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Dresden, Berlin, Munich Drive order.

Hello all,
As part of my upcoming trip this coming May, my wife and I will be arriving in Dresden from Prague for probably 2 nights. We intend to take the train to Berlin for about 3 days then I would like to rent a car and drive down towards Munich stopping at the Buchenwald Memorial in Weimar. And eventually making our way to Frankfurt from where we will fly back home.

Now, does it make sense to do it that way? Or should I plan to go to Weimar as a day trip from Dresden? I'm leaning towards making it a stop on the way to Munich. Suggestions please?

After looking at Google maps, I wonder if it make more sense to take a train from Prague to Berlin then driving south?

Posted by
14481 posts

Hi,

You can do a day trip to Weimar from Dresden. My second visit to Weimar I did it that way. To get to Buchenwald from Weimar, take the bus at the Goetheplatz. Signs indicate the bus #. It's about 20-25 min walk to the Goetheplatz from the train station. You're doing the final stretch Munich to Frankfurt by car? If you're into German literature, see the famous statue of Goethe and Schiller am Theaterplatz standing together.

Posted by
868 posts

Some random thoughts:
- Weimar is doable as a day trip from Dresden, but it takes ~3 hours to get there. If you just want to see a KZ it's easier to see Sachsenhausen (Berlin) or Dachau (Munich).
- Dresden is a great base for day trips to nearer sights like Saxon Switzerland, Meissen, Bautzen or Görlitz.
- The Autobahn from Berlin to Munich is very busy and stressful.
- Good stops between Berlin and Munich are: Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom, Dessau (Bauhaus), Naumburg, Weimar, Erfurt, Coburg, Bamberg
- you could also skip Dresden, spend the 2 nights in Erfurt, which is between Berlin and Munich, and do day trips to Weimar or Wartburg castle (Eisenach) from there. Here is a article about Erfurt by Rick Steves.

Posted by
186 posts

Thank you Fred and Martin. Another thought came to mind. I am now thinking of taking a train from Prague to Berlin. Then probably renting a car driving to Erfurt then Munich and ending in Frankfurt. Any thoughts on that plan?

Posted by
14481 posts

Hi,

Do you plan on seeing villages in the greater Berlin (Groß-Berlin) area, such as tracking down esoteric historical sites? If not, I don't see why you need the car going from city to city when that can easily be done by train. You certainly do not need the car for seeing a city, dealing with parking regulations, paying for gas by the liter, etc. I would just rather not put up with the hassle. The train from Prague to Berlin is a bit over 4 hrs. Dresden is almost half way between Berlin and Prague. I fly out of FRA too to SFO but take the train getting there.

Posted by
12040 posts

Allow me to add onto what Martin wrote. The Garden Realm of Dessau-Wörlitz is one of those great sites vitually unknown to foreign tourists. If your route takes you in the vicinity, plan to spend about two hours walking around the grounds. This is not a formal, French style garden, but rather a more naturalistic English style.

Coburg has, in my opinion, Germany's best castle, Veste Coburg, which overlooks this rather attractive small city from a hill.

I will disagree on one point, however. I have found the Autobahn route between Berlin and Munich one of the fastest segments on the whole network. There are, however, several obvious and potentially painful chokepoints, like around Leipzig, Nürnberg and approaching the city of Munich itself. Other than that, however, in several experiences driving A9 and A93 between major cities and interchanges, I could often set the car in cruise control at 130-150 km/hr, and rarely did I need to touch the break. Or perhaps I just got really lucky.

Oh, one last point. By European standards, most German cities are relatively easy to negotiate with a car (even Berlin). Munich, however, is a huge exception. Unless your hotel provides it (and only the most expensive do), you will pay dearly to park, and you may need to park a considerable distance from your hotel. And the city can prove difficult to navigate even with a GPS. If you have nothing planned after Munich besides flying out of Frankfurt, I would suggest ditching the car as soon as you arrive in Munich.