Three of us will be attending a festival in Belgium (near Leuven) early July and would like to visit Germany before we return home. We can leave Leuven (Brussells) on July 3rd, catch our plane on July 8. That is only 4 days! We haven't decided where to fly home from while we determine our itinerary (Munich or Frankfurt?). My son is wanting to see split timber buildings and castles! Do we take the Romantic Road and head to Frankfurt? Belgium to Baden Baden, to Fussen, to Munich? I feel like we are trying to squeeze a two week vacation into 4 days. Any advice is appreciated. We would prefer quality over quantity!
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
No need to head to the opposite side of the country. Belgium borders Nordrhein-Westfalen, which admittedly, is not the Germany of most travelers' dreams. However, the Eifel region has more than enough Fachwerk (half-timber buildings). Monschau is the highlight of the region. The Sauerland, a region of low mountains just to the east of Köln, is filled with Fachwerk-heavy towns.
Or, to make it easy, just hit the Mittelrhein and Mosel. You'll see more than enough Fachwerk and castles.
PS- the Romantic Road extends south in the opposite direction away from Frankfurt. And really, although it links together some attractive towns, the road itself is nothing special. Attractive towns, though, are not exactly rare in Germany.
Posted by
Chicago
8166 posts
This is the closest way To see a castle or two and some half timbered houses in 4 days leaving from Leuven :
you can go back to Brussels and catch the 1 hour direct flight to or a 3 hour direct train to Frankfurt. Based at Frankfurt I did this as a solo traveler in March 2016 :
I took the train to Wurzburg and toured Wurzburg which has a castle http://www.wuerzburg.de/en/index.html.
On the same day I left Wurzburg and took another train direct to Rothenburg ob de Tauber one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe with a nice collection of half timbered houses.
http://www.tourismus.rothenburg.de/index.php?id=467
After back tracking in the evening to Frankfurt my base the next day I took a train about and 1 hour to Heildelberg toured the city and the castle: http://wikitravel.org/en/Heidelberg
Since you have 4 days the above is a possible quality over quantity solution to your travel problem.
If you choose the train just by them in advance as an e-ticket.
You can fly out of Frankfurt which is a major hub.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you!!
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9222 posts
Just as an FYI, Rothenburg is NOT one of the best preserved medieval towns in Germany. 40% of the town was reconstructed after the bombing of WWII. There are many other towns who were not bombed to choose from.
Instead of the Romantic Road, consider the Fachwerk Route instead as this will give you towns closer to Belgium and you will have more sightseeing time with less travel time.
http://www.deutsche-fachwerkstrasse.de/uk/index.php
The Rhine will give you all the castles you could hope to see. Würzburg is getting rather far away with your limited time to travel.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
You might want to stop closer to Brussels in Braubach on the Mittelrhein. There are a lot of Fachwerk buildings around the town square and nearby. Above the town is the Marksburg, the only castle on the Rhein that was never destroyed.
Posted by
Port St Joe Florida
513 posts
An excellent way to see a lot of one of Germany's western areas would be to travel to Trier, then follow the Mosel river until it meets with the Rhine in Koblenz, often referred to as the German corner. In addition to Trier and Koblenz you can see several of the Mosel River wine towns - Bernkastel-Kues, Traben-Trabach, Cochem, etc . You might even want to stop for a while in Bitburg, home of one of Germany's most popular beers. If you wished you could continue on the Rhine and see Bonn and/or Cologne. Also., if you choose to, you could spend a few hours hiking in the Eifel Park, a wonderful nature area not really out of your route. Public transportation can be a spotty in this area, so a rental car might work best.
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
My son is wanting to see split timber buildings and castles!... We would prefer quality over quantity!
No need to travel all the way to Munich, Füssen, Würzburg or the Romantic Road. The best assembly of scenic old-world towns and real castles in one place - and a slew of half-timbered buildings - can be found as others have suggested on the Rhine and Mosel rivers.
Marksburg in Braubach: http://www.marksburg.de/en/
Braubach: http://www.romantischer-rhein.de/uploads/pics/Altstadt_02.jpg
Burg Eltz, near Cochem: https://de.best-wallpaper.net/wallpaper/1920x1200/1206/Castles-in-Germany-Burg-Eltz_1920x1200.jpg
Cochem: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Germany_(9),_Rhineland-Palatinate,_Cochem,_Markt.JPG
Cochem and Reichsburg Castle: http://www.der-takt.de/typo3temp/_processed_/csm_NEU_T_Reichsburg_Cochem_3_087e83a8d1.jpg
Bernkastel: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Bernkastel_BW_2.JPG
,_Rhineland-Palatinate,_Cochem,_Markt.JPG){kind=link}
Posted by
OP
3 posts
You are all amazing! Thank you for your help!
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Yes, the Mosel valley is your best destination. If you travel by train from Brussels to Trier via Luxembourg, there's some nice scenery as the train goes through the Ardennes.
Posted by
Atlanta, Georgia
451 posts
I have not been the Mosel River so I cannot speak of it. The Rhine river from Bacharach to St. Goar has lots of castles. Bacharach is a half timbered small town. In St. Goar, you can visit the ruins of Rheinfels castle. My 8 year old loved it, there is also a tunnel you take under the castle. During the cruise, you will pass castle after castle on either side. A longer trip would allow more castles. You could also take the train here from the Mosel. But I have heard great things about the Mosel.