it looks as if a trip to see our friends in the Pfalz may be on the cards for this summer. the plan is to fly into and out of Duesseldorf [we can fly there from our very local airport] and then drive down to Landau - about 2 1/2 hours.

after a stay of about 5 days, we would head off, aiming to be back in Duesseldorf to fly home 10 days later. [it has to be into and out of Duesseldorf as there are no flights back to our home airport from anywhere else in Germany and it has to be 10 days, as they only fly on a Saturday!].

we have explored the Pfalz quite thoroughly over the years we have been visiting our friends, and we have driven through the Black Forest, so we would like to see some other areas. I was wondering about doing a large circle, from Nueremberg, through Bayreuth, to Dresden, Leipzig, and back to Duesseldorf, via Goettingen.

where would be the best places to stay, and what should we be looking to see, besides the obvious ? though what's obvious to you may not be to me, of course! we would probably be travelling in late May/June so we would not be too hung up about making advance reservations, as there will only be two of us.

thanks, one and all!

How will you be travelling, by car or public (train/bus) means?

treplow- i had envisaged driving, but the train is also a possibility.

however, i just looked at www.bahn.de, and to get from the airport at Duesseldorf to where our friends live, due to the time of our incoming flight on the saturday, we would have to wait til Monday! whereas if we drove, it would take us under 3 hours.

sadly, though I like the idea of the train, I think the car would be more convenient. also, as we are British, we do not qualify for the German railpass.

ann, three of the places we visited in September 2009 would fit into your itinerary I believe -- Quedlinburg, Wernigerode and Hannoversch Muenden. We thought they were absolutely charming. Also, have you been to Bamberg? We were there in 2009 and returned for a couple of days in November.

If you have any interest, you might want to look at our photo album from that trip:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/575...lKyZ?start=168

Hi, Annhig!

Will you be doing a TR?

I'm looking at some of the same places - Leipzig, Dresden for the big cities and will probably like to add some of the smaller towns, so will look forward to your recommendations.

Nice to have a car in Germany, just watch out for those "Umleitungs"!

I would have to recommend the Bavarian Forest of course. Truly off the beaten track yet accessible from anywhere by train, on the border with Czech Republic, 2 lovely National Parks, history etc. What more could anyone want?

Hi annhig,

I understand that for this trip, using a car will be more convenient for you. However, I do want to make one comment for folks who may read this in the future --

Sometimes a Pass, any kind of pass, is not the cheapest way to travel by train. The DB offers great discounted fares when travellers can commit to travelling on a specific train at a specific time, and when they buy their tickets in advance. These discounted fares start at 39E. Generally, you need to buy your tickets about 90 days in advance. Even if the cheapest 39E fares are sold out, you can still get bargains at about the same price, like 49E or so.

Have fun as you plan!

s

annhig - what about the coast - visit the German Wadden sea islands? Or visit the Baltic coast? Certainly off the beaten track for most.

I would go North to the Münsterland to see the moated castles. On the way, there any number of meandering detours to take, some of which would include recommendations above. I would detour through the area around Kassel, Göttingen, Paderborn. I would also save two days; one for Düsseldorf and one for Köln.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...oesnt-know.cfm
- - this thread is a treasure-trove of 'off path' places in Germany, be sure to delve into it !

I'm a country type myself so I was thinking the Baltic coast too, like hetismij suggested. We had the most wonderful time driving from Hamburg to the island of Ruegen via the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula and then back to Luebeck. Of course summer would be the high season there, but even then it is not nearly as popular as other areas of Germany (and you certainly won't see a lot of American tourists). It would be a great area to travel by car, and the Autobahn between Hamburg and Ruegen is excellent - smooth and empty!

We never did get to Dresden and Leipzig, but they are on our wish list, and I'm sure you couldn't go wrong with those if you want to stick to big cities.

I think hausfrau's trip suggestion is a good one. I would be tempted to consider an additional 1 or 2 nights on Sylt if time allows, thus you'd get to see the best of the Baltic and North Sea coasts.
The season is almost perfect - the days will be long and the light is fabulous on a sunny day. And if you'd be going in late May/early June, you'd make it just before high season actually starts.

And May/June is definitely better than the season Al Murray chose, if you are watching BBC4 right now...

Hi annhig, sorry to be somewhat late to this thread (been busy with the Christmas markets ;-) ).

Unfortunately the "large circle, from Nueremberg, through Bayreuth, to Dresden, Leipzig, and back to Duesseldorf, via Goettingen" is indeed a large one - IMO too large for 10 days. Too many different places to stay overnight, too much packing/unpacking etc. I personally would concentrate on one region.

