Then we went to the Albertinum to see the Picture Gallery - New Masters art exhibit. After seeing that, we went straight to the Katholesche Hofkirche where there was a free organ concert at 11:30am. What a lovely church and organ. After seeing the church we headed to see the Green Vault exhibit that had just reopened and it was very impressive. We had a quick bite to eat and then continued our tour on foot...passing by the Zwinger, the Semper Opera House and the Frauenkirche. What a breathtaking city. The reconstruction in Dresden has been extensive and will continue I am sure for a long time.
That evening, we had dinner at Italienisches Dörfchen next to the Opera house in the Italian restaurant upstairs. From there we went to see Madame Butterfly at the Semper Opera. Once again, Ingo assisted us in getting our tickets very much in advance. The Opera House was breathtaking. I highly recommend taking the time well in advance of your trip to secure tickets to the opera. Make sure that you visit the upstairs during one of the intermissions if your seats are on the main level. The opera was very good and the voices of highest quality. (Side note: People in Dresden dress for the opera, unlike some cities in Europe.) Continued next post....

Day Trip to Meissen - Sept. 23rd
We took my student's car to Meissen for a day trip to this quaint town. We started at the Meissen Porcelein Factory and took the tour to see how it was made. I recommend this tour highly. There are audio guides in several languages to go along with the tour. You get to see several people making, painting etc the porcelein. Afterwards you can see their display of porcelein and also shop in their extensive gift shop. Bring your credit cards...it is not cheap, but still reduced in price from what you pay in the States. From there we went to the Cathedral. We took the tour (in German but Mike translated for us) up to the top of the towers (306 steps). Even if you have no translator, it is the only way to the top and the views from there are spectacular. The church is Gothic in style and a wonderful example of this type of architecture.
After walking through the town and watching them prepare for thier annual wine festival the next day, we ate dinner at Restaurant Vincent Richter (another Ingo suggestion). It is a winery and restaurant all in one and located near the market square. We were lucky to get in before it became fully booked. We had a wonderful dinner there and bought some of the house wine to take back home. It was a delightful Reisling and was enjoyed by all. continued next post....

Dresden to Berlin Sept. 24th
We checked out of Pension Kaubler and headed back to the train station for the ride to Berlin. We had made seat reservations ahead of time due to the Berlin Marathon being that weekend and we are glad that we had them. When I planned this trip, I had no idea that the Marathon was that weekend. Because of this, most all hotels were fully booked. I took a chance and booked the Hotel Derag Henriette without feedback from people that had stayed there before. It seemed like no one knew anything about the hotel. I booked it through "Places To Stay.com" for a reduced rate from what the hotel had published. We were SO PLEASED with this hotel. The location was directly on the U2 subway and the hotel was 4* all the way. It was a small boutique type hotel with a sister hotel across the street. The rooms were set up for the business traveler and the breakfast included each morning was the finest of the trip. We paid $110 american including taxes for a double room but the price has gone up since we booked it. It is still well worth the price.
We arrived at the Zoo station and easily took the U2 directly to the hotel. It was raining, so we took the U2 then to visit the Checkpoint Charlie Museum instead of taking a boat ride of the city like I had enjoyed before. From there we walked to the Topography of Terror and remaining piece of the Wall. We walked on to Potsdamer Platz and then had a late dinner before returning to the hotel. continued next post....

Walking tour of Berlin - Sat. Sept 25th
We started out the day walking from our hotel to the Berliner Dom. I love this church. It is my favorite in all of Germany. We climbed the stairs (249) to the top of the towers for a great view on a beautiful day. We then walked down Unter den Linden past Embassies and great stores and monuments. The road was being used for the marathon and they were also running the skating marathon that day. It was fun to watch all the skaters race down the street toward the Gate. We continued down until we reached the Brandenberg Gate. From there we walked parallel to Under den Linden through the Tiergarten. It was beautiful and peaceful. We reached the Victory Column before returning back to the Gate to meet our friends. We then headed to the Reichstag. IMPORTANT TIP! I learned from people on Fodors.com that you can avoid the massive lines to the top of the Reichstag by making a reservation at the Terrace Restaurant on the roof there. You can do this online. I can find the link again but it is listed on the boards. You then go to the Handicapped elevator where they have your name and they let you right through. It was so easy. It is open all day so even if you don't want to spend a lot on lunch, you can make one for a late snack or coffee and cake in the afternoon. Just make them early. The food was very good and the service was prompt. From the Reichstag, I spent some time with another one of my students that had come from Brussels to meet me. We walked from the Reichstag to Alexanderplatz and the TV tower. The others headed for the giant department store in Berlin and shopping in that area. That night we ate in the Indian restaurant that was connected to our hotel. It was very reasonable and the food was very good. FYI, directly behind the hotel, there is a boat tour stop that is very convienent if you are interested. They had both day and night tours.
Notes on Berlin: We bought a Berlin Welcome Card at the BVG office outside of Zoo station. It had reduced entrance fees to most all of our stops and also covered the subways and busses for three days. It was very convienent and saved us about 10E when it was all said and done. We also walked a lot but it was very doable. If you are not up to long walks, the 100 and 200 buses run along the same route that we walked and stop every 10 minutes. They were not running that weekend because of the Marathon. continued next post...

