My husband and I are planning a trip in June 2019 to Germany and Denmark. We want to visit Black Forest area for several days and then drive north to Copenhagen, DK to see family. What is the most scenic drive north in this region? We'll most likely do a stop overnight on the way to break up the drive. Any ideas of interesting villages to stop over in?
Posted by
Milwaukie, Oregon
1056 posts
FYI, if your visit involves renting a car for this trip, be aware that there will be hefty drop off fees for renting in one country and dropping off in another.
Posted by
Copenhagen, Denmark
971 posts
You will be driving the whole length of Germany, so count at least 12 hours driving non stop. With only one stop in between, this wont leave you much of any time to actually see anything but Autobahn. The half way point is somewhere around the Harz mountains, so you could pick one of the towns there to spend the night.
Posted by
Berlin
2233 posts
I agree to post #2. If you would take more time you could little detours through Mid Rhine Valley with castles and before Rheingau with some vineries- not good for driving at least.
Heidelberg would also be worth a stop and a walk.
If you want to go straight I recommend Goslar (scenic old town), Hamburg or Lübeck as stop in between.
Also agree to #1: One-way car rental can be expensive, especially dropping x-country. You can drop car at Hamburg or Lübeck and get on train (including ferry Puttgarden - Rodby). Very nice and relaxing.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Great ideas on towns to stay at along the trip. We're actually starting and finishing in Amsterdam, so this is only the middle of the trip, doing 3 weeks total. I'll check into those towns that were mentioned. That day going north is purely going to be a drive day, but still looking for somewhere interesting to stay. Thanks everyone!
Posted by
Berlin
2233 posts
What can also be a very nice stop to stay over night is Heiligenhafen at German Baltic sea coast.
Hotel "Bretterbude" (pictures: https://www.bretterbude.de/hotel-und-wir/bildergalerie) is a favorite of my mother when in that area. It is a new built northern vintage style motel.
The beach sunset view from certain rooms is amazing (https://www.dropbox.com/s/h5v22e0hmzc7z2t/180502%20Heiligenhafen%20Bretterbude%20Ausblick%20212533.jpg?dl=0).
Posted by
7667 posts
I have driven from Bavaria to Northern Germany, I would not do that. Take the train to Copenhagen, or even a flight from Frankfurt.
Any great tourist cities or stops would put you out of the way. The Rhine River area has great places like Cologne, all the way to Amsterdam, but that is way out of your way. There are some scenic places like Bremen and Lubeck, but those are a bit out of the way. Hamburg is OK, but you don't want to drive there.
Posted by
San Francisco
14507 posts
If you're driving from Amsterdam to Hamburg then to Denmark, stop at Münster/Westfalen first. It's a city, not a village. How far are you willing to deviate from a direct route?
If you want to deviate eastwards after Münster, then I would suggest seeing Minden an der Weser and Hameln. Taking the train, depending on your time frame, is more preferable. You could choose from Bremen, Celle, Schleswig, Lüneburg, Uelzen , Minden, Hameln.