The Holiday Thread

[nudge]

17 minutes ago, Coma said:

That's been my concern from the off.  Am I trying to do too much?  For Europeans jumping from one country to the next is like moving through states here in the US.  For me, going to Europe is a major undertaking, especially because it's my first time, so the tendency is to see as much as I can because I don't know when I'll get back.

It's understandable, and it also depends on your preferences. I think it is manageable, but 5-6 cities + potential additional destinations in 2 weeks would probably be a bit too much for my liking, as I prefer slower travel and spending more time in one place. Personally, I'd plan at least 3 full days in München/Berlin each + 1 or 2 additional days for day trips from there, and then if you add additional places along the way, that's 14 days gone very quickly  

[Rucksackfranzose]

20 hours ago, Coma said:

I've begun planning my trip for next year and I need some advice.  I have 14 days allotted in October 2023 to fly to Germany, see the sights, and fly home.  To make the best use of my time the plan was to fly into one of the international airports (München, Berlin, Frankfurt) and fly home via a different city so I would not have to backtrack.  I have two tentative itineraries...

1) Fly into Frankfurt, fly home via München.  This would allow me to explore Baden-Wurtemberg and Bayern.  I had planned on seeing Frankfurt, Mainz, Stuttgart, Nürnberg, and München at a minimum with a few smaller stops along the way.  Possibly Freiburg or Salzburg.

2) Fly into Berlin, fly home via München.  This would allow me to explore Brandenburg, Sachsen, and Bayern.  I would plan on seeing Berlin and Potsdam, Dresden, Nürnberg, and München at a minimum, again with some smaller stops mixed in.  Possibly Stuttgart.

Or is there a secret option 3) Coma, you're high.  You need to "insert travel plans here".

Obviously, I am neglecting Köln and Düsseldorf, but by adding those I'd be subtracting a large portion of something else.  Perhaps included in a northern route through Bremen and Hamburg in the future. 

Also, I have some acquaintences that have been and they've recommended renting a car and driving.  I'm not opposed to that...but am I better off getting around by train?  Should I be looking at hotels or AirBnB's?

Wouldn't recommand, the best thing about München are the platforms where the trains to other cities depart.

[Coma+]

27 minutes ago, Rucksackfranzose said:

Wouldn't recommand, the best thing about München are the platforms where the trains to other cities depart.

I bet if I said I was visiting Saarland you'd be all for it.

[Rucksackfranzose]

10 minutes ago, Coma said:

I bet if I said I was visiting Saarland you'd be all for it.

That's absolutely correct!

Was exaggereting with regards to München, still would say paying visits to Bayreuth, Bamberg; Regensburg, Augsburg, the Alps and/or Würzburg are preferable compared to a longer stay in München, when you're going to Bavaria. München has a better reputation than it deserves, especially outside German speaking countries, in my honest opinion

Edited December 13, 2022 by Rucksackfranzose

[nudge]

I'm just surprised @Tommy hasn't turned up to this thread yet in order to lobby for Düsseldorf  

[Coma+]

1 minute ago, Rucksackfranzose said:

That's absolutely correct!

Was exaggereting with regards to München, still would say paying visits to Bayreuth, Bamberg; Regensburg, Augsburg, the Alps and/or Würzburg are preferable compared to a longer stay in München, when you're going to Bavaria. München has a better reputation than it deserves, especially outside German speaking countries, in my honest opinion

Someone said somewhere on this forum that Bavaria is all Americans think/know about Germany.  While I don't think that's 100% true I do think that there is a mysticism about the place that lends one to put it at the top of the list.  For me, there is just too much to see throughout Germany and I figure if I do end up focusing on southern Germany then there is also an opportunity to visit Austria in the same trip and there won't be an additional language barrier.

Actually, I expected some heat from @Tommy because I hadn't made time in my itinerary to see his retractable roof.

[Coma+]

2 minutes ago, nudge said:

I'm just surprised @Tommy hasn't turned up to this thread yet in order to lobby for Düsseldorf  

You beat me to it .

[Tommy]

I saw Düsseldorf together with neglect in his first post and realised he lost the plot. 

[Tommy]

I mean tower-wise alone. 

München:

meh.

Düsseldorf:

wow.

[Coma+]

1 minute ago, Tommy said:

I mean tower-wise alone. 

München:

meh.

Düsseldorf:

wow.

Show me München at night.  This needs to be apples to apples.

[Tommy]

And Stadium wise.

München:

Looks like a rubber dinghy. 

Bright lights, very annoying in the eye. 

No retractable roof. 

Düsseldorf:

Looks metal as fuck.

Has a friendly looking sun on the side. 

Roof 100% retractable. 