Berlin to Witten ...Sunday, Sept. 26th
That morning, we checked out and headed back to the Zoo station on the U2. No problems. We took a train back to Dortmund so we could see one of my student's boyfriends play in a basketball tournement. It was very fun and the 1E Bratwurst was the steal of the trip! After winning there, we went back to Witten to repack and have a goodbye dinner. Twelve of us headed to Hotel-Restaurant Elbschetal in Wetter. I very nice small town near Witten. It had great German food and was reasonably priced as well. A wonderful way to end our trip.
Witten to Frankfurt and home... Sept 27th
That morning we took the train from Bochum at 6AM and reached Frankfurt airport train station at 8:20AM. Our flight was at 10:55 so we had plenty of time to check in. Much better than spending the night in Frankfurt the night before our flight like we did last time. Our flights were on time and we had no problems what so ever.....see final post....

Final thoughts.
I am sure I have made spelling mistakes and left out information. So if you have a question, post it and I will be glad to answer it if I can. We did use rail passes that we bought in advance. These were wonderful. We made seat reservations once we were in Germany for several legs of our trip just so we could sit together and not stress over finding a seat. The reservations are cheap and worth it in my opinion. Using the trains in Germany are very easy and people are most helpful if you have a question or need assistance.

Our trip was just wonderful and we were blessed with great weather through most of the trip. Staying with families or in Bed and Breakfasts make all the difference in the world when traveling. It helps you to discover a country's soul and not just go from monument to monument like a robot. Take the time to talk to people along the way, be it in a subway or on the train. You get back so much more than you give to others when you make the effort. I also want to thank again all of the fodorites that helped me plan this trip with an extra special thanks to Ingo in Dresden. The trip would not have been near as special without your help and gift of time spent with us in Dresden. Trip report finished....over and out! :)

It sounds like a great trip! How lucky you were to get the Ingo private tour. He is such a knowledgeable and helpful person. I'm looking forward to my own tour in the not too distant future!

Thanks for posting, apseals.

Very much enjoyed your trip report, thanks for posting!

Thanks for the details on Wernigerode. I'd like to make a stop there too and found it very difficult to locate information on this town.

Thanks for sharing this wonderful trip report. I am glad you enjoyed your trip.

Thanks also for speaking in such positive terms of your private Dresden guide :) It was a pleasure and I really enjoyed the time with you.

Grasshopper, you are very welcome :-)

dovima: Wernigerode was a delightful side trip. Hotel Am Anger is also a find. http://www.hotel-am-anger.de You can also find information on the castle here http://www.schloss-wernigerode.de/english.asp

Ingo: I talked to Carol yesterday and she said that your commentary and information about Dresden and Germany was one of the highlights of our trip. I must agree. You have permanent fans in Austin, Pittsburgh and Southeast Texas. Our doors are always open to return the favor. :)

Hey all,

Yes, apseals, I really enjoyed reading your report and spending some imaginary time in beautiful Deutschland. Though I haven't been there in almost 20 (!!) years, your report brought it back powerfully! I should have let you know how much I enjoyed it when I first read it over the weekend, but I've been lazing about . . . sorry!

Grasshopper, thanks so much for topping this!!

Ingo, ueber guide, you rock!

s

Just a note to let you know how much I enjoyed your trip report. My daughter lives in Munster, which is near Koln and Dusseldorf. It might be worth a look see if you return to visit your friends.

I just loved Berlin when I visited in 2001. I thought it was a very exciting city and enjoyed it more than even Paris or London. Perhaps my reaction had something to do with it being my first visit there.

I have always wanted to go to Dresden but haven't got there yet.

FauxSteMarie: I was in Berlin in Oct. of 2001 and there are many less cranes on the landscape now, but the excitement is still there. I love Berlin and that is the exception to the rule for me, because i usually prefer smaller towns. I will make note of Munster. I will be back for sure. Those students are like my own flesh and blood and I have a great bond with them as well as their families.

