One Month in Germany

Welcome to the forum.

Of course a good answer needs more information about your preferences, e. g. culture, history, ... If you like these leaving out Dresden is a miss. Your interests shall also define your lenghts of stays.

Based on maths you can do 7 days in North, South, East and West but if you like mountains North is not an option.

btw: Did you leave out the northern part by intention? Hamburg and closeby Bremen and Lübeck are worth a stay.

Tip: On the way between Berlin and Munich you will find Bamberg (fast train ICE railway stop) which has a remarkable old town and the food special of smoked beer.

For good tips in and around Frankfurt user Ms. Jo is an excellent community contributor.

Hope this helps a little bit. And I recommend to add some interests, so the community can help you better.

All the best from Berlin, Germany.

"I am questioning how essential it is to spend some time in Cologne/Frankfurt/Mainz?"

All the specific destinations you mention, including these three, are large-ish to large urban / post-war / rebuilt places that are easy to spot on a map. For me, Germany's "essential" places also include smaller places that were less strategic in WW II and escaped that period with their historic buildings intact.

The historical and cultural significance of that part of the Rhineland that lies between Cologne and Mainz should probably not be overlooked. UNESCO recognizes one 65 km stretch of the Rhine River Valley as a World Heritage Site. Think 800 - 1,000-year-old castles, half-timbered buildings, wineries, vineyards, river cruises, hiking and biking.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1066

https://www.romantic-germany.info/holiday-regions/romantic-rhine

The nearby Moselle Valley is equally romantic in its own way:

https://www.romantic-germany.info/holiday-regions/moselle-valley

You could easily spend a week's time in between Cologne and Mainz and in the Moselle Valley without setting foot in either city.

That said, both Cologne and Mainz are worthwhile as well.

There are other nice old-world towns and quiet, more traditional places where modernity has been kept at bay to some degree. You'll find them scattered around Germany. Have a look at the theme routes below.

https://www.deutsche-fachwerkstrasse.de/en/Homepage.html
https://www.archiv.deutsche-maerchenstrasse.de/en/?lang=en

Three lovely eastern towns that survived the war relatively intact are Erfurt, Quedlinburg and Goerlitz. I have day-tripped to Goerlitz from Dresden, but that was pushing it; spending a night or two there would allow more time to take in the local architecture. Erfurt and especially Quedlinburg are worth more than a day-trip as well, and Erfurt is a handy base city for visiting such nearby places as Eisenach, Weimar and the Sachsenhausen camp.

A month is not long enough to see all of Germany, so don't try to do it. Craft a varied itinerary that allows you to see some of your top-priority destinations without spending too much time just driving from place to place. I'd try to include a day at one of the Bavarian lakes if I had a good bit of time in/around Munich.

I loved Berlin in 2015. It is an extremely museum-rich (and historical-site-rich) city. It is not architecturally especially beautiful (not considering Potsdam here), having lost nearly all its old buildings during the war. Depending on your level of interest in WW II sites, Cold War sites and museums, you might be able to peel a few days off your Berlin allocation. However, ten days for a first visit (since 1972) would have been better for me (a Cold War junkie) than the 6 days in the city I allowed. I found that, almost without exception, the museums and historical sites required at least a half-day apiece, and they are many.

I also enjoyed a day-trip to the Spreewald while I was staying in Berlin, but its charms might be a bit subtle if one were also going to the Bavarian lake district.

We lived in Augsburg, Germany for four years and loved that city named after Caesar Augustus.

We have been all over Germany and I think you picked the three best areas. Recommend these places.

1)Rhineland: Cologne (mainly to see the awesome cathedral), Rudesheim (take a short Rhine cruise and do some wine tasting), Mainz and Heidelberg. Also, if you have time go east a bit and see Trier and Luxembourg. The Black Forest is nice, Baden Baden, Triberg and Titisee. Strasbourg, France is worth a day as well.

2)Bavaria: Do the Romantic Road on your way from the Rhineland, take in Rothenberg ob der Tauber and some other virtually intact medieval towns like Dinkelsbuhel, Douauwurth and Augsburg. Munich is a must, but head down to Garmisch/Fussen as well.
Nuremburg is good and on your way to the Berlin area. Regensburg is another option.

3) Berlin: Dresden, Ehrfurt are worth some time and Berlin of course.

