OT: Travel recommendations in Germany
This is very off topic, but I figured I'd get some good input from this group. I'll be heading to Germany for work for 2 weeks, and I'm looking for some recommendations. Since I'm staying over a weekend, I should have some downtime from Friday - Sunday.
I'll be near Hamburg, but am considering taking a train from Hamburg to visit another part of Germany for that weekend. From what I've seen so far, Berlin appears to be the most doable in terms of proximity for a short trip. I'd prefer something less massive and touristy, but it would be tough to do the cities in the south.
So, any tips from anyone who has been there before? Any places or things that are a must do? Anything to avoid? How about souvenirs? Planning to get some German chocolate for the family, not sure what else.
Drink beer vigorously.
I was unaware there were other ways to drink beer.
Beer gardens with home made pretzels are the best
Been to Germany twice - once on business and once for a few days on my honeymoon and had a great time both visits. First time was Hamburg and that was quite interesting. Tours of the city include a partially bombed out church from WWII and we also visited the submarine yards where the Third Reich "Wolfpack" was stationed. I wouldnt write off Hamburg for at least one day of site seeing and the people there were very cool.
2nd time was a trip to Munich for a portion of my honeymoon and that too was a lot of fun. Munich has a town market that has a little bit of everything and of course the obligitory German beer gardens everywhere. We just ducked into some random bar/pub one day and had an amazing meal & a beer at a completely no-name location while walking around the city.
Have a great time - I've got a return trip to Octoberfest on my bucket list someday. FWIW "23 & me" has my lineage as 45% German, 45% English and 10% French so I guess I'm a Euro-mutt by birth.
Awesome, thanks for the info. I'm fascinated by WWII history, so that church and the navy yard sound awesome. The place I'm staying is actually further north from Hamburg, so I'll be staying right on the Baltic Sea. I'm looking forward to that. My ideal weekend getaway would be to the mountains in the south for a good hike, but I think the travel distance will make that too hard with limited time. I keep reminding myself that I'm going there for work, so I can't just prioritize seeing a new country.
Sounds like Hamburg itself could be a good option.
Unfortunately, there is not a lot of WWII history that far north, but if you can make your way to Dresden...
V2s were made in Peenemunde which sits on the Baltic.https://www.tracesofevil.com/1990/02/more-sites-in-northern-germany.html
https://www.britannica.com/place/Peenemunde
There are plenty of WW2 sites in Northeastern Germany.
I'm not sure which town on the Baltic Sea you're on then, but Lubeck just northeast of Hamburg is supposed to have nice well-preserved architecture. I haven't been there though. I'd imagine a nice place to walk around and enjoy something quieter and presumably less touristy, especially in summer.
I second Lubeck for exactly the reasons Gulogulo37 suggests.
Was going to suggest Lübeck as well for the same reasons.
How's your Neanderthal percentage looking? The one where they tell you you have more Neanderthal traits than some percentage of all the folks sampled.
I have more Neanderthal DNA than 82% of those tested. Not sure what that means, though.
It means of all the people who are 23andme customers, you have more Neanderthal DNA than 82% of them. I have to brag in that my is 94%.
It really doesn't mean we have a lot of Neanderthal DNA though. From my write up:
"You inherited a small amount of DNA from your Neanderthal ancestors. Out of the 7,462 variants we tested, we found 288 variants in your DNA that trace back to the Neanderthals. All together, your Neanderthal ancestry accounts for less than ~2 percent of your DNA."
Folks who can trace their ancestry to northwestern Europe and East Asia have the highest amounts of Neanderthal variants.
Wolf Packs were a tactic U-Boats used to combat the convoy system the Allies deployed.
U-Boat based were all along the coast of Northern and Western coast of Europe. St. Nazaire in France being the most famous and still impressive even after 80 years.
Munich is a super cool walkable city with great people. We found an old bomb shelter 3 stories down with no windows and great live music. Great food and beer gardens.
