Dresden and Prague in September, could use some help planning this one!
Jan 8th, 2018, 12:20 PM
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Dresden and Prague in September, could use some help planning this one!
We arrive from Nairobi into Frankfurt early on the 17th of September, 2018, following a safari (long-time dream adventure) and, since we're already in Europe, want to spend 6 nights before departing back to Canada from Frankfurt on the 23rd.
We're thinking Dresden and Prague. Will make airline connections to/from Frankfurt.
The reason we chose these two destinations is because Dresden is a smaller city that has interesting history and architecture. Plus it's not too far or expensive to get there. From my research it seems possible to also see the surrounding area of Saxon Switzerland while there, which I am hoping will give a nice city/countryside balance.
Prague is somewhere neither my husband nor I have been and although I expect it will be busy with tourists we want to see it. We would travel there by train from Dresden. We'd fly back to Frankfurt from there to go home.
We like eating and we like drinking wine and we like hiking, not all at the same time, lol. We are in our 60's and like to go to bed pretty early, so not concerned with night-life. Some ideas I've gleaned from Fodors and others:
Taste of Prague Walking Tour
The Saxon Wine Hiking Trail
Koenigstern Fortress, Schloss Pillnitz
We have been in touch with Heidi Paizs for a city tour of Dresden.
How many nights in Dresden and how many in Prague?
Any wonderful hotels or b&b's to recommend? Our budget will stretch to about $200 USD per night.
Am trying to get a feeling for the Dresden area as far as countryside walks and hikes and whether a car is needed.
I have really appreciated Fodor's forums, itinerary advice and trip reports. Over the years I have gained many invaluable tips and achieved hight marks from my family for my trip planning skills
Many thanks, Debbie
We're thinking Dresden and Prague. Will make airline connections to/from Frankfurt.
The reason we chose these two destinations is because Dresden is a smaller city that has interesting history and architecture. Plus it's not too far or expensive to get there. From my research it seems possible to also see the surrounding area of Saxon Switzerland while there, which I am hoping will give a nice city/countryside balance.
Prague is somewhere neither my husband nor I have been and although I expect it will be busy with tourists we want to see it. We would travel there by train from Dresden. We'd fly back to Frankfurt from there to go home.
We like eating and we like drinking wine and we like hiking, not all at the same time, lol. We are in our 60's and like to go to bed pretty early, so not concerned with night-life. Some ideas I've gleaned from Fodors and others:
Taste of Prague Walking Tour
The Saxon Wine Hiking Trail
Koenigstern Fortress, Schloss Pillnitz
We have been in touch with Heidi Paizs for a city tour of Dresden.
How many nights in Dresden and how many in Prague?
Any wonderful hotels or b&b's to recommend? Our budget will stretch to about $200 USD per night.
Am trying to get a feeling for the Dresden area as far as countryside walks and hikes and whether a car is needed.
I have really appreciated Fodor's forums, itinerary advice and trip reports. Over the years I have gained many invaluable tips and achieved hight marks from my family for my trip planning skills
Many thanks, Debbie
Jan 8th, 2018, 01:16 PM
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Dresden 2 nights
Prague the rest.
Take train Dresden to Prague as it goes right thru Saxon Switzerland (sit on east side of train for the best views) - book tickets ASAP for sweet discount fares sold on first-come-first-served basis - www.bahn.de/en - German Railways site easy to book own tickets on and chose seats. www.seat61.com has keen advice on doing that and says you can book the same train often cheaper on then Czech Railways site; also check for trains www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.
3 days in Prague should be enough so you could spend a whole day exploring Saxon Switzerland from Dresden by boat or train and take lifts to some of those famous landmarks topping those neat sandstone-hued cliffs like the Basteii or Konigsberg (name) and stay the night in Dresden.
Prague the rest.
Take train Dresden to Prague as it goes right thru Saxon Switzerland (sit on east side of train for the best views) - book tickets ASAP for sweet discount fares sold on first-come-first-served basis - www.bahn.de/en - German Railways site easy to book own tickets on and chose seats. www.seat61.com has keen advice on doing that and says you can book the same train often cheaper on then Czech Railways site; also check for trains www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.
