Hey Guys! This is my first post but, I need some help. I am trying to plan a trip for next April. We already have our plans set in Switzerland (staying with a friend) but, we need help with planning the next 10 days.

We want to go to Munich and Franfurt or Berlin and/or Austria.

Any suggestions?

Any idea what you want to do or see in any of those areas?

Berlin is a ways away from Switzerland. Might want to save that for another trip. A day up, 2 days there, and a day back will eat up almost 1/2 of your 10 days. My suggestion would be to concentrate in the Bavarian areas of Munich, Garmish, Oberamergau, Bertchesgarden, and Salzburg. Plenty to see and do in 10 days. Do a search with any of those key words and that will give you lots of ideas.

Welcome to the board, jlras21!

Without more info from you (age, # of people, interests, car or train, etc.), we really can't help you much.

If I'm planning a trip, I pick up a few guidebooks and see what looks good to ME, then go from there.

Have fun planning!

I'll add to Budman's idea, you could also fit Vienna in fairly easily. Berlin is too far & Frankfurt, well is Frankfurt.

Hi there,

A great side trip from Munich is to Neuschwanstein (sp!?!). Its an easy trip by train and unforgetable, it would give you a chance to see (in my opinion) some of the best that Bavaria has to offer.
Another one of my must see's was Dachau, only about 20 minutes from the central train station.
If you are into beer drinking, the Haufbrahaus should not be missed!

http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/english/index_start.html

Frankfurt is a great city and I enjoyed visiting there, though it is a commerical/commerce city and I think you might enjoy spending more time in other places. If I had to choose, it would be Salzburg or another city in Austria over Frankfut. Just my opinion though.

Berlin is great for modern architecture, and the contrast between this and shrapnel pocked buildings is sobering. A very cosmopolitan city with a ton to see. I enjoyed going to the Reichstag in the evening, you can see the entire city lit up from the top.

Let me know if you would like info on anything else!

There's nothing particularly wrong with Frankfurt, but as others have pointed out it's really a commercial city and doesn't have as much to offer the visitor as many other places you could visit.

Ten days after Switzerland, I agree that a good plan would be to concentrate on Austria and Bavaria (or maybe the Black Forest). I wouldn't go further north than Bamberg and Wurzburg.

That still gives you a lot of territory to cover in 10 days. You could easily spend 10 days in either Austria or Bavaria, but splitting it up would be OK, too.

I haven't done much in Austria, just drove through a couple of times. But places worth visiting in Bavaria (depending on your personal tastes) include: Munich--certainly worth a minimum of 2 full days, better with 3 days; Ludwig's best known castles including--Neuschwanstein and his boyhood castle Hohenschwangau both in the village of Hohenschwangau, Linderhof which is a short drive east of Hohenschwangau, and Herren Chiemsee which is on an island; towns like Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg on the Romantic Road; Bamberg--a gem of a well preserved small city that isn't as touristy as Rothenburg; Augsburg, Regensberg and Wurzburg--3 interesting cities with lots to see and do.

This is just a sampling of what's available in Bavaria--I second the notion that you get some guidebooks and read up on what sounds interesting to you. Come up with a list of must sees; i.e., things you'll regret the rest of your life not visiting when you had the chance.

But it is your time and money--and if you think you'll regret having not visited Berlin this trip--then go for it.

We did Berlin and then Munich last year. The contrast between the two cities made for a great trip. Definitely end up in Munich, it was a wonderful city.