Help with possible trip to Germany in 08

Many of your questions would be answered by a good guidebook. There isn't likely to be snow in April or May, and the weather should be cooler than spring where you live, but not cold. If the airfare was markedly different in March, I'd go in March. But you might want to check a guidebook and see what things you might want to see might not yet be open for the summer season.

Munich is a full service airport. I preferred it to Frankfurt, shorter walks.

We pick airlines by price, which varies over times. We just keeping checking with Orbitz looking for sales.

Germany has gasthauses, biergartens, etc. for drinking, sometimes a bar or pub. In any case, Germans drink alcohol. Beer (Bier)is the preferred drink in some areas, wine (Wein) in others.

We visited Germany a year ago April. Weather was cool and a little wet, pleasant. Light jackets, caps and umbrellas were handy.

I would learn international road signs if you are going to drive, especially those dealing with the right of way. AAA may have a copy.

If you love history, then Germany should please. Look at Rick's travel section on Germany for a start; it follows the beaten path. I also like the Michelin Green Guide.

Flying into FRA and out of MUC - or vice versa - can make good sense too.

Driving isn't difficult outside of larger cities, but it's sometimes easy to lose your way without vigilant navigating, which costs you time and gas of course. Entering/exiting Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, or other major cities is often tedious, and within these cities a car is often useless. It's not hard to use the train in Germany, and it's often cheaper and more fun; there are about 6,000 train stations in Germany, so you'll rarely pick a destination that can't be reached by rail. Within regions, daypasses for 2-5 people cost around 25 Euros per day - hard to beat that.

History: Germany's full of it. Berlin, Munich, and the Rhine Valley (800-1,000 year-old castles) have lots to offer; catch up on northern Rome in Trier, in the Mosel Valley. Rothenburg is a well-preserved medieval town.

March and April have the lowest rainfall averages of all and are usually warm enough for comfortable travel.

Hey Karen,

That's a lot of questions! First, I'd suggest getting Rick Steves' Germany/Austria book. Lot's of good advice to help focus your plans. We went the last week of April and first week of May in '05. Weather was pretty good. No snow at all. We did not need (nor did we bring) heavy coats, gloves, etc. Driving in Germany is relatively easy. Road signs are in German only. Just be aware of the towns/cities you are heading towards, as they will be listed on road signs. Munich airport is excellent to explore Bavaria and Austria. Salzburg is an easy 2 hour drive from Munich, as is Fuessen (Ludwig's Castle Neuschwanstein and boyhood home Hohenschwangau). Innsbruck and Hall in Tirol are also about 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive. Airlines... use has theone with best fares. We've flown to Munich on Air France, Swiss Air, Air Canada and Lufthansa so far. Pretty much all the same to us. We've used www.travelocity.com in the past as well as using the airlines themselves. Get Rick's book.

Paul

When traveled to Germany we flew into Franfurt on American and out of Munich, and that worked quite well. We rented a Mercedes, (which was treat) and had a fabulous time driving around the Rhine & Mosel River towns. Most road signs are in German, and the Autobahn is easy and efficient. Only time we really got lost was at night on country roads trying to find our way back to Bacharah B&B from a jaunt over to Luxembourg. So driving during the daylight is best. With a car you can get around at your own pace, and get to more off the beaten track places.
We will be traveling to the UK soon and driving there and are not sure what to expect. Was that okay?

Wow! lots of questions. You might want to ask some of those separately so those who have the most experience will see them.

I wanted to say driving is fine and like driving anywhere you are not familiar, you can get lost, but the people are helpful. The pain is the tolls, depending on where you drive. We stayed to the country roads and saved a bit, but if you want to see what it will cost there try viamichelin.com. I've heard some good things about the international airlines, but oddly enough I think you get some services free with American companies that you pay for with European companies. I personally think the only real difference would be business or first class!

I'd suggest determining what kind of history you'd like to check out: World Wars, Roman, religious? Then you know more about where you want to go. I'm with you about the smaller towns, but remember the less touristy places are going to have fewer English speakers. How's your German?

