We (2 adults, 2 teenagers) are headed to Germany for the first time soon and have the following general itinerary planned out. We have some ideas of things we want to see in most of the areas but would love any suggestions for routes, sightseeing and hotels. I know there are a couple of odd stops in there near Sinsheim and Hannover but they are important to my kids so must be included.
Day 1 – Arrive Frankfurt late morning. Rent car and drive to Cologne. Spend two nights.
Day 3 – Drive to Meersburg. Spend two nights.
Day 5 – Stay ??? somewhere near Sinsheim for each access to soccer game
Day 6 – Drive to Munch. Return rental car. Spend two nights.
Day 8 – Train to Berlin. Spend two nights.
Day 10 – Train to Hannover. Spend one night.
Day 11 – Train to Frankfurt. Spend one night.
Day 12 – Fly home
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The major attraction at Sinsheim is the motor museum - a simply amazing collection including a Concorde, Russian planes, tanks, cars. So maybe 2 nights there.
Although I think Munich is one of the best places in Germany, I think your itinerary is very tight, so I would skip it. I would also miss out Hannover, but in that case because it is boring, but if your kids want to go, fine.
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Renting a car to get from Frankfurt to Cologne doesn´t make sense. The road is famous for the traffic jams and you get in less than an hour from the airport to Cologne by train (by car 2 to 2 1/2 h depending on traffic).
Rent a car either in Cologne or later.
In any case the itinerary needs to be optimised geographically - you do alot of backtracking. A circle Frankfurt-%26gt;Cologne-%26gt;Hannover-%26gt;Berlin-%26gt;Munich-%26gt;Meersburg-%26gt;Sinsheim-%26gt;Frankfurt would make much more sense. Then you can rent a car in Munich and return it in Frankfurt.
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Frankfurt - Meersburg - Sinsheim - Munich
is a rather strange zig-zag route
Not that far from Sinsheim would be the castle hotel Burg Hornberg
http://www.burg-hotel-hornberg.de/
I would also recommend to skip either Munich or Berlin (if Hannover is a must). You could travel from Burg Hornberg by car to Würzburg, return your car there and the rest by train.
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Having been to hannover many times, i have an aunt who lives in the area, i know the city very well.
In my opinion the must see attraction is the zoo, the areas of the zoo are themed in keeping with the habitat of the animals in each zone, last time i was there(2008) they were building a klondike themed area which should be open now. There is also the Herrenhausen Gardens which are so lovely i chose that as the location to propose to my then girlfriend, we get married on 8th August this year.
Finally there is a large man made lake (machtsee) just outside the city centre (about a fifteen minute walk) there is a tree lined path that runs right around it(about a ninety minute walk, or more) with a beach area at the far end, there is a music fesival there every year, you may get lucky and find it on when you arrive, but i%26#39;m not sure of this years dates.
One last general point, while most germans can speak varing degrees of english, some will only do so if you first at least try to speak in german, you may already speak some, but if not it would be useful to learn a few words.
Don%26#39;t hestate to PM me if you have any questions about Hannover.
hope you enjoy your trip.
Mike
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Just had another thought, a short train journey from hannover is hameln (hamlin in english, as in the pied piper) the old town is lovely and well worth a look. If you want to travel from hannover to anywhere in niedersachsen there is a special train ticket called the niedersachsen karte, which allows unlimited travel within niedersachsen all day for upto 5 people and it is very cheap, about 21euro%26#39;s i think, that would take you as far as the Harz mountains if you like that sort of thing(i do).
Mike
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I have a suggestion for your stay in Sinsheim:
go to this restaurant
http://www.pizzapasta-sinsheim.de/
best pizza in the area.
Maybe you%26#39;ll meet us (me and my girlfriend) there.
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Thank you for all of the suggestions. I know it%26#39;s not necessarily a logical route but we were trying to tie in a soccer game in Sinsheim and a friends birthday in Hannover on specific days. We then built the rest of our trip around those.
I%26#39;ve got the lodging in Meersburg taken care of. Any suggestions for the other cities.
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Don%26#39;t know what you plan to do in Meersburg - its a nice, but small place.
We went to the Therma there one night and enjoyed it very nuch, esp. the outdoor sauanas areas. At might you can be in the therma bath which directly faces the Bodensee and see across the lake to the towns in Switzerland in lights. Lovely. Nice in daytime too.
http://www.meersburg-therme.de/
(translates on page to English)
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I have used the Stella Hotel in hannover and found it to be clean, comfortable, friendly and served a very nice breakfast. It is not far outside the city centre and near the lake(maschtzee)(never quite sure how to spell that), it is also not expensive and can be booked online.
Rgds
Mike
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