Group Accommodation advice for Oktoberfest 07!!

Hi everyone

Im organising a trip to Oktoberfest from the 5th to the 8th of october with 11 of my other friends. We are all students on a budget so what is the best accommodation option for us? Apart from the oktoberfest, will it be possible to visit the Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein castles for a day trip? Please advice!

Sylvester

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Recently stayed at the Easy Palace City hostel on a stag weekend- a few minutes walk from the gates of the beer festival. Clean, friendly and cheap - $22 euros a night for a 5 bed room with en-suite. Would definitely recommend

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Cheers Mate!

I will definitely go check it out! Thank you!

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Fussen is a reasonable place to stay near the castles if you want to do an overnight. It is very beautiful there and there is an amazing italian resturant i would recomend.

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The cheapest accomodation is probably the campsite in tierpark. It%26#39;s where all the backpackers stay, and I had more fun drinking and partying there then I did in the beer tents. I stayed the YMMunich youth hostel about 10 minutes away from there, so I%26#39;m not sure what the exact prices are, but I know they were dirt cheap.

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thanks for the replies!

we will probably do a day trip to fussen but not overnight.. could u tell me the address of the italian restaurant that you mentioned?

as for ymmunich youth hostel? i couldnt get any results from googling the name. do u have the web address for it?

cheers

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sorry, it%26#39;s the YH Munich Youth hostel in Thalkirchen

hostels.com/en/…HostelNumber.4078

The campsite is the Thalkirchen campsite

www.munich-info.de/travel/camping_en.html

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Removed on: 2:18 am, September 01, 2009

What to do in Nuremberg

I will be in Nuremberg on business however I will be bringing my family with me.. Is there anything to do? I%26#39;ve been hearing a little about shopping.... are there any outlets? Any vineyards nearby to taste? Any help and suggestions would be very appreciated.. thanks!

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Nuremberg is a very nice old city that still has a wall as in the middle ages. Unfortunately almost the whole city was destroyed during WW2 so most buildings are not that old but they look nice.

They are pretty good shopping possibilities in the center of the city where cars are not allowed.

If you like to do some sightseeing: there is a very nice castle that you can visit, some nice churches, some museums (e.g. modern art, doll museum and the very good %26quot;Germanisches Nationalmuseum%26quot;).

Also, you can visit some places which are left from WW2 and a pretty new Documentation Center about WW2.

here you can find some further information in english:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg

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In nearby Herzogenaurach - where the headquarters of Adidas and Puma are - there are factory outlets of both and some others.

herzogenaurach.de/Wirtschaft/shopping/werksv…

Family? Younger kids? Than the Playmobil FunPark is a must visit.

playmobil.de/on/…

There are vineyards towards Würzburg, but not directly around Nuremberg.

Two of Germany%26#39;s most interesting medieval towns are near Nuremberg.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

http://www.rothenburg.de

Bamberg

http://www.bamberg.info

Nuremberg Tourism

www.nuernberg.de/internet/portal_e/reiseziel/

interesting musuems for kids

- Toy Museum

- DB (German Rail) Museum

nuernberg.de/internet/…museums.html

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Hello

Can you give me anymore information on the Clothing Outlets in Herzogenaurach. I was planning to visit the Adidas, Nike %26amp; Puma Outlet when I am in Nuremburg (End of May). I followed the link provided by the last poster and I noticed that there seems to be more outlets nearby, Sport Hoffman, Team Sport %26amp; GmBh. Are these also worth a Visit (I only have one day), what do they sell and are they cheap? .

Also are all outlets open to the public or do you need a trade membership card?

Any information is welcome

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Removed on: 12:15 pm, September 01, 2009

Neuschwanstein Friday afternoon or Saturday Morning

We are a group of five travelling down to Reutte from Munich. We are trying to plan our trip to Neuschwanstein et al.. Would it be better or rather less crowded to go on Friday early afternoon on the way to Reutte or on Saturday morning.

Any advice out there?

Auntie.

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I would recomend Sat am There is a bus that will take you up to the castle but if you like a good hike walk it. If possible stay right in fussen it is beautiful. I live near the rocky mountains in canada so I know wonderful views when I see them. There is a italian resturant in fussen that is really good!

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Just got back last Friday from Munich ,Fussen and Reutte.Usually early morning-8am or open for the castles.10am and on tend to fill up early.You can check on-line and get a scheduled time.You might be ok if you take the English tour-the demand for the German,French and Italian tours is fierce.After you do the castles walk the little town of Fussen.You can%26#39;t help but to love it.We enjoyed it more then Reutte,Austria.I hope you have a great time-we did.Just ask if you need any more info.?

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Thank you so much. This is a big help.

Let me see if I understand correclty. It really doesn%26#39;t matter if we go Friday or Saturday. The big key is to order tickets before we go which will give us a specific time to go on the tour.

Is this correct?

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Yes that is correct.To help you more-go to Ta Munich forum and read %26quot;What%26#39;s best way to tour Neuschwanstein castle?Posted May 9 by Marcopolo-it tells you how it works and has a web site to go toget a time.I think this will facilatate things for you .

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Removed on: 9:21 am, September 01, 2009

Airport Layover- Leavign Airport

We%26#39;re stopping through Frnakfurt and transfering from a delta flight to a Croatian Air flight to Dubrovnik. We arrive at 9:30 am and depart for Croatia at 3:10 PM that day.

I cannot get a clear answer on whether or not we can leave the airport during this time and what happens with our bags. It seems like they are not checked all the way through and that we%26#39;d have to re-check them. Is this the case?

If anyone%26#39;s had experience with this, info on where or if bags can be stored and advice on the fastest way to get into th city please let me know, thank you!

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If you bought both tickets at the same time, your luggage will probably be checked through to the final destination. If purchased separately, you will have to pick them up and recheck them. There is luggage storage at FRA, both terminals, you can find details at airportcity-frankfurt.com/cms/default/rubrik…

Delta should be able to tell you. Of course, you will know for sure when you check in and get your baggage check.

There is an S-bahn train (local light rail) station at the airport below Terminal 1, with trains to the Haupbahnhof downtown about every 20-30 minutes.

Considering how flights run, by the time you arrive and pass through passport control , make your way landside , get to the S-bahn and wait, say 15 minutes for a train, and then have to return at least two hours early for check-in, and, adding in time to store and pick up bags if needed--- well that doesn%26#39;t leave a lot of sightseeing time in town.

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Removed on: 1:17 pm, September 01, 2009

Message for MarkK_Hanau

Mark. I was hoping you could help me.

My wife and I will be in Germany in July and I am tracing my family history. My family is related to the Funsch%26#39;s in Hafenlohr. I see that Frankfurt is the closet city to there and I was hoping you could give me some info/websites on Hafenlohr that I could look at before we go and we will try to visit while we are in Germany.

Any info would be appreciated.

Regards.

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I%26#39;m not really sure I can help you that much, but here is a bit of advice:

German cities and towns usually have URLs named %26lt;town name%26gt;.de which means that you can find the website of the (very small) town of Hafenlohr on

http://www.hafenlohr.de

Unfortunately it is German only. Hafenlohr is across the state border from Hesse in Bavaria. So if you can%26#39;t find a hotel in town, bigger cities nearby would include Aschaffenburg or Wuerzburg, there should also be hotels in Marktheidenfeld or in Lohr which would be even closer. Wertheim is a city nearby which is quite picturesque (check http://www.tourist-wertheim.com)

To get there from Frankfurt Airport you might want to check http://www.bahn.de. It seems as if you need to go to Frankfurt Main Railway Station (Hauptbahnhof) and take a regional express (RE) to Lohr am Main. From there you can take a bus to Hafenlohr (travelling time: a bit more than two hours).