Welcome to the Forums, Frednginger (presume you are the ginger of the pair?).

not a direct answer yet, but how long is the lengthy in "planning a lengthy trip to Europe to celebrate"?

Which other countries do you plan on visiting?

Will the month in Germany be at the end or the beginning of the trip?

Thanks so much to everyone for the responses. I am indeed the Ginger of the pair (though not nearly as light on my feet as the original Ginger!).

The links to the Moselle Valley and the other recommendations for the journey between Berlin and Munich look wonderful - I am going to have fun working up an itinerary here! Our interests are historical sites, culture, scenic beauty and a taste of whatever the local specialty might be.

Germany is one part of a longer trip and is the piece we've both agreed on as definite. My husband would like to go on from Germany and do Scandi/the Baltics/maybe a bit of Russia while I think I would prefer to head down through Eastern Europe and finish up with Turkey (though I haven't explored this enough really know - both Croatia and Turkey have been long time goals of mine, but I'm going to have to investigate the rest).

My husband wants to do 90 days total while I am pushing for more. This is why I am extra motivated to pull together an awesome itinerary for Germany - I think it will aid my argument for more time!

If you're traveling on US or Canadian passports, your time within the totality of the Schengen Zone is limited to 90 dayswithin any 180-day period, so you need to be careful with your country selection if you're going to push beyond 90 days (counting both arrival day and departure day). I recommend planning for more like 88 days, because things like flight cancellations sometimes happen, and overstaying the 90-day limit can lead to substantial financial fines and being barred from the Schengen Zone for a period of years. The Scandinavian and Baltic countries are part of the Schengen Zone. Except for Slovenia and Greece, the Balkan countries are not, nor are Turkey and Russia. The map can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area

"My husband would like to go on from Germany and do Scandi/the Baltics/maybe a bit of Russia"

Did you think of a Baltic cruise? Onboarding can be in Kiel (train from Hamburg) or Warnemünde (train / bus from Berlin). It's a very relaxed way of exploring the Baltic area and you are transported while you sleep.

Thanks for the passport advice - I’ll have to figure that in closely.

Love the idea of a cruise, but being on a boat really exacerbates my dizziness issues so will need to skip...

Touring between Berlin and Munich...
With a car I would head south towards Dresden, Meißen, Bautzen, Görlitz and tour the area - Ezgeberge, Elbe Valley etc. There are a lot of off the beaten track places here. I wouldn’t worry too much about language issues. You could then make a good swing to the west to Jena and Erfurt. Then south into Oberfranken: Bamberg, Bayreuth, Coburg etc. A side trip to Mainfranken region near Würzburg and Main River for the Wein. Continue south to Nürnberg, Regensburg and Landshut. Another side trip could be the Oberpfalz. Less well known and touristy Amberg, Weiden and further south through the Oberpfälzer Wald and into the Bayerischer Wald (more off the beaten track). Restrictions allowing into the Czech Republic. The larger cities need a day and night. Several of the smaller closer cities can be combined in a day. I would also allow for some really out of the way places. I think you could easily spend two weeks. For leisurely travel maybe longer and base out of several home bases. Make reservations. I'm not much of a train traveler and I'm familiar with these areas, so maybe too aggressive, or just trim it down. Personnaly from München I would go to the Mountains of Germany, Austria and Südtirol, Italy. Consider the Italian Lake District.

Thank you so much! Lots of great suggestions, looking at these and the other recommendations in the thread, I have been focusing on really figuring out how much time we would need in Berlin and Munich so we know how much time we have for other areas and how to best allocate it.

At this point, I am leaning towards 7 days in Berlin and 4 days in Munich, laid out as follows (would love any input, thoughts or suggestions - particularly as these seem rather museum heavy), which would leave us 19 days for other touring:

Berlin - 7 days

1 day Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Tiergarten and the Gemaldegalerie
1 day focused on Cold War (walking tour, DDR Museum and Berlin-Hohenschoenhausen Memorial)
1 day focused on WWII (walking tour, Topography of Terror, Memorial to Jews of Europe)
1 day (a Sunday) - earlier part of the day at the Neues/Altes Museums and afternoon at Mauerpark and flea market
1 day Pergamon Museum (will likely get a special tour here), Berliner Dom, and shopping (more interested in arts, crafts, than clothes, suggestions of areas to hit?)
1 day Gendarmenmarkt, Bebelplatz/Empty Library and the Deutsches Historisches Museum
1 day Potsdam day tour

