Looks like the wife and I will be spending ~3 weeks in Europe. I have a series of meetings to attend, so she's tagging along. The trip spans Easter weekend, so Germans make that a 4-day weekend. We'll head to Paris by train for that weekend.

Give me your best tips for that region, please! We'll be staying in Heidelberg when in Germany.

Oh, my god. What a fantastic time to be in Europe. April should be beautiful. Heidelberg is beautiful in its own right and you are in the Rhine Valley which is fantastic in it's own right.

There is "old Germany" all around you. Almost every little town in that area will be pretty and charming. You are also not far from some great things to see if you are into cathedrals and old buildings such as Munich, Wurzburg, Worms, etc. Even Saltzburg, Austria is only a couple of hours away.

There is an amazing museum of science and industry at Sinsheim.

It really comes down to what you want to see, and if you have a car while you are there. German rail is good, but it isn't really cheap, and to get to more out of the way places can take some time. Express between cities, stopping train to get to other locations.

Anybody who was in V Corps. can give you lots of ideas about that area.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. I'm incredibly jealous. There is no reason to lose weight, or quit drinking on this trip. Beer, wine, food, pastry, breads...

Thanks, ArtieS. I will have a car, but we'll take the train to Paris and back.

In Paris eat in the ornate dining room at the Musee d'Orsay. A local turned me on to it.

If you can, a trip to Verdun is an experience you will never forget. It is amazing the the craters are still there and you can see the remnants of the trenches.

This is where my wife and I stayed. Very romantic and a great location. http://www.hotel-paris-saint-germain.com/

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Heidelberg when in Germany

You're close to Stuttgart. If you're a gearhead, I'd advise the Porsche tour and museum. I did it last September and rented a 911 for an hour. Absolutely loved it.

MB also have a massive factory and delivery store on the other side of Stuttgart.

Go check out the Heidelberg castle

Since you have a car I suggest a day trip to Trier, Germany. Old Roman town on the Moselle River and in the heart of German wine country.

Another idea if you are into WW2 history: the Westwall(Sigfried Line) Museum in Bad Bergzabern, Germany.

If you contact the proprietor of the museum he was more than willing to give us a tour while we were there.

https://www.bad-bergzabern.de/.../westwallmuseum.html

Rothenburg od Tauber is maybe a quick 100 miles East of Heidelberg - great place for a day trip and to walk around the top of the city walls. World's largest 365 day a year Christmas store is in the center of the town.

Easy to walk the whole town in a day - but nice to stay overnight after taking the night watchman's tour.

Don't be surprised to see Easter eggs hanging from the trees in Germany :-)

Enjoy! My company's hq is about 30mi south of Stuttgart. It is a beautiful and peaceful place. I have only been to Cannes but everyone who went to Paris wasn't too impressed, but that is a drunken sailor point of view.

I am a Belgian beer addict so I would shoot over there and visit an abbey, but that's just me.

Tons of castles to visit, I preferred the ruins over the fairytale ones.

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Originally posted by showpro:
Looks like the wife and I will be spending ~3 weeks in Europe. I have a series of meetings to attend, so she's tagging along. The trip spans Easter weekend, so Germans make that a 4-day weekend. We'll head to Paris by train for that weekend.

Give me your best tips for that region, please! We'll be staying in Heidelberg when in Germany.

Heidelberg is a great place. Lots to see and do. Consider a 1 day boat trip on the Rhine! We have done it a couple times. Maybe 3 times all together. Boats make stops at various places along the river, you can get off and tour the little towns, get some authentic German food (and drink) as well.

Can't speak to prices now as it has been more than more than 30 years since our last river tour. Still have fond memories.

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
Since you have a car I suggest a day trip to Trier, Germany. Old Roman town on the Moselle River and in the heart of German wine country.

Another idea if you are into WW2 history: the Westwall(Sigfried Line) Museum in Bad Bergzabern, Germany.

If you contact the proprietor of the museum he was more than willing to give us a tour while we were there.

https://www.bad-bergzabern.de/.../westwallmuseum.html

Yeah, that tour through Trier was well worth the time. Lots of small gasthauses where you can get good meals, at good prices.

I enjoyed Rothenburg more than Trier, but both are great.

If you like to drive, maybe consider driving a portion of the Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road). It starts in Wurzburg and winds down to Fussen in Bavaria. It's a beautiful drive populated by little towns, including Rothenburg.

We went to Germany over Easter several years ago. The weather ranged from cold with a few flurries in Munich during the first week of April to warm and flowers blooming a couple of weeks later. Be aware that some places may still have outside statutes covered for winter (King Ludwig's castles in Bavaria, for example). Also, if you are interested in visiting the Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden, it won't be open until May.

Heading across the border into France, Strasbourg is lovely and not very far from Heidelberg. I believe you can get there via train(s).

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Originally posted by Green Highlander:
If you can, a trip to Verdun is an experience you will never forget. It is amazing the the craters are still there and you can see the remnants of the trenches.

I agree. It has been said that the dirt at Verdun was overturned 8 times by the intense artillery bombardment it received. I don't know that I believe that statistic, but it is apparent that a lot of displacement occurred. The cemetery and ossuary are both impressive and sobering.

flashguy

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I enjoyed Rothenburg more than Trier, but both are great.

Thanks for reminding me. We did Rothenburg as well as Trier.

Was struggling to get the name recalled out of my aging memory.

Given the 2 cities, I think we liked Rothenburg the best.

Amazing suggestions, everyone. Thanks so much!

(I'm sorry but this thread title made me think of Mel Brooks.)

I spent a month in Rothenburg when they still had a Goethe Institut there--fabulous times! If you go, see if you can find the restaurant/Gaststube that serves a traditional medieval meal (eat off wooden trenches, knives, no forks, the wenches serve the men). Also have a Gute-Nacht-Kuss at the Italian Eiskafe on the main square.

Great memories of Heidelberg, too. Proposed to my now wife of almost 48 years in the wall of the old castle.

Not sure what the vineyards and wineries of the Rhine Valley are doing in the Spring; remember "Der Mai ist gekommen, dear Winter ist aus"--May has come, winter is gone.

Got back this week. What a great three weeks! Spent a fair amount of time doing business, but Heidelberg is so lovely and so full of history. Also did a tour through the Black Forest and spent some time in Speyer and Schwetzingen. Ate way too much.

Easter weekend in Paris was a blast, too. The Louvre was exhausting. The food in France is way better than in Germany. Also way better than in Seattle, come to think of it. The stuff we call "baguettes" and "croissants" and "macarons" here are mere shadows of the real thing. And I've now taken to having soft-boiled eggs in the shell for my Sunday breakfasts.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions. I'm sure I'll be getting back to Heidelberg before too long and will expand my exploration of the beautiful Rhine valley.

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Originally posted by showpro:
The stuff we call "baguettes" and "croissants" and "macarons" here are mere shadows of the real thing.

Yeah, you ain't kidding. It's the very one thing that my wife misses more than anything living in the US (besides family of course), and that is getting a good baguette or croissant here. We found a place in Southern California once that came close, but there really is nothing like the stuff made in France.

I'll be heading over to France in two weeks. Can't wait for my Sunday morning pain au chocolat.