Unfortunately, this is all the information I have. Hope this helped a bit.

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Have you just tried some Google searches; e.g, %26quot;Funsch Hafenlohr%26quot;.? There are a handful of hits. One appears to be the 125 year celebration of the Hafenlohr volunteer fire department that lists a couple possibilities (Eduard Funsch %26amp; Joseph Funsch). Depending on how old those names are in the 125 years, you might be able to make a further Google search:

http://www.hafenlohr.de/vereine/ffw125.pdf

Regards, Gary

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Sorry, I made a misstatement. I started with Yahoo Deutschland rather than Google.

http://de.yahoo.com/

Regards, Gary

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Thank you everyone for your help.

I had tried Googling Hafenlohr but nothing of any substance came up.

I will try everyone%26#39;s suggestions and see what I can find.

Regards,

BrizLion.

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Removed on: 1:17 pm, September 01, 2009

Need suggestion for a room with a castle view

Dear all,

I am planning to visit Romantic Road with my husband in July. I heard that it will be really nice to get a room with a balcony with a view of the castle. Any suggestion? We%26#39;ll be driving a rental car so the accommodation can be a bit away from the town.

It is my first visit to Germany. All advice welcome.

Many thanks,

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If you are refering to a view of Neuschwanstein castle, Villa Jaegerhaus is excellent. Although all rooms have a view of a castle, some are only of nextdoor Hohenschwangau castle where the family actually lived, so make sure that you get a room with a view of Neuschwanstein. The middle room one floor up facing Neuschwanstein is nice, and the room nextdoor in the NE corner has a view of both castles. You don%26#39;t have to go out on a balcony to have a view, you can do this from your bed. This is why I recommend a room one floor above the ground floor, so you can leave your curtains open without anybody being able to look in. The restaurant in the associated hotel across the road is excllent. You can book rooms and make castle tour reservations (for one or both castles) through the village website www.hohenschwangau.de . The hotel also offers packages that include the tours. Other people recommend Hotel Mueller which I%26#39;ve never stayed at and therefore can%26#39;t comment on, but I cannot imagine it being better.

A nice thing to do in the evening is to attend the musical in Fuessen. If you walk a short distance from the hotel in the direction away from Neuschwanstein, there is a nice small lake. I always enjoy taking the horse drawn carriage up to Neuschwanstein. Before or after your tour, walk up to the Marienbruecke (bridge) for a nice view down on Neuschwanstein.

Click on my name to see a review I%26#39;ve written on this hotel, and another review has pictures of it.

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We love Hotel Muller! They have lovely balcony rooms that face Neuschwanstein and the service staff is extraordinary. The balcony is the size of a patio - it is HUGE! We had room service breakfast there and looked at the castle - what a treat!

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Try the Hotel Christine in Fussen.You can get a room with a view of the castle.Read the reviews of the hotel on TA.Just got back last week and it was great.The breakfast are super-the owner really makes your stay a experience.Enjoy your trip.

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Hotel Lisl, better food and views!!

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As Marcopolko said the Villa Jaegerhaus, which is a sister to the Schloss Hotel Lisl across the street (for dinner) is the best place to stay. We stayed ther on the 3rd floor, I believe, and could see Neuschwanstein from one window and the Hohenschwangau from the other window (had a top floor corner suite). It was a fabulous place to stay! Enjoy!

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www.hotel-filser.de perfect view !

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Removed on: 10:17 am, September 01, 2009

Ideas for rainy days in Berlin with an 8 month old

Well, we are leaving on Thursday for Berlin and checking the forecast, it seems that we may have rain a majority of the time during our week%26#39;s stay. My husband will be at a conference there. Does anyone have suggestions for activities for myself and the baby? I had all my plans worked out, but I now need to factor in the rain. Thanks!

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Rain? Berlin? seriously, though you%26#39;ll be very unlucky to get rain all the time. Assuming your 8 month old is fairly amenable there are countless museums, galleries and other indoor activities and it%26#39;s very easy to have a break half way through a visit so that you don%26#39;t overdo it or your child gets fed up. Places like the Pergamon, the Technic museum the National Gallery, communication museum , DDR museum,Sugar Museum and the museum complex at Dahlem are all worth visiting. Also check out what is on at the Martin Gropius Bau. Virtually every park has a play area and boat trips also available if the weather is good . There are lots of places to eat and drink where a small child will be welcome. The zoo may not be so good if it rains, but adjacent is the aquarium (entrance off Budapesterstr) (just as good as the Sealife Centre and cheaper) - great with small children. Looking at the webcam : http://www.dhm.de/webcams/VID2.html it doesn%26#39;t look so bad at the moment - cloudy but dry. Enjoy yourselves and don%26#39;t forget to visit a branch of %26#39;Janny%26#39;s ices%26#39; !

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I recommend the new %26quot;LEGOLAND Discovery Center%26quot; at the Potsdamer Platz to you (Berlin Center).

http://www.legolanddiscoverycentre.com/

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Removed on: 7:20 am, September 01, 2009

One month in Europe

I am throwing all caution to the wind and flying into Brussels, buying a Eurail pass, and traveling for one month over the summer. Any suggestions on must see/sample itineraries?

Thanks,

Grant

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Hi uplandway,

I am also from the Phila area. About 40 mins south of you. Anyway, do you have a budget? Are you planning on staying in hotels, hostels? Traveling with anyone else?

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I wouldn%26#39;t throw all caution to the wind, buy your Eurail pass in the US as I don%26#39;t believe they are sold in Europe. The only thing that I would suggest is that you spend at least 5-7 days in a few places so that you can enjoy them at a relaxed pace instead of madly dashing all over trying to %26quot;see it all%26quot;, which isn%26#39;t remotely possible in most countries in a lifetime.

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Not planning on traveling with anyone else. Don%26#39;t have a huge budget, but enough to treat myself respectably. Most likely staying in hostels.

Yourself?

-Grant

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Hi uplandyway

Are there any areas of Europe you prefer (Scandinavia, the South, Eastern Europe, the coast, beaches, mountains,...)?

Are you interested in nature, culture, remote areas or metropoles?

It%26#39;s quite difficult to give advise without knowing what you like. However, I agree with the idea that you should spend a couple of days in the same area to have a more relaxed time.

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Anything but metropoles. I of course need to at least see Paris, but would much prefer the countryside. I am looking to stay mostly in southwest europe - France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria.

Let me know what you think.

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Hi Grant

South Tirol (e.g. Meran) might be an option for your, or one of the lakes in Italy (Lago di Como, Lago di Garda,Lago Maggiore - partly in Siwtzerland, Lago di Lugano) or may be one of those in the south of Germany (Bodensee, Koenigssee, Chiemsee, Tegernsee) - I%26#39;m sorry, I don%26#39;t know the English words for these lakes. San Marino is very nice as well

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_marino

and also the southern coast of France and Moncaco (but both rather exquisite and expensive).

And you definitely need to go to the mountains but I%26#39;ve only been skying there so I cannot really give good advise for summer holidays in that region.

If you are interested in seeing some cities as well, I would suggest Salzburg in Austria, Florence in Italy and if going into Germany would also be ok for you I would suggest Heidelberg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg) or Pforzheim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pforzheim). Pforzheim is near to the Black Forest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest) which is also worth a visit, as well as the areas at the rivers Neckar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neckar) and Rhine. The Rhine goes through Germany as well as Switzerland and France. May be you could travel along that river (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine_Valley)

What also many people like doing is a tour along the loire river (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loire_River) in France.

I hope I could give you some ideas.

Enjoy your trip!

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Thank you so much. So far I am flying into Brussels, then to Paris, Loire Valley, Piedmont region, Cinque Terra, Tuscanny, Venice, then into Austria and Switzerland.

