Sights and things to do in Hannover and Braunschweig Germany
 

Hey all,

I'm heading on my first trip to Germany in a little over a week. I'm quite excited!

At any rate, are there any sights I should see or things that are "must do's" while I'm there? I'm attending a conference in Hannover, but due to the outrageous hotel costs, I'm staying in Braunschweig, which is about 40 miles away.

This can be expanded to other things: any particular foods I should try, who has the best gas (for a car), etc? I have a few plug adapters ordered, and most of my power bricks can already handle European power.

I also have a question about jetlag: my flight out there leaves IAD for ZRH at 6pm, and I finally get to Hamburg at around 11am. As I have to drive to Braunschweig, would I be better of to stay up thru the jetlag, or sleep some of the flight? This will be the most jet lag I've ever experienced ... 5 hours was the most 15 years ago.

Thanks!

Super

Some ideas
 

Sorry, double-posted.

Some ideas
 

In Braunschweig I surely would opt for a walk through the old city-center. It has quite beautyfull, well preserved town-houses. Then a must would be the old castle, founded by Duke Henry the Lion, and the lutheric cathedral of the town. As well the Duke Anton Ulrich Museum (Herzog-Anton-Ulrich-Museum) would be worth a visit: It houses several paintings of Rembrandt and Rubens, and says about itself being "the fourth largest picture gallery of Old Masters in Germany".

Some basic Information about Braunschweig you can get here:
http://www.braunschweig.de/english/index.html

Hannover is the capital of Niedersachsen state. There are several museums and sights to visit. The best thing would be, if you inform yourself here:

www.hannover.de/english/tourist.htm

I don´t know, where your conference takes place in Hannover, but you should consider using the railroad between both cities. The trainstations of Hannover and Braunschweig are both located close to the city-center, and the train-ride would take only 45 Minutes in a regional-train. A single ticket costs around 9 Euro, and trains departure every hour. The schedule is available here:

http://www.bahn.de/-S:PtVORN:dvQ8,dN...l_guests.shtml

(If you would take an intercity, which would be slightly more expensive, it would take 36 minutes to go from Hannover to Braunschweig). Both cities have quite acceptable public-transport-systems, Hannover for example has both S-Trains (as well to the airport) and a Subway-System. The biggest advance of this would be avoiding the traffic-jams around both towns. And you would not have to look (and pay) for parking-space in Hannover.

Btw., why are you flying to Hamburg? Hannover has an airport itself...

You may be there:

3/10/2005 - 3/16/2005 Time: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM CeBIT Hannover Trade Show

If so, it's a ZOO. All streets from to Hannover are super congested.

If you are not during CEBIT, it's still is about 3 hours from HAM to Braunschweig on Autobahn... HAM is North of Hamburg, you have to pass Elb-Tunnel with heavy traffic.
BTW, Hamburg is very nice. Braunschweig and Hannover are O.K.

Thanks for the tips. I'll have to check out that castle ... I've never been to one and that would be really cool.

Do you happen to know if there is parking at any of those stations (the intercity or the Uestra for Hannover)? I'm thinking it might be a good idea.

As someone else asked, yes, I'm going to CeBit.

Reason I'm flying to HAM and not Hannover? Cost. I work for the government and we have to use refundable tickets. It costs significantly less to buy a ticket to Hamburg (where there's a government contract fare) and rent a car vs. HAJ, which doesn't have a fare. Ticket was about $2400 cheapest to HAJ ... $968 to HAM. I don't make the rules, and it was the only way I could swing going. I'm still happy nonetheless.

Super

That's what I'm going to.

Braunschweig wasn't my first choice to stay in. Hannover hotels were either booked, or the rates were way out of my per diem for lodging (get $165 a day). Lodging in Hannover was about 400 euros ... I'm not paying that to stay at a Holiday Inn.

Braunschweig looked like it had the easiest autobahn access than some other places I looked.

Talking as someone who crosses the Atlantic three or four times a year my STRONG advice would be NOT to drive after an overnight eastbound transatlantic flight, especially if you are travelling in Coach (which, looking at the price you paid, you almost definitely are!). It's not so much the jetlag that's the problem, it's the lost sleep.

If I were you I'd take the train to Braunschweig, try to stay up until mid-evening German time, get yourself a good night's sleep and start afresh in the morning. If you need a rental car get one in Braunschweig. Or just use public transport throughout. You don't really NEED a car in Germany. I have several friends in Germany who have opted not to have cars - and they are managing quite happily with the occasional rental car at week-ends.

Hamburg to Braunschweig is around two hours by train, with a change in Hannover, and trains run very frequently (twice an hour during the day). Either take a cab from the airport to the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof), or, if you're feeling slightly more adventurous, use the airport shuttle bus which is operated by a company called Jasper. You won't save much time by taking a cab but it's obviously going to be more comfortable.

