Where to stay in Germany for 2 weeks

Old Sep 8th, 2015, 03:36 AM
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Where to stay in Germany for 2 weeks

Hi all!

I am planning a trip with my boys, 5 and 7, and my mom to Germany next summer. This is my 12th trip, my boys 2nd, and my moms 4th. Two summers ago, we drove all over the country for a month and saw so much.

I am thinking this trip, we will pick two places to base ourselves out of for about 10 days to two weeks at a time. While I may still rent a car (and a bike rack and purchase used bikes for the boys and I), I am toying with the idea of just flying in and using the train to get to our two destinations.

We have good friends in the Freiburg area, the Chiemgau area, and Dresden. While the boys and I are adventurous and active, my mom does like to have lazy days. So I am looking for towns to stay in that are large enough for her to be able to spend the day walking around and small enough that she could do most of it on foot. We will probably rent something central and/or with a bus stop so close that she can't get lost.

We are open to other parts of Germany.....I feel like I know most of the areas, but would love suggestions, as I am probably missing something. I'd love to stay on the Chiemsee, but feel like the towns right on the lake are too small for our needs......but maybe there's one nearby that would work. I also feel like Freiburg is a bit too big, but maybe if we are actually near the Fussgaengerzone, it would work........I love the Harz and know Wernigerode well, maybe a town near there? I want to avoid places that are so overrun with tourists that our 2 weeks there would just be chaotic.

Any help would be appreciated. I just need to get rolling on the plans....my mom likes to know wherre we are going well in advance!

Thank you!
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Old Sep 8th, 2015, 04:37 AM
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"While I may still rent a car (and a bike rack and purchase used bikes for the boys and I), I am toying with the idea of just flying in and using the train to get to our two destinations."

Biking: While it's possible to buy bikes and outfit a rental car with a bike rack and all that, it's also very common that bikes are an amenity that comes with the vacation apartment or can be rented from apartment owners for a nominal fee. That was the case for us a number of years back at the Loreley Apartments in St. Goar (Middle Rhine Valley.) The Rhineview apartment (one of 4 apartments) was just right for us:

http://www.loreley-apartments.de/die_4_wohnungen_en.php

The Rhine/Mosel region is particularly bike-friendly. Local trains have cars just for bikes - see this photo of the MRB trains that serve the Rhine towns:

http://wachaubahn.at/wiki/images/7/7...lRheinBahn.jpg

Inside these cars there are flip-down seats:
http://www.vgn.de/ib/site/documents/...y=90&Confirm=1

With a regular ticket you can load your bike onto these trains for free (after 9 am weekdays, anytime on weekends) in the VRM transit zone (which includes a healthy piece of the Rhine and Mosel River valleys) and thus head off to wherever you like to explore some new place - and maybe take the train back to your home base as well.

Train tickets tend to be group-friendly. In the VRM area mentioned above, a group like yours can get around for 3 days on a mini-group ticket priced at €43.60:

http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and...ingle-tickets/

The Rhine/Mosel region is just one example - certain other regions where Germans like to recreate have similar policies - but the Rhine/Mosel region is a particularly good place to vacation because of the large variety of things to see and do, and one that I'd recommend to you. One excellent base town here is Boppard, in the Middle Rhine Valley between Koblenz and Bingen - very scenic, and large enough that Mom can get worn out on a walk without getting lost; it's also just 15 train minutes to the larger city of Koblenz if you have city needs. Some photos of Boppard:

http://www.pizza-toni-boppard.de/upl...r/IMG_0131.JPG
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2769/4...c5c8b305_o.jpg
http://www.wliw.org/21pressroom/file...11/Boppard.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/9532687.jpg
http://ext.pimg.tw/samlucky5711/1379...g?v=1379089585

The Middle Rhine is a UNESCO World Heritage site:
http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.d...php?id=274&L=3

The nearby Mosel is wonderful as well and great for leisurely biking:

Cochem: http://www.der-takt.de/typo3temp/_pr...087e83a8d1.jpg

http://www.zell-mosel.com/Images/Tou...startseite.jpg


Nearby are Marksburg Castle and Rheinfels Castle - both can be toured:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ubach_2012.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-c...FF80wORNQ#t=32
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Old Sep 8th, 2015, 04:40 AM
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"Nearby are Marksburg Castle and Rheinfels Castle"

