Started planning a trip for the first week of August. Have a list of places (mostly car related). Also would love to hit up the Hungarian GP Aug 4th ( anyone whose been please chime in).
Looks like packages with hotels in munich and berlin are the cheapest.
Things already planned..
BMW, porsche, Mercedes, autostadt museums. Would love to visit and do a taxi ride around "the ring".
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Dan
If in Munich....
German Museum for sure, note that all the cars are at the Verkehrszentrum which is a second location from the main engineering museum which is fantastic.
All the beer halls are great.
We took a day trip/train ride to Neuschwanstein Castle as my wife wanted to see it.
The Sinsheim Technik Museum an hour south of Frankfurt is really cool.
https://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en/
Germany's a big place - how much time do you want to spend going from city to city, and how do you plan to do it? Gas is not cheap; trains are probably a better bet if you're covering a lot of ground. A week is not a lot of time (I'm assuming from your wording that you are going for a week; if you have more time then things ease up a bit).
Berlin is a fascinating city, but it's unlike most of the rest of the country in some ways; I'd consider it almost a destination by itself. It's also not particularly car-oriented in the way that Munich or Stuttgart are.
Adding in the F1 race in Hungary seems way too complicated to fit into a week's trip. If it were me (and it has been), pick one or (at most) two cities and base out of there, then look for things that are within day-trip distance. Trying to see everything usually means that you see nothing. Leave time to hang out in a coffee house or beer garden, stroll around, and do other basic things that will make for a richer experience.
X2 on any of the German technical/science museums. The one in Munich is awesome as already mentioned.
Walk around Heidelberg is always an easy win. It's about 1 hour South of the Frankfurt airport iirc.
Drive the Nurburgring! It's a bucket list item for 20 euros.
We just spent three days in Berlin back in December. I enjoyed it, and it’s easy to take up that much time there... same with Munich, it’s an easy 3 days of sights.
but based on your other interests, it’s probably better to fly in to Frankfurt... it’s a little more central to the stuff you’re talking about. Or you might be able to fly into/out of Munich. I’d avoid booking layovers in the UK for right now 
I agree with hitting Munich, and plenty of car stuff there. If you want to get out to the ‘ring, you’re going to need a rental car... public transit out there is difficult. Also, your wife will probably be bored... unless you drop her in Adenau... and then for probably not that long.
I dig Neuschwanstain/Hohenschwangau. That’s probably a day trip, though.
I should also state that the 'Ring in August... is going to be nuts. Most of France will be on vacation, and anyone driving to the GP might stop there to make laps. There will be crashes, and when there's not, there will be so many people trying to get a lap in that it'll be a parking lot to get off.
if you want to get laps at the 'Ring, spring/fall are the best time... and you should plan a couple of days since T/F times can change, and the weather is always changing... so it's best to keep your plans open for it.
standard caveats: ymmv, caveat emptor, etc etc
Subscribing to thread. We're planning on visiting in early September for the first time so this is all great info!
Fly into Frankfurt , go to Sinshiem , it's on the way to Stuttgart.........
From Stuttgart it's a couple hours to Munich......
From there you need to pick a direction , stay south and go to Austria and the very small museum in Gmund , and then to Hungary......
Head back to Frankfurt and the Ring is about 2 hours Northwest....
If you want to go to Wolfsburg it's a long way from Munich.
The Autobahn is not unlimited speed everywhere and there is tons of truck traffic ,
Armitage said:Subscribing to thread. We're planning on visiting in early September for the first time so this is all great info!
September is Frankfurt auto show or Automecanika , it's Huge , as in 10-15 halls halls full of stuff....
I loved going but it will kill you by the end of the day....bring your most comfortable shoes !
..
Anyone thinking of going, should go out and by Rick Steves
and work through the video list:
which reminds me of a small town my wife and I really enjoyed: Rothenburg
stay the night there, and take the Nightwatchman's tour, if they're still doing it.
also, if anyone decides to stay "in town" in Frankfurt, and are there for more than "just passing through", let me know, and I'll drop in a "go and see/eat" list for it... which, iirc I owe to AnthonyGS in another thread. Frankfurt's not a big tourist town, but there's a lot of good food there.
