WeisserTee

We are considering a 3 week December trip stopping in Bremen, Luebeck, Schleswig, and Leipzig, then ending up with a week in Dresden (not the usual itinerary, I know, but that's where we want to go). We have places in mind for most of the trip, but would appreciate your cafe/winebar and restaurant recs for Lübeck and Schleswig. Suggestions also invited for any unique sights there. And yes, we know it will be cold and dark early in northern Germany but that's fine with us (we prefer to think of it as brisk, cozy and romantic).

Thanks!

WeisserTee

hello? anybody?

santamonica

Try to avoid restaurants connected to wild animal parks.

lavandula

I have a recommendation for Lübeck - Café Niederegger. The Niederegger family have been responsible for the marzipan you see in German department stores for about 200 years and the café is just as old and has continuously been in their hands. It is an excellent place to eat cake, with a whole room filled with magnificent creations ... if I remember correctly you get a voucher and select your cake, and then go and sit down, and they bring the cake to you. Also I recommend you try the marzipan coffee - the only place I've ever seen it. Excellent for gloomy weather!

The café is in one of the streets bordering the market square but separated from it by an old facade, all very picturesque. If you follow that street down you will also find a row of interesting shops set in an old building. Everywhere there is the interesting brick gothic style. Enjoy!

Lavandula

lavandula

Oh, you might have also heard of the Holstentor in Lübeck, which is the main drawcard, but also there is a church (?? the Petrikirche??) which has a lift up to the top of the steeple so you can see the view of the whole town. Quite good. Also there is Thomas Mann's house in Lübeck. Read Buddenbrooks before you go.

Lavandula

WeisserTee

Thanks! We already have plans to check out Café Niederegger -- their marzipan has appeared in our home on many occasions.

Cowboy1968

In Lübeck, the historical "Schiffergesellschaft" restaurant comes to mind.
www.schiffergesellschaft.com
It is a favorite among tourists (for decades), but also truly authentic.
You'll find a bit on the house's long history also on the website.

2nd hand experience.. Wullenwever - the only one Michelin star restaurant in Lübeck. Also in a historic house. But in a different (price) league.

Depending on your time in Lübeck, you could also spend a few hours in the city's nearby port Travemünde. Which has many cafes, pubs, restaurant with a more maritime feel.

LSky

Sorry, WeisserTee, no restaurant recs, just shamelessly topping your thread because we didn't go to Lübeck, and I have a hankering to return to the area.

No Hamburg?

wanderfrau

I suggest Asgaard Brauerei in Schleswig if you are a beer drinker. It's a cozy, casual place with good food and excellent beer.

If you're looking for a place to stay, we loved Hotel Hahn is Schleswig.

WeisserTee

Thanks for all your suggestions. It looks like the trip is postponed til next year and Schleswig will get tossed -- we'll save that for a summer trip. No Hamburg. FWIW, our itinerary is:
Day 1. day train (ICE) from Basel to Bremen
Days 2-3. Bremen (we have friends/relatives living nearby)
Days 4-6. late morning train to Lubeck, then two full days there
Days 7-10. early morning train to Berlin, three full days Berlin
Days 11-20. mid-morning train to Dresden, then 10 days there. Day trips to Meissen, Prague, Herrnhut, Erzegebirge
Days 21-23. morning train to Leipzig (December 23). Attend Christmas eve service in Leipzig, Christmas day in Leipzig, overnight train home to Basel Christmas night (private sleeping compartment). Arrive back home in Basel am of the 26th.

I know it's not the itinerary some would pick (most would cut back Dresden and add to Berlin, but I am a Dresden fan. Love, love, love it). We might flip it and go to Leipzig before Dresden, spending Christmas eve and Christmas day in Dresden as part of the time there, but two years ago I was in Leipzig on Christmas Eve and attended a wonderful service at St. Nicholas Church (and had a delicious CE dinner at an Indian restaurant a few doors away -- one of the very few non-hotel restaurants open that night). We have plenty to time to decide which option to pick.

quokka

Good decision to have a long stay in Dresden. I would like to direct you to the most atmospheric Christmas market I know and a fantastic old town: Görlitz. You probably knwo those UNICEF cards with the naive paintings - that's exactly what it looks like. Plan well, it terminates on Dec 15.
The official website: http://www.schlesischer-christkindelmarkt-goerlitz.de/
and my travel page: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f86bd/eb77/

WeisserTee

Thanks! I had visited Görlitz on a previous trip (but not during the holidays). Will put that on our possible daytrip list, although we want to make sure we have enough time to spend in Dresden itself. One place I won't be going back to is Bautzen. I was there during December 2011, but it just didn't click with me.

Ingo

Wow, looks like a great trip, Weisser Tee!

Since you've already spent Christmas Eve in Leipzig before, I'd strongly encourage you to spend it in Dresden this time. The Christvesper in the Kreuzkirche is absolutely fantastic. A recording on CD is available (https://www.amazon.de/Christvesper-D.../dp/B000620NGI), videos are available on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm0v21falow e.g.)

I love Bautzen, but their Christmas market is not too good. No point in going back, totally agree.

I'm sure you know about all these places in the Erzgebirge ... my favourites are Annaberg, Schwarzenberg, Schneeberg, Freiberg, Seiffen. You certainly know this excellent ressource: http://www.erzgebirge-tourismus.de/h...e-bergparaden/

Enjoy! And pray for snow, please

quokka

Let me also mention the historical market on Königstein Fortress (only on weekends).

In Dresden itself, my favourites are the "1900" market in Neumarkt, which you probably know about, and an off the beaten path one, the artisans market in the suburb of Loschwitz.