Freiburg, Germany & Beyond

My mother loves art museums and castles

So if the cruise is out of question the best option will include

-- fly into Paris CDG, spent some days there. The fastest train connection via Strabourg to Freiburg takes just over 3h.
- fly into Frankfurt, see at least the Städel museum and do the middle Rhine tour, which can include several castles (you can find many tips about that on this forum).

Thank you, I also wondered about the museums in Cologne looks very nice, she would appreciate those as well. Plus I wondered how much is there to do in Freiburg and around that area? We were thinking of maybe just spending a few nights, long enough for the wedding, but with Colmar and other attractions such as the Black Forest being nearby, I wondered if perhaps that might be of interest, and we should stay an extra night in Freiburg. I also wondered how much my mother would like the city cards that Cologne, Stuttgart and Frankfurt and Heidelberg offered. She does appreciate a good bus tour because it's less time spent walking on her feet and she loves listening to a tour guide tell us about the history of the area. Which cities to visit along the way, that's the tough question for me. I want to visit a few more castles, but some require strenuous hikes uphill, and I doubt my mother can do all that. Which castles would be most accessible for her to visit along the Rhine River? She walks just fine, but she goes at a slower pace, and she needs to take breaks to catch her breath.

Annalese, "Freiburg, Germany" - I assume you mean "Freiburg im Breisgau". There are two Freiburg's in Germany.

". . . . then fly out again from Basal,* - You don't say where you come from (you haven't filled in your profile info), however be aware that Basel (note spelling) only handles flights to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. If you want to fly outside Europe after Freiburg im Breisgau, the easiest airports to get to are Zürich and Frankurt am Main, both easy by train.

Cologne equally is mostly European flights. Frankfurt am Main is a better choice for intercontinental from that area.

A Viking cruise is one option, if that is your sort of thing.
Another option is the "Rhine Gorge" section, the best part of river. Lots of castles, and lovely villages. Runs from Bingen (near Frankfurt am Main), to Koblenz (south of Cologne). Day boats cross and sail along this section. All accessible by train.

• Then head for Strasbourg for ~2 nights (train).
• Then hire a car for 3 days, and do the Wine villages of Alsace. See here: https://www.alsace-wine-route.com/
• Dump the car and get the train to Basel for a day (before or after Freiburg am Breisgau).
• If you still have time and money left, head to the Berner Oberland for 2-3 nights.

As you can see, lots of options, this is just scrapping the surface.

Re cars: There is no issue driving a car from one country to another. However picking up a car in one country and returning it in a different one is very expensive. If you hire a car in Alsace (France), no problem driving it to the wedding and back, but you must return it in France.

Thank you for those suggestions, I just updated my profile with more info. We are from Minneapolis, MN. I am trying to decide upon the best airport to fly into, and I don't mind flying into one city and taking the train or bus to another city, it's not a problem for me. I'm less sure about driving in Germany. I haven't done that before, and I'd feel a little uncertain navigating my way on the roads there, but perhaps with good directions, I could manage it.

And yes, that's Freiburg in Breisgau, not Freiberg (spelled with a second "e")

From your profile:

I'm close to retirement but not quite there yet.

I'm 20 years away from retirement. My parents are in their 70's.

As one of the posters on this Forum has commented to me in personal correspondence, "When your mama's gone, your mama's gone."

For me, if mama wanted a Viking Cruise, I would do my best to get mama a Viking cruise.

Yes, maybe we will just go the Viking Cruise route. Then the question remains, do we take their excursions or go out on our own?
All of their excursions are 4 hours each, and I think some would be too demanding for my Mom with too much time walking on her feet. Some I couldn't quite understand. For instance, in Cologne, it's a 4-hour tour to see the cathedral there. I just was thinking we could see a lot more if we planned our trip and also it would cost us a lot less too, but maybe convenience for my Mom is just more important. She likes the idea of not having to change hotels every couple of nights. I'll have to think about that.

It sounds like this may be your first trip to Europe. You might benefit from our host’s books in a library, or at least his free travel hints top left Menu in blue. River Cruises do tend to have a lot of walking, but they also have a lot of older customers who have limitations. Some ports are right in town, others require a cab to see things on your own.

The trip you propose is easy to do independently, but you have to think realistically about your willingness to plan and execute the trip yourself, and just what your mother’s limitations are.

I don’t recall if Rick’s transportation hints point this out, but your home city (which you did not put in your public profile) may not have direct flights to Zurich or even Frankfurt. If you have to take two planes anyway, you might as well fly with a connection to Cologne or Duesseldorf (for example.) I found the net additional cost on Lufthansa to be close to zero. Besides having superb museums, Cologne is also one of the most walkable big cities in Germany. Look at possible hotels on Google Maps to see walking distances.