I have no idea where that last post came from. It is a shame...

Well I guess they removed the post. That is good.
Ingo: What was the name of the restaurant that we ate at in Dresden on the first night we were there?

A,

we had dinner at the "Luisenhof" the first night. Too bad the funicular was not in operation (it is again).

Thanks again for the kind words :) I am glad you enjoyed the tour and found the information interesting. Please pass on greetings to Carol and the others!

By the way, not only a politely enthusiastic audience after (the new) "Turandot" at the opera house last week, but also standing ovations.

Ingo: It is a shame that Carol was not there. Turandot is her favorite opera. Will tell her about it. Also, I could not remember the restuarant name to put in my photo album notes so now I can. Thanks so much!

Hello apseals -

I know this report is 2 years old, but I have just found it. I will be visiting Berlin and Dresden in July, and am trying to find out as much as I can about these great cities. Your report is wonderful.

My next "search" will be to make a reservation at the Terrace Restaurant. Hope I'm not too late.

Thank you, from a fellow Texan (Austin)!

kopp: Glad I could be of service. It was a wonderful trip. If you read these boards you know that Ingo is the expert on Dresden. If you like I would be glad to give you his email address or just post on this site with a question about Dresden and he will reply. (Just got back from Austin on Wednesday. Son is in Pharmacy school there and I chair the scholarship committee at Texas Exes.)

Another Ex-Austinite and frequent Dresden traveller here.

I have lots of good restaurant ideas, many from Ingo and many from my Dresden colleagues.

Just returned a week ago from most recent trip, including 1 day trip to Berlin so let me know if you have specific questions.

J62

Hi apseals, kopp and J62! I did not realise there are so many travellers to Dresden on this forum ;-)

Yes, kopp, keep your questions coming! I'll be glad to advise you. Btw, if I recall correctly you're going to stay at the Hilton, right? The road (minor street) works in front of the Hilton are almost completed, and so are the works on the facades of the new block vis-a-vis.

J62 - unfortunately I have to delete one restaurant from the recommendation list: Hotel Schloss Eckberg went considerably down in quality lately. Don't know why. Friends of mine reported about a just fair but overpriced meal there.

Greetings to Texas! Hope the hurricanes don't hit you hard again this season.

Ingo

Thanks, y'all, for your kind offers to help. I'm just finishing up my Prague (5 nights) and Berlin (6 nights) planning, so next week I hit the Dresden books (3 nights). Right now, I'm kind of in the overwhelmed stage. Each city has so much to offer.

I did post a question the other day about the Reichstag tower restaurant in Berlin, but it went nowhere. Just curious about the menu. Somewhere I read it was really expensive. I'd just like to know what "expensive" means, whether it would be worth getting the reservation to avoid the crowds.

And you're right, Ingo, we're staying at the Hilton. Thanks for the update.

We leave in 4 weeks!

I am sure I would be overwhelmed too. Somehow it sounds like a nightmare to me to spend two weeks in cities only - and although each city has nice gardens, parks, recreation areas they're still cities with much traffic and crowds. Huh, I would definitely plan a break somewhere in the countryside (read: mountains).

I cannot really help with the Reichstag restaurant, but I found their website. You can download the menus for June at this website:
http://www.feinkost-kaefer.de/ht_de/...peisekarte.php
Mittagessen=Lunch
Abendessen=dinner

In German only I guess, but you can still get an idea of the prices.

Ingo

Ingo, I had to laugh at your talk about staying so long in the cities. You're absolutely right. We spent 10 nights in Rome a couple months back, and man, was I ready for a break at the end.

But fear not! Although it did not work out to put a break in the middle of our upcoming trip, at the end of this we head straight to the Swiss Alps for 3 weeks of hiking and yodeling (well, maybe not the yodeling part), but we definitely will need to decompress!

Oh, I did not recall that you are going to spend additional 3 weeks in Switzerland after visiting the cities. Now that makes me green of envy!

But I hope to be in Switzerland in early July (for just a week I think), so it is okay ;-)

I.

Ingo: Just a moment of personal thanks for the project you helped me on for Dalton's class. I think that you will be receiving a thank you email from Dalton very soon. Why does it not surprise me that you are headed to Switzerland this summer?? :)

Kopp: Even if the menu is expensive, you do not have to go there for a full meal. You can make a later reservation and have dessert and coffee for far less and avoid the long lines. I have done it both ways and using the restaurant as your entrance is by far the best choice IMHO.

J62: Lots of former Austinites around these boards. :) Glad you had a great trip.