21 Day Trip in September - Questions

Just a couple of thoughts. D-day beaches are massive - over 50 miles east to west - so if would be hard to do a drive by on the way to Brugges. Just too much distance on secondary roads. If you really want to see the beaches you need at least an overnight in the area. One night in Rothenburg is really a couple short half days. Rothenburg is small so you could see the highlights in that time period. Two nights is only one day. Munich is that far a drive so stick with original plans. Three nights in Brugges might be one too many unless you plan to do some bicycling on the canals.

If you want to see D-Day sights, and your boyfriend wants to see Belgium, it makes sense to focus on those places rather than going all the way to Munich. As is posted above, it takes time to see the D-Day sights, and in addition to Bruges, you can see Antwerp (my favorite), Ghent, Brussels, Tournai, and lots of other places in Belgium, either as day trips from Bruges or by staying in these cities. So, I'd cut off Munich and allot the time to these other places.

Hello readl. I recommend : do not go to the Ocean coast of France in this trip. I suggest : be at Bruges two nights, not three nights. Be at Rothenburg one night, not two nights. Put those extra nights in Bavaria, for you to have time for enjoying seeing the Bavarian Alps. For me, being at the Alps region near the border of Germany and Austria would be the highlight of this trip.

You mentioned your boyfriend seemed indifferent to your itinerary since he is new to travel. Did he request doing a D-Day tour? Why not add an extra day to Paris to do that and cut a night from somewhere else? If your goal is that he enjoys himself and wants to do this again, adjust your itinerary.

I am not very familiar with Germany but I like to avoid one night stays. Some others have given good advice about that aspect of your trip.

EDIT: I just reread your post and saw that he is also interested in Belgium. But I think if this is his first trip and he is really interested in doing a tour of Normandy, there is room for adjustment in your itinerary. Maybe one less night in Amsterdam? Or keep three nights in Paris but do less of the Paris sights if he is not as interested?

You are both young and hopefully you will want to return to Europe based on what you see on this trip. I can't comment on northern Europe but I have been to Normandy twice, so here goes. Unless there is really a pressing issue about the D-Day beaches I'd skip it this time. If it is that important to your boyfriend skip Paris on this trip, cut out a day in Germany and spend three nights in Normandy. Except for the cost getting back to Paris is much easier than the other places on your itinerary and you really need more than three nights in Paris to fully appreciate it. I think most people will tell you that there is so much more to Normandy that just the D-Day sites, although they are impressive, especially the history, culture, the welcoming people and THE FOOD. You could easily spend a week there and still not see everything it has to offer. I agree with one of your responders who questioned the one night stays. Keep in mind that travel days, regardless of the mode, takes time, so an hour long train ride actually takes a half day out of your schedule to leave your previous lodging and get to the train station, arrive at the new destination and then to the new lodging; truthfully, a half day for that is being conservative. If you're driving, factor in the roads, getting lost, traffic and construction delays and accidents along the way. You should also allow time to deviate from your itinerary when you see an unexpected, as Rick calls them, "back door". Make sure your trip is more about quality and less about quantity. Good luck.

One other comment about your boyfriend's uncertainty of what he will find in Europe. Go to the section of this web site where he can watch Rick's PBS shows on your computer about the places you are going. Also, have him watch Rick's lecture on Travel Tips for Europe, and lastly, get him to pick some of the places you will be going so he can get invested in it with you. I started taking my wife and her then 82 year old mother to Europe in 2007 and my MIL knew was that she felt a "pull toward Tuscany". I involved her in the planning process as I suggested above and after three trips to Italy, Scotland, England and France she wouldn't have it any other way. Last year she turned 90 a few days after a two week trip to three islands in Hawaii and she picked out more things to do and see than I did. She once told me that being part of the process made it more real for her when we were actually there instead of feeling like it was a dream. Incidentally, she still plays the organ in her church and wants to go back to Scotland next year. Hope this is helpful.

Hello -
The general pattern of your trip looks good to me; you have resisted the urge to "go everywhere and see everything" in one trip. I do have a couple of comments for you to consider. I am not the kind of traveler that thinks Paris is the center of the world, but it somehow strikes me as "different" that you are allocating the same amount of time, 3 days/nights, to three cities: Paris, Bruges, and Bacharach. This differentness is amplified when you suggest that you may be considering a major excursion to Normandy as a part of this Paris time.
I think two days in Bruges would allow you to see the area adequately, and I cannot even imagine what you will do in Bacharach for three days. Do you have close friends or family there that you will be visiting? I think a little reshuffling here is called for.

Thank you so much for all of the replies! It looks like we will save Normandy for a trip in the future. We added Paris to our itinerary a little last minute as it was one of the only options for us using miles from Seattle and flying first/business class. I have been to Paris twice before and anticipate we will return, so 3 days for us is okay on this trip.

In regards to 3 days in Bruges and Bacharach, our thoughts were to limit the number of 1 night stays and use these places as a home base to explore other areas nearby. We both really enjoy small picturesque towns and are okay with down time.

I am now considering if 1 night in Rothenburg will work for us (we are both okay having a single one night stay on a three weeks trip), or if we should skip Rothenburg completely and spend 3 nights in the Alps. We have watched Ricks shows on the area, read travel books, and had a trip consultation at the Rick Steve's shop in Edmonds, and Rothenburg sounds like a place we would enjoy seeing and could potentially be okay for a one night stay. Any thoughts on this?

We especially liked Augsburg Germany. The walking tour was very nice as is the one we took in Munich.

We like to travel somewhat slow, giving at least 3 nights for most places and larger cities 4 or more. But, Rothenburg for one night is just fine. It is very pretty, and very, very touristy. I was ready to leave after one night, and wouldn't go back, but it was well worth seeing just the same. Stay within the walled city.

Personally, I would add more nights in the Alps and less in Rothenburg. The more time you have in the Alps, the better, because it gives you more a hedge against the possibilities of bad weather. Rothenburg is pretty, but it just isn't as unique as the tourist literature claims, with the exception of all the tour buses and trinket shops.

BTW, if you're looking for a combination of the Bavarian Alps and a lake, you could go with Berchtesgaden (next to the large Königsee), Tegernsee or someplace near Chiemsee like Rosenheim or Prien. The last two, though are in the Alpine forelands, not the Alps themselves.

If you wanted to focus more on mountain excursions, base yourself out of Garmisch-Partenkirchen or Oberstdorf.

I would not be so quick to dismiss Rothenburg. I was there for a day in 1988 and enjoyed it enough to come back for 2 nights in 2002. I will probably come back again. Parts of it (Christmas shop, C&P Museum) are touristy, but they can be avoided. There are some interesting things to do that aren't, like walking the Wehrgang (platform on top of the wall).

Why are you going to Köln on the way from Bacharach to Rothenburg? Did you actually want to spend some time in Köln, or just to pick up a car. That's a lot of backtracking. It's an hour and a half to two hours by train to Köln (and at least 29€), then almost 4 hours driving (fuel alone, 48€) to Rothenburg (per ViaMichelin).

Bacharach to Rothenburg by train can take as little as 4 hr 19 min and cost only 49€, same as the cost of fuel alone for a car from Köln to Rothenburg. You won't need a car in Rothenburg; much of the town inside the wall is a pedestrian zone. You can easily get to Munich with a 28€ Bayern-Ticket.

I wouldn't rent a car at least until Munich, but do you realize that Germany has the most extensive rail system in western Europe, only 1% less dense than Switzerland's. There are a thousand train stations in Bavaria. Most places you want to see in Bavaria are readily accessible by train from Munich.