Visiting Germany for 3 weeks - Any tips?

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danielsadjadi

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I haven't gone anywhere in a while so I've decided to visit Germany for my summer vacation to visit some of my family in Hamburg along with the chance to see the beautiful alps. The cities I am planning to see are of course Hamburg, then a short train ride to Berlin and possibly (if my wallet goes deep enough) Munich

Has anyone been to these places and what places do you recommend seeing?



Thanks!
 
If you get to Munich, you must go to the "Duetsches Museum". It will take you most of a day to see it all and it will be worth it.

While out and about, go to one of the smaller towns/villages and find a "Gasthof" and have a real wienerschnitzel mit pomme fritz und salad. Try every beer, there are hundreds as most every town has its own brewery.
 
My wife and I spent three weeks in Germany and Austria and pretty much followed the Romantic Strasse from Wurzburg to Garmish. As mentioned take your time and enjoy the smaller towns, food and beer.
 
I believe one of the true great TRFers ("legrandudu", i.e. Denis...look for him in the scale section) lives in Munich, and has been known to meet up with like minded rocket folk when they are in the area.
 
KarlS said:
If you get to Munich, you must go to the "Duetsches Museum". It will take you most of a day to see it all and it will be worth it.

While out and about, go to one of the smaller towns/villages and find a "Gasthof" and have a real wienerschnitzel mit pomme fritz und salad. Try every beer, there are hundreds as most every town has its own brewery.
Click to expand...

I've heard about the Deutches Museum, I am planning to visit it when I get to Munich. I am super eager to see the V2 rocket up close.
 
Make sure you have access to cash as many places in Germany don't like taking credit cards. We used our ATM card a lot to get cash, so make sure you have one that will work in Germany. When using a credit card always pay in Euros. They may offer to "convert to dollars" before they ring up the sale; ALWAYS refuse this as they use a terrible exchange rate.

My wife and I like using the Rick Steves books. You can also watch him on PBS or you could check your local libraries for his more recent DVDs on Germany. He recommends using Bed and Breakfasts and small hotels as a way to save money. Plus, they can make for very interesting places to stay. The first B and B we stayed at in Germany on our last trip there was run by a nice old frau. Her English is poor to fair and my German is OK, but dang rusty from 40 years of not using it. We were just sitting down for breakfast when the phone rang she answers it and then brings it over to me and says, "its for you". She catches me completely off guard and I take the phone. Now there is no way the call can be for me as we only told my mother-in-law where we were staying and she couldn't possibly figure out how to make an international call. Anyway, I answer the phone and it is a woman in New York who wants to make reservations. So I walk into the kitchen and explain that to the frau. The woman on the phone tells me the dates they want and I convert the request into German for the frau. in a couple of minutes everything is sorted out.
 
dixontj93060 said:
My wife and I spent three weeks in Germany and Austria and pretty much followed the Romantic Strasse from Wurzburg to Garmish. As mentioned take your time and enjoy the smaller towns, food and beer.
Click to expand...

Wow, that sounds wonderful. I'm visiting family for a week in Hamburg, and with my other travel plans I can't truly enjoy the whole route. However, if I am time I can go skiing in Garmish on the Munich portion of my trip.
 
Zeus-cat said:
Make sure you have access to cash as many places in Germany don't like taking credit cards. We used our ATM card a lot to get cash, so make sure you have one that will work in Germany. When using a credit card always pay in Euros. They may offer to "convert to dollars" before they ring up the sale; ALWAYS refuse this as they use a terrible exchange rate.

