quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
I'm probably in the minority, but you couldn't pay me to go to Neuschwanstein again. I finally got dragged there by friends on about my 28th trip to Germany. Looks like it was built by Fisher Price or Lego, was never lived in or used as a real castle, has zero historical significance and that town Schwangau is overrun with phone zombies running all over the place in front of cars.

Having traveled through parts of Europe, the images and laugh's I'm having this AM after reading this.
My dad in Rome nearly got into a fight with all the Bangladeshi street vendors who kept bugging him around the Spanish Steps. Hiking along the Cinque Terre, another friend started chasing another street vendor after he tried to sell a selfie-stick and it nearly walked him in the face. Ahh, the crappy-side of the tourism business

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
Rothenburg ob de Tauber.

Rothenburg is incredible. It’s a walled city built in the 11th century. We spent 2.5 days there and wished we stayed longer.

If you like Rhine cruises and castles and technical museums, I'd suggest a day trip to Koblenz. It's about a 75 minute drive from Frankfurt airport or 90-120 minutes by train and has the Deutsches Eck confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers, overtowered by a huge 19th century statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I.; by cablecar you get across the Rhine to Ehrenbreitstein fortress which today holds the Rhineland-Palatinate State Museum, the memorial to the dead of the German Army established in 1972, but also dreamy little show gardens and various gastronomic attractions with a view over the Rhine valley. River cruises are available in town.

Additionally, the city has the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung der Bundeswehr, the German armed forces' technical collection for education purposes. It is open to the public for a modest fee of three Euros (free for any serving military personnel). The vehicle part is heavy on German prototypes and test rigs, while the firearms collection is very varied, from one of the smallest semi-auto pistols ever made in 2.7 mm caliber in 1913, early automatic rifles and G 11 prototypes to the American .60 cal. T45 and 37 mm Vigilante Gatling prototypes to German WW II 210 and 240 mm guns.

Speyer and Sinsheim are also excellent, if a little cluttered and underexplained for my taste. Sinsheim has a Concorde and Tu-144 supersonic airliner propped up side by side you can get into to compare, among other aircraft; also a lot of historic cars, locomotives and general historic machinery jammed into two halls and a sizable collection of armored vehicles outside. Speyer concentrates on aircraft including rare Soviet types like the An-22, Yak-27 and the atmospheric test version of the Buran space shuttle, and also lets you climb onto the wing of a 747 suspended in mid-air. Other areas are trains, including a test car for the Transrapid maglev train, and ships, including an accessible Type 205 submarine and a Seehund and Biber WW II midget sub each. There is also a nice collection of fire engines.

IIRC admittance for either museum is 18 Euro, though there is a 34 Euro combination ticket which also gives you access to their IMAX. Plus Speyer has a cathedral that holds the tombs of various German kings and emperors in its crypt, open to the public.

One a 10 day ramble through Germany (no agenda), we were pretty tired on our 2nd day of Munich. We'd intended to leave that morning, but walked into town and sat at a cafe, and had a morning Hacher Pschorre (sp?). Then another. and another.

Best day in German. People watching in that beautiful town.

My fav spots were Munich, Dresden and Zuckspitz (sp?) tallest mountain in German and you can ride to the top an look over the Alps (hint: wear sunscreen, SERIOUSLY). I wish I'd have been a watch nerd back then. Glashutte region is home to some amazing watch factories. If you do go there, A Lange and Sohne would be the one to hit for the highest end.

quote:

Originally posted by OTD:
Frankfurt is a decent place to stay and there is plenty of sightseen opportunities for daytrips. Important places of the pre German history and like Speyer, Worms, Mainz are nice places if you like late roman history and sagas about dragons, gold treasures and lost virgin and Christianization of Germany. Heidelberg is in that region as well. Rüdesheim is OK but overcrowded and only worth while if you take a boat trip on the Mosel. Nearby Frankfurt are the two important technical museums of Speyer and Sinsheim. It takes about half a day to travel from Frankfurt to Füssen, where Neuschwanstein is. The region is beautiful but you really have to plan an overnight stay. Waiting time to get in is between 2 and 3 hours for a 30 minutes guided tour. Stuttgart is OK but does not offer a lot of famous sightseen places except for the Mercedes Museum. Munich is offering more for unexperienced tourists but it’s 3hrs as well to get there and a day is too short for a visit.

Germany is a country to travel and it’s save. Don’t let you bother too much by comments you hear on this board. . I lived and worked as an immigrant in that region and work with a lot of people who are considered the cultural foe. 200yds down the road is a muslim culture center and 80% of the crews I managed were immigrants form Turkey and there is no problem with these guys. The turmoil discussed here is on a political level and rarely seen in the streets. So if you are there take the opportunity and enjoy the diversity of authentic Turkish, Greek and Italian restaurant and try their food as well. In fact some of their dishes are also considered to be most popular fast food in Germany.

For more touristy things I recommend to check in with Tourist Information in Frankfurt. These guys are proficient with American tourists and know what they like. Have fun. Enjoy your trip. Willkommen in Deutschland.