Thank you for your help again,

Grant

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Removed on: 6:21 am, September 01, 2009

Cochem and Mosel - great place to visit

Hello everybody, within last 2 years we have visited area at least 6 times. It is absolutely fabulous. We love it.

There are many things to do but we prefer walking, eating and wine testing. I believe it is the best Riesling area in the world.

We usually stay in little family run hotel in Ellenz-Poltersdorf. We also tried other. I guess that it almost doesn%26#39;t matter where you stay, it is usually very good. Hotels/privates are clean and food is just great. They are cheap in comparison with tourist hot spots. We never paid more than 40 Euros per person/night with breakfast included.

Although the whole valley (Moseltal) is nice, from Trier to Koblenz, town of Cochem is our favourite. We love its narrow, clean and romantic streets. Other great places worth to visit: Trier (must see), Koblenz, Zell, Traben-Trarbach, Bernkastel-Kues. Every village/town has its charm.

We have visited castles Cochem, Eltz and Pyrmont. All very different but great to visit.

There is no perfect wine. Everybody likes different wine. Try to find one you like. They sell wine everywhere. Price varies but you can buy good wine from 4 Euros. We bought some relatively expensive wines but once at home we liked average priced the best.

We love to go to local events - winefests. Music, food, wine and relaxed atmosphere.

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Thanks for the information which was very useful. We are going along the Rhine and Moselle in September.

Can you provide details of price-levels for spirits (vodka, brandy) and basic foodstuffs as here in England I have been unable to find any idea of price-levels? I am well used to using euros but mainly in Spain and Greece.

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You will enjoy your trip. It is really beautiful there.

Prices? Well, firstly why you are inquiring about spirits? These are prime wine regions in Germany!!! Wine and beer, man!!!

But seriously I never drink spirits while there. If you want to bring it home that%26#39;s different. Depending on stores. But normally I pay for a bottle of Jim Beam or Bacardi around 11 euros. For Chivas and single malt around 22 euros. In Cochem I often buy a local spirit distilled from wine or other local produce. They are in nice rustic ceramic bottles and a half of a liter is up to 10.

Groceries in stores are not expensive. I guess, but I am not sure, cheaper than in UK. Although I do not know where locals shop for groceries since I always eat in restaurants or grab some wurst. Large bread is up to 3, yogurth is around 60 cents, cheese is 5 - 25 per kg, hams 8- 20 per kg. Great cakes in bakery are up to 5 euros. You have to try those. But these prices are not from the area but it might be similar.

In normal restaurant you pay around 10 for pizza and you can get %26quot;today%26#39;s menu%26quot; from 10-14 euros. You can always find more expensive dinning. We like wurst (German sausage) if we are not too hungry and it will cost you around 2.5 euros.

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My wife and I have been going to Cochem for over 30 years, we are going again in June 2007.

We have used many different hotels, and B%26amp;B%26#39;s, last year we stayed with the Haxel%26#39;s, at their vinyard, we are staying with them again this year (26 Euros each for B%26amp;B, see my review).

I agree with all you have said about Cochem, we too love walking, eating and drinking, not too sure in which order though. The August Bank Holiday Winefest and Firework display was a regular trip for us, but we can%26#39;t get to it so often now, a great pity.

Cochem is not a cheap place to stay at, but we always tell people %26#39;At least you are ripped off tastefully%26#39;.

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My wife and I have been going to Cochem for over 30 years, we are going again in June 2007.

We have used many different hotels, and B%26amp;B%26#39;s, last year we stayed with the Haxel%26#39;s, at their vinyard, we are staying with them again this year (26 Euros each for B%26amp;B, see my review).

I agree with all you have said about Cochem, we too love walking, eating and drinking, not too sure in which order though. The August Bank Holiday Winefest and Firework display was a regular trip for us, but we can%26#39;t get to it so often now, a great pity.

Cochem is not a cheap place to stay at, but we always tell people %26#39;At least you are ripped off tastefully%26#39;.

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Removed on: 8:17 am, August 28, 2009

Concert / Dinner at Schloss Charlottenburg

We are coming to Berlin for the first time in August and thinking about going to a concert . We would appreciate some advice. Is the pre concert dinner good, or would it be a better option to have dinner elsewhere %26amp; just go to the concert? Is the concert a good choice?

Thanks for your help.

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As a citizen of Berlin, living near pretty close to Charlottenburg Palace, I must admit, I have never been to a concert there - but looking up the event on the Internet, it seems to me, that this is not a good deal.

First of all, it takes place at the Orangerie, which is a building opposite the palace, and not at the palace itself. Secondly, the menu offered is pretty simple fare. And the concert is performed by a no-name orchestra.

I%26#39;d recommend a concert at the Philharmonie (www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/home/) with dinner before or after at %26quot;VOX%26quot; or %26quot;Tizian%26quot; (…hyatt.com/hyatt/…index.jsp), %26quot;Midtown Grill%26quot; (http://www.midtown-grill.de/index.php?LANG=e) or %26quot;Desbrosses%26quot; (http://www.desbrosses.de/index.php?LANG=e) or - if you like a historical setting (OK, it is historical on the outside but inside it is really a history inspired kind of GDR Disneyland concert hall) - a concert at the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt (www.konzerthaus.de/start/index.php…) and dinner at %26quot;Bocca di Bacco%26quot; (http://www.boccadibacco.de/eng/index.html).

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Thank you very much JanBerlin for this very helpful reply. We will look at the sites you have given us - plenty of food for thought!

George.

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Removed on: 12:28 am, September 01, 2009

castles

where in the black forest would i get to see some really nice castles will only have a couple of days before i head of to austria.. we are looking for somewhere quite and peaceful maybe a short drive to a town. staying in either hotel or camping.

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Black Forest was settled pretty late: -%26gt; only castles at the edges of the Black Forest

Black Forest is close to France: -%26gt; all castles are in ruins

schwarzwald-tourismus.info/index.php/kultur_…

kastelburg-in-not.de/assets/…RIMG0010.JPG

The nearby Upper Danube region and the Swabian Alb have more to offer if it comes to castles.

Burg Wildenstein

One of the few never destroyed castles. Outstanding location (albeit Merian has really exaggerated in his etching). Used as a youth hostel today.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Wildenstein_(Leibertingen)

www.jugendherberge-burg-wildenstein.de/

Schloss Sigmaringen

www.hohenzollern.de/schloss-sigmaringen/en/

A visit of the interiors can be really recommended.

Burg Hohenzollern

preussen.de/en/today/burg_hohenzollern.html

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Removed on: 2:17 pm, September 01, 2009

Allergic to Oranges?? Need Help

I just realized that all of you out there in TA land can probably help me with this problem.

I am allergic to Oranges, seriously allergic. At home in restaurants

I always warn them I am allergic and to get across how allergic,

I refer to my allergy as %26quot;call the paramedics serious%26quot; which is a slight, but only slight, overstatement.

Any amount of orange peal shaving as a spice for flavoring, or orange juice, pretty much will do me in. Even touching oranges, will give me a reaction.

The odd thing is it is just oranges, not lemons, grapefruit or other citrus.

Can someone give me a handy phrase in German to warn wait staff that there might be a problem.

Thanks

Auntie

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%26quot;Ich bin (sehr) allergisch gegen Orangen.%26quot;

(wordly: I%26#39;m (very) allergic against oranges.)

or

%26quot;Ich habe eine (starke) Allergie gegen Orangen%26quot;

(wordly: I have a (strong) allergy against oranges.)

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Cant%26#39;t help you with the translation, but perhaps the folks at www.selectwisely.com can.

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Removed on: 10:18 pm, August 31, 2009

3 weeks with teens - suggested activities?

