Germany

Hi, What you're saying is that you have six full days outside of the business trip? "...high interest in history/WW II sites" I would heartily suggest going to Berlin for that. If you have a rental car for places outside of the city, even better. Within Berlin itself just take the bus, S-Bahn, U-Bahn. The WW I and II sections of the Deutsches Historisches Museum on Unter den Linden, the Resistance Museum on Stauffenbergstraße, the Holocaust Memorial, etc are good places to start. I recommend Berlin-Karlshorst..the site/museum where the Germans surrendered to the Soviets a day after they did to the West at Reims. Once you get to Karlshorst on the S-3, the signs point the way to the museum. Also the Anti-War Museum in Berlin-Wedding (appropriately situated) should be seen within the context of both wars. The Soviets have a memorial on Straße des 17. Juni but the big one is at in the east in Berlin-Treptow...definitely see that site. This outing from Berlin is doable by public transportation but more convenient by car, ie., where the battle across the Oderbruch took place at Seelow Heights (Seelower Höhen) Memorial site and Museum. There are more sites in Berlin itself, such as the Wannsee villa, etc., and the military cemetery located in the east...Invalidienfriedhof, which I am sure will be of interest to you as you start going through it.

Fred, Thank you for information, greatly appreciated. In your opinion is it doable and/or should we visit Munich and see Dachau. My father as a GI visited Dachau in 1945. Also, what about Hitlers Eagle's Nest/ Can I squeeze this into a 7 day visit? Thanks in advance

Bridge at Remagen (spelling?), Berchtesgaden. They're different directions but easy enough to reach from Frankfurt. Weather might be a factor for Berchtesgaden in mid-October.

You should also consider Nurnburg. It could be done as a day trip from Munich or as an overnigt.

Jim, Given that you're arriving and departing from Frankfurt, my suggestion would be to focus on the Munich area this time, as it's a bit closer than Berlin and has lots of WW-II sites in a somewhat limited area. Here are some possibilities on sightseeing in that area: (1.) Munich - Third Reich Tour (the Nazi party started here, so there's lots of history) - Dachau - is an easy trip from Munich. You can tour the site on your own, or go with a tour (check Radius Tours website). - Deutsches Museum - they have a fair number of WW-II exhibits, including a V-2 Rocket (2.) Berchtesgaden - Eagle's Nest. It's supposed to be open from mid-May through October, however that's dependent on the weather and snow on the mountain road. I'd suggest contacting Eagle's Nest Tours for advice on the days you expect to be there. - Dokumentation Centre & Bunkers. This is just above the town and has a small Museum (all in German but English Audioguides available) and also an extensive network of Bunkers built into the mountain. Visitors can tour a portion of the Bunker network. The Elevator shaft leading down to Hitler's quarters is in disrepair and blocked off. - Salt Mine. If you're interested, you can also tour a Salt Mine in Berchtesgaden. (3.) Neuschwanstein. If you're interested in seeing "Mad" King Ludwig's Castles, that's also an easy trip from Munich (4.) Remagen. If you want to take a "detour" on your way back to Frankfurt, you could stop for a night in Remagen to see the famous Ludendorff Bridge (or what's left of it), that was liberated by U.S. forces. There's a small but interesting Peace Museum there. Happy travels!

Jim, You're welcome. On doing both Munich and Berlin seeing the sites in both places, it can be done within the 7 full days. I would suggest in that case, as pointed out above, go to Munich first after your Frankfurt business trip. The aviation section of the Deutsches Museum is worth seeing, the jet fight is exhibited. (But it's sanitised, for the real authentic one you need to go London (Colindale) the RAF museum. Also, in Munich you can get to the Feldherrnhalle not far from the Odeonplatz, the site of Hitler's failed Putsch. There used to be 3 statures at the Feldherrnhalle, no more, the middle one is gone. A day trip to Berchtesgaden is doable as suggested. If you have a car handy, you might want to zip out to Bad Tölz, south of Munich. After that take the early ICE train to Berlin. I would suggest a day trip to Potsdam, esp this celebration year in its history, and taking a tour where you'll see Neues Palais and Cecillienhof, the site of the Potsdam Conference, if you're interested in a post WW II event. Potsdam has changed a lot since reunification. Yes, I would say Frankfurt is a good starting point, by train or car. You can head southeast, ie., Munich, or straight east to Berlin, omit Munich, or do both, or head towards the Dutch border to the lower Rhine area...much more convenient by car...all depending on your priorities.

We enjoyed Bamberg, Nurnberg, Munich, Salzberg, and Munich a lot. We also stopped in Wurzburg which was nice for a night. Really our family loved Germany a lot.

I don't know if I'd try to do both Munich and Berlin in 6 days. It CAN be done, but you're going to spend a lot of time in transit and miss a lot of what the areas around have to offer, hitting only "highlights". I agree with Ken that focusing on the Munich/Salzburg area would be ideal from Frankfurt for your interests, as well as natural beauty. I wouldn't miss Nurnberg if you choose this route, as it's a perfect day trip from Munich by train. I wouldn't bother with a rental car. Or if you decide to do Berlin instead (my favorite city in Germany) I'd spend 3-4 full days in Berlin, and then maybe spend the rest of the time closer to Frankfurt, like the Rhine castle/wine/boat thing that Rick Steves recommends.

Do you have a copy of RS Germany Guide Book yet? If so,
great. If not, you might want to get one as it has lots of good information in it that we are using for our trip to Germany in September.

"I have high interest in history/World War II sites." I would not buzz off to Berlin or Munich necessarily. If your only interest is WW II, OK, maybe. But there's certainly a lot of history to experience near Frankfurt. There's Roman history in Trier, Germany's oldest city, just to the west in the Mosel River Valley - ancient ruins, restored buildings, and the Rheinisches Landesmuseum: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/trier-roman-museum There's an entire millenium to explore in the Rhine Valley - Marksburg Castle in Braubach, Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar, the Cologne Cathedral, the Romano-Germanic History Museum next door, Cologne's Nazi Documentation Center, cathedrals in Aachen, Mainz, Speyer and Worms, and the WW II Peace Museum in Remagen. Near Trier, there's also the German WW II bunker "Panzerwerk Katzenkopf" (near Trier, open Sun afternoons.) http://www.st-goar.de/17-1-.html http://www.marksburg.de www.museenkoeln.de/homepage/default.asp?schrift=&s=172 http://www.irrel.de/tourismus/sehenswert/s_westwall.htm The Rhine and Mosel Valleys are dotted with castles and castle ruins, old-world villages, wineries, and other sighs as well. The Rhine is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/index.php?id=318&L=3

There's lots of varying opinion here, and it all seems very heartfelt. I've been to Germany 10 times in the past decade, and I'm equally opinionated with this belief: Berlin would keep you fascinated the entire time. You'll keep peeling the layers of history and will leave wishing you had more time there. I find Frankfurt considerably less interesting. Munich is lovely but can't compare if history is your focus.

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