Your mother might enjoy the day boat from Bingen to Boppard, on the Rhine. Rick has a web page on the three best castles to visit on the Rhine, and you SEE dozens on this day boat ride.

Hmm, I thought I entered my home city in the profile as Minneapolis, MN. Every time we traveled to Europe it typically takes two flights unless you fly into Amsterdam, I think that is one of the few direct flights out of Minneapolis. Everywhere else you either take a domestic flight to either a larger US Airport or a larger European airport, then you take a second flight (or train) from there to arrive at your destination. So I was thinking we could fly into a larger airport in Germany, such as Frankfurt or Cologne, spend a few nights there, then stay a couple of nights here and there before we trek down to Freiburg, ultimately taking our flight home out of either Basal or Zurich, exact location to be determined. We'd travel from May 15-24, 2020, as the wedding is May 22nd.

This is not my first trip to Europe, but it has been a really long time since I visited the Rhine River, last time I was there I was eight years old, so I don't remember much, and I'm sure much has changed since I've been there. I have more recently visited many other cities (Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Bavaria, Berlin, Braunschweig, Hannover, Goslar, Quidenberg to name a few) in Germany and Europe, but I have not toured Bonn, Cologne, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and Freiburg in Breisgau. So that is why I need more guidance on helping my mother to sort our options and offer her an alternative trip than the cruise, then we can decide which is the best option for us. She likes not having to change hotel rooms every couple of nights, which is why she is attracted to the cruise ship, but if we went our own, she could manage so long as we stayed at least 2-3 nights per city or town hotel and I can plan our trip, but I need help researching our options.

With regards to the cruise ship excursions, typically they list one easy one with moderate and light walking which is included in the cost of the cruise ship total ticket price, and usually the second excursion costs extra and has more strenuous hiking or walking, but each excursion is always 4 hours each, and I can't see my Mom nor myself lasting on our feet a full 8 hours. Most of these excursions you'd have to ride coach bus to arrive at the destination. Then you'd be walking around on your feet once you arrive. If we made our own plans, we could be out sightseeing for maybe 5 or 6 hours, with less time on our feet, such as boat or bus tours or possible a scenic drive in the countryside. Has anyone taken a Viking cruise ship down the Rhine River? If yes, I'd be interested in your feedback. If we go the alternative route, I'd need to figure out which towns to stay overnight in and which castles are the least strenuous uphill hikes to go visit and most scenic to visit. Also, can someone tell me which cities offer organized bus tours that go out into the countryside along the Rhine River or is the boat tour our best option as Rick recommends? I read on Trip Advisor about these hop-on-hop-off boat tours along the Rhine River, has anyone taken those? If so, what are your thoughts?

I have found there are coach buses which we can take between cities, which I think would be fewer stairs and stress than boarding and riding the trains. When we visited Munich this August, the City was doing repair work on the lines, and we had to take alternative trains and listen carefully to understand how which alternative routes to take than what was listed on the schedule. Are they done working on the train lines in Germany or does that start up again in May? It was a bit of a hassle.

Can anyone tell me which are the three best castles to visit on the Rhine River, or the link where Rick gives that information? Also, what about sightseeing and day trips from Freiburg? What about Zurich? There seems to be much to see and do there too.

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

"My Mom was thinking of a Viking cruise and I'm not sure if I'd enjoy that as much as she would, I like more of an adventure, whereas my mother likes more of a leisurely trip."

Red flag warning here. Having planned four trips in the last five years, for myself and one or two others, I have found that where activity or interest levels differ, the trip can end up being frustrating and unhappy for each side. And if you have done the trip planning, the work while on your trip and the credit (either way) will be all yours.

It's probably good that for the moment you have come down on the side of the Viking Cruise, especially if this is you mom's first or perhaps only European vacation. Meanwhile, use your enthusiasm and planning skills to really drill down on exactly how your mom's interests lie: if she likes art, is she thinking paintings, great masters, certain periods, architecture, carvings? Does she want to go deeply into one thing, or just get an overview? Is she interested in wine? Dive into different cruise lines to see exactly what's out there, and keep an eye out for discounts. Is your mom interested in Viking for what it is, or for what it is not?

Friends of mine (age about 60) who have taken Viking cruises say "they enjoyed them," but that they are by a good margin the youngest people on the ship. As an adventurer I feel for you. However, only you can decide what about this trip is going to make wonderful memories for you and your mom.