Going to Germany for Vacation!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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I spend a lot of vacation time acting as pit crew/sherpa for my Wife’s IronMan triathlons. Just got back from Cambridge Maryland as a mater of fact. 4000 mile road trip.

Anywho, I don’t really mind, a trip is a trip, a vacation is a vacation. But my Wife knows that it’s not really an ideal vacation.

So, after the race she surprised me with a gift. Nineteen days in Germany/Austria next Sept. She knows I have always wanted to go to Europe, though she is a bit daunted by the idea. She put together a GREAT package.

I’m going to have lots of questions for the SDMB over the next few months, but for now, just had to share, I’m a lucky guy.

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Good for you! I’ve lived in Germany for 16 years now and I know we have quite a number of other Dopers that live or have lived in Germany who would be happy to provide any info you’d like. Hey, you’ll be over for Oktoberfest!

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Congrats!
You are going to have a great time - hopefully you have some time to spend in a couple of places and are not trying to hit 42 cities in 19 days! I am the type of tourist who would rather park my ass in one place for the entire time and get to know the locals, local culture, etc.

One tip - you have time, so maybe buy disc one of Rosetta Stone and learn just the very basics of German - how to count, some items off a menu, how to say, “How much?” “Where is?” “Please.” “Thank you.” etc. Nothing spectacular, but you will find that most certainly NOT every German/Austrian speaks English…in the larger hotels, yes, but not always in the smaller restaurants/shops/bars etc.

Of course, I strongly suggest you go to Berlin! But Oktoberfest in Munich can be fun - once - (starts mid-September and ENDS at the beginning of October) and there are some other very pretty areas of Southern Germany and in Austria (think Sound Of Music). One tidbit, the south of Germany and most of Austria is mostly quite conservative politically - think Red States on our Electoral Map, whereas the northern part of Germany is more the Blue State, liberal regions. As a casual tourist, this won’t mean much - but it does explain some of the differences you might pick up on in your travels.

At any rate, feel free to hit me up for any other suggestions/tips as the time nears.

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Pretty cool! Enjoy yourself.

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Great! I love my beer. And I know that the SDMB is going to be a wealth of info.

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Thanks I will. I have too many questions to ask at this point.

We are going to mostly southern Germany. Direct flight from Denver to Frankfurt. Stunned that that is offered.

And then

Rothenburg ob der Tauber – 2 nights.
Nuremburg – 2 nights.
Berchtesgaden – 4 nights.
Vienna/Austria – 3 nights.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen – 3 nights
Trier – 2 nights.
Then back to Frankfurt for the flight home.

I am definitely getting some language Cds/books on tape so I can count and say hello and such. We are doing the train.

I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time. My Wife and I have done Costa Rica and Belize and Mexico and stuff. This REALLY surprised me.

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Berchtesgaden is a great area. And I really liked Vienna. Enjoy!

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In Southern Germany, I’m a bit surprised you’re skipping Munich. The Deutsches Museum there is kind of a German Smithsonian.

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Hmm. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. I think my wife choose smaller towns. Walking distance from train station to hotels and such. She worked with a travel agent.

I pulled my big back pack out last night to see if that will work for me/us. North Face. My wife has a new smaller rolling case that has a small day pack incorporated into it that can be detached.

Crazy stuff. We just got back from an IronMan tri in Maryland. 4000 mile road trip from Colorado. My Wife fell at the very end of the race and broke two fingers. Surgery tomorrow. My dad just went into ICU as of yesterday. MPSIMS. Trying to chill. Glad we have lots of time before the trip.

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Of the places you listed, I have been to:

Berchtesgaden – 4 nights.
Very pretty but not sure I would suggest four nights. Seems a tad long, but I guess if you like hiking and walking around, you will like it a lot.

Vienna/Austria – 3 nights.
Plenty of museums and palaces to see and lots of wine to drink - be sure to try the Sachertorte - but I am not a big fan of Vienna. I have been to Vienna twice and have always said this city would be far more fun if I were 85 years old or older - you would blend in better with the populace.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen – 3 nights
Also quite pretty, but at this point you are really close enough to hop a train for a very short ride and at least hit one night in Munich for the Oktoberfest. Again, quite pretty, but not sure it is three days pretty for hanging out - unless, once again, you are avid hikers or whatever.

Trier – 2 nights.
Great old city with some nice things to see. Go see Karl Marx’s house while you are there - enlightening to see he lived in rather luxurious surrounding in his youth. There is also a university there, so some great bars with younger folk hanging around who will speak English and be happy to show you around.

