Germany trip

do you have your air tickets yet? Where from/to?

Wish such a short time to prepare while waiting for answers - I go to Germany a lot but not as a traditional tourist so any itinerary wouldn't be much use - maybe try to narrow down a few places that jump out at you to get an idea of what's interesting to you.

On this website you can see plans for German itineraries, many of the questions answered you asked above, and lots of questions answered you didn't even know were questions.

Have a look at the youtube videos, all reachable from this website, or by searching for the Rick Steves channel on youtube - that's probably the quickest way to get a taste.

I'd say to read the guidebook but it is a thick book with many hundreds of pages and you may not have time for that.

When this summer?

For how long? How many on-the-ground nights do you have to play with? Arrival and departure days don't count...

Is this your first trip to Europe?

We prefer to spend most of our time in Munich and Bavaria when in Germany--and the Tirol region of Austria. We also like traveling up the Rhine River from Cologne.

In October, we were in Dresden, and found it to be a fabulous, beautiful city. Not so many Vietnamese and American fast food restaurants as there are in Berlin. We plan to take in Saxony and probably Prague (closeby) on a future trip.

You need to start with a guidebook. It's also amazing what you can find out with a Google search. Once you've read up on the ENDLESS possibilities of things to see and do in Germany, the cities, history, cultural norms, weather, transportation, restaurants etc. THEN come ask specific questions. Germany is a big country with a lot to see and do. These kinds of posts where the poster hasn't done any research at all are kind of mind-boggling. What if everyone here suggested the only thing worth seeing in Germany were leather bars in Berlin? Since you hadn't done any research on your own, would you assume that we're correct?

Not knowing how long you plan to visit, I will give you some general ideas.

1) The three best areas of Germany to visit are the Rhineland in the West; Bavaria in the SE; and Berlin in the East.
2) If you are planning a two week trip, don't try to do all three areas. Pick one or two and plan to come back later. If you have 3-4 weeks go for all three.
3) Buy a guidebook, Rick Steves has good ones, but there are other excellent ones. I love the DK Eyewitness guides and there is one for Germany.
4) Save money on travel, car rental, lodging and dining by using site like Kayak.com, Booking.com and more. TripAdvisor has a feature where you can read reviews of places before you book. Also, you can use the map feature to see where your hotel or B&B is located. Air B&B is an option, especially if you have a large group coming with you.
5) Major cities like Berlin or Munich should be worth staying 3-4 days or more.

6) check out The Romantic Road in Bavaria, it starts in Wurzburg and ends in Garmisch/Fussen with many great places to see, like the medieval walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

I just got back from a month long trip to Germany. I flew into Berlin, stayed there 4 nights, then took the train to Nuremberg, and did day trips to Bamberg and Regensburg. After that, I went by train to the Black Forest, where I stayed in Gengenbach. I did one day trip to Strasbourg, France, and visited some of the surrounding villages. After that, I went to Boppard on the Rhine and was there for 4 nights.

Following Boppard, I spent 2 nights in Cologne, with a day trip to Aachen, then headed to Ostbevern (30 minutes south of Münster) to visit the home of my ancestors. After that, I went to Hamburg for several nights then decided to visit Copenhagen for 3 nights.

After that, I went back to Berlin and spent 2 nights there before I left. I wouldn't have changed any of it - I loved every place I went and only wish I could have stayed longer so I could visit other places I missed. I have been to Munich and southern Bavaria before so I omitted them on this trip.