We are from Canada and will be visiting family just outside Freiburg in June/July. Our sons are 16 and 13, and we are trying to find a few entertaining things to consider (we know they will be bored after viewing the 3rd or 4th church!). Other than EuropaPark and the waterfall at Triberg, does anyone have any suggestions for active/energetic teens? Day trips to Switzerland or France would be quite possible. At home they like to wakeboard, play hockey, ski, bike...

Thanks!

Keishaw

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I will be in Freiburg with my wife and 3 teenagers in mid-July. We are renting an apartment and the owner forwarded a very helpful booklet of day trips and activities in the area. This website may be helpful http://schwarzwald-vacation.spaces.live.com/

The booklet is a pdf file that can be emailed to you if interested.

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Thanks very much for your reply.

I would be very interested in receiving that pdf booklet... it sounds like it would be very helpful.

Is there some way I can allow you to see my email on this site so you can send it to me?

Otherwise, how can I request it from that site? I looked, but did not see an area to do that. Can you guide me to it or do you think I could just contact that apartment owner directly and ask for it, even though I won%26#39;t be renting from them?

K

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Biking/hiking are activities with plenty of options/routes in the Black Forest.

Black Forest Open Air Museum Vogtsbauernhof

http://vogtsen.land-in-sicht.com/index.php

Wutachtal Museum Railway

stadt-blumberg.de/ceasy/…

%26gt; be bored after viewing the 3rd or 4th church!

Don%26#39;t miss to climb on the tower of the cathedral in Freiburg.

The Schlumpf Collection (automobile museum) in Mulhouse/Alsace

www.collection-schlumpf.com/en/schlumpf/

Basel has also a number of interesing museums.

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It%26#39;s a good area for mountainbiking, there%26#39;s a special %26#39;downhill trail%26#39; from the Schauinsland as well. Bike rental in Freiburg should be easy, it%26#39;s very popular. They even got a %26#39;Mountainbike-school%26#39;.

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The boys might be interested in the Hoechenschwand-nature sport center, where among other things you can do things high above the ground, see www.hoechenschwand.de .

There is the bird park with its birds of prey show, www.vogelpark-steinen.de .

Between Neubulach and Wildberg is the visitable undrground silver mine. Near Wieden are two other visitable mines.

For a fairytale-like castle, Hohenzollern (Hechingen) is excellent. Not too far to the east of it is a summer rodelbahn (bobsled like ride) near Melchingen, and just a little further east of there is the Baerenhoehle (Bear%26#39;s cave) and also an amusement park (Dreamland at the bear%26#39;s cave). Another excellent fairytale-like castle is just north of there, Lichtenstein.

There is a waterpark Aqua FUN near the Schluchsee.

If you purchase map #16 in Die Shell Regional Karte large scale map series of Germany from a Shell gas station it will show you lots more of interesting places to visit in this corner of Germany and nearby France and Switzerland. The better places to visit are highlighted in yellow for cultural features and green for natural ones, and the best things also have a box around them. Even many non-highlighted things are excllent to visit, and many months%26#39; worth of excellent things to see are shown on this map.

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Here some ideas for Switzerland:

Lucerne (1 1/2 hour drive from Freiburg im Breisgau):

There is a big %26quot;rop park%26quot; and a summer toboggan run at the pilatus. http://www.pilatus.ch/content-n138-sE.html and of course you shouldn%26#39;t miss the great view from the top of mountain

There are many lakes and rivers where you can do canoe, kayak, rafting trips.

The official tourist information has list of family excursions.

myswitzerland.com/en.cfm/holidayoffers/excur…

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The whole family would enjoy a visit to the Mercedes Benz museum in Stuttgart with 120 years of automotive history on display in the form of 180 vehicles including the first car, Mercedes through the years, racing cars, and cars driven or used by famous people such as the Popemobile. Everybody irregardless of age or gender enjoys this museum. The current much smaller Porsche museum doesn%26#39;t have many cars and would appeal mainly to its (and racing) enthusiasts. In the Leuze mineral baths you can swim in bubbly carbonated water for a different experience. www.stuttgart-tourist.de

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Thank-you everyone for the great ideas!

A few questions:

Marcopolko: I went to the site www.hoechenschwand.de, and tried to translate it (I speak only a tiny bit of German) - but it wouldn%26#39;t work. When you say %26quot;do things high above the ground%26quot;, what does that mean? Bungee jumping, zip-lining, etc.? Or ? Can you give me a brief idea? Great advice about that map, thanks.

Is the Porsche museum in Stuttgart as well? We will definitely check those both out. And do you know are ALL of the mineral baths co-ed/no clothes? Or are there any for those of us that are used to keeping our swimsuits on? :-)

Mube: I was specifically looking for white-water rafting trips previously, and had no luck. Thanks for that link, I%26#39;ll check it out. If you can suggest any specific rafting trips/operators, that would be appreciated.

Do any of you have any links for us to find out what rock concerts might be happening in that general area (as I said, we could make day trips and longer drives if necessary). Perhaps a popular concert promoter or radio station website?

Thanks again, this is exactly what I was hoping to find!

K

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%26gt; Is the Porsche museum in Stuttgart as well?

Yes. BUT the new one will open only in 2008. The current one is a single room with some 20 Porsche cars. Only recommended for real Porsche enthusiasts.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is brand new and an oustanding museum.

%26gt; And do you know are ALL of the mineral baths co-ed/no clothes?

Co-ed: yes - apart from a few hours. But only the sauna is with no clothes. The swimming pool area is with clothes.

DAS LEUZE mineral bath is a nice combination of fun pool and mineral bath.

www.stuttgart.de/baeder/kbb.php…

The %26quot;red parts%26quot; are all with clothes. With a normal entrance ticket you don%26#39;t have access to the %26quot;yellow parts%26quot; (sauna and other treatments).

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DAS FEST in Karlsruhe (20.-22.07.2007)

http://www.das-fest-karlsruhe.de/

Of the category %26quot;umsonst %26amp; draußen%26quot; (don%26#39;t know the proper translation ~ free and outdoors).

a video from one of the acts last year

vids.myspace.com/index.cfm…

Southside Festival in Neuhausen ob Eck (22.-24.06.2007)

www.southside.de/index.php?lng=_englisch

One of the best festivals in Germany.

events in Freiburg and (wider area)

http://www.bis.freiburg.de/4/4/120/index.php

Help for train booking: Frankfurt > Cochem/Mosel > Amsterdam

I wasn’t sure where to post, so I apologize for posting in both the Frankfurt and Cochem forums.

My husband and I (age 36 and 38) are planning to purchase rail tickets using the Deutche Bahn.de website, and we have a lot of questions:

Discounts: The website lists discounts Savings Price 25 and 50. I’m unclear about how the various discounts work. Are these only for citizens of Europe? Is there a pass that needs to be purchased to receive these special rates? We will book our tickets 80-90 days in advance.

Our complete travel will be:

Frankfurt %26gt; Cochem on a Friday

While in the Mosel Valley, we will travel to other towns by train /boat

Cochem to Amsterdam on a Monday

Amsterdam to Brugge/Brussels on a Friday

Brussels to Paris on a Sunday

While in Paris, we will do some regional train travel as well

There is another discount BahnCard – that appears to cost 15 Euro, but allows discounts in other countries. Given our other travel, does it make sense to buy this card? (We don’t want to purchase a Eurail ticket, because it seems that it is much more costly than individual tickets).

About the trip from Frankfurt airport to Cochem, Mosel Valley: We arrive at the Frankfurt airport (international) at 11:00, and want to go directly to Cochem. Do we need to take a train from the airport to Frankfurt’s main station? How much time should we allow for that train ride? Is 3 hours enough for getting luggage and getting to Frankfurt Main?

