itinerary ideas from Krakow, Poland to Germany

Hi,

If you're driving from Krakow, you can stop and see at Görlitz, where Grand Budapest Hotel was filmed. That town survived the war intact. In Poland en route to Germany I suggest Wroclaw. In Germany the Spreewald area esp the towns of Lübben and Lübbenau...very interesting. I saw them in 1999, they're most likely more interesting now.

Do you have a specific destination in Germany? From Gorlitz, you're also close to Dresden, Leipzig, Buchenwald concentration camp memorial, and Luther-related sites at Erfurt.

You didn't tell if you need to return to Krakow, and how much time you have. I would do something like this (click on the links):
Krakow - Wroclaw - Swidnica - Görlitz - Zittau Mountains - Bautzen - Saxon Switzerland - Pirna - Seiffen - Annaberg-Buchholz - Freiberg - Meissen - Dresden - Spreewald - Bad Muskau - Boleslawiec - Lubiasz - Krakow

First you cross Silesia, which sadly is very run down. Wroclaw however is in very good shape, and in Swidnica you can visit the Church of Peace, a World Heritage Site. Jawor, the neighbouring town, has a similar church, which is also a World Heritage Site. Swidnica also offers a mostly preserved old town, unlike Jawor.
Next stop is Görlitz, which is one of the best preserved German towns, with more than 4.000 listed buildings. You can sleep in 500yo hotels if you like. From Görlitz you can do a detour to the Zittau Mountains, which are not only very picturesque, but also offer the very unique Umgebinde houses, which you can only find in this region (called Upper Lusatia). The best villages are Bertsdorf, Großschönau and Obercunnersdorf. From there drive to Bautzen, a baroque town surrounded by medieval fortifications, and the centre of the Slavic minority, the Sorbs.

end part one

Next stop is Saxon Switzerland, a mountain range with bizarre rock formation. Great for hiking.
Pirna is good for a short stopover on your way to Seiffen in the Ore mountains. Seiffen is the centre of German Christmas and a village with nothing but Christmas shops.
See the most important towns of the Ore mountains next. Annaberg-Buchholz offers the most beautiful church interior in Saxony, Freiberg is the unofficial capital of the mountains, with a very interesting cathedral and a preserved old town. From there drive to Meissen, which offers a very picturesque old town with a mighty castle above the Elbe river.

end part two

After that see the museums of Dresden, before you continue to the Spreewald, where the river Spree meanders in thousands of small waterways through meadows and forests. Rent a canoe or explore the area on a punted barge. Drive to Bad Muskau, whose park is a World Heritage Site.
Back in Poland you can shop for "Polish Pottery" in Boleslawiec. The last stop before you return to Krakow is Lubiaz. The monastery is one of the biggest, and once was one of the most beautiful buildings in Central Europe, before most of it was destroyed after the war. The remains however are still impressive.

done