Nuremberg was amazing for the history and architecture. Rottenburg is a famous small walled city that’s fun for a night with cool traditions and guards in dress walking with lanterns in the evening. If you can find space in an overnight castle it’s a pretty cool experience.
Germany in general is underrated as a place to visit. Seems most Americans going to Europe center on the big 4--England, France, Italy and Spain. But Germany is a beautiful country with great food and the beer is amazing. If you get a chance to go to an actual beer hall where they sing and hoist steins of beer, it's a blast. Also the stereotype about it being orderly and clean is true--pleasantly so, IMO.
Amazing organ (actually several) in the Michaeliskirche Hamburg plus CPE Bach's grave, can't go wrong with that. Then Katherinenkirche and Jakobikirche. Yes I have a one track mind.
Berlin is great, and makes sense from Hamburg. If you had time, I was going to suggest Bavaria, with a drive toward the Alps. Berlin is one of the few big cities left with a some life on the streets.
Agree about Berlin. We were there not many years ago, and were struck by how young the population was there. Very vibrant with a lot of nightlife. We were also impressed by all the construction and revitalization of neighborhoods around the city. The city is still coming back from the devastation of WW2 and pre-unification period. It was good to see though, since Berlin used to be one of the greatest cities in Europe before the dark days. They have an impressive monument to the holocaust there, and some excellent historic sites. I would highly recommend it.
There were some drunken American kids playing hide and freaking seek, laughing and hollering among the stones of the holocaust monument when we were there. My wife had to shoulder me inside, I was so upset. The story as told inside is still more powerful; give yourself the evening to recover--we didn't want to run on to our next tourist destination.
Ok. So you'll be so far north in Hamburg, just take a train and check out Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Unless you are into the Northern Lights, the summer is a great time to visit scandinavia
I have nothing against Germany, but the south is much better IMO. Bavaria this time of year is awesome (but hot).
I second this. My cousin lives in Hamburg, and spends his summers in a converted little schoolhouse in Jutland (Denmark). We spent three weeks there a few summers ago, when my daughter was still old enough to love lolling around their little fish pond and wandering the beaches. It was a memorable time.
I'd say Cologne/Koln but it's a 4.5 hour drive from Hamburg.
With that said, I was there this past fall for a quick stop to see the Cologne Cathedral and it was worth it. The cathedral is a spectacular piece of history and architecture. There's also an old town and plenty of places to eat along the Rhine which makes for a pretty relaxing atmosphere.
I feel like I remember hearing that pretty much only two things in Cologne escaped bombing during WWII, Cologne Cathedral (the Dom) and the Ford plant...
The Ford tentacles stretched in a lot of different directions.
Evidently Cologne and Dusseldorf have an excellent brewery scene. I met a german student getting his phd in Lansing and he highly recommended those areas.
I spent two years in Germany - living in Berlin but traveling all around Europe.
Hamburg was one of my favorite cities in Germany. Some recommendations there would be:
- St. Nikolai - Cathedral remains from WWII firebombing
- Rathaus - Main City Square
- Grab a beer and walk the promenade by the fountains
- They do Cruises that go through the main lake in the city through some canals
- Miniatur-Wunderland: Entire museum of miniatures (it's cooler than it sounds)
- Elbphilharmonie - Opera house - beautiful to visit and has great views of the harbor
- Reeperbahn Strasse - Infamous party area - where the Beatles go their start
Your best option inside Germany for a weekend would be Berlin, and it's the easiest via train. Other options would be Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Brussels, Cologne - all within a ~6 hour drive.
Berlin is a great place for a weekend visit. I highly recommend doing a walking tour to get your bearings and see the main 'tourist' sights. They are normally free and start at the Brandenburg Gate (I recommend Sandeman). Then just explore what interests you. Walk through the Tiergarten, sit in some bars and have a beer by the canal, visit some of the great museums on Museum Island.
