Greece vs Germany

Both countries offer quite a lot for visitors.

My main focus on travel was on history, art, culture and dining. Scenic places were great as well. I loved hiking and biking, but generally not on touring.

I lived in Augsburg, Germany for four years and did a great hike for two days from Garmisch to the top of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. No dangerous rock climbing was involved.

Germany is a weather country and you can tell if you visit both countries, but Athens has the amazing sites for ancient history.

Also, Greece has many islands that are great places to visit.

If you visit Germany, my favorite areas to visit are, as follows:
1) Bavaria- You have the Alpine region in the south as well as great cities and towns like Munich, Augsburg, Nuremberg, Regensburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bamberg, Garmisch and Berchtesgaden (near Salzburg, Austria).
2) The Rhine River Valley from the Dutch border down to the Swiss border. Places like Cologne, Mainz, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Friberg, the Black Forest and Strasbourg, France.
3) Berlin and Dresden. Lots of great museums and sites in Berlin.

Greece
Athens and the surrounding area, including Corinth (including the canal), a nearby three island tour close to Piraeus, the port for Athens. Day trip to Delphi. Also, islands like Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, and many more. Consider adding a six day cruise of the islands.

Greece would be a bit cheaper than Germany, but Germany has a better rail network. Also, the food in both is great, but love Greek.

I became obsessed with the Mediterranean on my second trip to Europe and have rarely gone elsewhere, so I know with certainty that Greece makes for a fantastic outdoor adventure. May is a great time, as if you want islands, they won't be slammed yet (and there are so many, if you skip the two most popular ones you could ignore this possibility entirely). The mainland is a wonder--so many ancient sites interspersed with gorgeousness. We felt we had some places to ourselves when we went in May to the Peloponnese and we plan to return to the north mainland, possibly this year. The Bradt Guides are comprehensive.
I am sure Germany could also be a great destination (Black Forest?), but I have not put any research into an active vacation there.
So, flip a coin? Is there something that drew you to either/both that you could share that might make the choice more apparent? Maybe weather stats? When all else fails, I look at airfares and see if price or ease makes my decision easier.

We don’t spend time sitting on a beach, either, and while there are plenty of beaches along the Greek mainland and so many islands, churches are predominantly Greek Orthodox, if that matters. Hiking in Greece (especially on Crete) was fabulous. We’ve ridden bikes on several trips to various European countries, but Greece was not of them. Greek history is vast, of course. Lots to see and do.

Germany: there’s a lot of coastline on the northern border, but beach time there in May probably isn’t on many folks’ list, either. We spent a lovely time in the Black Forest region this summer, with lots of hiking, but no biking (or mountain biking, which is popular there, too) on the steep, fairly narrow roads. We were also just across the border in Alsace, which has been in Germany at times in the past, but is now in France. Again, we hiked, but didn’t bicycle, although that’s quite popular along wine roads in the area. The area is full of history, too - some tragic, all interesting.

We’ve made more trips to Greece than to Germany.

You don’t mention how you plan to travel. If it is by public transport, I would give Germany the edge over Greece. That said, there is really no bad choice here. You can enjoy either destination.

Thank you all for the information. We would most likely rent a car if we go to Germany... I think we are leaning a bit more towards Germany than Greece at this point. Good suggestion on airfare prices. Also, someone had suggested Switzerland? Anyone have thoughts on it? Also Rhine River tour? Thank again you all have been very helpful.

Thank you all for the information. We would most likely rent a car if
we go to Germany... I think we are leaning a bit more towards Germany
than Greece at this point. Good suggestion on airfare prices. Also,
someone had suggested Switzerland? Anyone have thoughts on it? Also
Rhine River tour? Thank again you all have been very helpful.

Are you looking for something to pair with Germany? What is it that has you leaning in one direction? The more you share, the more useful feedback you'll get.
The one thing about Switzerland to consider is the cost, which is considerably higher than the others. I only went because my spouse was going for work, but it was indeed incredible.

Looking to pair with Germany. Did not know of the expense.... have heard it has beautiful outdoor adventures.

Shana,
Yes, Switzerland is way up there for expense. How about Austria? Not cheap, but better than Switzerland. And Vienna is a terrific city!

More travel also adds to expense, so if choosing more than one country, I'd stick to two that are adjacent and well-linked by transport. Maybe do some accommodations searches to get a sense of things, but your money will certainly go farther in Germany and Austria. Switzerland is a once in a lifetime trip, so if you go for that, I'd go all in!

Thank you for the info. I appreciate it.

In winter, Greece. In summer, Germany.

