We are so excited t o be taking the May 21, 2019 RS Best of Germany Tour that starts in Hamburg and ends in Berlin, but we also want to have the quintessential experience of the Black Forest and do a full day Rhine River cruise to see the castles. To get the best airfare on the discount airlines we had to fly in and out of Berlin. We have 9 days before the tour starts. We don’t want to rent a car; we want the train experience, although it seems a bit intimidating. (I also think that the Black Forest Railway might have areas closed for repairs!) We are in our mid-sixties so it might be good to base ourselves in a few spots and not worry about our luggage everyday. I am getting overwhelmed trying to plan this and have spent hours and hours reading guide books and reading the RS Forum. I've looked on the internet at the cities and the train sites-the maps are so small I can’t read them and much of the information is in German, rightly so! There are so many choices, my head is spinning! I need the advice of people who know the area or have been there. Every time I think I have an itinerary we like, we find something new to see! I was careful to be sure that all my hotel reservations can be easily changed. So far, our rough plan is to spend only our first night in Berlin (because of jet lag) since we will be spending several days there after the tour.
Day 2 Fly from Berlin to Stuttgart, tour a bit, take the train to Ludwigsburg to spend night.
Day 3 Tour sites of Ludwigsburg and spend the night the same hotel.
Day 4 Take the train to Gengenbach for a 3 night stay and use the Konus Card. Take train to Freiburg and Schluchsee to take a walk along the lake or a boat tour (Skip Baden-Baden and Titisee.)
Day 5 Take the Black Forest Train from Gengenbach to Donaueschingen to see the park and the headwaters of Danube, and then to Triburg to hike the falls. Return to Gengebach to spend 2nd night.
Day 6 Take train form Gengenbach to Gutach for the outdoor museum. Spend final (3rd) night in Gengenbach.
Day 7 Take train to Trier. (I was considering making a base for 2 days out of Bacharach, but the RS tour goes there, so I made reservations for 2 nights in Trier.) Take train to Freiburg &/or Staufen. Return to Treir to spend 1st night.
Day 8 Take bus to Wurzburgh & Cochem & perhaps Beilstein. Return to spend 2nd night in Trier....
OR take train to Bingen and to Rhine River day cruise up to Boppard getting off once at Braubach to tour Marksburg Castle
(a 25 min walk up to castle). Spend night where? In Boppard rather then Trier.
Day 9 Take train to Dusseldorf or Cologne or Frankfurt. Fly to Hamburg. Or just stay on the train (2nd class) to get to Hamburg? We will be spending this night at RS hotel in Hamburg.
Day 10 Meet RS Tour Group5:00 for the first day of the Best of Germany Tour. We will be extra thankful that someone else has taken care of all the details!
As you can see, I really get lost on day 8 and 9. I am truly grateful for any advice as this will be the only time we get to Germany. Thank you so much.