Still, for a first time tourist you will have a blast…I am somewhat jaded and have been to many places and would obviously have other suggestions. Plus, I am more the city boy who would rather wander through busy streets and have both the old and the new at my finger tips than wander through mountain paths…thus my love of Berlin.

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My daughter lives in Germany - just moved to Frankfurt from Southern Germany.
Berlin is definitely worth seeing. She has been to the Munich Oktoberfest and didn’t much like it, too crowded, and much preferred one in a smaller city like Stuttgart.

Train and bus service in Germany is great, but there are all sorts of tricks like buying day or week passes or group passes. Study up on these and you can save a lot of money and time.

In Berlin there are tons of great museums (we saw the Ishtar Gate which was amazing) and lots of Cold War stuff. The former East Berlin part was more interesting than the more modern West Berlin part. Not much of the Wall is left, though.

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You must, of course, visit Crazy Ludwig’s castles. There are several, but Chiemsee and Neuschwanstein are ones I’ve been to. Also, theEagle’s Nest (one of Hitler’s hideaways).

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From Frankfurt - you’re barely an hour (ish) from Heidleberg - GO THERE.

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A couple of years ago I was hanging out in Berlin for a week (the nucleus of my trip was to check out a Bob Dylan concert at Arena Treptow) just bumming around, i.e. drinking lots of beer and enjoying watching the rather stunning young Berliner women go about their day to day lives, and I wandered into the former East Berlin just killing the afternoon before the Dylan show, and decided to stop into a little bar for a drink.

It was quiet, about a dozen men & women all sitting around and talking (in German, naturally) and no one payed me much mind as I sat down at the bar and asked for a brew, using my extremely limited German (“Pils, bitte.”). The bartender set my beer in front of me and then continued with the conversation he was having with another patron, and so there I sat, contentedly enjoying myself and the lazy afternoon I was enjoying.

After 5 or 10 minutes, the old guy sitting nearest to me turned and said something to me in German, (I assume something like “How’s it going?” or “Nice day, eh?”) and as politely as I could, I told him (in English) that I was very sorry, but I didn’t understand what he had said, as I didn’t Sprechen sie Deutsch.

Without missing a beat, in perfect English he asked me where I was from, and what I was doing in Berlin. We talked for a few minutes, and then pretty soon the bartender joined in our conversation, asking me what attractions I had visited since arriving in town. Before long, someone down the bar told the bartender to get me another beer, on them, and then asked me (again, in perfect English) about what things he should check out on his upcoming trip to Boston. Soon seemingly the entire bar was peppering me with friendly questions about the U.S., (including a few about American politics) giving me good natured advice on great places to eat and cool things to do during my visit, telling me the best way to get to the concert later that night, and generally just being exceedingly friendly, gracious and hospitable to me.

I stayed for a few hours, (and for more than a few beers) and when I finally left I felt like I had actually made a dozen new friends, even though I knew I would never see any of them again—A very singular experience, but it made me a lifelong fan of Berlin (although I am sure I couldn’t find that bar again if my life depended on it) and it’s exceedingly friendly, open people…

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Thanks for all the advice. We do like walking and hiking and seeing sights. Prefer smaller towns and less crowds, hence missing October fest. Not our thing.

We will be doing the train pass.

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A question… We’ve never done this type of trip. With the train and all the different stops. None of our hotels are more than 20-30 min. walk to train station

I’m wondering about luggage. My wife has a new carry on bag with wheels. I was thinking about taking a large internal frame back pack myself not knowing what the streets are going to be like. What do dopers recommend for this type of trip?

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I’ve travelled around Europe via train and much prefer to be able to wear my luggage on my back.

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Yeah if you’re going to be walking for 20/30 minutes, you probably want a backpack. Dragging your luggage around gets old quickly. Also, make sure to have some googlemaps printouts (or on your phone), since most places in Europe don’t do straight streets crossing each other every couple of hunderd feet.

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I thought that a pack would be the way to go what with curbs puddles and uneven streets.

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Pretty much sums up my experiences and opinion of Germany, German people and Berlin specifically.

And enipla, you will definitely want to use a back pack if you’re not going to use a taxi from the train to the hotel. If you can’t possibly get through your trip with only a large back-pack, consider using the luggage storage at the train station for the bulk of your luggage and using a back pack for just what you will need for the stay in that town.