Huge recommendation for Berlin for the weekend, especially since you mentioned WWII History. You get all of the post war and pre-unification sites to hit while you're there, including Checkpoint Charlie, the remnants of the war, and Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, etc. I'd recommend a bike tour vs. a walking tour, since you can cover much more ground. Fat Tire tours there are great. Berlin has a strong multicultural scene as well, including some of the best kebabs you'll ever have in your life. Been there three times and loved each trip.
This is fantastic, thanks for the info. You guys are making me lean more toward Hamburg.
If I were to do Berlin though, do you think I'll have any issue finding train tickets? I keep hearing about summer holiday being a busy travel time in Germany, and when I initially did some looking (over a week ago at this point), the site I found for train tickets showed nothing available for the Friday evening I would try to get from Hamburg to Berlin. Are there reliable sites/apps for booking train tickets, or would I be better off walking up to the train station and buying a ticket? I'll be there end of July through the first weekish of August, for reference.
I would go to the Deutsche Bahn site, bahn.de.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding the site, but it looks like there are tickets available.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flak_tower
As long as you are in Berlin and Hamburg take a look at these massive flak tower left over from the war. They are impressive pieces of history.
My wife and I moved to Bonn, Germany (near Cologne) last year for work and plan to be here for the next few years. We enjoyed Berlin over Easter weekend and spent a weekend in Hamburg a few weeks ago. We haven't been to Lubeck yet, but those would be my top choices for your weekend since you'll be in Hamburg.
Lubeck is recommended by most of my German friends here as a beautiful old Gothic city on the Baltic See.
BlueRaines highlighted Hamburg very well. We took an evening cruise around the harbor. The container ships were astonishingly large and provide a new perspective from our little harbor boat tour. If you want to see something truly unique, then Reeperbahn is the place. As John Lennon said, "I might have been born in Liverpool, but I grew up in Hamburg." It's sort of like Bourbon Street in New Orleans but seedier. My wife was a little creeped out.
Berlin is a few hours away, but if you have the time it is one of the best cities in the world. Truly an international city with an amazing amount of history and it's all easy to access. We used the Rick Steve's travel guide app. He literally walked us through the entire city with great detail at no charge.
All good choices, and all manage English very well, too.
As far as travel, I enjoy driving but the trains are also generally a good choice. I use the app trainline or you can go directly to Deutsche Bahn. IMO, trainline is a little easier and more intuitive. Here is a link to trainline: https://www.thetrainline.com/journey-planner
Auf Weidersehn!
I just got back from a week in Berlin! If you are there over a weekend, I recommend visiting the flea market in Mauerpark on Sunday. There are lots of local artisans, and you can pick up some unique gifts for family and friends. From there, you can easily walk along the Berlin Wall Memorial to get a sense of East vs. West, and then take a stroll through the leafy and genteel neighborhoods of Prinzlauer Berg on your way to bustling Alexanderplatz, home of the famous television tower. I have not been to the top of the tower (my partner does not do heights), but the view from up there must be amazing!
Normally I'd recommend Bavaria, but I don't think you have the time available to do it justice. You have Munich, Garmisch and Oberammergau in Bavaria.
I know wherever folks are from, they'll sometimes call home, "God's Country."
Sorry, to WV and other places, but Bavaria is God's Country. I've never seen a more beautiful place in my life.
Beer steins are a good bet for a souvenir.
Find a monastery that brews their own beer and enjoy an afternoon there.
As a former home brewer, I like Bavaria because I'm a lager person (vs an ale person)
concur, i love Bavaria. we felt like we were living in a fairy tale walking through towns like Garmisch!
Garmisch is still one of my favorite places i've visited. Bavaria is incredible. If you can swing a couple more days i would highly recommend it.
With the amount of time you have, I'd recommend staying in Hamburg for you weekend. If you do travel then I would say Berlin.
