Looking for suggestions for 6 days travel across Germany to Rotterdam via public transit from Sept 28 to Oct 3. We enjoy nature or neighborhood walks, local food, museums, interesting landmarks, historical buildings, learning via small group guided tours and community experiences. We are in our mid-60’s and healthy but prefer activities of less than 5 hours/day (i.e. a 3-4 hour bike-ride/hike/tour…not a full day) so we can enjoy leisurely sightseeing and meals on our own time. While we enjoy history, we’d like to minimize the number of WWII sites. Also, we are not particularly interested in cruises, unless it is a means of transportation to arrive at a tourist location. We will be leaving Berlin on Sept 28 after watching the marathon, and plan to be in Rotterdam (or Berendrecht-to be determined) on Oct 3 to meet friends for dinner. Hopefully the train/bus schedules can accommodate an itinerary of visiting a few different towns without spending a full day traveling between. Thank you for your time.
Posted by
London, England
347 posts
The main stops on the express train from Berlin to the Netherlands are Hannover and Osnabrueck. Hannover is imo the dullest major city centre in Germany, but there are meant to be some nicer spots in the suburbs and the country around it. Celle and Hildesheim are more attractive. Osnabrueck is a pleasant mid-sized city.
If you are willing to make more of a detour an excellent place to spend some time would be one of the old towns in the Harz Mountain region like Quedlinburg (my favourite), Wernigerode or Goslar.
I don't know if you've already visited major Dutch cities like Amsterdam or Utrecht.
For journey times have a look at the German rail site at bahn.de. Be warned that long-distance trains in Germany can run late, so for your travel days try and book the fewest possible number of connections, and expand the connection time if it's less than 30-60 minutes depending on how cautious you want to be.
Posted by
Paradise
8008 posts
On that route I'd prioritize a look at the very handsome Ijsselmeer town of Deventer (NL) as well as the very impressive Zutphen (nearby, also NL.)
Hanover isn't all that interesting, but it could prove to be a good base town for visiting Goslar, Hildesheim, Hameln, Celle, and or Bremen. This area is weakly covered in Rick Steves' materials; consult Tripadvisor or other sources for specifics. Use DB to check travel times to these places from Hanover.
Posted by
Northwest Arkansas
1064 posts
6 days travel across Germany to Rotterdam via public transit from Sept
28 to Oct 3. We enjoy nature or neighborhood walks, local food,
museums, interesting landmarks, historical buildings, learning via
small group guided tours and community experiences.
Are you seeing Berlin before the Marathon? If not, I suggest a few days there before striking off towards Rotterdam. If you have not been to the Netherlands before, then I would head straight to Amsterdam and/or The Hague. There are other interesting cities and towns along the way, you just don't have that much time.
I am planning a similar three week trip going from Amsterdam to Berlin in August.