Do you have any recommendations for my trip to Germany this summer?

I’d like to see Dresden. It was so beautiful, then hammered during WWII. I’d like to see how it’s come back.

My two favorite cities: Hamburg and Berlin. Cologne is a close third.

Hamburg is right on the water (take the harbor tour). Lots of great place to eat and drink. Because it is way north, and closest to the UK, it is very much a cosmopolitan city. (Read the history of the Hanseatic League). Some very nice neighborhoods.

berlin is really cool, as well – one reason is for the history of the city (the Berlin Wall line is right in the middle of the street in downtown), and the area is steeped in all sorts of parks and historical buildings. Downtown is very alive and cool, as well.

Go to Cologne for the history and the cathedral.

Frankfurt is just another big city. It can be avoided.

By alll means, drive in the country as well. Especially in northern Germany – great forests.

I’ll get back to you later. My son lived there for 2 years and liked to take many weekend trips while there. I will let you know what he thinks.
I went there for only a few days so we didn’t travel much. Caught the train to France than to Spain and then flew to Italy by plane and then returned. By the time we returned we had 3 days left and we were still recovering from the march across Europe. At least that is what it felt like. We walked everywhere so we wouldn’t miss a thing and it didn’t help we got lost a lot. :)

My son stayed in Bavaria a few years back for a student exchange. From what he told me it sounds like an area of Germany that would please your husband. Here is a small list of short cruises on the Rhine River. Hopefully someone more familiar with the area can suggest more cruises for you.

I love Berchtesgaden and from the sounds of it so would your husband.

Definitely, find a big biergarten. Ask a local.

The BMW factory tour is supposed to be amazing and a drive down the Romantic Road (forgot what you call it in German) would be beautiful in the summertime. It’s where the castle that inspired Walt Disney is.

@Judi I’ve been to castle neuschwanstein, I really enjoyed that tour. I’d like to take my husband there. :)

@jonsblond Thanks for that link.

Berlin is absolutely fantastic.

Try to learn some basic German. English is not widely spoken.

@bob_ Not spoken in Berlin? When I was in Bavaria 25 years ago most everyone spoke some English. Former East Germany, they spoke Russian and English for obvious reasons, but the wall came down so long age I am surprised most Germans would not speak English. I speak some basics in German like ¿Dónde esta el baño?

@JLeslie I’ve been in Bonn and Berlin. Maybe I was unlucky, but it’s always good to know a thing or two.

@bob_ It is good to know. I appreciate it. I would not have thought to worry about a language problem in Germany. I do know the tourist basics, even though I jokingly wrote in Spanish.

I took the train from around Mannheim up to Cologne. The trip takes you along the Rhein and is quite scenic and relaxing. Heidelberg is a charming university town near Mannheim. One of its loveliest attractions, in my opinion, it its Philosopher’s Walk.

ps _ i def met Germans who did not speak English.

With just seven days I would be careful not to spend too much time on trains or in cars. Since Stuttgart already is on your list, here are some of the less well locations nearby. Try some smaller towns too. I grew up about 35 km north of Stuttgart.

- Ludwigsburg (palace, Blühendes Barock)
– Bietigheim-Bissingen
– Tübingen
– Hohenzollern Castle

If you decide to pass through the Frankfurt area I would really love to meet you, perhaps for a cup of coffee or so somewhere. I could suggest numerous places to go withing a 50 km radius of Frankfurt. Mainz is very nice for example.

My brother lives in Berlin. You can spend weeks there, but I prefer Munich, Hamburg, Cologne when it comes to the really big cities.

If you have more specific questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

@mattbrowne Thanks!