Hello, I had some questions for some of the more experienced German travelers. My sister-in-law is very excited to be visiting us in a few weeks. She'll only have 6 full days here (she arrives in Frankfurt in the morning and we might make a brief side stop to a castle/cute town/Heidelberg/see Frankfurt itself (!) by car and then drive home to Stuttgart. She wants to see as much of SW Germany as makes sense on a limited schedule. She also wants us to be able to go places we haven't been before, but unfortunately her proposed itinerary are all of places we've been to multiple times. I'm fine with that for some cities but wondering if our time might be better spent elsewhere for others in a way that's awesome for her as a first-timer and for us as people who think Nuremberg is lovely but don't really need to go there for a 5th time this year. Her projected itinerary (yes I know it will be a busy blitz but it's what she wants) -Black forest/Freiburg day trip -Strasbourg day trip -Munich (non-negotiable) overnight -Nuremberg (day trip from Munich then back to Stuttgart) -Stuttgart (non-negotiable)
-Extra day - which I am going to try to convince her to spend in Munich because one day in Munich seems awfully sad. And would give us time to visit one or two of the big museums there. She is interested in museums, culture, and wants to see ollldd stuff and and stuff particular to the regions we'll be in that you can't see elsewhere. She's an anthro grad student. Does anyone have any suggestions for replacements for some of this itinerary that may be a little less famous but as or more interesting? We can pretty much train or drive. Thanks guys!
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5850 posts
What about Regensburg instead of Nürnberg? It is also not too far from Munich. It has been years since I visited there, but remember it being quite a nice day trip (we went from Nürnberg).
Posted by
Genesee, ID
1840 posts
How about Tubingen? Its a place we would go back to. And, Bad Urach as well.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9221 posts
For a cute town near Frankfurt, then I would recommend Büdingen. While there, she might also be interested in visiting the nearby Glauberg, which has a fantastic Celtic burial site and museum. Frankfurt itself has a ton of museums, but it depends on which ones you are interested in. Archeology, Classical art, Applied Arts, World Culture, 2 Jewish museums, or even the Leather Museum. That one might fit well with an Anthropology degree. For Munich, I would suggest getting in touch with Dark History Tours, as the owner and guide is a trained archeologist from Wales and can tailor a tour that would be of interest to all of you. He combines everything from Roman history to WW2 in his tours. http://www.dark-history.eu/
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Hi, You're asking for replacements for the proposed SW Germany itinerary. Here are a few since your sister-in-law's interests are on museums, culture, etc. and esp. if she's interested in history. Aside from Tübingen already suggested, I would recommend also Ulm, Rastatt, and Albstadt Lautlingen. Spend that extra day in Munich.
Posted by
Germany, Germany
813 posts
Ludwigsburg with the palace and gardens is great, so close to Stuttie. Instead of Nuremberg how about Meersburg or stopping in Ulm on your way to/from Munich. Other trips are easy day-trips.
Posted by
OP
Stuttgart, Germany
3050 posts
Thanks for the advice everyone! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for! I don't think we'll go to Tubingen because we're already going to be visiting Esslingen am Neckar in the afternoon of our Stuttgart day (it's just more convenient in our limited timeframe, although I do love Tubingen) but all the other suggestions definitely work for us. Thanks again!
Posted by
OP
Stuttgart, Germany
3050 posts
Yeah, definitely hoping to take her to the Ludwigsburg Schloss, although due to timing we'll probably have to choose between it and Esslingen. Will have to ask her which she prefers. I'm gonna skype with her tonight and go over some of the alternative options people suggested. Appreciate it!