Oh PLEAASE, nodoby wants to see Stuttgart. Tourists only go there if they are forced to.

Since last September, a second 5-star hotel has joined the list of Priceline hotels in Hamburg. Le Royal Meridien is a brand new hotel with high-tech features and modern design. It is on the Outer Lake (Ausseralster) right next to the Kempinski Atlantic, about 1 km from the Vier Jahreszeiten, but very close to the main train station (Hauptbahnhof), where you can catch the U-Bahn or S-Bahn trans to any destination in the city. More information in this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/000288.html


Map for Hamburg hotels:

http://tinyurl.com/2k6vp

[This message has been edited by Non-NonRev (edited Feb 07, 2004).]

I have seen almost any and all places in Germany (mostly during business trips, which I extended for private fun)

Here is my list, I have seen all but Rotenburg. Classification 1 to 6; 1 = you have to see, 6 = never go there.
Location: S=South, E=East, M=Middle, N=North, W=West. I added also places near the border.

Big towns:
Berlin 1,E
Munich 1,S
Hamburg 1,N

Smaller towns (50,000 to 900,000 inh.):
Luebeck 1,N
Schwerin/Wismar 3,N
Bremen 2,N
Worpswede 3,N
Lueneburg 3,N
Bamberg 2,S
Regensburg 3,S
Dresden 1,M/E
Heidelberg 3,M
Strasbourg, France 2,S/M
Salzburg, Austria 1,S
Nuernberg 3,S
Leipzig 3,M/E
Wiesbaden 3,M
Baden Baden 3,S
Potsdam 3,E
Weimar 3,M/E
Erfurt 3,M/E
Wartburg in Eisenach 3,M/E
Rotenburg odT 3 M/S
Wuerzburg 3,M
Cologne 3,M/W
Trier 3,W
Colmar, France 2,S/M
Ruedesheim 5,M
Villages near Ruedesheim 2,M

Interesting venues:
Rhine Valley 1,M/W
Mosel Valley 1,M/W
D'Alsac/Elsass, France 1,M/S
Black Forest 2,S
Spreewald 3,E
Lueneburger Heide 3,N
Starnberger See/Tegernsee 2,S

Make your planing with http://www.viamichelin.com
and have fun!

Somewhere in this thread is a question about the train in Munich. If you buy your ticket and get on the train a guard will appear and try to charge you a large fine...because you didn't stamp your ticket before you got on the train. The people who sell you the ticket neglect to mention this aspect. Don't get on without it. They can spot the tourists. And if you go to Berlin, take the time to go to Potsdam. If you can get to Weimar, you must see what has become of the concentration camp at Buchenwald, just north of town. Unlike the places in the western half, it has survived in pretty much the state it was in at the end of the war, with the addition of a museum and information about how the Russians used it.

B1:
I second your recommendation regarding Potsdam and Weimar.

Do you have to stamp the ticket? It depends:
-When you take the S-Bahn or U-Bahn (Underground), you may have to stamp it.
-When you go with Bundesbahn, (mostly) not. Actually, sometimes I purchased the ticket on the train (from the Schaffner, Controller). I am not sure, if this is still possible today.

Hi,

there is no problem with the trains at Munich Airport because these trains are S-Bahn (Metro) and they depart every 15 or 20 Minutes. You don´t need a reservation and if you buy a ticket and miss your train - no problem, take the next one!

You will just have problems, if you need to catch a train at the downtown station (Hauptbahnhof).

If you have lots of time, you shouldn´t forget to visit Augsburg! If you take the train northbount (Stuttgart, Frankfurt), it is just 30 Minutes from Munich, next stop with the ICE-Train.

Augsburg was founded by the romans, 15 b.C., you can visit a Roman Museum, the Schaezler-Palais (Marie Antoinette stopped here on here way to Paris for her wedding), visit the Fuggerei (Worlds first social living project, founded 1514).

Augsburg was Birthplace of Bert Brecht, the writer and of Rudolph Diesel (Diesel Motor)

http://www.augsburg.de/Seiten/augsbu...gsburg_e.shtml

Don´t miss the visit! But I think, if you want to see all recommended cities, you have to move to Germany.... (sorry for my terrible english)

Wendy

Welcome to Flyertalk, Wendy! Great first post, and don't worry about the english, you're doing fine.

Wow! This thread is great! I was thinking of going to Berlin to see the pandas, and maybe doing an open jaw (PDX-VCE, TXL-PDX) with a OW ticket on Volare (VCE-BER). But with all these suggestions and great links, perhaps I should spend the whole week in Germany? Has anyone seen the pandas at the Berlin Zoo? There is no English version of the Zoo site.

