My husband and I are planning a two-week trip to Germany in July. We are planning to take some day trips around the Kaiserslautern area (Ramstein AFB) to possibly Cologne, Heidelberg, and maybe even to Paris if we have a couple of extra days.
I am also wanting to possible go on a Rhine river cruise, but I am planning on renting a car while in K-town so I was possibly thinking about just driving along the Rhine.
From Kaiserslautern I wanted to visit the Lake Constance area, possible stay in Meersburg since I read it was a very cute town. And then travel on to Garmisch. From Garmisch I wanted to go to Neushwanstein Castle and even a day trip to Salzburg.
(we already booked rooms at Edelweiss for two nights)
Then travel to Munich and go to the concentration camp, possibly rent a bike and tour the town, etc.
On the next day go to Berlin. Go to the Jewish museum and checkpoint charlie, etc.
And then head back to Kaiserslautern.
I am planning to take the train except while in K-town and even possible rent a car at Garmisch as well.
If anyone could recommend any spas (I really want to visit one while in Germany - preferably one where I can wear a swimsuit) or any lower priced hotel/guest houses that would be awesome.
Any suggestions about attractions I probably wouldn%26#39;t hear about would be great! I want to go off the beaten tourist path.
Thanks!
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%26quot;I want to go off the beaten tourist path.%26quot;
That doesn%26#39;t seem to be what you%26#39;re doing. On your way to the Bodensee and Meersburg, for a lovely old college town with its hilly cobblestone streets visit Tuebingen. Just north of it is the well preserved medieval Bebenhausen Monastery (see www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de and click for the English version). Not too far south of there is the lovely fairytale-like castle Hohenzollern, which is also one of germany%26#39;s most meaningful castles as it was the family seat of the influential Hohenzollern family (www.burg-hohenzollern.com). These are wonderful places to visit, you will see not too many German tourists, and almost no foreign tourists. A nice contrast to Neuschwanstein which will be overrun with American and Japanese tourists.
At Tuttlingen you can go toward Sigmaringen along the idyllic Danube with numerous castles and palaces on top of the cliffs. The palace at Sigmaringen is excellent (www.hohenzollern.com). Then at Herbertingen you can go to the west end or the center of the Bodensee and on to Meersburg. In Meersburg, the loveliest town on the lake, make sure to visit Germany%26#39;s oldest castle.
All of the described travels can be done on the Baden-Wuerttemberg train ticket, 27 euros for 2-5 people, but valid only on regional trains and after 9AM on weekdays.
I could tell you a lot of excellent places off the beaten tourist path, but since most of these places are rural, getting there by public transportation is difficult.
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Marcopolko,
I was going to rent a car in K-town and Garmisch. Are there any towns around that area that you would recommend visiting?
Thank you!
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Kaiserslautern is fairly close to the nicest area of the Rhine River between Bingen and Koblenz and also the Mosel River. Both areas have nice small towns, vineyards, and castles. Trier is the oldest town in Germany, founded in Roman times.
In the Garmisch area, Mittenwald is a nice place to visit, and if you drive from Garmisch to see Neuschwanstein Palace near Fuessen, you can also make a loop of it and also visit another Ludwig II palace at Linderhof, continue through the Austrian Alps to Reutte, than Fuessen and Hohenschwangau for Neuschwanstein. On the way back drive through Germany only and see the Wieskirche (church) and the painted houses in Oberammergau and the church at the monastery in Ettal. I would recommend making reservations for your tour time at Neuschwanstein by going to www.hohenschwangau.de .
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Actually, I would keep your car and drop it off at Garmisch. There are usually no drop off charges within Germany. This would also facilitate seeing places between Kaiserslautern and the Bodensee, and then possibly you could visit Neuschwanstein on the way to Garmisch. This might free up an extra day to visit the Salzburg/Berchtesgaden area.
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K%26#39;town is inside the VRN local public transport network. The 24 hours ticket are a good deal and if bought on a Saturday they are even valid till 3am of the next weekdays.
vrn.de/imperia/��vrn-tarifgebiet_1_2008.pdf
vrn.de/imperia/md/content/service/informatio��
Speyer is a place you should not miss. The cathedral was when finished nearly 1000 years ago the largest church in Europe. And has also the most graves of German Emperors.
www.speyer.de/de/tourist/sehenswert��
Like Heidelberg Speyer can be reached easily by S-Bahn from Landstuhl. The VRN tickets do also cover the trams and buses.
Other interesting sights from Ramstein
the Moselle Valley, e.g. Trier and Eltz Castle
http://www.trier.de
http://www.burg-eltz.de
the Middle Rhine Valley
http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/
Idar Oberstein (gem mines, the rock church)
idar-oberstein.de/Sehenswertes-in-Idar-Obers��
%26gt; On the next day go to Berlin. Go to the Jewish museum and checkpoint charlie, etc.
Berlin is quite far from the axis Ramstein - Garmisch. Makes only time if you have 3-4 days for Berlin (you%26#39;ll need this time there).
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I would highly recommend taking a Rhine cruise, even if you are renting a car. There are several cruise companies with numerous departure times and the flexibility to get off at any of the towns along the Rhine, and get back on at any time. I highly recommend Bacharach as a stop. You can even rent bikes in Bacharch and ride a bike trail South along the Rhine!
We had a car the entire time we were in Germany last July, and found the driving great, plus you could pull off the road on places that interested you. We spent a week in the Black Forest area, and 2 nights in the Fussen area, and wished we had spent more time in Fussen (near Garmisch, the Austrian Alps, etc). The area is beautiful, and you definitely want a car to get around here. We didn%26#39;t go to Salzburg, but the area around Innsbruck (closer) is wonderful as well.
Enjoy your trip - Germany is great!
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