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Need help planning! Germany tour and what else?

Posted by (Portland,Oregon ) on

I am in the beginning stages of planning a end of May-ish 2019 vacation, probably around 28 days and need ideas to get started. My husband and I are thinking about the RS 13 day Germany tour which starts in Hamburg and ends in Berlin, (our first RS tour!) I’d also like to go to Rome again as my hubby has never been, I MUST go to Switzerland as it has been nixed from my past two trips due to logistics, and am hoping to add somewhere for a few nights in between Rome and Switzerland —Venice(my fave) Dolomites, Sienna? Help! Been to Florence,Lucca,C.T. Hubby has only been to the UK, But I have been to most of the major touristy cities in Western Europe.

We fly in and out of Amsterdam due to ease of flight from home, and usually catch a connecting flight from there. So...tentatively:
Rome 4 nights
Somewhere in Italy 4 more nights
Where in Switzerland for 4 nights? Must sees?
Start tour, 12 nights
Additional night or two in Berlin?
Amsterdam 2 nights
We love bike and walking tours, history, architecture, WW2, not fans of art and museums. A horseback ride anywhere would be fabulous as we love to ride!

All input welcome! I know different people like different things, but I am open to hear what you love!

Posted by
14916 posts

Hi,

"Additional night or two in Berlin/" Yes, absolutely, Berlin is one of the few cities I never tire of returning to even on the same trip, backtracking or staying consecutive days.

If you are into the history (Prussian, the inter-war years, Nazi and WW2, the Cold War), there is lots of it to track down and see, all depends on your depth of interest. Museums are part of the history but in Berlin you can go to specific historical sites to see the history if you rather not spend the time going through a museum. Which of these sites are top priority?

Posted by
1117 posts

A few thoughts:

  • Keep in mind that four nights means three days. If that's o.k. with you for the locations you chose, it's fine.
  • If you like biking, the Netherlands is THE biking country. Not sure about big cities like Amsterdam, but for day trips it should be great.
  • Horseback riding: You can probably find opportunities everywhere, but generally, I'd look for that more in the countryside than in the big cities. Not sure if you'll be spending any time in rural areas?
  • The towns of Verden (Aller) and Celle are not too far from Hamburg (and also half way between Berlin and Amsterdam), and might be worth having a closer look at for people with an interest in horses. Both are famous for their Hannoveraner horse breeding and auctions. I'll have to add that I am not a horse person myself so you'd have to find out if those towns offer anything of interest to you during the time of your stay.
  • Aside from that, Celle is a beautiful town of half-timbered houses. The kind that many travelers, for some reason unknown to me ;-) , expect to see only in Southern Germany.
  • I agree about the extra night(s) in Berlin. Don't know how many nights you already get to spend there on your tour, but Berlin is a fascinating city and deserves an extra night or two.
Posted by
250 posts

Thank you for your help! Still tweaking things, may go like this...
13 day Germany tour, and a day in Berlin
Fly to Rome 3 nights
Train to Mürren 3-4 nights
train to Berne 2 nights
Train to Colmar, France 4 nights (hubby has some WW1 family graves to look up in the area)
Train to Paris for 3 nights
Train to Amsterdam 2 nights and fly home.

I know you can spend weeks in each area, but this is just a taste for my spouse so he’ll know where he wants to go back to.

Posted by
14916 posts

Hi,

If you are looking for horseback riding places, there is a place (east of Amsterdam) in Germany in the town of Warendorf near Münster/Westf.

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