Correction: that should read "Near Boppard are Marksburg Castle and Rheinfels Castle"
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Old Sep 8th, 2015, 04:57 AM
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One more correction: Use THIS link for the VRM mini-group ticket information - the one above is wrong:

http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and...eisure-ticket/
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Old Sep 8th, 2015, 05:05 AM
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Last year I had a nice short week somewhere near Oberammergau (in Bad Kohlgrub to be precise). There are nice things around, such as the wonderful Wieskirche, the impressive abbey in Ettal and the curious Linderhof palace, which all can easily be reached by reasonably frequent public transport (I even got a free bus pass with my accommodation). Murnau, which looks attractive, is just some minutes away by train, and even München is within reach (1,5 hrs by train).
Perfect outings for Mom, while the younger generations are doing all kind of strenuous things.
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Old Sep 8th, 2015, 06:28 AM
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I am toying with the idea of just flying in and using the train to get to our two destinations.>

German trains, when not on strike, on amongst the best in the world - if taking several longer inter-city trips check out the German Twin Railpass - for lots of great info on German trains: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com. www.bahn.de/en is the official site of DB - Germany's state-run train system. With kids that age I'd keep your travels to one or several small areas and use the great regional fares Fussgaenger is on about (you can see he/she's an real expert on Germany!)
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Old Sep 8th, 2015, 11:55 AM
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the Chiemsee, but feel like the towns right on the lake are too small for our needs......but maybe there's one nearby that would work>

Prien on Chiemsee has 10,000 inhabitants and a nice town center - how big does a town or city have to be for your mum's needs?
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Old Sep 16th, 2015, 09:33 AM
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Just a couple notes.

We love traveling by train. It would enable you to focus your attention on your sons rather than the road. An area train hub might be a good choice.

Many medium sized cities have compact old town pedestrian zones that can be manage totally on foot. Freiburg appears to be so on the map.

My wife likes to mix a bit of shopping with her sight seeing. In your mother's place she would want a shopping area in addition to some casual sightseeing for her off days. Freiburg has both a Karstadt and a Galeria Kaufhof (friendly, accessible department stores) within a few blocks of the Münster. Such an area will usually have a wealth of cafes and restaurants.

We typically stay in these moderate size towns (Regensburg, Nürnberg, Augsburg, etc.) just for the variety of things to do and ready access to the surrounding area by train.

Good luck with your trip.
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Old Sep 17th, 2015, 08:58 AM
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Like Gary I'm a big fan of base cities - staying in a base and doing day trips - you get to know that city well and coming back at night is like going home, kind of.
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Old Sep 17th, 2015, 11:39 AM
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Germany also has several CNL CityNightLiner night trains that could be a real adventure for the kids if not you!

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/pr...t-travel.shtml
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 08:37 AM
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I am trying to imagine how your days would be - for you and your kids and for your mom.

Your mom does want lazy days but does not want to be locked into a small town and be bored. Also, it must be walkable.

You want to explore the surroundings.

Dresden would not be bad. The Old Town is very small and has a lot of historic buildings and museums and the river. Your mom could walk through town, sit at the river or in a café and if she wants, she can visit something.

Another option would be Cologne. You might be surprised because it is a big city, but the Old Town is very compact and totally walkable. Also, there is a river and a nice riverfront park and the cathedral and Roman ruins and the Roman-Germanic museum, the chocolate museum and a lot of things going on on the square in front of the cathedral.

In other words, there are many options for your mom to spend the days.

And you and your kids you will find in town also a lot of interesting things to do and to see.

Furthermore, by train and by boat (!) you can explore Düsseldorf - which is a fine city -, the Rhine Canyon, Marksburg Castle in Braubach (one of the best medieval castles), Bonn, the Neanderthal (excellent museum including activities for kids), Aachen etc. Enough to fill two weeks. You would not need a car.
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 10:23 AM
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Don't forget the lovely Mosel Valley and picture-postcard Cochem - a great place for families - kids activities like mini-golf, canoeing, kayaking and the castle of your dreams sticking out of a vineyard-carpeted hill right in Cochem itself - near Cochem at Moselkern is Burg Eltz one of Germany's most famous castles and one of the few in the Rhine-Mosel area, along with Marksburg, to escape being ravaged to ruins over time in this militarily strategic area.

