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ideas for an upcoming trip to Switzerland, Germany and a touch of France

Posted by (Greater Sacramento) on

We have one trip promised to our daughter for her college graduation to Italy, but she will be back in school in August, so its possible that my wife and I will take another trip to Europe before we end up going to Italy with her, so here's my latest, changing by the day, thoughts about it. Of course no time frame yet, but duration maybe about 23-25 days.

Arrival in Zurich, and spend time in Zurich (1st full day there to get over jet lag, and I really like the ambience of Zurich, a nice way to start the trip). Then onto Lucerne and definitely a boat cruise along the Vierwaldstattersee. From there perhaps some higher mountain experience like in the Berner oberland. This may be unusual, but I actually really like the lower elevation lake areas, so a trip to Thun and checking out the Thunersee might also be on the cards. I also really want to see Bern and I think my wife would enjoy the city. As someone who loves smaller cities, and a student of Swiss politics and its unique features, got to check out Bern.
Not sure how many days would be involved so far, but that would give us a nice taste of Switzerland before heading for Germany.

First stop in Germany would be Freiburg, where I spent a semester auditing history courses way back in the late 1980's. This time I want to see alot of areas that I foolishly missed seeing back then, such as some of the black forest areas, so perhaps we stay a few days in Freiburg. From there I'm thinking about a stay over in Strassbourg, for a little taste of France and Alsace. After that back to Germany for some beautiful architecture. For sure Heidelberg and Wiesbaden, because those cities look beautiful. Also thinking about Mainz, Speyer, Frankfurt. Would probably want to do either a Rhine or Mosel cruise as well. Bonn might be as far north as we would go, and I want to see Bonn for its West Germany History museum, plus Bonn looks to have some nice architectural neighborhoods as well, such as Bad Godesberg.

We could fly home from Frankfurt, so might spend the last few days in the area, perhaps with a day trip to Wurzburg thrown in, with some time in Frankfurt as well. What I'd like to see would be a nice mixture of beautiful smaller cities, nature in different forms like nice lakes, rivers, forests, mountains, and if we end up seeing three countries as part of this trip so much the better. I think my wife would appreciate the variety of experiences as would I. Have to see what this itinerary ends up looking like but this is a very rough sketch. Also, I do like the open jaw aspect of it.

Posted by
185 posts

I think spending the 1st day in Zurich is a good idea. I have 2 suggestions for you. One is to take the boat cruise on Lake Zurich as far as Rapperswill, a small village right on the lake. From there you can take either the boat back or the train. Then you can take a small train up the Uetliberg which is a small mountain/hill overlooking Zurich. You have to hike up the last part. I ended up climbing the 180 steps in the tower and the view was amazing! The boat cruise from Luzern is nice too.

In Germany I would suggest including a couple of small villages such as Bacharach on the Rhine and Beilstein on the Mosel. I always stay in Bacharach my first night and take the Rhine cruise from there as far as St Goar. You will see lots of castles and can even tour the one at St. Goar. From there I move on to Cochem on the Mosel and stay a couple of nights. Since I travel by train, I rent a bike to ride to Beilstein, which is so incredibly quaint (no train service there)! You have to cross the Mosel on the little ferry right across from Beilstein. Of course, I also love Rothenburg ob der Tauber, even though it is very touristy (for a reason). I tend to appreciate little villages that are very walkable.

I am hoping to go back to Europe next fall. I will visit Germany, Switzerland and maybe a bit of Italy. I have not been able to go since 2016. Had plans for fall of 2020, but of course, that did not happen.

Posted by
27908 posts

The huge Bodensee would be a possible stop for you. I really enjoyed the large botanical garden on Mainau Island, and there are some beautiful towns on the lake shore.

Do you plan to stick to public transportation, or will you rent a car for part of the trip? We have some real experts on Germany who could give you good tips on especially scenic routes and towns, but your mode of transportation probably matters.

Posted by
603 posts

Ideally all public transportation, and I've thought about the Bodensee as well. If because of flight considerations we pass on Switzerland for this trip we might see it this trip, but if we end up with a lot of time in Switzerland would probably skip it.

Posted by
33720 posts

If you go as far north as Bonn, you might enjoy visiting the Siebengebirge (7 mountains or 7 hills) just south and riding on the ancient train (somewhat more modern cars now) the Drachenfelsbahn https://www.drachenfelsbahn.de/index.php/en/ (English page linked) to the top of the Drachenfels (Dragon Rock). Great views, fun tram, castle halfway down, walk or take the tram all or part of the way.

Very easy by train from Bonn or below, Königswinter station a very short walk to the tram station (also easy by car for others who may drive).

Posted by
2572 posts

A nice town not on the American circuit for Germany is Limburg an der Lahn, an hour or so by train up the Lahn River valley from Koblenz. From there are frequent trains to Frankfurt. Very nice altstadt, interesting cathedral

Posted by
9198 posts

For the Frankfurt area, do plan a visit to Limburg, Marburg, Eltville & Eberbach Monastery, Büdingen, Gelnhausen, and perhaps the Taunus area with Bad Homburg, Kronberg and Königstein. Hessen Park Open Air Museum is a must for this area and if you like Roman or Celtic stuff, the Saalburg Roman fort and the Glauberg Celtic Museum/Settlement might be fun.
I can give you more tips about Frankfurt if you like.

Posted by
3100 posts

Strongly support Ms Jo's suggestion. As a resident of Frankfurt when I was just a sprout, and a visitor there more recently, it's a great city to visit. There are multiple excellent museums, the Great Cathedral (where the Holy Roman Emperor was crowned upon occasion), and so forth. We stayed in an inexpensive hotel owned by Russians on Mozartstrasse, which had many fine establishments advertising nothing but "top girls" removing their clothing for your perusal.

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