Which option for Cochem should I choose? The ones that seem to make the most sense are:

Cochem (Mosel)

Cochem (Mosel) KD

Cochem Bahnhof

Am Markt (Cochem)

1st and 2nd Class: What’s the difference? I assume it will vary by the type of train, but is there any circumstance where we would not want to use a 2nd class ticket?

OnLine Tickets: Is there any concern we should have about purchasing online tickets in advance from America?

Thanks so much for any guidance you can give!

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%26gt; Discounts: The website lists discounts Savings Price 25 and 50.

These are discounts for return tickets if bought in advance. Won%26#39;t work in your case.

%26gt; There is another discount BahnCard – that appears to cost 15 Euro, but allows discounts in other countries.

The BahnCards are more expensive. You can buy as addition to a BahnCard the %26quot;RAIL PLUS%26quot; option (EUR 15,00) which will give you discounts when travelling to or from other European countries (but not for domestic trips in these countries). BahnCard with the validity of one year is an offer is first place interesting for residents, but barely for tourists.

%26gt; About the trip from Frankfurt airport to Cochem, Mosel Valley: We arrive at the Frankfurt airport (international) at 11:00, and want to go directly to Cochem. Do we need to take a train from the airport to Frankfurt’s main station?

No. Totally the opposite direction.

DB timetable

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

From: FRA airport

To: Cochem(Mosel)

%26gt; Which option for Cochem should I choose? The ones that seem to make the most sense are:

The DB timetable will suggest nearly always the mostlikely best stop as default one (i.e. first of the drop down list, thus no need to select anything).

%26gt; 1st and 2nd Class: What’s the difference? I assume it will vary by the type of train, but is there any circumstance where we would not want to use a 2nd class ticket?

1st class differences:

Far distance trains (IC/EC or ICE): more leg space, better seats, you can order snacks and drinks to your place, no 2nd class passengers

Regional trains (S-Bahn, RB, RE, IRE): no 2nd class passengers

As long as the 50-60% which the first class is more expensive is of any concern for you: use the 2nd class like everybode else. There are better ways to spent the money (better hotel, better restaurants, ...).

%26gt; OnLine Tickets: Is there any concern we should have about purchasing online tickets in advance from America?

No. If you buy online don%26#39;t forget to bring the ticket AND the credit card you used to pay for it.

%26gt; cheaper options

You could use regional trains from Frankfurt Airport to Cochem. 3 hours instead of 2 hours travel times with (partly) far distance trains.

Select at the DB timetable as means of transport %26quot;only local public transport%26quot; to get connections with regional trains only.

Buy

1. a normal ticket from Frankfurt Airport to Mainz: EUR 3,55 pp

(Frankfurt is in the state Hesse, Mainz in the state Rhineland-Palatinate (actually the state capital).

2. buy a Rhineland-Palatinate Ticket: EUR 25,00

This is a mini group (2-5 persons) day ticket covering all regional trains and all other local public transport (buses, trams) in the state Rhineland-Palatinate. With this ticket you can travel from Mainz to Cochem.

You can buy both tickets from ticket machines at Frankfurt Airport.

Cochem - Amsterdam

There are Europe-Special tickets from Cologne to Amsterdam:

reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en…

Please note that these specials are only valid for the booked connection. Not flexible like normal tickets.

As this is a limited offer buy as soon as possible (online).

Brussels - Paris

http://www.thalys.com/

Has discounted tickets (Smilys) if you buy at least 14 days in advance. A return ticket, but still cheaper than a normal price single ticket (just don%26#39;t use the return part).

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Thank you for the reply.

All of your advice is going to save us a lot of money.

It sounds like the regional Rhineland-Palatinate ticket will be useful for a day of exploring some of the other towns along the river as well.

We are about 100 days out from our travel date, so I%26#39;m planning to buy SMILYS from Amsterdam to Brussels and Brussels to Paris in two weeks (thanks for the advice!).

Other than that, it sounds like we can buy all of the local tickets (Frankfurt %26gt; Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate regional, and Cochem %26gt; Koln) on the day of travel. Is that correct?

Thanks again

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%26gt; It sounds like the regional Rhineland-Palatinate ticket will be useful for a day of exploring some of the other towns along the river as well.

Indeed. It also gives you (like other train tickets) 20% discount on the KD boat fares.

http://www.k-d.com

%26gt; Other than that, it sounds like we can buy all of the local tickets (Frankfurt %26gt; Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate regional, and Cochem %26gt; Koln) on the day of travel. Is that correct?

Yes.

Frankfurt %26gt; Mainz: RMV ticket machine

Rhineland-Palatinate regional: DB ticket machines (think at the RMV ticket machines you can buy only the %26quot;local%26quot; Länder-Ticket, i.e. in Frankfurt the Hesse-Ticket not the Rhineland-Palatinate-Ticket).

Counter is also possible, but it will be EUR 2,00 more expensive.

Cochem %26gt; Köln: DB ticket machines, counter, online

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Removed on: 2:17 pm, September 01, 2009

Airport Hotel

My two children will be staying in Frankfurt for one night and flying out the next day. I think their flight times will be different so I want them to stay as close to the airport as possible so they can just go over when their flight leaves. Any suggestions? They will be flying out of Frankfurt International Airport,

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There is a (expensive) Sheraton right in the airport, or the Steigenberger Avance Airport hotel with shuttle service right across the airport. Both would probably suit your needs. The Steigenberger is a bit less expensive, but not cheap. It%26#39;s a bit more secure, iun my opinion..

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I stayed at the airport Sheraton...expensive but the location was well worth it and when you figure the price is for two persons not that bad. The Hotel is very nice and the buffet breakfast is really nice. They can just walk across the walkway and they are right in the terminal. If you are a Starwood member there is a discount. Rememember they can check their luggage after 6 pm the evening prior to their flight so all they have to do is go thru security the next morning. Warn them though that there are several security check points that may also involve a bus ride to the flight itself so they must allow plenty of time.

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Thank you so much for your suggestions. I think I will go with the Shereton as I will feel much better knowing they are right there. And I had no idea they could check their luggage the night before. What a great idea. How many check points will they have to go through? For an international flight should they allow themselves two hours ahead? Thanks again!

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^

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I don%26#39;t know if it is because we are traveling to the US or it is the same for all destinations...but there are at least 3 check points for security/passport checks. We only have one security check point in the US. You also walk quite a distance to your final destination and as I said before your plane may be sitting out on the runway so a bus will have to take you to the plane...my son and I were on the last bus out to the plane because we did not allow enough time. This is one airport where I think when they say 2 hours they mean it. This past November we were all sitting in the boarding area when they told us all to leave the area....line up...and then return to the boarding area after they did another passport check. Someone told me that they had just had a story on the news about poor security at the airport so I think they decided they better step it up. I liked using the roomservice at the Sheraton for my dinner...it was just so nice to relax...get a good night sleep and walk on my 10.5 hour flight rested...it really made a difference.

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We will be leaving FRA, departing on Singapore A/L at 8:30 AM, staying at the Airport Sherton the night before, as our flight leaves very early. Are you saying that 2 hrs ahead of fl time is not enough, should we allow for more time? Did this trip 4 years ago, and we only had to go thru one security check. Would also like to bring back some bottles of local German wine, (which we cannot get in the US) putting them in our check luggage. Will we have a problem with the wine?

Regards, Andrea

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%26gt;Would also like to bring back some bottles of local German wine, (which we cannot get in the US) putting them in our check luggage. Will we have a problem with the wine?

Problem 1: checked luggage is usually treated quite roughly. Pack a lot of soft material around the wine or you will have a lot of glass splinters soaked with wine when you arrive

Problem 2: Find out what the rules for importing wine to your destinations are. They might be very restrictive (or not).