Here are a few ideas for Germany:
Bikes: You can bike the northern part of Germany super easily as it's fairly flat. Your biggest challenge would be wind. Great way to get a lot of scenery, and you can take bikes on a train if you are "done" for the day. Northern Germany is situated between Denmark (the Biking Vikings) and the Netherlands. We definitely have a good bike culture--the beautiful Baltic coast with cities like Stralsund, Wismar, and (not quite on the coast) Schwerin have so much to offer, and then on to Hanseatic Lübeck, across to the North Sea--Wadden Sea UNESCO (St. Peter-Ording), the Halligen, Frisian islands, linguistic diversity (Frisian and Plattdeutsch are considered separate languages), historic Bremen (especially the Schnoor), Lüneburg, Glückstadt (former capital of the duchy, has a harbour that looks VERY like Copenhagen's Nyhavn), and of course my personal bias toward Hamburg is showing.

Fun fact: On a list of 30 tallest churches in the world, Hamburg has number 5, 11, 12, 15, and 27 while Lübeck has 16, Schwerin has 25, and Rostock has 26. So that's my pitch for the north. Also, number 1 (Ulm), 3 (Cologne), 13 (Landshut), and 28 (Freiburg) are in Germany.

Hiking: The obvious here is the Alpine hiking, which is amazing. You might still have some snow in May. But are you familiar with the Harz? The Harzer Wandernadel is a hiking stamp book (can also be done via app), and there are all kinds of great hikes! Want an easy day? Take the Brockenbahn (a narrow-gage train) to the highest peak in North Germany and just hike down. You can pick up the train in historic Wernigerode and enjoy the half-timbered city. Or you can hike along the former border and really appreciate the difference between Goslar (West) and Quedlinburg (East). And if you are there the night of April 30, you can be part of the Walpurgis festival.

You can also hit the Black Forest, the Erzgebirge, Saxon Switzerland, and any number of great regions in central Germany. I could go on and on.

History: There is no city in the world that has been divided and reunited the way Berlin has, and it bears the proud marks and myriad ugly scars of the last 150 years. Lots of medieval as well. All throughout Germany.

You have two weeks for your touring and the first day will be shot due to recovering from jet lag.

Bavaria and the Rhine Valley areas are my favorite to visit in Germany. There is a bit of travel between the two, so if you wish to do both, you need to plan in detail exactly what places you stay as well as WHAT you wish to see.

Use TripAdvisor.com "things to do" to aid you in deciding WHAT you wish to see and that will determine HOW may days you stay in each location. Also, it will tell you if you have time to do the Rhine Valley.

Say you wish to do Bavaria as follows:
Munich 3 days, Nuremberg, 2 days, Garmish/Fussen 3 days and Salzburg, Austria/Berchtesgaden, Germany 3 days, you have used 11 days. That being the case, better to stay in that area, perhaps visit Augsburg, Rothenberg ob der Tauber or Vienna or Innsbruck, Austria.

Renting a car can be an issue if you are in a large city like Munich, Nuremberg and Vienna. Parking is hard to find and expensive.
Still, you could do a bit of rail and some car touring.

For checking airfare, many airlines have direct flights into Munich. Check Kayak.com for bargain fares.

You havent described any other travel experience that you enjoyed so its hard to guess what you might like. Judging by Germany or Greece, maybe you aren’t sure yourself as they are as different as night and day.

Budget matters less on short trips but on two week trips it can add up. Greece is quite a bit less expensive than Germany which might only mean that you can do a “nicer” trip in Greece. Especially true if you rent a car in Germany. Over two weeks that can be well over a thousand when you count the cost to park it, tolls, gas, traffic fines. Switzerland I think is the most expensive destination in Europe (maybe close to twice the cost of Greece) and I think Austria is about 3rd.

While you could easily spend two weeks in either country, and if the country met all of your expectations it would be a great two weeks. What if you get there and it is somewhat less than expected? Long trips on first trips are always sort of high risk in that regard.

Getting from one country to another isn’t particularly expensive and you don’t have to be limited by now long you want to sit on a train. Door to door time for a 4 or 5 hour train ride is the equivalent to a 90 minute flight. In 90 minutes you can get to a lot of Europe from Greece or Germany.

Discount airlines, even with some luggage, can be pretty reasonable. So, my suggestion is one week in Greece and one in Germany. Athens to Berlin in mid-May on Ryan Air is $80 to $120 depending on your luggage requirements. Check Wizz and Ryan, there are a lot of options for destinations in both countries.

Oh, and use the full two weeks, that means, including all the weekends, 16 days. So what if you are pooped out at work the following day. You will get over it quickly.

OK. Two weeks. Maybe less in actual time on the ground. Get both countries in one trip. A big contrast between Greece and Germany. Two countries like that is like two different vacations.
Got to Athens and Nafplio. Then fly to Munich and do Munich and Fussen. In Fussen you can rent and ride bikes around Forrgensee.
Two different worlds.