Edited to add: Information about train travel in Germany (including timetables) can be found at www.bahn.de. To get to the English version click on the "Int Guests" link in the menu bar at the top (clicking on "English" on the left-hand side of the page will just get you to the English version of the timetable tool)

Rittersaal in Braunschweig
 

In Braunschweig, you will want to see the Rittersaal in the City Hall (Rathaus). It is essentially the knights' meeting room....very nicely decorated and one of the best exemplars of this type of facility I have ever seen in Germany. "Saal" means large meeting room as in "ballroom".

If you like automobiles (and who doesn't) :) consider a trip to AUTOSTADT (Auto City) in nearby Wolfsburg.

Autostadt, built next to the big Volkswagen factory, is a sort of Disneyland for adults revolving around the history of, and the current offerings of, the various VW Group brands (VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bently, Lamborghini). There's an on-site Ritz Carlton which has two good restaurants, worth checking out even if you don't stay overnight. Highly recommended!

AUTOSTADT WEBSITE


(IIRC it's about 30 minutes by train from Hannover, about 59 minutes from Berlin Zoo Station - the Wolfsburg Station is directly opposite Autostadt - you simply walk over the tracks via a pedestrian bridge, and you're at the main hall).

Also -

Are you flying through ZRH on LX in F or C? If so, be sure to use the Allegra Lounge for a refreshing shower and snack before continuing on to HAM.

In Hannover itself, the Staatsoper offers very modern productions with dirt-cheap tickets (about €41 last year for the best ticket) - last year I saw a Trovatore with the hero (Manrico) portrayed as a guitar-slamming Elvis imitator and a bag-lady Leonora.....

Niedersächsischen Staatstheater Hannover Website

Obviously too late for this year as you've booked your flight - but if you're going again (or if someone else is planning to go) FRA is probably a far more convenient airport for Hannover than HAM. It's further away, but there is a direct train straigh from Frankfurt Airport to Hannover.

HAM is really quite an awkward airport to get to and from, especially from the south, as it's north of the city centre, and it's quite a way from any motorways, and the only public transport link is a bus. Things should improve slightly in a few years' time when they've finished the new train line to the airport

Braunschweig for a place to stay is O.K.
I have been almost my whole life at CEBIT, every year. You will see the greatest traffic disaster you have ever seen. You might not find a parking place unless your company has reserved one.
In the morning all streets are one-way to the fair. You may be directed by police to a very remote location ... In the afternoon it's one way away from fair..

I would go by train to the fair. They have 80+ special trains from allover Germany to the fair .. direct to a station next to it.

http://www.messe.de/incoming_e?x=1

Yes, on the map the connection Braunscheig - Hannover Messe looks great, mostly Autobahn ... During the CEBIT it's a zoo..you may get lost in traffic ...
It's a real shame that "your" people, who organized, invited you, did not warn you.

I understand that you are a culture-fan.
However, I have to warn.. I have seen Bert Brecht's "GALILEO GALILEI" in Hannover (at Aegi or so). It was so lousy that my college and I left during the break....I have seen at least 40 Brecht performances and know what I am talking about.

BTW, near Braunschweig is Fallersleben, a nice old town......August Heinrich Hoffmann, who used Hoffmann von Fallersleben as his pen name, was a German poet. He was born in Fallersleben (today Wolfsburg), Brunswick-Lüneburg, Holy Roman Empire, on April 2, 1798 and died in Corvey, Germany, on January 19, 1874. Today, he is best known for writing "Das Lied der Deutschen", which is now the national anthem of Germany, and a number of popular children's songs.

And Magdeburg is not far too ......The Cathedral of Magdeburg, officially called the Cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice (known as Magdeburger Dom in German) was the first Gothic cathedral in Germany and with a height of 104 m, it is the tallest cathedral in the former East Germany. The cathedral is in Magdeburg, the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and is also home to the grave of Otto I the Great.

Years??!?! :eek:
Last time I was im HH they said that the new S-Bahn line to Fuhlsbuttel woud be open "in early 2005".....

USAFAN - I'm a great fan of the Weill/Brecht Aufsteig und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny the best production of which I saw in HH in 2000 (and the worst one in Paris in 1994, set in the Wild West against the express instructions of W & B that it NOT be set there).

Great tips folks. Thanks. I'll be sure to check out the place.

Ironically, FRA has a higher fare than HAM does, even though HAM is a connecting point. Almost $200 more. Weird.

I'm flying in Y. I did buy up my ticket from HCA to YCA for $150. Gets me into E+ and at least the bonus EQMs. I'm still waiting for miles from Ameniti to post. Even if they come in time, I'll still use them for BWI-NRT in C instead of Y. So my only hopes for an upgrade this point are an op up or if Mr. Chicken smiles upon me to offer a buy up to C when I check in. I'm not counting on eithe rof those.

I've never been to CeBit and I don't think anyone at work has, so the situation is a bit of ignorance on all our parts. I found this site after I booked everything. Next year, if I can go again, I'll book earlier.

I'll definitely look into the train options. Sounds like a better option.

Super