 

[nudge]

2 minutes ago, Coma said:

Show me München at night.  This needs to be apples to apples.

München at night:

[Tommy]

3 minutes ago, Coma said:

Show me München at night.  This needs to be apples to apples.

[Coma+]

1 minute ago, Tommy said:

Wow, the Allianz has a real Jekyll and Hyde thing going there doesn't it.

[Tommy]

Don't get me started on rivers.

München:

The measly stream they call Isar. 

Düsseldorf. 

The mighty Rhine. Longest river in GERMANY!!! 

[Coma+]

32 minutes ago, Tommy said:

Düsseldorf:

Looks metal as fuck.

Has a friendly looking sun on the side. 

Roof 100% retractable. 

 

 

[Tommy]

1 minute ago, Coma said:

 

Ah yes, I see what you mean. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

4 hours ago, Coma said:

That's been my concern from the off.  Am I trying to do too much?  For Europeans jumping from one country to the next is like moving through states here in the US.  For me, going to Europe is a major undertaking, especially because it's my first time, so the tendency is to see as much as I can because I don't know when I'll get back.

For me, I think 5 cities is too much. You've got to think about the logistics of going place to place, checking in/out of hotels & you don't want to feel rushed while you're at the places you've planned to go to because you've planned to do too much. I think I agree with @nudge, I like to travel at a pretty slow pace and try to enjoy as much of every second in each new place I go to.

Biggest issue with the recent trip I did in Italy is my wife wanted to do so much around the country, because she'd never been, but also a big chunk of that trip was sort of logistically out of our hands and when we went to Bari/Fasano it was way out of the way. And imo we spent too much time getting around Italy compared to just actually enjoying ourselves. It was still a great trip, don't get me wrong. I had a great time. But I would have had a better time if I didn't have to deal with the logistics of going to 4 different places in 10 days. The time in Naples and Florence felt pretty rushed tbh. And Naples is an absolute dump so that wasn't so bad - but Florence is brilliant so that was a bit shit  although I think a lot of the hassle could have been easily avoided if we didn't have to deal with Tren Italia.

Having said that... Italy's a lot smaller to drive around than Germany, so you'd need to consider the routes you'd be taking, the average driving time, etc... because imo, you don't want to eat up too much of your time just going place to place and you want to have more time to enjoy these cool new places you'll get to see, soak in the different culture, eat spatzl, drink tasty beers, etc.

I know the "home base" idea doesn't really work out logistically for your planned trip. So I'd recommend trying to limit it to 3 big stops (you can always stop off at little towns and shit like that as you go between those big stops), if it were me. Especially if it's your first time in a country - I don't think you want to be constantly dealing with going from place to place.

[Tommy]

Oh and...

I rest my case. 

[Devil]

Two breaks booked, nice family break in North Wales for a week in May leading into the Coronation, love a bit of a British break at least once a year. Plenty of castles and nice scenery.

Then I've got a two week break in Side, Turkey late July. Looks loads to do there.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Devil

[MUFC]

10 minutes ago, Devil said:

Two breaks booked, nice family break in North Wales for a week in May leading into the Coronation, love a bit of a British break at least once a year. Plenty of castles and nice scenery.

Then I've got a two week break in Side, Turkey late July. Looks loads to do there.

Not going Thailand with your mates? 

[Devil]

1 minute ago, MUFC said:

Not going Thailand with your mates? 

Is this in reference to your neighbours activities

I'm not going Thailand but there is a lads trip to Benidorm in June I'm seriously putting consideration to. I've never been myself but I've been told it's a good laugh with a group of lads so might give it a whirl.

[Stan]

We've booked a family holiday in Peak District for October. 

Found a cottage for only £560 for 4 nights! 

[nudge]

58 minutes ago, MUFC said:

Not going Thailand with your mates? 

I am going to Thailand in about a month

[Lucas]

Not sure if this feels inappropriate or not but I was taken away on a surprise weekend away to Krakow.

Really great time. Would recommend.

I've got to say though, Auschwitz...wow. That will stick with me for life now. Never seen anything like that before, and whilst it was incredibly harrowing, I felt completely vindicated in going.

On a side note, I would actually say that it would be amazing if all middle schools could arrange to take their students over and see something like this. Too many kids are entirely influenced by Social Media, at an age (13-16) where they are thinking their little gangsta's, and show little respect for those around them and have no concept as to what these people went through. You can read all the books in the world and see videos but when you go there in the flesh, it's a different kettle of fish.

Sorry, completely digressed.

Here's a few I took from Auschwitz anyway. If anyone's ever thought of going and had doubts, I'd just go. In a weird way, you'll be glad you did.

Edited January 30, 2023 by Lucas