I'm trying to decide if we should be in Germany during the Easter holiday or not. We were there in 2008 and I know everything (restaurants, stores and sites) are closed on Good Friday and Easter Sunday but I cannot remember about that Monday. Can someone please remind me? If we decide to go we will be in Berlin during the holiday so I was hoping maybe something would be open during that weekend. Will the trains(long distance)/u and s bahn trains be running?
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
I don't know about the trains, but I know that Easter Monday is also a holiday, and things are closed, generally.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA
380 posts
Thank you Nancy.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Barring a strike, trains run 365 days a year. On the actual holiday, they may operate on a reduced schedule.
Posted by
Berlin, Germany
337 posts
U-and S-Bahn will be running (on a weekend schedule, i.e. without the rush hour trains). Restaurants will be mostly open.
Museums, Zoos and the like will be mostly open (for example the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin use the schedule for the week day). For tourists it's mostly about shops that are closed (and nightclubs/cinemas from 04:00 to 21:00 on Good Friday).
Posted by
Eugene, Oregon, USA
10 posts
Any chance you could be in either Dresden or Gorlitz for Easter weekend? In 2011 I stayed in Gorlitz and spent Easter Sunday in Bautzen/Budysin - a short train ride away. No problem travelling on Easter Sunday.In the morning, there is a fabulous array of men on horseback who are blessed during a big ceremony outside the church, then they ride away and return in the afternoon, en masse. A wonderful day in a small town. Elizabeth
Posted by
Chicago
565 posts
I was in Dresden for Easter 2011 and was able to tour the Green Vault and the Art Museum. The Frauenkirche and almost all restaurants were also open. I imagine most things will be in Berlin, too.
Buy advance train tickets if you plan on traveling Monday. The trains will be packed.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA
380 posts
Thanks everyone! Our Easter visit in 2008 was in Miltenberg so most everything was closed since its a small town. If we go during the holiday we will probably still be in Berlin, leaving Monday or Tuesday for either Dresden or Nuremberg. Knowing that some stuff with be open helps our decision. Thanks for the tip on the trains too, we may have to avoid them that day.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
"Our Easter visit in 2008 was in Miltenberg so most everything was closed since its a small town." Was that Miltenberg on the Main in NW Bavaria? If so... wow, I'm impressed. That's a really nice town that's virtually unknown to most travelers from North America. You did your homework...
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA
380 posts
Tom it was Miltenberg on the Main River. That was our very first trip to Germany and we rented a flat in a very old house in the main square. We had decided to go all out on this trip and rent a car to travel around and I found this wonderful flat for us. Miltenberg is a beautiful town and is in the perfect location for day trips to Frankfurt, Rothenberg ob der Tauber, Heidelberg and many others. We would go back in a heart beat! We loved being locals for 11 days.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
BTW, did you get a chance to see any of the Roman limes ruins in the hills above the town?
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA
380 posts
No we didn't, and I hate to say it but we didn't even get to see the castle. Between all of our day trips and just resting (I had lost my last two grandparents 6-8 weeks before we left and was emotionally and physically drained) we never got to that part of town. Miltenberg is a place we would like to go back to and could possibly do it on a river cruise with my parents in the next year or two.