I checked out the holiday apartment website www.zimmervermittlung24.com , and am wondering if this is a safe alternative (I'm on a tight budget) for a single female. Thank you for any help.

Linda

Yes, a great post... keep on posting!
Your English is just fine. BTW, I use ieSpell - a Spell Checker for Internet Explorer
http://www.iespell.com

The Berlin Zoo has two PANDAS:

BAO BAO - a man
and
Yan Yan - a girl

The Zoo is in Westend, near the train station "Bahnhof Zoo".
I assume, there is another Zoo in the ex-communistic part of Berlin.

For Brecht fans - see Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin

http://www.haraldvoss.de/berlin/be.html

I don't know about your accommodation link, I use very often http://www.hrs.com/

Berlin is truly amazing. And it is completely different each time you go ( things are changing so fast ) so even if you've "done" it already, you really haven't. See what's left of the Wall and the Death Strip ( many remnants left ) and the earlier Third Reich and First Reich historical architecture. And so many museums! I like the Technology museum in the old bombed out Potsdamer Bahnhof - lots of old trains and whatnot. A really fascinating side trip is to Auschwitz and Krakow in neighboring Poland. It can be done by train over a weekend. No visa needed for Americans. Also less known is the Volkswagen museum in nearby Wolfsburg (if you like old bugs) and the East German museum in Eisenhuettenstadt (sp?) a couple of hours away (if you like old Trabis and other extinct everyday items). Enjoy yourself!

If you are leaving at any point from Frankfurt Airport, onto a train, know that there are two train stations there, one for regional trains only.

You will probably want the bigger train station which you must go down a very long hallway to reach. You will know it by its large glass dome overhead, but on the way there are many ticket brokers that advertise train tickets. Go past these and get your ticket directly from a train ticket booth in the glass dome area above the station. The train area is just down the elevators/ escaltors.

We just spent 8 days in Germany over Thanksgiving. There is so much to do and see, but here are my suggestions.

First, buy a rail pass - the link was posted earlier (use raileurope...if you do, e-mail me and I'll give you a way to get cash back). Buy a first class pass, regardless of what anyone else tells you. Please, trust me on this one. It IS worth the extra $.

Spend at least one or two days in the Rhine. I would not waste time in Koblenz. If the cruises are running, take one, which is included in your rail pass (kd). Stop at one or two of the smaller towns and tour one of the castles. Architecture and history abound.

If you like history and architecture, go to Baden Baden, which has a spa built on the ruins of an ancient Roman bath. It was the best spa/bath experience I've ever had. The town is very upscale and a great place to just hang around.

Skip the Black Forest unless you want views and hiking. The views are different than anywhere else in Germany, but unless you have extra time, it can be skipped.

You MUST spend several days around Munich. Be sure to see the science museum (we missed, but it is one of the largest in the world). There is plenty of museums and other cultural sights to keep you busy in Munich itself. You MUST then save a day to do Dachau. It was the most moving experience. We spent twice as long as we thought and it was raining and freezing. We would have stayed longer had the weather been better.

From Munich, take the train out to the Ludwig castles...well worth seeing. Then, I would take the 2 hour train ride to Salzburg (included in the pass). Lots or great architecture, the fort on the hill, the river, it is a great city.

Finally, given that you like architecture you will want to go to Rothenberg. Very touristy, but a place that is not to be missed (coming from an anti-touristy traveller...I hate crowds).

I could give you tons of details if you want to e-mail me with questions.

------------------
Randy
-------------------------
HH Gold; SPG Gold; NW Gold; UA PremEx

Ling:

It has been probably 20 years since we saw the Pandas at the Berlin Zoo. I hope that they have had an upgrade program for the zoo because it was old fashioned, mostly cages. That said, they had a wonderful selection of animals.

We are planning to see the Pandas at the Chiang Mai Zoo in a few weeks. We'll let you know how its ambiance compares.

Panda sitings to date: San Diego, Berlin, London, and if memory serves correctly, Paris.

Thank you, USAFAN, mileageslave, and opushomes, for your replies.

I wanted to know if the pandas in Berlin are still active or if they are barely moving... Pandas rarely make it to 30 years old in captivity. The panda in Paris died three years ago before I had a chance to visit. And the pair of pandas in London are no longer there (one was Bao Bao from Berlin...on loan for breeding). I guess Bao Bao isn't the fathering type.

opushomes, it'll be great if you get back to me about the Chiang Mai Zoo pandas! I told myself I am going to visit every panda in captivity by the time I'm 50 years old. Well, I don't have much time.

Panda sitings to date: San Diego, Memphis, Washington, DC, and Atlanta.

Linda