Hi, I am trying to help plan a trip. Before meeting us for a week-long house exchange in Amsterdam, my 3 children (17, 20 1nd 21) are flying into Brussels, where they will spend a few days there and in Bruges. They will have maybe 4-5 days (December 16-20?)to explore somewhere else, so we%26#39;re thinking about Germany. With so little time, and trying to be cost conscious, we are trying to figure out the best choices for this time of year. Would taking the train to Koln, spending a night there visiting the Christmas markets, then taking a train to Bacharach be a good plan? I am seeing that some of the best castles are closed in the winter and am wondering if December would be a good time to travel in this area of the Rhine, or if anyone has a better idea of how to see some of Germany. How much time would be good for Bacarach? No one in our family has ever visited Germany before, so I want to find a fairly uncomplicated plan for the kids. Thanks so much for your ideas and recommendations!
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A suggestion:
Belgium - Luxembourg - Trier - Middle Rhine Valley - Cologne - Amsterdam
Trier is the oldest city in Germany and was in Roman times the biggest city north of the Alps.
http://www.trier.de
Middle Rhine Valley
http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/
Marksburg, the only never destroyed castle at the Rhine is also open in December
http://www.marksburg.de
Your kids could stay in Bacharach at the youth hostel in Stahleck Castle.
diejugendherbergen.de/die-jugendherbergen-au…
I would travel from Trier to Bacharach, stay there overnight, next day cross the Rhine by ferry and than by train to Braubach (Marksburg) and afterwards on to Cologne.
http://www.koeln.de/en/tourism/tourism.html
www.koeln.nicecity.de/english/index.htm
One idea before Cologne would be Bonn. E.g. the house of history of the Federal Republic of Germany (interesting and free), Beethoven House (if you%26#39;re into music), Arithmeum (the art of calculation).
http://www.hdg.de/
http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de
http://www.arithmeum.de/
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Wow! thanks for all the suggestions! I hadn%26#39;t even thought about Luxembourg. How much time should be alloted for there? What would you suggest as an overall timetable for all of your suggested places on this itinerary? I%26#39;ve got my map out and I%26#39;m looking your suggestions up on the internet. Again, thanks SO MUCH!
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Trier: 1 night
Bacharach: 1 night
Cologne: 2 nights
And wherever they want to spent/add another night.
Luxembourg city is nice, but nothing that special. Rather a %26quot;been there%26quot; stopover.
From Trier to Bacharach and from Bacharach to Bonn your kids can make advantage of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ticket. A mini group (2-5 persons) day ticket for EUR 28,00. Covering all regional trains in the state Rhineland-Palatinate plus to Bonn.
der-takt.de/uploads/media/RPT_Basisflyer_080…
Bonn and Cologne are inside the same local public transport network, the VRS.
http://www.vrs-info.de/eng/index.php
From Cologne to Amsterdam you can get discounted specials for the direct ICE highspeed trains from EUR 19,00. You can book however at max 89 days in advance.
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Again, I appreciate all of your advice. Can you recommend any special Christmas markets besides Koln%26#39;s? Do the smaller towns have them?
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Christmas Market Trier
http://www.trierer-weihnachtsmarkt.de/
Christmas Market Bernkastel-Kues (a cute town in the Moselle valley)
www.weihnachtsmarkt-bernkastel-kues.de/
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As far as the train travel goes...would we be wise to book everything ahead of time to save money? Or could the kids buy tickets as they went so they could have more flexibility? Or should just the major routes be planned in advance (like Brussels to Luxembourg City and Koln to Amsterdam?) Thanks for your expertise. This morning I showed the slideshow of the Trier Christmas market to my 17 year old daughter before she went to school. (We get a lot of happiness mileage anticipating and planning our adventures...love all the great links!)
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%26gt; (like Brussels to Luxembourg City and Koln to Amsterdam?)
Köln to Amsterdam is something you should definitely book in advance if you want to take advantage of the discounted specials. The specials are however only valid for the booked connection.
Not sure if there are specials from Brussels to Luxembourg City. If it comes to normal price tickets you can buy them as well on spot.
Buy the Rhineland-Palatinate Tickets on spot from ticket machines.
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