German Itinerary

Here is an itinerary with notes that I used some years ago for eighteen (18) days in Germany (Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Munich, Neuschwanstein Nuremberg, Bamberg, Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, Lübeck, Bremen), traveling by train.I try to have a plan when traveling that is open to spontaneity too.  That way, I’m not spending my travel time looking through guide books.  If you are looking to compile an itinerary for your ONE trip to Germany and not keen on compiling your own tour, this itinerary could work with a few more days to stop in Köln and take a river boat ride on the Rhine.  That would bring it to a three-week vacation.  And consider a day in Hanauer too! Day One – Arrive FRANKFURTGet Tageskarte, all day transport ticket from airport, FRANKFURT AM MAIN*Kaiserdom (cathedral) opens at 8am10:30am (English) “Frankfurt on Foot” walking tourHistorisches Museum (city history) 10am-6pm –MUSEUMSUFER Museum for Moderne Kunst (modern art) open to 6pmThe English TheaterLodging:  Frankfurt HostelDay Two FRANKFURTGet Tageskarte all day transportSenckenberg *Natural History Museum open 9 to 5pm on Fri., on Sat, ‘til 6pmThen >Food Market for lunchThen these three art museums are in the same location:

• *Stadel Museum (art museum) open 10 to 6pm
• Libieghaus (art museum) open 10 to 6pm
• Museum Giersch (art) is closeby 11am-5pm

Lodging:  Frankfurt Hostel  (includes breakfast)Day Three  Take Train to HEIDELBERGGet Heidelberg Card at tourist officeSolarschif (50 min boat cruise) every 90 min, 10am-6pmWalk aboutLodging:  Lotte The Backpacker (dorm),Day Four  – Take Train to Mannheim connect to BADEN BADENMt. Merkur, hike down (or hike up & cable car down), go to Friedrichsbad bathhouse for 2-3 hoursTake train to Karlsruhe to connect to train to MuenchLodging:  Hotel CocoonDay Five – MUNICHTwo hour CITY WALK + *ENGLISH GARTEN http://www.munichwalktours.de/en/the-city-walk/try weisswurst (veal sausage) for lunchStadtmuseum (city museum) 10-6*Alte Pinakothek Museum (ancient art) open to 8pm on TuesdaysLodging:  Hotel CocoonDay Six – MUNICHDAY TOUR:  Schloss Neuschwanstein (by BUS)overnight in Munich  Lodging:  Hotel CocoonDay Seven  – MUNICHPalaontogiste MuseumNeue Pinakothek MuseumMuseum Brandhorst (modern art)3pm Third Reich 2.5 hr walking tour http://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/munich/activities/guided-tours/hitler-third-reich-munich-walking-tour*Pinakothek der Moderne, opens 10am-8pmLodging:  Hotel CocoonDay Eight –At Haubtbanoff in Munich, take AM train to NUREMBURG Germanisches Natle Museum 10-6, Walking tour 1:30-3:30 and then *Kaiserburg (imperial castle, open 9-6) There is a museum here too (Kaiserburg Museum)1:30 pm Old Town two-hour walking tour at Haupmarkt Tourist OfficeLODGING:  Five Reasons HostelDay Nine, NUREMBERGCafé Celona by the river for breakfastDocumentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds, open 24/7 with museum open  10-5, do 10am-12, Audio Tourfrom Hauptbahnhoff, take Tram line 9: stop Doku-ZentrumBus line 36, 55, 65: stop Doku-ZentrumSuburban Railway S2:stop Dutzendteich BahnhofAfternoon trip by 9am train to BAMBERG, (45-60 min duration) Need to book RT TRAIN, then take 901, 202 or 931 Bus to ZOB (ctrl bus station) and from there, take Bus 901 to DomPlatz>Dom, >Historisches Museum, >Kloster St. MichaelSaturday walking tour in EnglishReturn to Nuremberg, see Alter Botanischer Garten (near train station)LODGING:  Five Reasons HostelDay Ten  Take AM Train (two trains) to DRESDEN Get Bus/train day pass12 noon departure for 2 hour walking tour of Old Town, Note Frauen KircheZWINGER MIT SEMPERBAU*Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister – ZwingerLodging:  Hostel Mondpalast9pm two hour Night Walk from ALbertplatz in NeustadtDay Eleven – A Monday in DRESDENTwo hour Slaughterhouse Five tour from Theaterplatz*Residenzschloss  (*Grunes Gewolbe)

• Neues Grunes Gewolbe
• *Historisches Grunes Gewolbe
• Rüstkammer (Armoury) of Riesensaal (Hall of the Giants)
• Option:  Türckische Cammer (Turkish Chamber)

*Militarhistorisches Museum Dresden in Neustadt area.Lodging:  Hostel MondpalastDay Twelve – Take AM Train to  BERLINEuropaplatz tourist office (out front of train station to right and then left) and get a 3-day Schau-Lust Museum pass & a 3-DAY Berlin Welcome CardORIGINAL BERLIN WALKS 3.5-4 tourDeutches Historisches MuseumDDR MuseumIf time, See inside Berlin DomLodging:  Arte Luise KunsthotelDay Thirteen – BERLIN8am timed entry to *Reichstag/OBSERVATORY TOOGo to Charlottenberg neighborhood (TAXI to Schloss Charlottenerg) and walk  to museums along Spandauer DammSammlung Scharf-Gersetnberg (surrealist art museum)Museum Berggruen – (having focus on Picasso, Klee, Matisse, Giacometti)Go to Kreuzberg neighborhood in West Berlin (Ubahn Carlottenberg>Ostbahnhof)@4pm -7pm  Food and Art Tour – VOUCHERChamaleon Variete (variety Show)Lodging:  Arte Luise Kunsthotel (includes breakfast)Day Fourteen – BERLINBus 100 (Alexander Platz to zoo & back)*Pergamonmuseum (antiquities)*Neues Museum, (art)*Gemaldergalerie (2km of galleries)Berlin Philharmonie 8pm showLodging:  Arte Luise Kunsthotel (includes breakfast)Day Fifteen, Take train to HAMBURG At Rathaus (town hall) Free English 2-hour toursDeichgraf (restaurant) get Aal-suppe (eel soup spiced with dried fruit, ham & veg)One hour Port and Elbe River CruiseMuseum fur Kunst und Gewerbe HamburgLodging:  Instant Sleep Backpacker HostelDay Sixteen – HAMBURG*Kunsthalle (big art museum)AM Train to Lübeck (World Heritage Site)

• Holstentor (city gate); Option: with Holstentor museum 11-5
• One hour boat city tour leave every half hour 10-6 Quandt-Linie, just south of Holstenbrucke bridge
• *Europaisches Hansemuseum, E14.50, open to 6pm
• Get Marzipan for trip back to Hamburg

Eve Train to HamburgLodging:  Instant Sleep Backpacker HostelDay Seventeen–AM fish market,Train to BREMENCheck out two museums; Print self-guided tourLodging:  GastHaus HotelDay Eighteen  – BREMENTrain to Frankfurt AM MAIN AirportFLIGHT HOME  (Back at home is when I see more clearly that I have been far away.)

“Learning German is what eternity was made for.” —Mark Twain

“Ein jeder kehr’ vor seiner Tür, und rein ist jedes Stadtquartier.”  (“If everyone sweeps in front of their own door, every part of town will be clean.”)–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker.” (“What does not kill me makes me stronger.”) –Friedrich Nietzsche

TATTOO—Journeys on My Mind by Tina Marie L. Lamb is available at Amazon and BarnesandNoble and iBooks and Audible.Buy it. Read it. Let me know what you think. –TMLL