Destination Advice - Where to from Berlin?

I would spend some time in the Rhine Valley and fly back out of Frankfurt.

Keep in mind that in the midst of winter, most small towns will be very very quiet. The Middle Rhine gorge is a UNESCO World Heritage site for a reason - but with no boats running, castles closed or with very reduced opening hours it wouldn't be my choice for a January destination. I'd rather stick with the larger cities.

How many days have you planned to spend in Berlin? It's a great place to be for a number of days at that time of year because you can always hide out in one of the fantastic museums if the weather is to frigid and grey outside. I would suggest a day trip to Potsdam. Some of the palaces will be closed down but there is still lots to see and the Sanssouci Park has a special quality in winter.

Dresden and Leipzig are also not too far from Berlin and offer great sites at this time of year. Both cities also have opportunities to take in some world class concerts or opera events at night, a plus for winter travel.

I agree, save the rhine for warmer weather. Most of the charming small towns like beilstein and bacharach are closed up and basically dead in the middle of winter. The whole fun of the rhine is biking, boating, sitting in cafe's, climbing castles, sitting outside drinking wine.... Save it for the summer on another trip.

If you haven't already, I would definitely add more days to Berlin before going to some other cities, You will easily fill 4-5 days if you want to savor the city. I was skeptical as well but this is my 5th day and I haven't seen nearly enough. I was surprised because I am from new york, so I was thinking I would have preferred small town cutesy germany or bavaria since I'm used to high culture and big cities.... but Berlin is GREAT! Especially if you are into music, outdoor cafe's, alternative/bohemian vibes, and people watching.

If you are doing that, you could do some trips through some of the sights in eastern Germany. I highly recommend Dresden if you like nightlife, lots of relaxed, late night fun there and about a days worth of musems and sightseeing. From there you could visit leipzig, wittenburg, or erfurt.

Also, one of the best towns in Bavaria is Nuremberg. Gorgeous castle and old town and has a famous wintertime christmas market. Definitely worth a few days.

the bottom line is, Germany can be cold and gloomy in the wintertime so much of the outdoor, pedestrian community charm isn't going to be as out and about so you are probably better off in bigger cities where there are lots of musems and indoor nightlife.