Germany

I went to Southern Germany for my first european trip 2 years ago, and I am going again in late May with my kids. I love the alpine regions. And truly fell in love with Salzburg Austria. (don't let anyone tell you it is JUST about Sound of Music...it has a wonderful atmosphere to it)
We saw Salzburg, the Bertesgarden area, Zugspitz mountain (Garmisch Patenkirchen) Munich (and made sure we visited Dachau also with the fun things).
And we went as far north as Rothensburg ob de tauber. A wonderful truly old city...just avoid the tourist trap stores.

I could go anywhere with my children this summer, but I felt the experiences of the mountains, old cities, the Lake Constance area are so varied that I am going again, but will visit some other castles and towns I missed before. Have FUN!

Kat,

For your first trip to Germany, I'd suggest focusing on Bavaria and the south of Germany this time, as there's lots of sightseeing choices in that area.

Some of the possibilities:

Munich: a fantastic city with lots to see

The Castles in Fussen (Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau): an easy day trip from Munich

Dachau: If you're interested in history

Salzburg: try to spend at least a couple of days there, as it's also a wonderful city

Berchtesgaden: another good site for history, but there's also a Salt Mine there which can be toured

Rothenburg: If you arrange your flight home from Frankfurt, you could stop in Rothenburg for a day or two. Be sure to take the Night Watchman's tour!

There are lots of other possibilities, but those are the highlights.

Happy travels!

Ok, I will throw out the other option and that is to go North.

Visit Berlin, go to Potsdam and see the gorgeous palace - Sans Soucci, and you can also visit Sachsenhausen and Ravensbruck Concentration Camps. Berlin itself, has enough to do and see to keep anyone busy for at least a week.

From Berlin, you can then travel to Dresden, or Hamburg, or Hannover.

For beautiful quaint towns with a fraction of the tourists that you would get in Rothenburg, vist Quedlinburg or Lübeck. For beautiful scenery you have the North Sea or the Hartz mountains or the Spree Wald.

Another big vote for Bavaria, and Salzburg, Kat.

I think this would be a good way to go. Fly into Amsterdam, visit Cologne, the Rhine Valley region, Rhotenburg, Munich and Salzburg then fly home from Munich. Spend one or two nights each in Amsterdam and Salzburg and spend the rest in Germany.

Alternatively, fly into Frankfurt and train to Cologne to start.

You will get a good taste of Southern Germany and Salzburg as a bonus.

I also recommend a travel guide for a starting point. I prefer the Michelin Green Guide as it is fairly comprehensive. Rick's is great added resource as he is so thorough in the places that he covers.

Germany has a wide variety of sights from the mountains, to medieval cities, to major cities with a wealth of cultural museums, to North Sea Ports, etc. A travel guide is handy because you can pick out what appeals most to you.

I best like the medieval cities of Franconia but they might leave you cold.

Regards, Gary

I went to Rail Europe (InterCity Express) and checked out their fares from Brussels to Munich. I did the same using bahn.de and the prices were significantly cheaper using bahn.de. Can someone explain to me why that is?

Thanks,
Kat

Kat...RailEurope is a ticket reseller, largely owned by the French national rail company, SNCF. It began as a source for rail passes and expanded from there....but has been left behind by the recent increase in the web availability of tickets direct from national rail sites. It's prices are generally higher (sometimes much higher) than what you can find elsewhere, it doesn't list all trains available....and it doesn't list most discount fares offered on national rail websites.

"...prices were significantly cheaper using bahn.de."

Not only is the full fare price on Bahn.de less ($417 for 2 from the Bahn with seat reservation vs $524 from RE), but there are discounts you can get by advance purchase, as low as $111 for 2 with reservations. I picked a day a month from now and the lowest fares were sold out, but I still found $271 fares for the 7:25 train (6½ hrs) with one connection in Frankfurt. With a slower connection (8½ hrs, changes in Köln and Würzburg) I found $165.

Kat,

Are you flying in to Frankfurt? As your first trip, you should see Berlin and Potsdam, first and foremost. See the lower Rhine area, Cologne, Bonn.
See Frankfurt and especially across the river Main the Sachsenhausen, more authentic. If you like smaller places, then Marburg an der Lahn is very nice and historical (north of Frankfurt). Leipzig and Dresden are a little over 2 hours from Berlin--that is a must see. Hamburg is interesting and the cultural centre of the north, but one of my favourite places nearby is Luebeck, where I first came into Germany. With two weeks only, you won't have time to go to Austria, unless you're setting aside a few days for Vienna at the end.

My faves are Wurzburg, Heidelburg, Rhine Valley, Cologne and Berlin.