Hi everyone!
Has anyone been to Germany in the winter? My boyfriend and I are planning a trip in February and considering Germany. Any suggestions for which cities to visit this time of year and activities to do? I love history and museums and we both love beer if that helps! I know it will be cold, but will it be bearable? Any advice would be appreciated!
I lived in Oberammergau for 3 years, and as a Canadian, I found the winters there comparatively mild. I suppose how you would find it depends on where you live.
There are plenty of good size cities, from Hamburg in the North to Munich in the south. They will all have ample offerings of museums and beer (although not usually at the same time )
But I agree that if you like to ski, then a few days in Munich, followed by a few days in GaPa would be great. Or, if cross country skiing is your thing, consider O'gau. They have over 160 km of groomed trails. It's an incredibly beautiful area.
https://www.ammergauer-alpen.de/en/Winter-vacation/Cross-country-skiing
We have visited Germany during December 4 times in recent years. It was great but then the Christmas Markets were active, a great way to spend the evening. We had some snow one year and very cold weather another; you just have to bring layers of clothes to keep out the damp and/or cold weather.
Germany is far north and the nights can be very long up through February. Knowing how you might want to spend your evenings might be the crucial question. More department stores are now staying open in the evening. Do you like to window shop at night? Are to content to spend a couple hours in Gasthaus and drink beer and talk? We even like the atmosphere of old towns on a brisk winter evening.
I think that we would like a February vacation. We would visit the same sort of mid-sized towns that we do now: Regensburg, Würzburg, Nürnberg, Aschaffenburg, etc. They all have good history/art museums, old churches, historical buildings and cafes (what a nice break from the cold). It is easy to find good beer anywhere in Germany. Würzburg is a wine center but still has its share of good beer.
Munich (München) is wonderful beer town and has one of my favorites, Augustiner. München is loaded with museums and palaces.
I recommend Tenerife in February. The southern side is full of Swedes, and the rainy northern side is full of Germans and places offering Schnitzel, and Spaniards speaking German. If you like hiking, then the north is for you - as there are TONS of guided "Wanderungs" that are eagerly engaged by sturdy Germans and sometimes a few Swedes.
Fasching Rosen Montag is 12 Feb 18. You can look into cities that have parades and events leading to Aschermittwoch 14 Feb 18. Many ski areas have Fasching events too, with funny costumes, trick skiing etc. Köln is one of the most famous, but many small villages have something going on.
I think we have settled on Munich as a base city (we want to see museums, beer halls, and some surrounding castles like Neuschwanstein and Nymphenburg). We don't mind the cold. However, one activitity we did want to try is one of the Roman baths/spas in Germany. I saw that Baden-Baden is a town where some people visit the spa...is this a good choice or is there a better destination for this?
There are spas all over Germany. There is a popular one north of Munich in Erding, just a 50 minute ride on the Sbahn from the Munich main train station. A couple posters here are very fond of this location. I am not a spa person and unable to give good information.
http://www.therme-erding.de/en/
Some folks love Baden Baden. I did not care for the town. You might open a new thread specifically asking about good spas to visit in winter.
I can't help with alternatives , but we loooooved our long weekend in Baden Baden. It's a really beautiful city in the summer (gorgeous parks), but I can't say what it's like in winter. Read Ricks travel article on the Friedrichsbad spa (or watch the video). Like many North Americans, we were hesitant about getting naked in public, but the whole experience there was wonderful I have never in my life felt so utterly relaxed as I did when we finally exited the spa. Do NOT plan to do anything requiring exertion afterwards! We found a little restaurant on the way back to out hotel and sat there for a couple of hours (ended up chatting with an American couple at the next table) over a huge pot of mussels and a bottle of wine.
You can't really do this as a day trip from Munich though. It's about a 4 hrs train ride each way. Hopefully some of the others know of nice spas closers to Munich.
I have been to Munich and the cities that I mention below during the months of November and December.
If Munich is your base camp, my recommendations are for Day trips to: Nurnberg, Salzburg, and. Rothenberg.
Check them out and see what you think.
For your interests I agree that Munich is the perfect place to base. Don't bother going all that way for Baden-Baden. It's a cool experience but only if it's relatively close by. If you want the German spa experience, take an overnight trip to Salzburg and visit Bad Reichenhall. It's very much like the Bavarian version of Baden-Baden but in a beautiful Alpine setting. It's still considered a place to "take a cure" today because Germans still believe in this aspect of 19th century medicine. Here's the spa: http://www.rupertustherme.de/de/home/
Bamberg would be a must as a day trip, it's got a beautiful medieval core and the famous smoked beer. You have a lot of other options for day trips as well - Nuremberg for museums (Train museum and the biggest German art museum in the country, plus Nazi history) and more good breweries, a quaint preserved down like Noerdlingen or Landsberg Am Lech, Regensburg with it's Roman history and amazingly preserved town center and University town vibe - so many good options, even in February!
Edit: Just a note that Erding is not a traditional spa, it's hard to describe these sorts of places to Americans but it's basically a giant theme park of saunas, steamrooms, and pools. I love these places, but I wouldn't necessarily visit one on holiday as it has no mineral spring providing the traditional "healing" waters and no historical value. Bad Reichenhall is a historic 19th century spa town like Baden-Baden and has history going back to prehistoric times.
Sarah, thanks for mentioning Bad Reichenhall. I too am interested in exploring a traditional spa and will visiting Munich and Salzburg in December.
Debbie
You're welcome Debbie! I haven't personally visited the spa but stayed overnight in Bad Reichenhall to take my family to the Eagle's Nest, Koenigsee, and Berchtesgaden (which was booked up). Only found out afterwards that it's the hometown of a friend and she recommended the spa as a really nice one. I found the town elegant and the setting of course is beautiful!
I honestly would rather be just about anywhere other than Central Europe in February. Dark, cold damp days are not my thing. I dream of Southern Spain in February.
