My husband and I will be in Brussels in early May, with plans to fly back to Portland, OR from Prague. We have about 7 nights and days between the time we'll leave Brussels and our flight from Prague. We want to travel by train. What suggestions do you have for 2 stopovers (maybe 2 nights each) in Germany? We don't know if we should go the northern route (we were thinking we'd stop in Berlin) or southern. Ideas???
Posted by
Paradise
7077 posts
Upper Middle Rhine Valley - a UNESCO World Heritage site. Trains connect all the towns on both sides of the river. St. Goar is a good base location for train users. The ferry crossing there permits train use on the east bank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U06AcB6a2Eg
http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/castles.php
http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/city-cities.php
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1066
Nuremberg. A fine city with a nice old town zone and lots to see and do.
https://munique-tours.de/private-tour-guide-munich-bavaria/Nuremberg-from-Albrecht-Duerer-House.jpg
https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/discover/places-of-interest/
https://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/nbg_burg.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU7qmhO5uwM
Posted by
Berlin
3015 posts
Berlin is one of the most impressive options in Europe but would make sense as only 1 stop. For sure you can do Berlin in 1-2 day(s) but visitors with deeper interests normally spend 4-6 nights in Berlin. It simply has so much unique attractions and worth exploring.
I support both ideas of Russ and want to add Cologne and Dresden as possible (by train) and meaningful for German impression stops. If you prefer to stop in a smaller town than Cologne you can choose Aachen instead.
Posted by
San Francisco
14985 posts
I vote for taking the northern route with Berlin as one of the "two German stopovers."
Aside from the suggestions of Aachen, Dresden, Köln, all good logistically and culturally, I will suggest two more from which you can choose as the 2nd stop-over.....Celle and Minden
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
1498 posts
Russ has it right. I usually stay in Koblenz instead of St Goar. If you're driving you want to take hwy 42 along the river south. Nuremberg is the best second stop. Great town and direct train route to Prague.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7898 posts
While the Middle Rhine is a must-see, I'd also mention Cologne, Leipzig, and Dresden. You could say that Cologne is too close to Brussels, however. I find Koblenz attractive, but small and a little far north for the Rhine boats. But local trains deliver you quickly to the most scenic Rhine. I am prejudiced towards large cities (for quantity of potential attractions) when traveling by train, it's true. Some smaller places off the main line are Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt, and Weimar. It's not as direct, but you might want to read about Quedlinburg and see if it interests you.
Although others here find Kassel unrewardingly industrial, I went there in 2017 and value it for modern and contemporary art. The UNESCO WHS estate (with superb old-master art museum) and gardens on the edge of town might be attractive by early May. (?)