US family reunion in Germany in Dec.
 

My 24 year old daughter and boyfriend are flying to Frankfurt from Malaysia and 5 of us are traveling from the US to spend the holidays with them in Germany. (All adults) We arrive on 12/19 and depart on 12/31. We are not sure what is the best itinerary. 1/2 the group wants to go to Munich and the other 1/2 to Berlin during the trip. I wouldn't mind doing both since I haven't been to Germany since the wall went down. Nuremberg and Strasberg have also been mentioned.

I have been told that most places in Germany close down from 12/24-12/27 and need ideas where we should plan to stay during that period.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Debbie

You probably will want to book apartments with kitchens for those days at Christmas time itself - and stock up on groceries beforehand. The alternatives are train station food or major hotel restaurants.

I have not tips on where to go - you've left no clues about what interests your group might have.

Christmas markets are open through Dec. 23 and sometimes on the 24th for a few hours. Flying into FRA, it might be good to spend a few days in that area first. Mainz (about 20 min. by train from FRA) is an interesting smaller city with a very good Christmas market. Ruedesheim (on the scenic part of the Rhine River) is an old-world town not far from Mainz and also has a great market. From Mainz you could day trip there - and into Frankfurt as well.

Fussgänger nailed it.

Let me add this: For a crude generalization (and realizing that one should never generalize...), Berlin compares more to New York and Munich compares more to Boston or Chicago. In Berlin things happen fast, in Munich the “Gemütlichkeit” (the “coziness”) rules. Also, Munich makes more of the Christmas season, visually and in terms of “vibe”.

Get a house or apartment from any of the companies that do short-term rentals; I have had good experiences with housetrip.com over the last few years in far-flung parts of the world. You’ll stock up, have family time around the kitchen table when the shops and restaurants close, play games - it will let you make the most of the get-together that you all came for.

From Munich you can easily visit mountain locations, with snow if you’re lucky, or the “crazy” King Ludwig’s castle at Neuschwanstein, and other fun stuff.

On the way from Frankfurt (where you might all spend the first night in a hotel anyway) you can certainly stop at Nürnberg - fast trains like the 10:48 out of Frankfurt (M) Hbf (Hbf = principal station) stop in Nürnberg anyway, so if you buy your ticket while mentioning that you’ll break the journey, you’ll be set for a few hours of trip interruption in Nürnberg on the way to München.

Strasbourg (not -berg) is across the French border and not on the direct line to München.

See www.bahn.de for timetables.

>> I have been told that most places in Germany close down from 12/24-12/27 <<

Better listen to us Fodorites. The great museums in Berlin (e.g. the wonderful Pergamon-Museum) are closed only on 24 December, they are open on 25 and 26 December like on regular Sundays. Same for the Jewish Museum.

Thanks so much for your advice. All advice is appreciated. My oldest daughter who is arriving from Malaysia has never been to Munich and my youngest daughter was in Munich last March. My youngest is going to be in Germany for the shortest amount of time from 12/22- 12/31 or 1/2. (she may end up being there a day on her own.

We all love Christmas and definitely want to see at least one Christmas market. Still not sure how to make everyone happy. The main reason we are going though is to spend time together over the holidays. My daughter's boyfriend who will be traveling with her from Malaysia's parents are going as well. With 7 people I keep wondering if it would be cheaper to rent a couple of cars than to travel from place to place by train or airplane.

I have traveled from the Italian Alps to the Amalfi coast before so driving 6-8 hours doesn't bother me.

Once again I appreciate all tips and am glad to have a new website to be looking for accommodations!

Every German town has at leat one Christmas market. Large cities have several dozens. And all of them are good. No need to ask for "the best" Christmas market.

My personal preference would be Berlin. Berlin was the capital city of an empire, München was the capital city of a small duchy. You can still see it. Still, we call München a big village.

But you have time enough for both. Start in Berlin and end in München - the probability of snow in the Alps increases by end of December.

Please recheck your history book, traveller. Munich was the capital of an Electorate which then became a kingdom. Definitely more than a small duchy.