One week in Germany - What to see, where to go and how to get there!?

Question

We're flying into Frankfurt and out of Berlin and have 8 days in between flights!! What are the best places to see to give us a good snapshot of Germany with such a short time span?

Also, since we're so pressed for time, does it make more sense to rent a car and drive? If so, what is the driving like for a Canadian on the Autobahn?

Answer 1

Frankfurt to Berlin is actually very easy. Total driving time on this route would be 6 hours, this pretty much gives you a lot of time to appreciate what is on the side of the road.

Places where you must stop enroute are IMO Eisenach, Erfurt, Weimar, Wittenberg,  and Potsdam.

Eisenach for the Wartburg, Erfurt for the Kraemerbruecke, Wittenberg for Martin Luther and Potsdam for Sanssouci.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wartburg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erfurt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittenberg

http://www.wittenberg.de/staticsite/stat...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci

I recommend you spent at least one full day in Weimar, as IMO Weimar is quintessential German. If you had only 2 days in Germany, I would tell you to spent them there. Weimar is the city of the German classic, of the age of the enlightement, of art, philosophy, democracy and all that is beautiful about Germany. Yet it is also the site of one of the big horrors in German history - right outside the city was the concentration camp Buchenwald. It is the clash that makes this city so interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KZ_Buchenwa...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar

http://www.weimar.de/nc/en/tourism/homep...

Two famous cities close by that are not too much of a detour are Heidelberg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Out of the two Rothenburg would be the better one to see IMO.

If you need places to stay for the night, get the address, opening times and telephone numbers of the cities' tourist information bureaus. You can usually find these information on the official websites of the cities and municipalities. The people at the "i" are the local experts for booking you into small and cozy pensions for 20 EUR per night and person.

Answer 2

Hey. Koblenz is a nice place to see, if you like old castles and forts.  Its about an hour south-west of Frankfurt. If you really want to travel far: visit the Nordsee (North sea) Close to Denmark. From Frankfurt it's a 5 hour ride with the Bahn(Train) Costs around 108 Euro's. I went to Germany last year. I have lots of pictures, if you want to see them! Have fun! :)

Answer 3

There is lots to see but time is tight.. So planning the trip ahead of time is critical.

Please check out

http://www.live-like-a-german.com

It contains a Germany travel guide and lots of useful links and resources to get you started.

Answer 4

My suggestion:  pick up a car in Frankfurt.  Drive from there to Wuerzburg.  Therafter on to Nuernberg (BTW  all of this is along the highway A3).  From there it's on to Munich.  Drop off the car in Munich and take a train to Berlin.  Once you get to Berlin you will not need a car.

There is really LOTS to see in all of the cities listed above.  If you go off the beaten path, you will spend more time travelling than sightseeing.  Concentrate your trip (this time) to these parts of Bavaria and Berlin.  8 days is not a long time and there is nothing worse than spending it in a car.

Re Autobahn:  the MAIN thing to remember is that slower traffic stays right.  If you're not into driving 110 mph, ok, you can travel at "normal" speeds, as many people do.  Keep youe eye on the rearview mirror - it's no time for daydreaming.

Answer 5

Driving on the Autobahn can be quite "interesting". It depends on whether you like to drive fast, whether you feel intimidated by the slightly narrower lanes and whether you drive during rush hour. Renting a car is a good idea though, since you'll be more independant. The train drivers have lately been on strike a few times and flying... well, you'd probably wait longer at the airport than be actually on the plane.

As for snapshots of Germany... what are you interested in? Do you like history, shopping, nature?

Do you want to stay in a place for more than a day, how far do you want to travel each day?

If you don't want to go around in circles, I would suggest, you first go on a trip along the Rhine (if you visit in the summer you might want to take a boat trip). There are lots of old castles, beautiful landscape and vineyards to see. You could go to Cologne, see the famous cathedral and other churches there. (If you're really into history, there are also LOADS of Roman relics there (some people say that if you dig a hole in the ground in Cologne chances are you'll find something Roman! :-D) (Bonn (20 mins away from Cologne) is also very nice)

Berlin is an interesting city, Hamburg, too. It really depends on what you want to see and do. If you want to make a de-tour you could go to Munich, see the Alpes, Neuschwanstein etc., Dresden is supposed to be very nice (but that's not really on the way)

If I were you I'd probably cut it down to 4 cities at the most! That way you really can enjoy the cities without spending too much time on the road (or at the airport) and it won't "blur"...

If you need more info, just let me know.

Answer 6

Frankfurt, Munich, Neuschwanstein, Romantische Strasse, Nuernberg and then Berlin

Answer 7

As to what you will be able to see: What are you interested in? There's loads to see for every taste. Romans, old castles, new castles... Some more detail would be appreciated.

I guess it will make sense for you to rent a car and drive. It might also be cheaper, depending on how well you read and speak German, since the cheap train tickets are kind of hard to find on www.deutschebahn.de, and every person of the Bahn-staff is pretty much telling something different (and this has been proven by severyl tests.) Also, if you need to change trains and busses, you are prone to wait for your connections and travelling with your luggage won't be very comfortable by train.

As for how it will be for a canadian on the Autobahn: I had an English-techer who is American but lives here in Germany, and his advice to friends was: It's fun to be on the Autobahn trying to go 200 kilometers an hour. Until someone drives up behind you who is trying to do 300.

You do get some pretty scarry drivers sometimes, but mostly, it's ok. recommended speed is 130 kilometers an hour, which is a very nice travelling speed, I think.

Have fun in Germany. And remember to take at least a whole day for Berlin. Tip: Take a trip on the 100 or 200  bus line. It'spublic transport, so you can hop on and off wherever you want, but it takes you along the most famous sights (Berliner Dom, Museumsinsel, Unter den Linden, Brandenburger Tor, Reichstag, Friendenssäule... Oh, and if you care for a climb: Climb up to the roof of the Berliner Dom. You'll have a wonderful view over the city (depending on the weather). The building next to the Berliner Dom that is getting torn down was/is the "Palast der Republik", the residence of the government of the former DDR.)

Have fun!

Oh, another inside tip: If you like medival city architecture, try either "Rothenburg ob der Tauber" or "Regensburg". Both wonderful.