I have secured a spot to run Berlin Marathon in 2016. The race is on September 25th. I'm planning to travel from US(New York) on 22nd night and return back to US by October 9th.It gives me about 12-13 days to sightseeing Germany. Its my first trip to Deutschland and hoping to get some trip planning advice. I would start sightseeing from 26th. Appreciate if I can get some answers on these questions.
a)Should I fly into Berlin and fly out of some other location in Germany ? Or is it a good idea to do a sightseeing loop to return back to Berlin before flying back ? As its only 2 weeks should I spend most of time in Germany or is it possible to add parts of Austria to the trip ?
b)What location / neighbourhood should I book hotel/airbnb in Berlin.I'd prefer to stay close to the race location which also has convenient access to restaurants and food stores.
c) Any reasonably priced airbnb or vacation rentals in Berlin ? I prefer a rental that has a kitchen as I prefer to cook my food (at least till the race is over) and avoid eating outside before race.
d) Suggestion on a good sightseeing itinerary for 10-12 days starting from Berlin ? I will not be driving and want to do the whole trip on trains and buses. I'm OK with a) either a loop trip that starts/ends at Berlin or b) Ends at another place where I can easily fly back to New York. I'm more interested in touring places of historical importance rather than looking at big modern buildings. I like outdoors so any hiking oppurtunities around German side of Alps is great. I'm definitely interested in spending some good time in Munich/Bavaria ( And Salzburg/Austria if possible). I have bought Rick Reeve's Germany travel guide but I'm bit overwhelmed with too many low level detail in the book at this stage. I thought I'd first finalize one or two home bases and then divulge into the details of specifics outlined in the book.
e) Is it necessary to learn bit of German or can I manage with speaking English in most places ?
f)How hard is it to manage as a Vegetarian in Germany ? I'll probably have to travel light as I will not have car to store weeks worth of food supplies.
g) I'll have to assume that I'll be reasonably tired after the race. But that said walking is a great post race recovery activity for me. I always go to a place with the assumption of returning back in future. So I prefer a trip that's relaxed than an ambitious / crammed one.
h)I'll be travelling alone. Is solo tripping safe in Germany ? Any places to avoid while travelling solo ? And any tourist traps to avoid ?
I know its too many questions but I have bit of time to plan and make the bookings. I'm fairly seasoned traveler in US but I don't have much experience travelling in Europe. I'd been to Paris and London many years ago for a short 1 week trip and didn't even get to scratch the surface of those countries ;) . Appreciate any inputs and suggestions.