lisa_chicago

My husband & I will be in Berlin in July (my first trip to Germany!). I was wondering if there are any vineyards that are near Berlin (for a side trip). Does anyone have any recommendations or is there a website useful for looking up this information? Thanks much in advance!

hsv

Berlin is too far North for that. There are some vineyards in the state of Saxony, but that would be closer to Dresden etc. rather than being close to Berlin.

Ingo

Hi lisa,

the closest vineyards to Berlin are those in the Elbe valley, north of Dresden, about 2 hours south of Berlin.

In case you speak German, there are two helpful websites:
www.saechsische-weinstrasse.de
www.meiland.de/weinstrasse

If you don't speak German, please post your questions here. I will try to answer properly (I am a local, live in Dresden).

Ingo

Ingo

Good morning to Hamburg ;-)

hsv

And a good morning to you, Ingo, too!

JulieVikmanis

Lisa hope you don't mind my asking a question on your thread. Ingo, we plan to spend 2 days in Dresden, probably arriving by train from Prague. Had not known about vineyards in the area but now that I know they are there, I am interested. Would we need a car to see them or are there alternate ways to get there? Are they of sufficient interest to merit taking scarce time away from the city of Dresden and renting a car if necessary? Thanks.

Ingo

Hi Julie - I am not sure if the vineyards are a "must" if you have only two days in Dresden. They are in fact a popular place for the locals, with some castles at the foot of the hills, some picturesque villages, wine tasting etc.

I must say, though, that they are not as impressive as along the Rhine e.g. - much smaller. The wine is very good, but relatively expensive. If you need a break from city sightseeing it might be a good idea to visit the vineyards, but if I were you ... spend one day in the city centre and the other day make a steamboat trip from the city centre to Pillnitz castle (90 minutes), explore the castle and walk through the garden there - off from the busy city. Back by bus No. 83 to Blue Wonder bridge and explore that area.

For the vineyards: Not really a car necessary if you visit Radebeul (suburban train, S1). Castle Hoflössnitz is very nice and located right at the foot of the vineyards. You could also have a wine tasting there. You could continue with either the winery at Schloss Wackerbarth (some stops further by bus) or take the steam train to the hunting castle Moritzburg which is a gem and a bit off the beaten path - back by bus from there (frequently running) to Dresden.

Or visit a very beautiful small town like Meissen (S1 again) with picturesue old town, castle, cathedral, porcelain manufacture. And some vineyards right on the other bank of the river ...

If you need more information post here or email me directly [email protected]

Ingo

Ingo

Oops, I forgot there are even (relatively small) vineyards in Pillnitz. In the middle you see a nice small Baroque church. And at the end of that narrow street at the foot of the hills is a winery - the name of the guy is Zimmermann; he makes organic wine, his wife is artist/sculptor or something like that. Very interesting.