Of course, in summer the Baltic and North Sea coasts are an obvious choice.

I think the Weserbergland (Hameln, Hannoversch Münden, Rinteln etc.) would make a great combination with the Harz mountains and towns like Wernigerode, Quedlinburg etc.

I'll never say Saxony is not a good idea, but for this trip it seems to be too far away, especially if combined with other regions - you'd have to rush through the cities and hardly be able to see some off the beaten path places. However, if you're really interested in those, let me know and I'll come up with ideas.

I.

well, I've only been away for 24 hours [my excuse being in the chorus for my choir's biennal performance of Messiah, which I am told was a success!] and so many ideas! thank you one and all.

actually this may give you all a clue that I'm quite keen on music [ditto DH] - hence the lure of Bayreuth, Dresden, Leipzig and Goettingen. and if we didn't HAVE to go south of Duesseldorf, the trip would more naturally head northwards, I agree. but we do, as our friends [actually my penfriend from school, who has been quite unwell, and her husband] live in the Pfalz, so to the Pfalz we must go!

anyway, Ingo, i see that there are some quite tasty events on in Dresden in our potential window! simon rattle and berlin phil [the choir i used to sing with in london had Sir Simon as its resident conductor a VERY long time ago, so I'd love to see him again] Tannhaeuser, and the Magic flute.

so leaving the north coast for another time, [thanks for the idea Hausfrau] and making Dresden the main focus of our attention, where should we aim to see between the Pfalz and Dresden in one direction, and Dresden and Duesseldorf in the other?

and if we decide against Dresden as being too far for this trip, what are the "must sees" of Weserbergland? good places to base oneself there and in the Harz?

We spent 3 nights in Quedlinburg and drove the short distance to Wernigerode twice. This was right after my knee surgery last year so I wasn't able to walk as much as I wanted. We walked around the lovely town of Wernigerode and visited the castle. While in Quedlinburg, we stayed at this very nice hotel:

http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwest...ertyCode=95420

http://www.wernigerode.de/?id=homepage_en&lang=en

http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/qu...urg-story.html

Both Wernigerode and Quedlinburg have lovely town squares and some of the prettiest half timbered buildings I have seen.

We only spent one night in Hannoversch Muenden, but it's truly lovely. We stayed at the Alten Packhof Hotel right on the river.

http://www.packhof.com/index.html

http://www.niedersachsen-tourism.de/...nden/index.php

hi bettyk - thanks for the ideas and the photos. I love these little towns. they are just like the one my penfriend lives in.

but to stay in, i rather prefer rather larger places so that there is something to do in the evenings.

wanderfrau - we've spend some time in Koeln, so I'm not too interested in going back there. but the flight leaves quite early from Duesseldorf, so we might have to spend a night there anyway. if we didn't, what would we be missing?

Ah, looks like you'd be in Dresden during the annual Music Festival. I was told the Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle concert is sold out, but this might not be true or it's mostly reservations by hotels and tour operators, so tickets will definitely come back.

10 days? There's no time for anything else than Bayreuth (2 nights), Dresden (5 nights), Leipzig (3 nights) IMO, then a straight drive back to Düsseldorf.

There are dozens of smaller towns and off the beaten path places around Dresden. Meissen, Freiberg, Bautzen, Görlitz, Pirna, castles and palaces (www.schloesserland-sachsen.de) as well as natural sights (National Park Saxon Switzerland), the vineyards with even more castles/mansions just north of Dresden (Radebeul, Meissen-Proschwitz, Diesbar-Seußlitz), the picturesque villages in the Lausitz between Bautzen and Zittau ... see www.via-sacra.de and www.umgebindeland.de (don't know about English versions, though).

Check out historic means of transportation - paddle steamers (www.saechsische-dampfschifffahrt.de) or the steam trains (www.sdg-bahn.de and www.soeg-zittau.de).

Seems to me you know about the websites for musical performances in Dresden (Semperoper, Kulturpalast, Frauenkirche etc.) and Leipzig (Gewandhaus, Oper, St. Thomas). Don't miss the recently renovated Bach house and the Mendelssohn house in Leipzig. Another idea are the Carl-Maria-von-Weber house in Dresden-Hosterwitz (close to Pillnitz Palace) and the Richard Wagner museum in Graupa between Dresden and Pirna (www.richard-wagner-museum.de)

Enough for now I think ;-)

Ingo

I knew you wouldn't let me down, Ingo.

everything I needed to know about Dresden, Leipzig, etc. but was afraid to ask!

now all i need is for my penfriend to come back to me to confirm the dates. I'll be back then!

Sorry, ann, we aren't much for nightlife. Also, to me, off the beaten path usually means smaller towns not large cities.