Germany experts?

[motion]

I'm in Luxemborg for the night, and trying to figure out what to do with the next 2 days. I was thinking of making a push for Lithuania and Latvia, just to check them out quickly and add another 2 countries to my list, but its a stretch. I have to be in Prague by midnight on Monday night. I could do it, but that's a heck of a lot of driving.

Anything good in northern Germany? I've already been to Amsterdam and Belgium. How about Copenhagen? Is that worth the hassle? Northern Poland? Coast of the Baltic Sea? I'm open to suggestions

[nota]

GP in Austria sunday

[motion]

I drove by it on Thursday. I'd love to go... but am boycotting F1 until they go back to real engines.

[nota]

train sleepers ?
go that way and wake up in a new city
without the long drives

[LakeCleElum]

I did that trip a year go. Spent a night in Dusseldorf, Bremen and then the edge of Poland on the way to Prague.....Nothing really remarkable about Northern Germany in my book. Fun bars and restaurants in any town along the Rhine; Dusseldorf was great for that.

With your time constrains, I'd say spend a night somewhere in Poland on the way. That would be more direct than some of the other places you mention. Have fun. Prague is a great city.

[slodave]

Nothing remarkable about Bremen? You must have taken the wrong tour. I grew up there. Plenty of history.

[Brown747]

Patton and 5,075 other US WWII soldiers buried in Luxembourg. Very close by is also 10,000+ German war losses. Very moving.

http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/luxembourg-american-cemetery#.VYXwaSjDPzI

German Cemetery Sandweiler - Visit Luxembourg

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by slodave

Nothing remarkable about Bremen? You must have taken the wrong tour. I grew up there. Plenty of history.

Opps - Sorry Dave.....Yes the old part of the city and Restaurants were great. Lots of history in Bremen. A gal my wife went to school with is a nurse in the Psych ward there and showed us around....I was mainly referring to drives in Northern Germany. Nothing compared to the Alps or Italy IMHO.......

[slodave]

That's true. My cousin lives in Bremen and loves the Northern (cold) coast. Last trip, I wanted to do a driving tour and he suggested a Northern drive, which I vetoed.

[Cajundaddy]

Berlin!

If you have not been it is a must-see in Germany IMO. A depth of history and the duality on each side of the wall is worth a visit from any world traveler. Personally I was far more interested in Berlin than Prague which seems to be simply overrun with tourists these days.

[Rick Lee]

If you're already in Luxembourg, head to Trier and Saarburg. It's less than an hour away. Trier is the oldest city in Germany with some great Roman ruins. Lots of cool stuff around there - Bitburg, Saarbruecken, Daun.

[Bill Douglas]

Yes, Bremen good. I've spent a bit of time down the road a bit in Osnabruck. Great place, excellent beer, fantastic women.

[Erakad]

Definitely hit Trier....a ton of history there. Berg Elz (very cool castle) is very near by off the A-48, as is Cochem castle. The Mosel, beautiful, many quaint towns there (plus fantastic wine), very walkable town on the mosel, just down from Wittlich on the A-1 is Bernkastel-Kues...exactly what you look for in a "quaint" German town. If you're driving to Prague, I'd go to Trier, take the A-1/A-48 through Koblez and a quick stop is the Deutche Ecke (where the Mosel and Rhine meet) then through Frankfurt, stay on the A-3 through Wurzbueg to Nurenberg, then straight into Czech and Prague. Not really much in Saarburg except a small castle, but the Villory and Bach factory outlet is past Saarburg in Mettlach. For me....summer....drink wine on the Mosel in Bernkastel.

[motion]

Thanks, everyone. I missed Trier. Next time, for sure. Its on my list.

I've already been to Berlin... just a couple months ago. I really enjoyed it.

I ended up spending some time at the American Cemetery, thinking of all the fathers, then driving to Spa Francorchamps and taking in some afternoon auto racing. Euro F3 was the last race of the day, and I enjoyed that. Spa is my favorite track anywhere, and I'm so happy to have finally seen it. Someday, I hope to see real F1 cars taking Eu Rouge flat out.

Tomorrow, I'll loligag my way through southern Germany and a bit of Czech on my way to Prague. I did spend 3 days in Prague a week ago. I totally dig it.

Really appreciate all the feedback, as always

[Rick Lee]

Which route are you taking to CZ? If you come from Nueremberg, stop in Plzn and do the Pilsenser Urquell brewery tour. That brewery restaurant is a slice of heaven, one of the best meals I've ever had. If you go from Passau, go to Budojovice (Budvar) and do the real Budweiser brewery tour AND definitely go stay in Cesky Krumlov, which is an amazing little town off the beaten path. If you go that route, you could also hit the Ossuary in Kutna Hora, which is that insane church made of skeletons. That's actually the most visited site in the CZ Republic. Also, outside of Prague near Kladno is Lidice, which is quite a memorial and museum.

[motion]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Which route are you taking to CZ? If you come from Nueremberg, stop in Plzn and do the Pilsenser Urquell brewery tour. That brewery restaurant is a slice of heaven, one of the best meals I've ever had. If you go from Passau, go to Budojovice (Budvar) and do the real Budweiser brewery tour AND definitely go stay in Cesky Krumlov, which is an amazing little town off the beaten path. If you go that route, you could also hit the Ossuary in Kutna Hora, which is that insane church made of skeletons. That's actually the most visited site in the CZ Republic. Also, outside of Prague near Kladno is Lidice, which is quite a memorial and museum.

Rick, you are a walking encyclopedia of northern Europe

My son and I did visit Cesky Krumlov last week. We spent a half day walking all over the old town.

I will definitely try to do a brewery tour and also check out Kutna Hora, which I had completely forgotten about. Thanks!

[Bill Douglas]

I'm waiting until Richard and Rick put the book out before I go on a world tour.

[Monza_dh]

what about the Nürburgring?

[Rick Lee]

That's not even close to being on the way back to Prague.

[RonDent]

Dresden, only a couple of hours from Praha.