Planning to travel by train primarily. Renting a car is not really in the plans. More than I want to take on when in a different country.
Yes i realize the F1 race may be difficult as well as the Ring. They're bucket list items and things I'd like to do while there but could be checked off later in life if not possible now.
I do plan do travel to this part of the world again so i don't have to cram it all in now but 7 days is what i have to work with in August.
Good ideal with focusing on two cities. Munich and Stuttgart would be those two cities.
Munich and Berlin seem to have the cheaper "packages" with hotels included so I'd choose Munich.
My sister and nephew are also going the same week but are staying in Heidelberg and want to see more touristy stuff while I'm more car focused.
They're package is also more expensive too.
Keep the comments coming!
sleepyhead said:We just spent three days in Berlin back in December. I enjoyed it, and it’s easy to take up that much time there... same with Munich, it’s an easy 3 days of sights.
but based on your other interests, it’s probably better to fly in to Frankfurt... it’s a little more central to the stuff you’re talking about. Or you might be able to fly into/out of Munich. I’d avoid booking layovers in the UK for right now
I agree with hitting Munich, and plenty of car stuff there. If you want to get out to the ‘ring, you’re going to need a rental car... public transit out there is difficult. Also, your wife will probably be bored... unless you drop her in Adenau... and then for probably not that long.
I dig Neuschwanstain/Hohenschwangau. That’s probably a day trip, though.
No wife for me so I don't have to worry about keeping anyone else happy but me. When you say difficult what exactly do you mean?
Thanks
OK, so fly to Munich (and back from there so you don't have to worry about dealing with two different airports). Train is about $30 each way, takes two hours or so. My suggestion, since your flight will inevitably come in early in the day (virtually all US flights do), is to go from the airport straight to the train station and head for Stuttgart immediately. You'll likely have time in the station to grab a bite if need be. Do your thing in Stuttgart, then come back to Munich for the remainder of your time. This way when your flight leaves (probably fairly early in the day) you will have an easy hop to the airport rather than a long train ride before getting on the plane - much more relaxing.
If you get bored in Munich, Salzburg is only about 90 minutes away by train and quite lovely.
The problem taking trains is they stop at train stations !
Normally not the best place in town.....
If you are only staying in Stuttgart and Munich you would not need a car , maybe think of renting one for a day or 2 and see the countryside , a drive to Innsbruck is nice....
And understand the August is vacation month , before they stopped auto production and set up for the new year model , not sure how they do it now ,
As others have said it's a big country , get out Google maps and check how far places are from your base......
...
dankspeed said:sleepyhead said:I agree with hitting Munich, and plenty of car stuff there. If you want to get out to the ‘ring, you’re going to need a rental car... public transit out there is difficult. Also, your wife will probably be bored... unless you drop her in Adenau... and then for probably not that long.
I dig Neuschwanstain/Hohenschwangau. That’s probably a day trip, though.
No wife for me so I don't have to worry about keeping anyone else happy but me. When you say difficult what exactly do you mean?
From Frankfurt am Main "Main Train Station"... which is the biggest airport closest to the 'Ring... it's 3 trains and 2 buses, with a total of 4 hours of travel... one way... and I don't recall where the bus stop is, and how far it is to the Dottinger Hohe entrance (where most of the 'Ring Taxi's are), but if it's in town, then some of the walking is... not pleasant, iirc. If you're traveling from the airport, it's another train, and probably another 20-30mins of travel time. Heck, google maps won't even try and make a public transit route... I had to do that through Deutsche Bahn's website (except the Airport to Hauptbahnhof part, which is from memory). Most of that week Mon-Thu it's currently scheduled open after the manufacturer's pool from 5:15 to 7:30.
Man, this makes me want to drop it into the calendar, get sleepwife to watch the kids for two days, and just meet you at FRA and then drive out for a couple of laps.
sleepyhead said:dankspeed said:sleepyhead said:I agree with hitting Munich, and plenty of car stuff there. If you want to get out to the ‘ring, you’re going to need a rental car... public transit out there is difficult. Also, your wife will probably be bored... unless you drop her in Adenau... and then for probably not that long.