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Removed on: 10:18 am, August 28, 2009

Rail travel with Children Austria/Germany

I will be travelling with two children, ages 10 and 12, in Austria and Germany this summer for 16 days. We will spend 5 nights in Vienna, then 2 nights in Salzburg. From there we will go to Munich for 1 night, Hohenschangau for 3 nights, Rothenburg ob der Tauber for 2 nights, onto Wurzburg for 3 nights and then fly from Frankfurt back to the States.

My questions: should we get a selectrail pass or buy tickets point to point - are there other passes we should consider? Also, do we need reservations or can we arrive at the station and be on our way? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

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You can get a Bayern ticket for all the trips you mentioned, including Salzburg-Munich, for 27 Euros/day. It covers your whole family for regional trains (RE, RB, basically) within Bavaria. Use it anytime on Sat or Sun, after 9 am weekdays. When you go to Frankfurt from Wuerzburg, get a Bayern ticket to use as far as Kahl, where Bavaria ends, and buy a regular ticket for Kahl-FRA at the Wuerzburg station before you leave.

The RE and RB trains are slower than the IC and ICE trains, but they will save you a TON of Euros; check the travel times for RE and RB to make sure they%26#39;re not TOO slow for your liking by stipulating %26quot;local transport only%26quot; on the english itinerary search pages at www.bahn.de.

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Vienna - Salzburg - Munich

Buy a single ticket Vienna to Munich. Such an international train ticket is valid 2 months and allows stopovers en route (= Salzburg).

With this ticket (like with domestic German ones) your children will be free. Strange result: Vienna - Munich is cheaper for you than to buy a domestic Austrian ticket Vienna - Salzburg.

DB timetable

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e

From: Vienna

To: Munich

But you have to add your children to the travellers, i.e. they must be listed on the ticket. Only then they are free.

Munich to Hohenschwangau

Hohenschwangau to Rothenburg ob der Tauber

use the Bavaria Ticket (EUR 27,00) for these trips. This is a mini group (2-5 persons) day ticket covering all regional trains in Bavaria. Plus nearly all other local public transport. E.g. the U-Bahn, trams and buses in Munich and the buses from Füssen to Hohenschwangau.

Validity:

Mo-Fr: 9am till 3am next day

Sa,So: midnight till 3am next day

Select at the DB timetable as means of transport %26quot;only local transport%26quot; to ensure connections you can use with this ticket.

Rothenburg - Marktbreit - Würzburg.

Normal tickets. Too short to make sense of the Bavaria Ticket.

Würzburg - Frankfurt - Frankfurt Airport

Normal ticket.

%26gt; Also, do we need reservations or can we arrive at the station and be on our way

Not really. The longest trip is Vienna to Salzburg. But it is not common to reserve for domestic Austrian trips.

On regional trains you cannot reserve seats anyway.

Peak travel times are Friday and Sunday afternoon and evenings.

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Generally Russ is right that the Bavaria Ticket is also a good idea for Salzburg to Munich and Würzburg to Kahl. But in this case (with 2 children 10 and 12) the Bavaria Ticket is not the best solution for these trips.

1a)

Vienna to Salzburg EUR 87,20 (1 adult + 2 children)

Salzburg to Munich EUR 27,00 (Bavaria Ticket)

1b)

Vienna to Munich EUR 72,00 (1 parent + 2 children)

(and you can use also the faster trains from Salzburg to Munich)

2a)

Würzburg to Kahl EUR 27,00 (Bavaria Ticket)

Kahl to Frankfurt Airport EUR 14,50 (RMV tariff 1xEUR6,60 + 2xEUR3,95)

2b)

Würzburg to Frankfurt Airport EUR 33,00 (1 parent + 2 children)

(and you can use the direct fast ICE trains)

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Thank you all so much. I think you saved me a bundle. I would have been inclined to buy the Eurail pass - but that dates me...back to my backpacking days in the eightys!

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That%26#39;s quite a good fare from Vienna to Munich direct, abalada!

Follow abalada%26#39;s detailed ticket advice for the routes in question... I was mistakenly thinking 2 adults and 2 kids, and that does make a real difference.

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%26gt;but that dates me...back to my backpacking days in the eightys!

Back then, the Eurail pass was a good deal. Not any more...

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Thanks again everyone...you%26#39;re a big help!!!

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Removed on: 10:17 am, September 01, 2009

10 hours in Cologne

Some suggestions please - stay in the city? Hop on a train and go to a nearby city?

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Bonn is not far by train. It is a smaller, more manageable city to visit for a short time. It has an interesting old town, and long cultural history in addition to being the former capital. That said, a short visit to the Cologne cathedral and the adjoining Roman museum. full of artifacts from Cologne%26#39;s ancient history, is easily done. Both are right next to the Hauptbahnhof.

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I agree that Bonn is very managable to do in one day and they have an excellent modern german history museum (WWI and after) that is free: Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Between Cologne and Bonn is Bruehl. This is a fantastic small town that has a beautiful and well preserved palace and palace grounds. There is a wonderfully manicured garden with fountains alongside and a forest full of very tall trees behind that. The town itself is sleepy and a great place to take a break for ice cream.

If you do decide to stay in Cologne, it is fun to treck up the 590 stairs to the top of the Dom. The view is not fantastic as Cologne is not a breathtakingly beautiful city, however, the top of the Dom itself is quite lovely. If you are in the mood for ice cream as well - the best ice cream is Eis Colonia near the Appelhofplatz U-Bahn stop. It is as close to Italian gelato as one might find in the city.

Have fun!

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Removed on: 4:20 pm, September 01, 2009

Rhine river cruising 1-3 hours

Can anyone please guide me to a website that can give me information about Rhine River tours in the Koblenz area or near by that run for 2-3 hours tops as we have a 20 month old and cant keep her amused for more than an hour or two in one spot :)

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http://www.k-d.com/

Most scenic is the part between Bingen and Koblenz (3:40). But travelling just till Boppard or Braubach will be fine as well.

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Thanks so much! I will check it out :)))

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We drove from Koblenz to Bingen, then took the book downstream to St. Goar, passing the famous Loreley. The boat was kind of crowded, and most passengers got off at St. Goar. We then took the train back to Bingen to pick the car.

Did see a lot of castles along the way. Worth the trip.

Driving was nice, too. All the towns along the way are very attractive. Although next time we would spend more time along Mosel River, it%26#39;s less touristy, and the sceneries are wonderful!

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Removed on: 5:19 pm, September 01, 2009

Mosel - wine and food

Hello - greetings from Ireland - we are planning a trip to Mosel in June (from Hahn airport) and would love to hear any ideas about where we should stay, eat and taste wine please. We have 7 days - should we also see some of the Rhine? We will have a car.

Thank you

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Wine tastings just about everywhere, look out for Weinfeste in the Mosel region

ferienwohnungen-zell.de/mosel_weinfeste.htm

Cochem is a nice place to stay at (www.cochem.de), if you%26#39;re thinking about Mosel and Rhine Boppard (www.boppard.de)

is a good base.

Lots of vineries also have accomodation (B%26amp;B type or even with dinner, good if you want to keep your drivers license)

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You should visit Trier. It is a famous old town with a lot of sights. Actually there is a great exponation %26quot;Konstantin der Große%26quot; in the %26quot;Landesmuseum%26quot;. Perhaps you will be interested in history.

I know a nice hotel next to Trier in a small village. It is called Weinhotel Weis, Mertesdorf. Mertesdorf is about 12 Kilometres to Trier. If you rent a car, there is no problem.

Another nice town in the area is Bernkastel-Kues. You can drive along the river Mosel from Trier to Bernkastel-Kues. From there is a connection to Hahn.

