I am planning to travel solo for the first time and I come from a hot/humid country. I shall be visiting Frankfurt / Berlin in January 2nd week. I wish to extend my travel before this (for Christmas and New Years) or after in January theird week. However, I am unsure if the temperatures in places like Munich, Rothenburg Ob Dur Tauber, Salzburg and around are bearable and the daytime enough to explore? If not, could you suggest places in Germany or outside (Prague, Budapest, etc.) that I should consider and plan around?
Posted by
Paradise
6632 posts
It's very likely that you will find winter to be cold in Germany, in the other places you name, and in all of Europe. Plan to spend most of your time indoors.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4842 posts
Of course it is bearable. People live and visit there all year round. You simply need to dress appropriately. Daylight hours may be shorter than you are used to if you live closer to the equator, but are still sufficient for normal touring.
I suggest you visit a website that can give you the average temperatures and daylight hours for the places you would like to visit. The linked site can show this data for at least the previous 3 years. I've linked the page for Munich as an example : https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/germany/munich/historic?month=1&year=2018
Posted by
7659 posts
That time of the year days are short and it gets dark at 430pm.
It may snow or not. Temperatures will be cold or at best chilly.
Have a very good overcoat, gloves, hat and scarf.
I lived in Augsburg, Germany for four years and loved Germany, but the long Fall-Winter-Spring cold season was not my favorite.
I personally would never plan to spend good money visiting northern Europe in the Winter.
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5835 posts
The yr.no website contains weather (average) temperature and precipitation statistics for a number of major cities including:
https://www.yr.no/place/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/statistics.html
https://www.yr.no/place/Austria/Salzburg/Salzburg/statistics.html
The caustion is that the averages are just that and temperatures on a given day can be much colder (or warmer). On average you should expect temperatures above or below 0C in January and you can expect precipitation one in three days on average. We visited Salzburg in late January several years ago and found the weather to be cold but comfortaably bearable when properly dressed.
Posted by
829 posts
WeatherSpark.com - Weather in January at Frankfurt Airport
Data Sources
This report illustrates the typical weather at Frankfurt Airport year round, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for your replies. Considering the days are shorter, would you suggest exploring cities (Prague/Budapest) over countryside of Salzburg. My view coming from the fact that cities are lit up and easier with transportation and have more indoor options than what I'd probably find on the Fussen-Salsburg-Daunabe travel? Also, since the later is closer to the mountains, it might be more difficult than the cities?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
We will be in Germany/ Austria/ Hungary about the same time -- visiting outside Christmas markets as well as indoor activities like museums and concerts. As a second-generation Californian I am similarly unused to cold winters -- so I take warm boots, parka, gloves, scarf and ear-covering hat and find it quite bearable. And when it starts getting too cold, I drop onto a coffee shop for something hot. (Glühwein at Christmas markets!)
Even if you concentrate on indoor locations there will always be some outside walking to get between sites. Probably not that much weather difference between the cities you mention. Days are short, but cities (including Salzburg) have lots of inside stuff in the evening. Enjoy!!