Cochem's castle is Ersatz - meaning it was built in the late 1800s in the style of a medieval castle but not an authentic medieval castle though it looks like a pristine one.

Cochem is a fairly sizable town in terms of the town center (but not population though it swells during the tourist season - but is a regional commercial town) - you Mom can relax on the river front or visit the winery right in town.

Cochem is easily reached by train - images of Cochem:

https://www.google.com/search?q=coch...=1600&bih=1099
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 10:50 AM
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Looks like wendy17 isn't around any longer.

For the sake of accuracy, a couple of comments...

"Cochem's castle is Ersatz - meaning it was built in the late 1800s in the style of a medieval castle but not an authentic medieval castle..."

Reichsburg (Cochem's castle) WAS a medieval castle when it was first built - not in the late 1800s but in the 11th century. Burned to the ground by the French around 1700, it was rubble until the late 1800's when it was rebuilt in the Neo-Gothic style. Neo-Gothic is NOT "medieval" - medieval would have to be 15th century or earlier - but was a popular architectural style around 1800. So Reichsburg Castle isn't pretending to be medieval, and thus does not merit the "fake" denotation that goes with the word "ersatz."

Most castles around Germany were destroyed and later rebuilt. Being rebuilt doesn't make a castle (or any structure for that matter) a fake.
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 11:17 AM
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>>>Most castles around Germany were destroyed and later rebuilt. Being rebuilt doesn't make a castle (or any structure for that matter) a fake.
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 02:28 PM
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traveller 1959: Yes, that was misstated - I have no idea whether MOST were rebuilt at some point or whether MOST lay in ruins. I would have to guess most are in ruins

This would be more accurate:

"Most castles around Germany were destroyed and MANY later rebuilt."

"A castle that has been rebuilt in neogothic style is, of course, a fake (like Neuschwanstein). The atmosphere is different."

Not true IMO. Reichsburg and N'stein are night-and-day different. Neuschwanstein was "nail-new" as the Germans say in the late 1900s. ZERO history as a castle. Never was a castle to begin with but pretended to be one from Day 1.

Rebuilt does not mean fake. Even with a new building in a new style, the history is still all there. Reichsburg as it stands today was not rebuilt just as it was prior to its destruction by the French, but it still has century upon century of real history as a castle. And today's more recent construction sits upon the original foundation walls and atop the previously built cellars. Certainly nothing fake about those, either! Reichsburg grew in size and evolved in form and style over many centuries even before it was burnt - but such changes did not make it a "fake" then, and the differnces you see today don't make it a fake now. Marksburg did the same; it evolved as well and had the good fortune not to be destroyed, so the structure is intact today much as it was in medieval times. But even at Marksburg, decisions had to be made about what sort of interior it would have... no single period interior can be called "real" because of the many changes it underwent over time.
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Old Oct 5th, 2015, 04:40 AM
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I'm back! Sorry, major computer glitch that didn't allow me to view anything past the main page. Went back to a former image of my hard drive annnd now we are rolling.

I read all of the replies this morning and appreciate them! I will take a long look at them. We have so many good friends in Freiburg that maybe that will be a good base. Also gives us a chance to see another country easily and we could spend a number of days in the Alsace region of France.

I lived years ago in Duesseldorf and spent many weekends in Cologne but never really did any Rhein/Mosel trips. I will look at these ideas closer. I guess I associate river trips with people who want to drink wine and relax......and not listen to children talk about Star Wars in voices that are always a little too loud. But they do offer so many options in that area.

Okay, a few more months and we will book our flights and see where we end up flying out of.

Thanks again guys!
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Old Oct 5th, 2015, 10:23 AM
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K-d boat - great trips - go downstream for a shorter cruise - between Rudesheim/Bingen and Koblenz - get off at some neat wine village and re-board one of the fairly frequent boats - get off at Braubach and see Marksburg Castle - can take train to Koblenz from there as most of the really neat scenery is gone by then.

Get a seat up front and see both sides of the Rhine Gorge at once - when the boat nears the Lorelei, famous in German mythology - a cliff at the narrowest part of the Rhine locals lapse into nostalgic song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmmRapgbneQ
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