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Visit a small wine maker. The Reisling wine there is very good. Take a Rhine cruise. We took a seven hour one starting at Koblenz. We stayed in one of the towns along the way--think it was Aufsmannhausen (sp?) great food everywhere. Definitely have a car and go on your own.

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I am an American living in Idar-Oberstein, a town not too far away. the Rhine is a wonderful trip, if you have a car you can travel on route 9 along the river, or take the Rhine cruise. the Rhine is great for Castles, but if you really want a feel for the area, travel the Mosel river as well. there are many beautiful towns along the Mosel, including BernKastle-Keus and Beilstein. Both have castles and the town atmosphere is incredible. Burg Eltz on the Mosel is considered one of the top castles in Europe. Cochem is another great city. The area of the Hunsruck moutains between the Rhine and Mosel is another place just to drive and get lost. It is beautiful with many small towns, including Idar-Oberstein with two castles and a church built into the side of a cliff. I hope this helps and you get a chance to really enjoy the region. -Caleb-

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We drove along the Mosel River from Trier to Koblenz, really enjoyed! It is not very touristy, which is great for us. The country scenes are wonderful, and you can stop at any place you like. The Reisling wine tasting is a must, and buy a bottles becuase they are quite inexpensive there.

Rhine River is fine, but a bit too crowded. The cruise was nice, and we took from Bingen to St. Goar, passing Loreley and a lot castles. But again, the boat was packed!

We stayed at Koblenz, Hotel Sholtz, and it was very clean and quite, with great breakfast buffet.

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Removed on: 5:20 pm, September 01, 2009

Top Things to Do in Hannover

Hi, my partner and I will be in Hannover at the end of Aug / beginning of Sept for 3-4 days and I%26#39;m looking for advice on what we should do or see. We%26#39;re in our early twenties but we want to sample more than the nightlife. Any suggestions would be gratefully received. Thanks :)

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...here below my %26quot;standard%26quot; response about eating and drinking:-)))

The %26quot;other%26quot; intersting things about Hanover you may start to collect here...or just ask what you want to know especially...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover

bye

zap

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For Italian dinner I can highly recommend.....

http://www.ristorante-rossini-hannover.de/

(Reservation needed)

ristorante-rossini-hannover.de/html/lage_und…

ristorante-rossini-hannover.de/html/menu_der…

You must try from the daily menue...you can choose and exchange what you want from the different menues...the price level is very reasonable, also for the wines.

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Alternative for Chinese dinner:

Arc en Ciel (Chinesisch)

Königsstr. 55

30159 Hannover

Tel.: (05 11) 31 38 57

...where you might meet some famous people too..

They serve very special things and also DimSum%26#39;s at a reasonable price level.

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As an exclusive italian alternative:

Gattopardo

30159 Hannover City - Hainhölzer Str. 1

Tel: +49 (0) 511 14375

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Huge TEX-MEX Tapas variety you%26#39;ll find here...

(walking from old town)

Besitos

Goseriede 4, im Tiedthof, 30159 Hannover

Telefon: 0511 - 16 98 001

www.besitos.de

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High end Star cuisine here...

(french star cuisine, , 8€ Taxi from old town)

http://www.clichy.de/

CLICHY

Weißekreuzstrasse 31, 30161 Hannover (List)

Telefon: 0511 - 31 24 47

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Same owner as above runs Lunch-only restaurant...

Reimann%26#39;s

(german cuisine, walking from old town)

30159 Hannover City - Theaterstr. 14

Tel: +49 (0) 511 3008631

Ruhetag: So

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Dining experience in all aspects you will receive here...

(X-over modern cuisine, 15€ Taxi from old town...)

Restaurant Basil

Dragonerstr. 30, 30163 Hannover

Telefon: 0511 - 62 26 36

www.basil.de

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beside the BAZIL is a very stylish Cocktail bar...so if you are in mood for extended evening-...

=%26gt; http://www.acanto.de/

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For a romantic dinner in a very small restaurant...

(italian, 12€ Taxi from old town)

Ristorante Azurro

Voßstraße 51, 30163 Hannover

Telefon: 0511 - 3 94 16 65

www.azurro.de

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At lake side sitting on a pier...

(x-over cuisine, 10€ Taxi from old town)

Pier 51

Rudolf-von-Bennigsen-Ufer 51, 30173 Hannover

Telefon: 0511 - 807 18 00

www.pier-51.de

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For the full traditional german food basics experience...

(note: smokey place...but very downtown in the old-town)

Altdeutsche Bierstube

Köbelingerstr. 4

30159 Hannover

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some more selected german restarants in the center.....

Bavarian (german) food:

Bavarium

Hannover (D), Windmühlenstr. 3

Tel: (+49) 511 323600

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Bayerische Botschaft

Hannover (D), Prinzenstr. 1 / Thielenplatz

Tel: (+49) 511 3681285

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German food:

BRAUHAUS ERNST AUGUST

Hannover (D), Schmiedestr. 13

Tel: (+49) 511 365950

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Ständige Vertretung Hannover

Hannover (D), Friedrichswall 10

Tel: (+49) 511 213869-0

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Bars:

Exclusive place...starts to fill around 10pm...

(15€ Taxi from old town)

Harry`s New-York Bar Hannover

Pelikanplatz 31

30177 Hannover

bartime.de/location.harry%60s-new-york-bar-h…

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Some more bars are located in front of the OPERA house.

Later you move to the mainstation i.e. the backside of it at minus one floor.... there are lots of discos and bars for various styles....they usually open aroun 10:00pm but then they are still somehow %26quot;empty%26quot;.

Try the small PaloPalo club for Soul/Funk or for more streamlined music the OSHO disco.

If you move further away from the backside of the main station (200-300m) you will come to some lively student pubs.

11:00pm is the time where people normally start their weekend partytime....so no problem to stay awake till 3.a.m. or even later....

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.....hi angel andi....

here some start pages for browsing through hannover...

---

http://www.hannover.de/lang/en/

---

www.9staedte.de/sehenswertes/en/hannover.php

---

germany-tourism.de/ENG/destination_germany/m…

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There are some good modern Art museums in Hannover - see Hannover tourismus website. You can take a boat trip around the lake. The Herrenhauser gardens are a pleasant stroll. Trips out to Hamlyn and Celle with half timbered buildings are well worth a detour as is Hildesheim with its main square as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The impressive Rathaus (town hall) is worth a look. You can go to the top in a lift to get good views of the city. There is a lovely cafe at the back overlooking a small lake.

The Market Hall (near the Rathaus) is super for mid day food and has lots of local atmosphere.

There is a small but well preserved Alstadt (Old Town) which is a nice place to sit and have a drink.

See my very recent post on food also.

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Removed on: 11:16 am, September 01, 2009

Help for train booking: Frankfurt > Cochem/Mosel > Amsterdam

I wasn’t sure where to post, so I apologize for posting in both the Frankfurt and Cochem forums.

My husband and I (age 36 and 38) are planning to purchase rail tickets using the Deutche Bahn.de website, and we have a lot of questions:

Discounts: The website lists discounts Savings Price 25 and 50. I’m unclear about how the various discounts work. Are these only for citizens of Europe? Is there a pass that needs to be purchased to receive these special rates? We will book our tickets 80-90 days in advance.

Our complete travel will be:

Frankfurt %26gt; Cochem on a Friday

While in the Mosel Valley, we will travel to other towns by train /boat

Cochem to Amsterdam on a Monday

Amsterdam to Brugge/Brussels on a Friday

Brussels to Paris on a Sunday

While in Paris, we will do some regional train travel as well

There is another discount BahnCard – that appears to cost 15 Euro, but allows discounts in other countries. Given our other travel, does it make sense to buy this card? (We don’t want to purchase a Eurail ticket, because it seems that it is much more costly than individual tickets).

