DW and I are mapping out honeymoon possibilities for late 09.

Our preliminary thought is to fly into Zurich and leave from Brussels 12 days later- packing a handful of stops in between. There are obviously a plethora of choices in that general area/route, and we like the thought of our trip being slightly more open-ended and not as regimented as usual. Beyond the starting and end points (and probably two nights in Baden Baden, it is a honeymoon after all and we need SOME relaxation), we will do our best to stay flexible.

December is certainly not the ideal time to be driving around in a tiny rental compact, and we're comfortable taking trains. But I think we will splurge and go for it, unless people think its a brutal idea and too hard to pull off without a lot of hassle/dangerous driving. We like the idea of driving and exploring.

Among the places that have caught our eye so far are Basel, Strasbourg, Koln, Dusseldorf, Ghent and pretty much every smaller town in the Rhine area. We have been to Germany before and love the x-mas markets and overall wintry feel of it. We enjoy big cities and small towns alike, eating local food and doing our best not to butcher native languages.

I'm looking for suggestions as to the overall feasibility of this trip/idea, people's favorite places, thoughts on how to plan our route, etc. These boards have been invaluable to me for some time now, thanks in advance.

Driving doesn't make much sense to me for that route. You'll get from Basel to Baden-Baden, for example, faster by train than by car and in more comfort.

IMO, I would start in Zurich or Basel, up to Baden-Baden for two days of relaxation as you said, then up to Strasbourg and perhaps over to Nancy (an under-rated gem, we were there in December 08 for a week-end and loved it) and from there to Paris and up to Brussels (staying in Bruges or Ghent).

Are you aware that picking up a car in Switzerland and dropping it off in Belgium is likely to incur a hefty drop-off charge? There is no drop-off charge if you pick up a car in one country, and drop it off in the same country, no matter what city.

As to routing: Basel, Strassburg is OK. You might want to do this by train. Then pick up a car, or drive your Swiss car and cut over to Freudenstadt (Germany), on the B-28 from the border at Kehl. From Freudenstadt, follow the B-442 (the Black Forest Valley Road- Schwarzwald Thaelerstrasse) to Baden- Baden.

From Baden-Baden, I would head for Speyer, then Neustadt an der Weinstrasse (Wine road)and north at least a far as Monsheim, then over to Worms and north to Nierstein. Follow the Rhein as far as Koblenz. I would skip Koeln and Duesseldorf; instead drive along the Mosel to Trier. dropping off the (German) car in Trier and continue by train to Luxenburg and Brussels. The train takes 4 1/2hours, with a change of trains (or longer stop) in Luxenburg. For all train schedules, see www.bahn.de

I would not worry about driving conditions until mid-to end of december.

>I would not worry about driving conditions until mid-to end of december.

In parts of Germany (I am thinking specifically of the Rhein-Main area, but possibly others) there is often a sudden blast of wintery weather at the end of November, necessitating winter tyres. Then the weather clears up a little and gets worse again by mid-December. We have been caught out with this before,and did in fact have a car accident (driving in a car that wasn't ours, without winter tyres), so don't think that you couldn't get bad weather in early December; you just don't know.

Treplow, I like your route. Can I add that if the OP were to travel around in Belgium, the train network is excellent and you would have no problems getting from town to town by rail (although the drawbacks of rail as compared with car are obvious).

Thanks for the advice. Picking up/ditching the car in germany sounds like the best idea. We did like the thought of driving around semi-aimlessly in a few different countries, but the route above makes sense. Is the Weinstraße in December still a nice trip or does it lose a lot of its allure?

As long as your car has winter tyres driving - even a small car - shouldn´t be a problem. The weather will be most probably cold, grey and foggy, probably the worst time of the year for landscapes anyway. The chances of snow on the ground in the lowlands are very low but just above 0 degrees and drizzling rain is common. In the mountains, even as low as the Black Forest, you can actually get above the weather and see a sea of fog and bright sunshine.
In this time of the year the cities are probably a better destination than the landscape around - and in cities a car is rather a hassle.

I would add Antwerp to your itinerary.