Jayne1973

I'm just beginning to research a trip for 2006 for hubby's birthday. He wants to go to Amsterdam and I want to see Paris, plus we'd like to go to Munich so he can see the little suburb where he was born when his dad was stationed there in the 1950s.

I know from reading previous posts that we can easily take a train between Amsterdam and Paris, but I'd love some suggestions for the German leg of the trip. I think he would like to rent a car in Germany and drive the autobahn. Any suggestions? We can start anywhere and are fairly flexible and adventurous. Is two weeks enough to do this trip justice? Do we need more time? Thanks so much!

Bill_I

2 weeks may or may not be enough, depending upon what you want to do. A few years back we had a free flight to use, but had to go in & out of Frankfurt. I wanted to see Paris & she wanted Bavaria, we had 2 weeks total. Flew into Frankfurt, immediately got on a train to Paris (about 6-7 hour trip). Stayed in Paris for 5 days, took the train to Munich, about 9hr trip. & spent 6 nights in Munich. & then back to Frankfurt on the morning of our flight & then back home. In Munich, we also took side trips into Salzburg, the King Ludwig castles, & Up the Romatic Road. There was plenty more we wanted to do but not enough time. In our situation, I don't think we would have had enough time to include Amsterdam also. Again, it depends upon how much you want to do. You could maybe fly into Amsterdam, spend a couple days there, train to Paris for about 4 days, take a day or 2 to drive to Munich & that might give you 2 or 3 days in the Munich area, then fly out of Munich. But you may be stretching yourself a bit thin, especially when you include travel days. You may be able to break the surface & enjoy a few things in each area, but you won't have time to get much in depth. It is quite a ways between Munich & Amsterdam. Your trip can be done, you just would have to plan it out that way, but I think, IMHO, I would feel cheated by not being able to spend enough time in each place, & since I am a 50's baby I know I would probably feel exhausted at the end of all that.

Robespierre

1. Fly into Paris

2. Train to Amsterdam

3. Train to Frankfurt (or to Cologne, then up Rhine on K-D steamer)

4. Drive to Munich/Füssen/Romantic Road/Bavaria

5. Fly home from Munich (or drive back to Frankfurt)

Two weeks will be plenty.

Jayne1973

Thanks so much for the input, Bill and Robespierre. Your answers give me a good base to work from. I hadn't planned on spending as much time in Munich as you did, Bill, so that should help with the timing issue.
Robespierre, are your train suggestions from Amsterdam based on scenery, travel time, cost...?

Also, I need some advice on time of year. We will choose between summer (probably July) or early fall (September/October.) Which would be better?

Intrepid1

Warning: Munich is September/October means Oktoberfest which usually ENDS on the first weekend in October. Hotels are booked up to a year in advance for that time period so plan accordingly.

Jayne1973

Wow, Intrepid-- thanks for the warming! That is a huge factor to consider!

Jayne1973

Er, thanks for the warNing, that is! hehe

Jayne1973

ttt

Betsy

October (after Octoberfest) should be beautiful. I'd avoid July anywhere in Europe if at all possible.

Jayne1973

Betsy, is Octoberfest just too crazy a time to be there?

Robespierre

It's crowded, boisterous, and they jack up the prices. Yes, it's crazy.

I <u>love</u> Oktoberfest!

Jayne1973

Robespierre,
It does sound fun -- wonder if we &quot;newbies&quot; to Europe could handle it... How far in advance do you think we would have to make reservations if we went during Oktoberfest?
Also, did you see my other questions about your transporation suggestions above?

Robespierre

I'd start making reservations now! A year in advance isn't too far.

&quot;Robespierre, are your train suggestions from Amsterdam based on scenery, travel time, cost...?&quot;

I'm looking for a balance between cost and time. Renting a car in one country and returning it in another is a considerable hassle, so I wanted to get you into Germany before you got one. There's quite a bit of real estate between Cologne and Munich, and driving it all would be pretty fatiguing to no real purpose. Much better to turn off your mind, relax, and float upstream, perhaps stopping from time to time to check out the local sights (such as K&ouml;nigswinter or Siebengbirge). Then you can motor through Bavaria, take in the Romantic Road, maybe Mad Ludwig's castles, and a little suburb in Munich.

I wouldn't plan on driving through Oktoberfest, though.

Jayne1973

Thank you so much for the help on this. It's going to help SO much! Do you think four nights in each city is enough?

Robespierre

I wouldn't stay in Cologne/Frankfurt for more than 24 hours. There's not as much to see and do there compared to, say, Paris or Amsterdam. Maybe you could substitute Heidelberg if you want to spend more time in Germany.

Jayne1973

I was just thinking of four days each in Amsterdam, Paris and Munich. Do yo think we should allow more/less time in any of them? We have some flexability as far as how long of a trip we take. We were planning roughly a two-week vacation, including flying time from the U.S.

Jayne1973

OK, now that I am reading guide books on Germany, I see that I am going to have to plan ALOT to do this in two weeks. There are so many neat things to see. Hubby wants to see the Munich suburb where he was born, as well as Garmesh, Eagle's Nest, and Ludwig Castles. I am interested in the Rothenburg, Romantic Road, Black Forest and Baden Baden. Any suggestions on how to navigate this? Combine car and train? Car only? Routes?
Also, Baden Baden looks fabulous and I know it's ritzy, but is it snobby?

Thanks for any advice or opionions!

Jayne1973

...And, remember, I was thinking of four nights total in each country. But as I said, we are flexible... comments, please!

Travelnut

Sounds like you should save Paris for another time. Fly into Amsterdam and out of Munich, and focus on traveling thru Holland and Germany over your two weeks.

Robespierre

Baden-Baden isn't &quot;snobby,&quot; but I do recommend conservative business attire rather than tourist garb. When I spent two weeks there always wearing a suit, I noticed the &quot;flip-flop 'n' cutoff&quot; crowd being treated with intolerance and condescension. You can't even get into the <i>Spielbank</i> without dressing for the occasion.