I think you'll have the best time experiencing Hamburg.... it's one of the best cities in Germany
Avoid the festival that Clark Griswold went to in European Vacation. Those people seemed mean.
I would recommend Munich as I had an absolute blast there (probably something to do with Oktoberfest) but that’s a hell of a train ride from Hamburg. (~8-10 hours).
Amsterdam is very doable from Hamburg (~5-6 hours) and is one of the coolest places I’ve visited in Europe. Brussels is also a great city within train distance for a weekend (~7-8 hours)
As someone else suggested, Copenhagen, Berlin or Cologne would be my suggestions
You 80% likely already know this, but if not, the train system has a pretty decent app for managing your trips which I personally found pretty helpful: https://www.bahn.com/en/booking-information/db-navigator-app
I was nowhere near Hamburg in the 4-5 says I was there so I probably don't have any super helpful suggestions. We stayed along the Rhine to see the castles, then 2 days in Bamberg (a cute small/med town in Bavaria), then Dresden for my brother's wedding. I would very much recommend Bamberg - it seemed like a place that Germans go for vacation - and it was a chill place to hang out, but it's even further south of Berlin. I don't hate the other poster's suggestion of Amsterdam, actually.
If you're driving there - I didn't, but a friend who was also in Germany said that there are basically two rules: drive on the right and overtake (ass) on the left, and it's a beautiful system.
There's a bullet train that takes you to Berlin in an hour. my wife and I loved getting lost there when we were dating. A great city with so much to see and offer, and the wall is inspiring. Totally worth spending a few days in, if not much more.
Following the chess scene, weird data point, I've heard tons of good things about Hamburg fwiw. Personally, I would be content to check out Hamburg but would consider Copenhagen or Amsterdam.
Berlin will take your breath away...rimshot.
Any tips for anyone who has traveled to the south of Spain or Portugal? Costa del sol mainly. Hotels, towns anything. For a young family. Two boys 12 and under. Help!!
never been. bucket list
Planning for next spring break. Would like to tie in Portugal but... It's a lot in a week
We just visited Portugal in March. I would not recommend over other options.
The people were kind and friendly, weather was nice, and there are a few things interesting things to see, so you can have a wonderful time there (and we did). But the cultural and historical riches pale in comparison to neighboring Spain, France, and Germany. It felt like choosing Wayne State over U-M Ann Arbor.
Don't know if you're open to other parts of Spain but we did Barcelona with our kids and it was fantastic. Then we drove north along the Costa Brava, and there are gorgeous beaches there, some with castles and hiking trails. I can't remember which beach we spent the day at but we loved it. And Barcelona is one of my favorite European cities. The food was unreal. It unseated France as my favorite food destination.
Writing to you from outside Barcelona. Visiting wife's family (she's a BCN native). This is only my 30th trip or so to Spain.
Since you are talking about next Spring Break, I'd recommend Sevilla (one of my favorite cities), Granada and Cordoba. Sevilla has one of the biggest cathedrals in the world and it's impressive. Columbus is buried there, or parts of him. And the Fair of Seville is one of the most impressive things you will see. Same for Semana Santa and its processions which are the week of Easter. But you have to be there when the Fair happens as it's limited in time. Granada and the Alhambra is also incredibly impressive as is the Mezquita in Cordoba.
As for Portugal, the Algarve is beautiful. Don't expect to swim as the water is really cold in the summer so spring is a no go. I'd recommend Lagos and Portimao with great beaches. The southwest coast of Portugal is very similar to California with cliffs and beautiful surf and beaches. Rent a car and drive around.
We head to Porto and Lisbon at the end of the week. Never been to Portugal's north.
While I prefer Spain, Portugal is also special. If you have just a week, focus only on Spain. It won't do Portugal justice for a short period of time.
PM me for any other suggestions.
Thanks, I will. There's so much in Spain, so we're trying to do a manageable chunk without constantly being on the move. I wanted to do Portugal but it's not a must