About the trip from Frankfurt airport to Cochem, Mosel Valley:

We arrive at the Frankfurt airport (international) at 11:00, and want to go directly to Cochem. Do we need to take a train from the airport to Frankfurt’s main station? How much time should we allow for that train ride? Is 3 hours enough for getting luggage and getting to Frankfurt Main?

Which option for Cochem should I choose? The ones that seem to make the most sense are:

Cochem (Mosel)

Cochem (Mosel) KD

Cochem Bahnhof

Am Markt (Cochem)

1st and 2nd Class: What’s the difference? I assume it will vary by the type of train, but is there any circumstance where we would not want to use a 2nd class ticket?

OnLine Tickets: Is there any concern we should have about purchasing online tickets in advance from America?

Thanks so much for any guidance you can give!

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I think I can help with some of your questions:

Booking online tickets and printing them out should be no problem anywhere, but you do need to produce the credit card used to buy them when asked on the train.

I think you change at Koblenz to get to Cochem andthe Koblenz IC trains from Frankfurt stop at the airport station (Fernbahnhof), so you won%26#39;t need to go in to Frankfurt. You need a journey from Frankfurt airport to Cochem(Mosel). I would allow 2 hours assuming the plane is on time so the 12.59 train from the airport would be reasonably safe.

I think the 25 %26amp; 50 savings prices are for anyone, but the tickets are fixed to a particular train, so it could be a problem if your flight is late and you miss the one you are booked on. Full price tickets are flexible and valid on any train.

2nd class is normally fine - first gives more space for 50% extra fare.

Bahncards cost much more than €15 - I think this is an extra supplement to give discounts in the rest of Europe.

Cochem to Amsterdam can be bought from DB as it starts in Germany. The other single journeys might be better bought from the originating country%26#39;s website. Brussels to Paris is on thalys.com - collect the tickets in Belgium.

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Removed on: 12:19 pm, August 30, 2009

Train from Frankfurt Flughafen to Bingen?

Is there one? Also, what transportation is available from Bingen to the Hahn airport? Many thanks.

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DB timetable

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e

From: FRA airport

To: Bingen

From: Bingen

To: HHN

Bingen has two railway stations. Bingen Hbf (main railway station) and Bingen Stadt (town). Which one is the better depends of your destination. But they are not far apart.

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Removed on: 11:17 am, September 01, 2009

July in berlin

Just wondering if hayfever would be a problem in Berlin in early July

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I don%26#39;t have hayfever so I can%26#39;t speak from own experience. Anyway, I know a few friends who suffer from hayfever. Some suffer almost the whole summer, others only at certain times ... depending on what their are allergic to.

If you are suffering from hayfever a lot than autumn might be a better time for a visit. Berlin is a fairly green city with heaps of parks.

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Thanks for your help much appreciated

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Removed on: 10:19 am, September 01, 2009

Hamburg abd Berlin

My wife and I are getting off a cruise in Hamburg and want to see Berlin as well. I did not think it was worth staying in Hamburg but have read it is beatiful. If I have from Sept 1-6 how would you divide your time. I need to be in Hamburg for myu flight home on the 6th. I can extend now if I needed to. What are the sights to see in both places.

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Usually I would say that you could spend 6 days in either of the cities. If you have to divide the time I suggest to spend half of your time in Hamburg and half of it in Berlin. There is really enough to see in both cities. Would be more easy to give you some advice if one knew what you are interested in.

Hamburg is famous for the harbour, the river Alster and the river Elbe, there are many great museums. You can do some shopping in one of the numerous shopping centres, ... some of Hamburg quarters like Carolinenviertel, Blankenese, St. Georg... are also worth a visit - always depending on what you are interested...

I%26#39;m no expert on Berlin so I leave that to someone else...

Just give me some ideas about your interests and I%26#39;ll try to think about some more concrete things to do.

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We enjoy museums, restaurants, great hotels and interesting sights. We like shopping bnut have found that with euro to dollar it is usually cheaper here. I am a watch collector and would like to find a Lange%26amp;Sohne which is made in Glashutte. Is that city close to where I will be?

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From Berlin to Glashuette it%26#39;s about 230km and from Hamburg to Glashuette about 500.

Interesting museums in Hamburg are:

-art gallery (http://www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de/)

-exhibition gallery (http://www.deichtorhallen.de/357.html)

-a museum where you can experience how blind people live their life (www.dialog-im-dunkeln.de/prehome_en.htm)

- maritime museum (internationales-maritimes-museum-hamburg.de/…)

- Hamburg museum (http://www.hamburgmuseum.de/index_e.html)

- a muserum in the port of Hamburg dealing with the history of the old warehouses etc. (http://www.speicherstadtmuseum.de/#)

- a museum about the people of the world (http://www.voelkerkundemuseum.com/)

There are many more interesting museums in Hamburg but those I listed are the ones I liked most and where I would go again.

And in July a new museum will be opened which hopefully will be very interesting as well:

%26quot;Between 1850 and 1939, Hamburg served as the “Gateway to the World” for some 5 million European emigrants who left their homeland via the city’s port in search of a better life across the Atlantic. These people, many of whom were fleeing from political and religious persecution or simply wanted to escape a life of poverty and hunger, sought a new beginning, a better livelihood and the opportunity to make a fresh start in the “land of plenty”. And they all had high hopes of a better life. The BallinStadt (BallinCity) Museum is dedicated to these people.%26quot; ((http://www.ballinstadt.de/en/index.php))

When I was in Beriln I went to the Pergamonmuseum and I really loved it:

www.museumsinsel-berlin.de/index.php…

In case you like eating fish there are some really good restaurant in Hamburg at the river Elbe, e.g the Fischereihafen Restaurant. Unfortunately, the website is in German only but you can get at least have a look at the pictures :-)

www.fischereihafenrestaurant.de/index.php…

But here are of course many really good fish restaurant along the river Elbe.

There is also a brilliant Indian restaurant :

http://www.shalimar-hamburg.de/ (German website)

and lost of other international good restaurant and of course as well many wiht excellent German cuisine. So you really shouldn%26#39;t have difficulties finding something you like.

Great hotels in Hamburg are:

Grand Elysee (http://www.elysee.de/el/en/home.html)

Vier Jahreszeiten (http://www.hvj.de/)

East Hotel (http://www.east-hamburg.de/) - just click on one of the pictures, you%26#39;ll find the English flag there to change the language)

Hotel Atlantic (www.kempinski.atlantic.de/en/home/index.htm)

Steigenberger (http://www.hamburg.steigenberger.de/aw/Hotels/Steigenberger_Hotel_Hamburg/~bhyj/Englisch/)

Intercontinental Hamburg (http://www.hamburg.intercontinental.com/)

All these are very excuisite hotels but as you wrote that you love great hotels I thought it%26#39;s ok for you.

For the sites of Hamburg it might be easier for you to go to one of the websites to see more details about them:

international.hamburg.de/index.do…

hamburg-tourism.de/…

I think that Hamburg is a very interesting city to see because of it%26#39;s port, the rivers Elbe and Alster and because Hamburg was part of the Hanseatic League. All this makes its history and its development very interesting and special.

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I agree with Alexhh that you could fill 6 days in just oneof the cities but 3 days in each would give you a chance to get a feel for the place and visit the main sites and a few of the museums. An extra day in each and you cd think of addind day-trips , to Lübeck from Hamburg and Potsdam to Berlin. Both a contrast to the metropoles.

One sightseeing tip: go on a boat tour. I went on one in Hamburg (Alster and canals) and it was wonderful, seeing the city from a different perspective. Tour on the river Spree on Berlin also well worth it; lasts 60-90 mins. Even better is the 3-hour circular tour on river and canals.

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Removed on: 7:21 am, September 01, 2009