If traveling in Southern Germany dont forget to cross into Austria and visit Salzburg.Beautiful Country and Salzburg deserves a few days.

Does Germany have pubs or bars like the UK and the USA??No, we never go out. ha ha. As a matter of fact the atmosphere in our bars and pubs is so much better than in the US and even in the UK. In some of the German states you can smoke in pubs, in some you can't. In Bavaria and Hesse (Frankfurt) you can - for the moment. And of course Austria and Switzerland have got bars, too. Pretty much every Christian culture country has, don't you think?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! Too many questions!!! I could write you a chapter in a book to answer just about any one of those questions.

First, try Frankfurt since it's Lufthansa's major hub. You're more likely to get a cheaper flight, but not necessarily. Plus if you decide there is more to see around another city, then the cost of transportation to that other city will eat up any savings.

Second, the weather there can be hot or cold, much like the upper midwest or northeast. go to http://www.weatherunderground.com. They have a trip planner tool that will show you the history of the weather over a given number of years. Just look for Trip Planner on the home screen.

No German is no problem. Just be flexible and open minded. And read Rick's Germany book!

Easter might get you in to trouble because things might close rather than it being too crowded.

Pubs in Germany are more relaxed and casual than in the US, and this is a good thing.

Driving: two big differences from the US that you should note. One, road signs direct you towards cities, not by geographical orientation. For example, a sign might point to an on-ramp for the A6 towards Mannheim, not east on the A6. Therefore, you need to familiarize yourself with the names of cities in your direction of travel. Second, compared to the US and other parts of Europe (Belgium in particular), Germany is VERY dark at night, especially in the countryside. This may take some getting used to, if you are accustomed to bright street lights. Third: on the autobahn, use the left lane ONLY for passing. Fourth: Driving in German cities is difficult, costly, and probably not necessary. Other than that, driving in Germany is pretty easy. If you ask me, easier than the US, once you adapt to the changes.

Plane fare: the difference this year between March and May wasn't that much so we opted for mid-end May with longer days, more open sights and less luggage.

Driving: My husband drives and I navigate. A detailed map of the area is worth its weight even if you have an English GPS. Usually there are just little yellow signs showing the name and distance to the nearby towns so you need the map to tell you what is between point A and point B especially when the road is suddenly closed, you get curious about what's around that other bend or get lost. You can also use online mapping before you go to get ideas for your routes, travel distances and times.

Off the beaten path places we enjoyed by car: Germany: Ruhpolding Windbeutelgraefin, Huette Abend at the Raffner Alm -or just pick any Alm music evening and schunkel along, Koenigsee; Austria: Grossglockner Highway, auto train near Bad Gastein, Krimml Waterfall, Zahmer Kaiser Ski Lift and luge.

My husband and I just got back from our second trip to Germany and surrounding countries in the past two years. The first trip was the first weekend in April (we arrived on Easter Monday)-weather was great. We needed fleeces and raincoats, but nothing more. The first time we flew in and out of Frankfurt, second in to Frankfurt and out of Munich. We purchased flights based on cost.

For the second trip we rented a car from Autoeurope-this was a great experience. Our advice is to rent one with a GPS-we never needed to even look at a map. It was amazing! My husband studied the roadsigns on the plan trip over and did just fine (this site was very helful http://www.bitb-hs.eu.dodea.edu/signs/signs.html)

I'd be happy to share our itineraries with you if you're interested. Good Luck!

Karen- I would avoid FRA as we have had some long waits there. Lufthansa is rumored to be opening more flights to MUC so it might pay to check that out. I would suggest you also check out the train and use a German Rail Pass 1st class twinpass for 460 € for 7 days.(that's 230 € each)!!! You also get a free Rhine KD boat ride with it. Also be aware that local 2nd class day tickets are available for each German State. The Bayern Takt costs 29 € and up to 5 can travel on it. If you choose to drive, that's easy too, but get a GPS.... I drove around Munich like I owned it! Enjoy planning