My wife and I like using the Rick Steves books. You can also watch him on PBS or you could check your local libraries for his more recent DVDs on Germany. He recommends using Bed and Breakfasts and small hotels as a way to save money. Plus, they can make for very interesting places to stay. The first B and B we stayed at in Germany on our last trip there was run by a nice old frau. Her English is poor to fair and my German is OK, but dang rusty from 40 years of not using it. We were just sitting down for breakfast when the phone rang she answers it and then brings it over to me and says, "its for you". She catches me completely off guard and I take the phone. Now there is no way the call can be for me as we only told my mother-in-law where we were staying and she couldn't possibly figure out how to make an international call. Anyway, I answer the phone and it is a woman in New York who wants to make reservations. So I walk into the kitchen and explain that to the frau. The woman on the phone tells me the dates they want and I convert the request into German for the frau. in a couple of minutes everything is sorted out.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll be aware of that.
 
danielsadjadi said:
Wow, that sounds wonderful. I'm visiting family for a week in Hamburg, and with my other travel plans I can't truly enjoy the whole route. However, if I am time I can go skiing in Garmish on the Munich portion of my trip.
Click to expand...

I lived in Germany (the Stuttgart area) for a year in the early 90's. Single then and spent most of our weekends either relaxing in the Black Forest area or skiing on the Zugspitze or down in Austria at Saint Anton/Lech area. Both long before I got married and went there with my wife...
 
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danielsadjadi said:
I haven't gone anywhere in a while so I've decided to visit Germany for my summer vacation to visit some of my family in Hamburg along with the chance to see the beautiful alps. The cities I am planning to see are of course Hamburg, then a short train ride to Berlin and possibly (if my wallet goes deep enough) Munich

Has anyone been to these places and what places do you recommend seeing?
Click to expand...
When are you going? Because from 5-8 May there's a big rocketry event, RJD, though it may be a bit out of your way as it's at Roitzschjora (nearest town is Löbnitz, in the general vicinity of Leipzig).

Beyond that, what are you interested in? I have relatives near Berlin so I've been there a few times. Among the places worth seeing, if only from the outside, is the Finance Ministry along Wilhelmstrasse - if you can find the Brandenburg Gate, Wilhelmstrasse isn't far away and has lots of historical buildings, though you'll only see them from the outside. But the Finance Ministry is perhaps the most interesting. It started life under Hermann Goering's orders as the Reichsluftministerium (Air Ministry). Post war it was taken over for a short time by the Red Army. A conference in there led to the birth of East Germany. And on one side, in comic strip form, is the story of the Holzapfel family who managed to escape from the building's roof by sliding down a rope and over the Berlin Wall.
 
Cl(VII) said:
I believe one of the true great TRFers ("legrandudu", i.e. Denis...look for him in the scale section) lives in Munich, and has been known to meet up with like minded rocket folk when they are in the area.
Click to expand...


Ding ding ding! I met up with him when I went to Germany for 2 weeks a while back. He's an awesome person. PM him :D
 
Dan, I'm very envious of you right now...I've been trying for years to get the "Better Half" to fly with me to Germany- as she grew up there.
Unfortunately I'll be spending my summer vacation in Cleveland...upon her request.

Cleveland.

At least I'll get the chance to visit the Glenn Research Facilty and, see the Christmas Story House.

Cleveland...
 
Food is great, Bier is better, get to Heidelberg, wonderful town was never bombed in WWII
so everything is very old, go see the castle on the hill.
 
And don't mention the war or do the silly walk... see John Cleese below. One of the funniest bits ever.

[video=youtube;yfl6Lu3xQW0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfl6Lu3xQW0[/video]
 
+1 for Heidelberg. Get all the good beer you can -- and some Belgian beer if you can find it!
 
dixontj93060 said:
I lived in Germany (the Stuttgart area) for a year in the early 90's. Single then and spent most of our weekends either relaxing in the Black Forest area or skiing on the Zugspitze or down in Austria at Saint Anton/Lech area. Both long before I got married and went there with my wife...
Click to expand...

Germany has lots of ski resorts, unfortunately during the time of my trip (June 4th - June 25th) we are not expecting a lot of snow in Bavaria. I would have loved to ski on the Alps, one of my lifelong dreams.
 
adrian said:
When are you going? Because from 5-8 May there's a big rocketry event, RJD, though it may be a bit out of your way as it's at Roitzschjora (nearest town is Löbnitz, in the general vicinity of Leipzig).