If time - also interested in the Kathe Kollwitz Museum and the Botanical Gardens

Munich - 4 days
1 day - Schloss Nymphenburg/Amalienburg, Botanical Gardens & Olympic Park
1 day - Glypothek & Staatliche Antikensammlung and afternoon Food Tour
1 day Neus Rathaus, Peterskirche, Viktualienmarkt, Asamkirche and Residenz
1 day Villa Stuck, Weisse Rose memorial and Alte Pinakothek Museum

I'm afraid you may miss out on most of the exhibits in the German History Museum, unless you plan to travel during the first half of 2021 (which might not even be possible). Please see this earlier thread for info: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/german-historical-museum-in-berlin-closes-main-building-until-2025

As for the time needed at the Pergamon, I believe a sizable chunk of that museum remains closed, as it has been since at least 2015. This is the information on the museum's website:

"The Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities) is one of the world’s most notable collections of Greek and Roman art. Located in the Pergamonmuseum, the collection includes such highlights as the monumental Market Gate of Miletus from c. 100 AD. Due to the building’s partial renovation, the hall containing the Pergamon Altar, the north wing and the gallery of Hellenistic art are inaccessible at this time.

"During the renovation visitors can find highlights of the ancient metropolis of Pergamon as well as a 360°panorama by artist Yadegar Asisi in the temporary exhibition building Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama."

I don't know whether the situation is the same as it was for me in 2015, but at that time I felt it was still a very worthwhile visit. The Ischtar Gate is especially stunning.

I'd still recommend you stick to your planned time allocation for the city. There is so much to see, and you may find you spend more time than expected just moving from place to place. Given your interest in crafts, I think you'd enjoy the Museum of Decorative Arts (Kunstgewerbemuseum).

There's also the Brohan-Museum / Landesmuseum fur Jugendstil, Art Deco und Funktionalismus in Charlottenburg Palace.
I missed that one myself.

I can't help with info on craft shopping, but you might get a lead by Googling craft market Berlin.

Yes, you should cut down and get more of the country.

Munich: If you go when the weather is nice, take the train to nearby Freising and visit not only its cute old town, but also its Weihenstephan brewery--the oldest continually brewing brewery in the world. Their beer garden is on a hill by the gardens of the Technical University. It's also a lot less touristy. Be sure to see the surfers at the Eisbach. Side trips to Neuschwanstein, Oberstdorf and its gorges, or Berchtesgaden are well worth it despite being a bit touristy.

Mainz to Cologne--well worth the drive. Boppard, the Lorelei, Cologne (see St. Ursula's bone chapel in Cologne). An overnight in a place like Boppard is totally worth it.

Don't discount the north, either. VERY different from what most people think of as German. Bremen is beautiful, and the Schnoor alleys are special. Hamburg is a maritime city, much more like the Scandinavian ones that interest your husband. Towns like Lüneburg, Stade, and Glückstadt give you a sense of how cute the north is, while Hamburg is a fascinating city. Their new Elbphilharmonie and the Speicherstadt, the Maritime Museum are great. You could also visit St. Peter Ording to see the Wattenmeer if you like nature and the ocean. Or Heligoland and its red cliffs. Lots of people underestimate the north!

If cities and museums are what you want, then ‘go for it’, but they hold little interest for me in Germany. In 8 visits over 50 years, I have spent maybe 8 days in big cities, about 50 in small towns. That said, anywhere you go will be fun.

Right now, I am leaning towards something like 10 days in Berlin and
its surrounding area, then driving down to Munich in a leisurely way -
spending time in either Leipzig or Dresden and then in Nuremburg and
then another 10 or so days in Munich and the surrounding area.

I don't know how familiar you are with public transport, but don't rule out taking the train for at least part of the trip. German public transport is in general very good and can take you almost anywhere, and trains are a good way to cut down on boring Autobahndriving. You could e.g. take the train to Leipzig, rent a car there drive leisurely south, return the car in Nürnberg and then take the train to Munich.

My husband would like to go on from Germany and do Scandi/the
Baltics/maybe a bit of Russia

If you decide on Scandinavia, I hope I can answer any questions you have.

Except for Slovenia and Greece, the Balkan countries are not, nor are
Turkey and Russia.

It should be noted that Croatia are probably very close to joining the Schengen area, so don't count on Croatia as non-Schengen time for future trips.