3 days in Prague should be enough so you could spend a whole day exploring Saxon Switzerland from Dresden by boat or train and take lifts to some of those famous landmarks topping those neat sandstone-hued cliffs like the Basteii or Konigsberg (name) and stay the night in Dresden.
Jan 8th, 2018, 10:30 PM
#3
We have visited Prague seven times (we live "just down the road" in Vienna, so long weekends are often possible) and our preferred lodging includes Iron Gates Suites (its restaurant, Deer is stellar, we think but needs a reservation); and Old Town Square Suites. We especially like the latter because breakfast is delivered to one's room as a part of the reservation. We have also stayed at Cerny Slon (Black Elephant) and most enjoyed our stay; a note of caution, however. If you are a light sleeper this might not be the hotel for you, as late night noise filters up through the narrow lane adjacent to the hotel, especially if the windows are open. The hotel's restaurant is quite good, but I would make a reservation as the sitting area is small.
I hope this is helpful.
I hope this is helpful.
Jan 8th, 2018, 10:47 PM
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Two days for Dresden alone (you could easily spend longer time there, though). But if you want to add Saxon Switzerland, Königstein, Pillnitz AND the Saxon wine area, you need 2-3 additional days.
Some tough decisions are to be made...
Some tough decisions are to be made...
Jan 9th, 2018, 10:14 AM
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If you want to get a feeling for Dresden (and not rush it) plus do the things like walking on the Wine Hiking Trail and an excursion to Saxon Switzerland, then you must stay 4 nights in Dresden minimum. You could take the first train to Prague that last day and arrive early - which means more than a half day in Prague, then another full day and the departure day (no idea when your flight back departs, though).
Hm, never heard of Heidi Paizs.
As for hotels in Dresden: Hotel Martha is small, charming, quite centrally located in the so called Neustadt (New Town, meaning Baroque district). Easily in your budget.
https://hotel-martha.de/
There are lots of charming B&Bs and small hotels in the beautiful 19th century residential areas if you don't mind a tram or bus ride of 15-20 minutes to the old town/city centre. For example:
http://www.pension-kaeubler.de/
http://www.hotel-pension-andreas.de/ (two houses, one newer hotel and one B&B)
Hm, never heard of Heidi Paizs.
As for hotels in Dresden: Hotel Martha is small, charming, quite centrally located in the so called Neustadt (New Town, meaning Baroque district). Easily in your budget.
https://hotel-martha.de/
There are lots of charming B&Bs and small hotels in the beautiful 19th century residential areas if you don't mind a tram or bus ride of 15-20 minutes to the old town/city centre. For example:
http://www.pension-kaeubler.de/
http://www.hotel-pension-andreas.de/ (two houses, one newer hotel and one B&B)
Jan 9th, 2018, 11:24 AM
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Many thanks for your replies Ingo, quokka, fourfortravel and PalenQ. I am leaning towards 4 nights Dresden & 2 in Prague as per Ingo's suggestion.
Love the look of the Iron Gates, thanks fourfortravel. Going to book that one.
One last question. Given our desire to be outside hiking (fingers crossed for dry weather), do you think staying in Bad Schandau would work well? We won't have a car so my only concern is that there would be too much to-ing and fro-ing to Dresden by train/boat or tram. I'm a little vague on this. Or maybe you'd recommend a car rental given our interests lie mainly outside of the city?
Love the look of the Iron Gates, thanks fourfortravel. Going to book that one.
One last question. Given our desire to be outside hiking (fingers crossed for dry weather), do you think staying in Bad Schandau would work well? We won't have a car so my only concern is that there would be too much to-ing and fro-ing to Dresden by train/boat or tram. I'm a little vague on this. Or maybe you'd recommend a car rental given our interests lie mainly outside of the city?
Jan 9th, 2018, 12:12 PM
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I wouldn't add a third base. Too much hassle to pack/unpack/check-out/check-in ...