I dig Neuschwanstain/Hohenschwangau. That’s probably a day trip, though.
No wife for me so I don't have to worry about keeping anyone else happy but me. When you say difficult what exactly do you mean?
From Frankfurt am Main "Main Train Station"... which is the biggest airport closest to the 'Ring... it's 3 trains and 2 buses, with a total of 4 hours of travel... one way... and I don't recall where the bus stop is, and how far it is to the Dottinger Hohe entrance (where most of the 'Ring Taxi's are), but if it's in town, then some of the walking is... not pleasant, iirc. If you're traveling from the airport, it's another train, and probably another 20-30mins of travel time. Heck, google maps won't even try and make a public transit route... I had to do that through Deutsche Bahn's website (except the Airport to Hauptbahnhof part, which is from memory). Most of that week Mon-Thu it's currently scheduled open after the manufacturer's pool from 5:15 to 7:30.
Man, this makes me want to drop it into the calendar, get sleepwife to watch the kids for two days, and just meet you at FRA and then drive out for a couple of laps.
I did a little more research on my lunch break and it looks like this might be best to have this be a trip all on it's own down the road. Renting a car seems to be the best way to get there and I kinda want to avoid that on my first trip. The f1 race while tricky seems much more doable.
If a German points out their golden shower trees, don’t tell them what it means in English. You’ll ruin their day and possibly childhood memories
Flying into Munich or Frankfurt are likely to be your best choices. Usually easier to get to Frankfurt, a lot of international flights to Munich require a plane change in Frankfurt. That said, IME there are better deals to be had to Munich or Dusseldorf.
Unless you really want to drive - and as other people pointed out, the Autobahn is not that much fun anymore as at least the east/west routes are essentially large truck parking lots - I would recommend taking the ICE (high speed train) whenever you can. That is, unless you want to go to more remote places that don't have good public transport connections (like the places I tend to end up in when I visit friends or family).
I love both the Deutsche Museum in Munch and the museum in Sinsheim - for a car person I'd say the latter is better. I usually have a car when I'm in the area around Sinsheim so I don't know how easy it is to get there via public transport. You can spend a *lot* of time in the Deutsche Museum. Personally I don't find Stuttgart that attractive a town, so I'd use it just as a stopover point on the trip to the Porsche museum in Zuffenhausen.
Oh, and keep some Euros on you in cash - Germans don't necessarily like paying for stuff with plastic and you will find places where you can only pay cash. That did get a lot better in the past 20 years or so, but I still run into this occasionally.
July and part of August are vacation season in France and Germany, so tourist attractions are likely to be busier than usual.
If you want to go see a very picturesque town in the area, visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Probably requires a car, though, it's a bit in the sticks.
Neuschwanstein is cool, but will be very busy. It's also (still) unfinished inside and one of several castles that Ludwig II built. One of the other ones that IMHO is worth visiting and less crowded is Linderhof. Less crowded being relative and all that.
Oh, and if you want to drive the 'ring, rent a car specifically for that - too many people have got into trouble for crashing their rental cars there and then ending up having issues with the insurance.
Also, from (bad) experience - don't book a flight where you have to change planes at JFK. Just don't. Trust me on this.
If you end up near Bremen and want to make some $ there's a window on Ebay Germany that I really want but the seller won't ship....
In reply to oldopelguy :
Won't ship or won't ship outside Germany? I have some family near Hamburg but they're probably too far away to drop by and pick up the part...
In reply to oldopelguy :
I used to live not that far from Bremen, in fact the first trip I took without parents was to there as a 14 year old.
As far as the Ring , I drove my VW bus around it with the German Vintage VW club one time and parked on it another time with 1000 plus Golfs to do some kind of a record for most one model car parted in a line !
I think to really get the feel of the Ring you need to "rent" a driver and his car and let him scare the shhhhhiiit out of you,
I loved when the Ring taxi lady driver would do laps on Top Gear at the Ring , for me that's the experience I would want , not driving a rental around it......
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