Germany trip planned

Icanandwillsavemoney

phatbear wrote: »

highly recommend when in Berlin visiting the dome on top of the reichstag its free and you get a great view across berlin.

You need to apply at least two days in advance and give them an exact time you wish to visit:

https://visite.bundestag.de/BAPWeb/pages/createBookingRequest.jsf?lang=en

This appeals to me, never mind DD. I visited Berlin 2 years ago and on the day we went to visit the reichstag, it was closed due to a visit from President Putin.... how rude!!

callum9999

If you want to get Deutsche Bahn rail tickets (not sure where others got the other names from? Local variations?) then bahn.com is really good.

I managed to get a ticket from Munich to London (with a 2 day stopover in Frankfurt and 1 day in Liege, Belgium) for £38! No idea how as Eurostar were charging £50 just for the Brussels to London part of the ticket!

*smurfy*

Maybe you could think about Walsaw to vist the jew getto etc i did go about 6 years ago before the whole stag tourist thing,so not sure what the place is like now but it was really lovely when i went. Or maybe a trip to krakow and vist Auschwitz,again i went few years ago when it was still really cheap aswell.

Icanandwillsavemoney

callum9999 wrote: »

If you want to get Deutsche Bahn rail tickets (not sure where others got the other names from? Local variations?) then bahn.com is really good.

I managed to get a ticket from Munich to London (with a 2 day stopover in Frankfurt and 1 day in Liege, Belgium) for £38! No idea how as Eurostar were charging £50 just for the Brussels to London part of the ticket!

Oooo this sounds a good idea, will check them out today, thank you

Icanandwillsavemoney

*smurfy* wrote: »

Maybe you could think about Walsaw to vist the jew getto etc i did go about 6 years ago before the whole stag tourist thing,so not sure what the place is like now but it was really lovely when i went. Or maybe a trip to krakow and vist Auschwitz,again i went few years ago when it was still really cheap aswell.

Now this is on DD's list of places to visit, she has mentioned this several times. She is really into history and the whys and wherefores so I think this is at the top of the list, thank you.

markandkate

If staying in Berlin there are also day trips that you can go on such as Potsdam or the concentration camp at Saschenhausen. Dresden is also a good idea and you could get a train from Berlin and Colditz castle is also near I think you can stay there now.

If yo are going to travel by train from Berlin to Amsterdam it may be better to look at the route the train takes and see which destinations may be of interest as you may not want to keep moving suitcases

mustmakealist

I spent a couple of days in Berlin with my 16yo son the other year. We bought a travelcard when we were there that allowed us to use buses, trains, underground and trams as well as get in to many attractions. We'd looked through a guide book before we went and decided on a few things that we definitely wanted to see and then filled in the rest of the time with other attractione. We had a fantastic time and would recommend it as everything in Berlin is close together.

I'd also second going to the Reichstag. The audio tour was very good and best of all FREE!

mart.vader

I can recommend these people for Berlin City tours:

http://www.brewersberlintours.com

Katiehound

and you are missing out all the scenic little towns like Rothenburg, Monschau,Hamelin, Celle, the Moselle etc..... There are loads of delightful places in the country...maybe next time!

Voyager2002

joerugby wrote: »

Cologne is the place

It's a nice city with some war history and plenty of other things to do inc sightseeing, river trips and shopping.

Most importantly it is a Deutsche Bundesbahn hub with fast, direct trains both from Berlin and to Amsterdam. There are plenty of hotels in all price ranges near the station. Couln't be more convenient for your journey

Cologne is the English name for Koeln, which I recommended above.

Bonn is a twenty-minute train ride away, and a delightful excursion is to take a train up-river. The track runs between the water and the vine fields: you can see Koblenz (where the rivers Rhine and Moselle meet, with memories of the Napoleonic wars) and continue to other interesting destinations. Trier was my favourite: a prosperous middle-class town (the oldest in Germany!) housing a memorial museum to Karl Mark!