Beyond that, what are you interested in? I have relatives near Berlin so I've been there a few times. Among the places worth seeing, if only from the outside, is the Finance Ministry along Wilhelmstrasse - if you can find the Brandenburg Gate, Wilhelmstrasse isn't far away and has lots of historical buildings, though you'll only see them from the outside. But the Finance Ministry is perhaps the most interesting. It started life under Hermann Goering's orders as the Reichsluftministerium (Air Ministry). Post war it was taken over for a short time by the Red Army. A conference in there led to the birth of East Germany. And on one side, in comic strip form, is the story of the Holzapfel family who managed to escape from the building's roof by sliding down a rope and over the Berlin Wall.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I am way beyond that. My work schedule just doesn't allow me to leave that early. June 4th - 25th is the time I'm traveling, just before hot season. I'm really interested in seeing and experiencing the Cold War & WWII history in Germany, especially Berlin. There is just so much to see, which is why I am spending a week in each city to truly enjoy all the food, culture, history, and beverages :wink:
 
blackbrandt said:
Ding ding ding! I met up with him when I went to Germany for 2 weeks a while back. He's an awesome person. PM him :D
Click to expand...

Would really love to do that, but the active rocket that I plan to fly is my Leviathan, and I just don't want to spend the travel costs and risk it getting broken just to fly it in Germany. Besides, I am waiting for a camera recorder to ship from China, and I would really love to use it when it arrives.
 
SS/EA 6BBL 71 Cuda said:
Dan, I'm very envious of you right now...I've been trying for years to get the "Better Half" to fly with me to Germany- as she grew up there.
Unfortunately I'll be spending my summer vacation in Cleveland...upon her request.

Cleveland.

At least I'll get the chance to visit the Glenn Research Facilty and, see the Christmas Story House.

Cleveland...
Click to expand...

Well, at least you'll see the Glenn Research Center, I didn't know you could see inside of it, but it sounds like a lot of fun. Other than that, who in the right mind would want to go to Cleveland?! :eek:
 
Shade said:
Food is great, Bier is better, get to Heidelberg, wonderful town was never bombed in WWII
so everything is very old, go see the castle on the hill.
Click to expand...

Sadly, Wurst and Bier is on of my major reasons of the trip, but it's delicious. Munich has great remains from the war as well, my trip is only so long, so I would rather fully appreciate a city rather than rush from airport to airport. Heidelberg looks really nice though.
 
danielsadjadi said:
Well, at least you'll see the Glenn Research Center, I didn't know you could see inside of it, but it sounds like a lot of fun. Other than that, who in the right mind would want to go to Cleveland?! :eek:
Click to expand...

:lol: I'm sure your going to enjoy this trip, plus there's a lot of great information pouring in from all over that's giving me some great ideas for the future!
Thanks for posting this question Dan. :eek:
 
Always try the local schnapps...not at all like the junk they sell in the States!
 
SS/EA 6BBL 71 Cuda said:
:lol: I'm sure your going to enjoy this trip, plus there's a lot of great information pouring in from all over that's giving me some great ideas for the future!
Thanks for posting this question Dan. :eek:
Click to expand...

I know it'll be really fun. Maybe I'll update this thread while I'm in Germany for some late advice.

They say you are what you eat, so when I get back I am probably going to look like a drunken Wiener-Schnitzel. :rofl:
 
I have a friend who owns a high end watch shop right in the heart of Munich if you're into watches. My wife and I visited 7 or so years ago and we intended on going to Hohenschwangau to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle, which was in the Chitty chitty bang bang movie, however we never made it out of Munich. One thing I will say is that German culture is different from what I am used to and I will never forget when, as a matter of habit, I said to someone, "Hi how are you" and they replied, "why do you want to know how I am". It made me realize how disingenuous asking someone how they are can sound.

[video=youtube;dTzqStSg-ss]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTzqStSg-ss[/video]

[video=youtube;jd1TsNsB6ww]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd1TsNsB6ww[/video]
 
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Beer. Have some beer, and some more beer. It does not matter what is highly ranked or what you think you like. Have what is local and fresh, and after two or three you will find something to love about it.
 

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