Three open days between Dresden and Oberwesel

Prague, Krakow? You need to look at a map (and maybe guidebooks). Why not find things between Dresden and Oberwesel? How about Nürnberg, Würzburg, Bamberg, Rothenburg? If you are not going to spend time on the Rhein (St. Goar, Bacharach, Braubach) after Oberwesel, take the time to see it before you get to Oberwesel.

Be wary of flights. A one hour flight quickly turns to six hours when you add in getting to the airport, check-in time, security, boarding, deplaning, getting to ground transportation and into town.

I will still be going to Krakow,then onto Oberwesel, plans that cannot be changed. Also have other reasons for going to Krakow. As for the others in the group, they may enjoy the train. Any suggestions on a city that would be along the way (via train) where they can stop for the day and enjoy the city? Stopping along the way may be better then a train direct from Dresden to the Rhine. I tried looking on the BAHN website but it does not list the cities the train goes thru, any suggestions on another web site?

"I tried looking on the BAHN website but it does not list the cities the train goes thru, any suggestions on another web site?" Hit the red arrow on the left margin next to the train your interested in. Then look towards the bottom of the information that opened up. It will then give you the option "Show intermediate stops".

Without getting into the Poland issue, it is difficult to overstate the superb places you could visit between Dresden and Oberwesel. I haven't been to the cities not mentioned below, but Erfurt and Weimar are each worth more than a day, and Eisenach and Quedlinburg are each worth almost a day. There is no reason to cook up a trip in the opposite direction. I didn't even mention Gorlitz, Leipzig, or Dessau, only because they're not right on the route you gave!

Understand that my list is not complete; I don't know Germany well enough. But I certainly cooked up three days for you!

Hi,

I suggest for the time you can spare from Dresden to spend in Germany that you visit Leipzig and Meissen. From Dresden Hbf you can take the S-Bahn to Meissen. Leipzig is very close to Dresden, easily accessible by train, and well worth it if you're into classical music, esp. the major German composers whose houses/museums you can see in Leipzig. Going back to Frankfurt from Leipzig, is on a trunk line, can be done on the ICE.

You mention museums. Historical ones? At the Völkerschlachtdenkmal commemorating the Allied victory at the Battle of Leipzig against Napoleon in 1813 a museum, somewhat small I thought, is part of the site. The S-Bahn across from the main train station takes you basically across the street from this huge memorial. If you want to see some military site from the war, outside of Leipzig Hbf, (it's a huge tain station), is a bus depot. One of those buses there goes to Colditz where Allied POWs were housed. I didn't have time for that diversion since I only had a day in Leipzig.

Meissen, for sure. Visit the Meissen Porcelain factory and the castle on the top of the hill.

Dresden and surroundings really offer enough sights for weeks. Dresdens museums are world class. You can take one of the the nostalgic paddle steamers to Meissen, Pirna, Pillnitz, Königstein and Saxon Switzerland. Meissen and Pirna are beatiful small towns, Pillnitz is a "Chinese" baroque palace, Königstein one of the biggest fortresses in Europe, and Saxon Switzerland are very picturesque mountains which are great for hiking. All these places are also accessible by train. Close to Dresden is Radebeul, the "Saxon Nizza", which is a small town surrounded by vineyards and castles. At Wackerbarth castle you can buy the rare Saxon wines, a few meters away is Hoflößnitz, a 400yo "Lusthaus" (great interior), and from Radebeul you can take the 100yo steam train to Moritzburg, a hunting castle of the Saxon kings.
Other interesting sights for day trips are Bautzen, a baroque town with medieval fortification that once was the capital of Upper Lusatia and still is the spiritual centre of the Sorbs, Görlitz, probably the architecturally most valuable German town (4.000 listed buildings) or Freiberg, a preserved mining town with a great cathedral. And if you are into Christmas you can visit Seiffen deep in the Ore mountains. It's a village with nothing but Christmas shops.