Comments | deutsche_kultur: Question about Travel

carbonphoenix in deutsche_kultur

Question about Travel

May 01, 2008 19:37

I am studying abroad this summer. Here's how my plan looks.

June 27 Arrive in Berlin

June 27-30
Wait for my USAC group.

June 30th-July 3rd
Berlin Tour

July 3rd-August 10
Living in Lüneburg

August 10
Take Eurail from Hamburg to Frankfurt (or stay in Hamburg)

August 10-12
Frankfurt or Hamburg

August 12
Leave Frankfurt (or Hamburg). Eurail from ( Read more... )

frankfurt, tourism, carbonphoenix, museums, lüneburg, berlin, munich, questions, hamburg

Comments 14

akiko May 2 2008, 18:20:20 UTC

If you can, make day- or weekend-trips. Germans, correct me, but I believe there are cheap group passes for the slow trains on weekends. Economical and an easy way to see places nearby. DJH hostels are cheap and clean. I'm assuming you're a student.

Take a Rheinschifffahrt! (That triple-f looks so wrong to me. Blöde Rechtschreibungsreform.) They start in Mainz, which is sort of near Frankfurt. If you book ahead, you can stay in a youth hostel in a castle (in Bacharach.)

Cheap eats can be had at döner kebab stands. Yum. Also, gelato.

Personally, I don't think doing anything alone is fun, so I'm not going to be much of a help in that arena.

carbonphoenix May 2 2008, 19:25:03 UTC

I don't have much choice about going it alone. A friend might come and meet me around the 11th of August but she's still unsure

akiko May 2 2008, 19:52:33 UTC

Other people enjoy doing things alone. I'm not one of them. It's part of my personality type; I have rather more fun if I'm with somebody. Other people are fine wandering through museums alone. I'm, as I say, not.

Mightn't you make friends during your study? Classmates, neighbors, housemates? You haven't said if you're doing a homestay.

claudee May 2 2008, 18:52:49 UTC

You should rethink maybe skipping Hamburg , it's such an incredibly and lovely city!

And yes, there are not too costly weekend tickets, it's called "Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket" (http://www.bahn.de/regional/view/bundesweit/bahnregional/freizeit/schoenes_wochenende_ticket.shtml) But as you can only take the slow trains, you might be "on the road" for quite some time, better keep that in mind. It's the cheapest when you're not alone, up to five people can travel with it for one day (as a group), for 35/37 Euros.

carbonphoenix May 2 2008, 19:25:48 UTC

I have who might end up coming, and in that case I'd be meeting her in Hamburg. I was just thinking that because I'd be so close it wouldn't be like I'd never see it while I was living in Lüneburg

annie4th May 2 2008, 21:50:34 UTC

I can only second this. Not going to Hamburg would be a shame, as it is one of the most beautiful cities in Germany. And I'm not only saying this because I am from Hamburg ( ... )

claudee May 2 2008, 22:51:39 UTC

Something a bit more unusual. A miniature Wonderland. Check out the videos. The funny thing is, that the guys who started it, used to be in the same class as my best friend.
http://www.miniatur-wunderland.de/

This is so lovely! I always wanted to go and finally managed to do so last June - incredibly lovely place, even though you are not that much into miniature trains, it's just incredibly lovely to see what a great thing they built.

bec_87rb May 2 2008, 20:30:29 UTC

Oh noes, going to Munchen and not hitting the Deutsches Museum!? It's the Smithsonian of Germany! ;)

http://www.deutsches-museum.de/

You can spend a week in there; well worth the time. So is the Alte Pinakothek, if you dig art, very neat.

Nurnburg is kind of cool, too, especially if you're a fan of Albrecht Durer.

akiko May 2 2008, 21:51:38 UTC

Ditto on the Deutsche Museum. Also, in Nuremberg, take a tour of the Felsengänge. http://www.felsengaenge-nuernberg.de/en/index.htm

carbonphoenix May 3 2008, 13:30:27 UTC

Hm thanks for pointing that out. I don't know how that slipped my list

germankitty May 2 2008, 23:37:07 UTC

Seconding Hamburg, and the Deutsches Museum.

Please bear in mind that you'll be traveling towards the southern part of Germany when school summer break starts there; it's likely that hostels and trains may be positively PACKED, especially on weekends. Take a look here for all the summer breaks in the various states; you would do well trying to book rooms in advance, or you'll be stranded.

Look up youth hostels, or if you're looking for something a bit more urban for reasonable prices, try the local Kolping hostels/hotels; most cities have one, and they should be in the local phone books.

a really long comment buzzboomsplat May 3 2008, 08:02:31 UTC

I think I was really lucky to go to Europe in Winter because although some places were still packed with tourists, I had a lot more chance of finding a bed in a hostel at short notice (I only booked five nights ahead of time, the rest of the time I turned up that day). This meant that I could decide on a Thursday night that I wanted to take the night bus to Paris on the Saturday ( ... )

Re: a really long comment maiden_heart May 4 2008, 13:39:54 UTC

i love the way you worded the last part :)