I didn't say that all the Turks are a problem, just don't piss them off.
I was a military police officer and patrolled downtown kaiserslautern with the polizei every weekend, I saw quite a few American servicemen get cut pretty bad, and the story was almost always the same. It's usually the young hot headed Turkish men that will cut you, but they all carry a knife and they aren't afraid to carve your face up for trying to get their sisters phone number at the club or just getting into a drunken brawl with them.

Some of my favorite places in Germany are in the East, including Leipzig, Dresden and Weimar (home of Goethe and Schiller). Farther west, Eisenach is lovely, the birthplace of Bach and site of historic Wartburg Castle, associated with Luther.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
Some of my favorite places in Germany are in the East, including Leipzig, Dresden and Weimar (home of Goethe and Schiller). Farther west, Eisenach is lovely, the birthplace of Bach and site of historic Wartburg Castle, associated with Luther.

I vouch for this post.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Take the train from Munich (after seeing Dachau) to Garmisch/Partenkirchen. Garmisch is right at the bottom of the tallest mountain in Germany, the Zugspitze. Beautiful town, lots to see. Take the cog train to the lodge at the top.

I did all that when I was in the Army. They sent me to Garmisch for R&R did the cog train and all. It was great

quote:

Originally posted by Creeping_Death:
Stop by the monestary in Kreutzburg for the world's best Bier (in my opinion).

We humped up to the monastery and had some of the bier when we were training there in 1974. It was good.

quote:

Originally posted by P210:
Another vote for Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Also, in Wurzburg the Marienberg Fortress is worth a visit.

^^^ This gets my vote also.

Below is what we settled on. Thanks a ton for the help. Most of the places on here were thanks to recommendations from you.

Day .5 - Frankfurt
Day 2 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Day 3 - Burg Eltz/Koblenz/Cologne
Day 4 - Ansbach/Nurnberg
Day 5 - Boppard to Mainz Rhine Cruise
Day 6 - Heidelberg
Day 7 - Basel, Switzerland
Day 7.5 - Frankfurt

quote:

Originally posted by dlayne:
Below is what we settled on. Thanks a ton for the help. Most of the places on here were thanks to recommendations from you.

Day .5 - Frankfurt
Day 2 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Day 3 - Burg Eltz/Koblenz/Cologne
Day 4 - Ansbach/Nurnberg
Day 5 - Boppard to Mainz Rhine Cruise
Day 6 - Heidelberg
Day 7 - Basel, Switzerland
Day 7.5 - Frankfurt

This looks like a great itinerary. I hope you have a great trip. Share some thoughts and maybe a few pictures after your journey.

quote:

Originally posted by Minnow:

quote:

Originally posted by dlayne:
Below is what we settled on. Thanks a ton for the help. Most of the places on here were thanks to recommendations from you.

Day .5 - Frankfurt
Day 2 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Day 3 - Burg Eltz/Koblenz/Cologne
Day 4 - Ansbach/Nurnberg
Day 5 - Boppard to Mainz Rhine Cruise
Day 6 - Heidelberg
Day 7 - Basel, Switzerland
Day 7.5 - Frankfurt

This looks like a great itinerary. I hope you have a great trip. Share some thoughts and maybe a few pictures after your journey.

+1

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
Rothenburg ob de Tauber.

THIS

Easy train ride, we stayed at a great guest house when we where there.

We also had a blast on back to back days at the Frankfurt Market.

Shawn

Dlayne, you’re going to have a great time. No, a fabulous time, and you must tell us about it when you get back.
My son (dilettante) and I spent a month or so in Rothenburg in 1993, back when they had a Goethe Institut in town. Fantastically enjoyable time for us.
Don’t forget to order a “Gute-Nacht-Kuss” at the Eiskafe in the town square.

If I could plan a trip I would try to make my way to the HK factory, it being mecca for us HK fans!

I have been to Munich, Garmish P. and Frankfurt for work but had little opportunities to venture to far away from the beaten path. But loved every second I could of Germany!


eta I would also find a way to get to that famous black forest cake at the restaurant famous for it. damn that looked good on tv!

HK Ag

quote:

Originally posted by HK Ag:
If I could plan a trip I would try to make my way to the HK factory, it being mecca for us HK fans!

Oberndorf is a beautiful town, and I got a few pictures of the HK factory from the parking lot before the guards shooed me away. There is a neat Waffen museum showing historical and modern German firearms right across the street from the Rheinmetal factory. Also picked up two sets of P7 Nills grips from the Nills factory in Moessingen...very cool HK road trip!

You should put Garmisch-Partenkirchen on your list. Bavaria at its best.

quote:

Originally posted by dlayne:
Below is what we settled on. Thanks a ton for the help. Most of the places on here were thanks to recommendations from you.

Day .5 - Frankfurt
Day 2 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Day 3 - Burg Eltz/Koblenz/Cologne
Day 4 - Ansbach/Nurnberg
Day 5 - Boppard to Mainz Rhine Cruise
Day 6 - Heidelberg
Day 7 - Basel, Switzerland
Day 7.5 - Frankfurt

I'm a bit confused on how you've broken this down...are you going to base yourself in a central location and drive to each place or, are you staying at each of these places?