The commuter trains S1 run every half hour from Dresden to Saxon Switzerland. If you stay at Hotel Martha e.g. the train station Dresden-Neustadt is in walking distance (not even 10 minutes). From there the S1 train takes 40 minutes to Stadt Wehlen, where hiking trails to Bastei start. And only 10 minutes more to Königstein.
On the other hand, if your interests are equally divided between the city Dresden and hiking in Saxon Switzerland, then you could stay all the nights in Pirna e.g. - a rather small town with a very beautiful old town and charming hotels and B&Bs, some of them in houses that are 500 years old! Pirna is half way between Dresden and Saxon Switzerland, in addition to S1 train there's an S2 train, too, to Dresden, so you have 4 trains per hour to the city.
The commuter trains S1 run every half hour from Dresden to Saxon Switzerland. If you stay at Hotel Martha e.g. the train station Dresden-Neustadt is in walking distance (not even 10 minutes). From there the S1 train takes 40 minutes to Stadt Wehlen, where hiking trails to Bastei start. And only 10 minutes more to Königstein.
On the other hand, if your interests are equally divided between the city Dresden and hiking in Saxon Switzerland, then you could stay all the nights in Pirna e.g. - a rather small town with a very beautiful old town and charming hotels and B&Bs, some of them in houses that are 500 years old! Pirna is half way between Dresden and Saxon Switzerland, in addition to S1 train there's an S2 train, too, to Dresden, so you have 4 trains per hour to the city.
Jan 10th, 2018, 07:00 AM
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If looking for a place to stay near Saxon Switzerland en route to Prague by train Bad Schandau to me seemed really nice - right near Czech border - neat old tram that goes into bucolic forests. Indeed a 2-day stay may be nice to really explore Saxon Switzerland!
Jan 14th, 2018, 10:24 AM
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A highlight of our trip to Prague was this food tour https://www.tasteofprague.com/
the food was generous, delicious and the guides were fantastic. Highly recommend it!
the food was generous, delicious and the guides were fantastic. Highly recommend it!
Jan 14th, 2018, 10:41 AM
#12
I was in Dresden and Prague last September. I had also been to Europe (Paris, Switzerland, and Italy the September before) and the weather had been very warm. So, I had packed a lot of warm weather clothes, and to our consternation it was very cold in Dresden and Prague. We were there the 2nd week of September and I thought I had been following what the weather would be, but it was wrong. I ended up buying some scarves and sweaters. So that is my warning. Dresden is gorgeous, the Lutheran Church is amazing.
If you do not go to Meissen, go to the Zwinger in Dresden and see the Meissen Porcelain collection. It was well worth the time. We also stayed at the Hotel Martha in Dresden and I can highly recommend it. It had a very nice breakfast included.
Beautiful cities. In Prague we went to The Reduta Jazz Club one night (it was still an early night, I'm not one for a lot of night life either) that I highly recommend. I loved Prague. Lots of crowds and the pickpockets are out in force in front of the Astronomical Clock. My friend bought some beautiful garnet jewelry in Prague.
If you do not go to Meissen, go to the Zwinger in Dresden and see the Meissen Porcelain collection. It was well worth the time. We also stayed at the Hotel Martha in Dresden and I can highly recommend it. It had a very nice breakfast included.
Beautiful cities. In Prague we went to The Reduta Jazz Club one night (it was still an early night, I'm not one for a lot of night life either) that I highly recommend. I loved Prague. Lots of crowds and the pickpockets are out in force in front of the Astronomical Clock. My friend bought some beautiful garnet jewelry in Prague.
Jan 29th, 2018, 10:57 AM
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We are booked at Hotel Martha in Dresden 4 nights and the Iron Gate in Prague 2 nights. So grateful for your advice Ingo and Fourfortravel. Feel a lot better about completing those pieces of the travel puzzle. Jamikins (oh how I love that handle) I had already read your 'taste of Prague' post and we're thinking of doing that too. Barbrn, good to know about packing for all weather. Being from Vancouver we are defensive pessimists when it comes to weather, that way if it's nice we are always pleasantly surprised, lol.
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