Germany - Travel Itinerary - December 2014

For that period of time, I would suggest that you choose a big city such as Munich or Berlin, rather then traveling around. You will find concerts, museums, church services, festive decorations, enjoyable short or long walks, excellent public transportation and very good food and drink. You will also find the people in good spirits and they will be helpful in making suggestions when you tell them what you would like to do.
The days are short, but the weather is usually not terribly cold, though it can be damp and therefore lots of indoor activities will be best.
I hope you have a very good time.

"We enjoy history, museums, theatre and music."

The winter weather should be enough to discourage long hikes. Theater will be in German normally. But museums generally accommodate the rest of the world via English (handouts, audioguides, etc.) You'll want to spend most of your time in metropolitan centers. Have a look at Cologne, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, and maybe Stuttgart, depending on your interests. Smaller Mainz is worth considering as well - quite close to Frankfurt and the Middle Rhine Valley castles. From Nuremberg, day trips to Regensburg, Bamberg, and Würzburg are quick and easy; day passes like the Bavaria ticket or the cheaper Tagesticket Plus make for inexpensive outings from N'berg.

Old town Mainz
Old Nuremberg w/ Kaiserburg Castle
Bavaria Ticket
Tagesticket Plus

Munich and Nuremberg would be great stops. Both are full of history, performances and museums and although Christmas markets may not be your thing, you'll have one of the best ones to explore if you wish while in Nuremberg.

just came back from Berlin. Berlin has the added history of the wall. The subway system (U&S Bahn) is one of the best in the world. There are few issues getting around. We spent 4 days in the former East side. During that time we went to Potsdam and Sachsenhausen camp via the subway. Then we went to Dresden by train and stayed two nights. This is an amazing place. After that back to Berlin for a few more nights in the former West side. We loved the people and the food. Our top items included. Dresden, Kathe Kollwitz exhibit, and this is funny A David Bowie exhibit. Of course a concentration camp and the wall exhibits are items to not miss. Again the people are great . we had few issues with language.

I agree that Berlin and/or Munich are good city bases with lots to see, as well as easy side trips to a castle, a concentration camp, and a smaller city like Salzburg or Dresden. Rick will say that "when you've seen one Christmas Market, you've seen them all." Nurnberg is conveniently on the route of the direct train between the two cities.

Hi,

Which aspect of history and museums are you mainly interested in? Any particular geographic area? Going over in the winter I would suggest visiting cities in Germany, any preferences? Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Köln, etc. Museums on cultural history I would recommend Bonn, Wetzlar, Augsburg, Weimar, Düsseldorf, Marbach am Neckar, etc., depending on the level of your interest.

Thank you everyone - your comments have been very helpful.

To the person who asked, our interest is in medieval history as well as the two world wars.

A question regarding the subways - we have some mobility issues. One of the reasons we avoided the subway in London was there were many stairs and no guarantee of a lift. Can someone shed some light on the subway and public transit systems in Germany.

Thank you very much.

Of the three cities you mentioned... all three have Ubahn systems and all have elevators.

Nürnberg: You probably won't need to use the Ubahn here. It mostly serves to transport commuters from the outer districts. I think there's only one stop in the Altstadt, and even here, it would only save you a 10-15 minute walk, at the most. Most of the Altstadt is vehicle-free. If you want to visit the Nazi documentation center, you would take a Straßenbahn (tram).

Munich: Same thing, you probably won't use the Ubahn much, if at all. Like the Nürnberg Ubahn, it functions mostly to transfer commuters from the outer districts to the downtown area. Most of the sites tourists come to visit are located within a relatively compact area that can easily be reached from one Ubahn station. If you use it at all, you would probably ride from the Hauptbahnhof to the Marienplatz. You may find more use of the Straßenbahn network, depending on if you wanted to visit some of the art museums.

From a tourist perspective, Berlin is much more dispersed. You will probably use some combination of the Ubahn, Sbahn, Straßenbahn and buses to get around. You can buy a transit pass that covers them all.

I agree with Tom about the U-Bahn, mostly. The majority of stations in all three cities have elevators. The only problem is that often only one entrance to a station has an elevator and, while they are well-signposted from the station platforms, they can be difficult to find above ground. Although in Berlin, many of the older stations are very shallow indeed, only the equivalent of going between stories in a normal house.

A possible issue in Nuremberg is that there is really no public transport inside the old city centre at all, and while the distances are walkable for most people, you may have problems if your mobility is rvery limited.

Hello, Robert. What is the nature of your mobility issues? It would help to know that. We brought our three adult children on a Christmas-to-New Year's trip to Munich a few years ago. There is plenty to do in and around Munich to keep yourselves busy, but I would encourage a side trip to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a medieval walled city that is just beautiful and has a wonderful story of its survival from WWII. If you go, you must, must, must experience the Nightwatchman's Tour and make certain that your guide is Hans Georg Baumgartner (because I think there might be two guides). http://www.nightwatchman.de/index.php?&sprache=ENG Email him to make certain he will still be touring, as he takes a leave shortly after Christmas. From Munich, you can easily get to the concentration camp in Dachau, as well as to the Bavarian castles south of Munich. Once you get used to the traffic signs and such, driving a car OUTSIDE of Munich is not difficult; just do your research ahead of time. Not all hotels in Munich have parking available, so you also want to check on that. We stayed across the street from the Hauptbaunhof (railway station) and were able to rent a car easily from there. We stayed at the Hotel Europaischer Hof (http://www.heh.de/default.aspx?lang=en) where we have stayed on all of our three trips to Munich. Love their breakfasts. If you stay there or nearby, I encourage you to book through the website because there are discount specials if you book in advance. For New Year's Eve, the Tollwood Festival is also a must. The fireworks are simply amazing. Do you love to engage in conversations with strangers? Our favorite experiences on every trip to Europe is sitting with strangers, sharing a beer and sharing stories. On our last trip, we chose to eat at a very busy restaurant where they asked if we were willing to share a table. We said yes, but asked that we sit with others who spoke English. "Of course," the hostess said, and then sat us with two shy women from Japan. We had a wonderful, if not creative, conversation with them. Have a wonderful trip. No matter where you go in Germany, you will find the people warm and lovely.