Rothenburg to Amsterdam - Ugh!
So...what have we been up to...too much, and we're almost 1.5 months from our Europe trip with so much to do. The largest issue that has been grinding through my head (beyond the market, work, getting our rental house ready, etc. etc.) is the tail-end of our trip in December.
Now, the original plan was that this is our 2008 Germany trip - it's definitely morphed into a Central Europe 2008 trip - through itinerary re-configurations, we've adjusted into a really neat swoop. Milan, Venice, Ljubljana (Slovenia), Wien (Vienna, Austria), Salzburg (Austria), München (Munich, Germany)...lots of ground to cover. Two nights each in Ljubljana, Wien, and München...one night in the other towns. It's going to be fairly fast, but similar to our 2006 trip where we drove during much of the morning or afternoon and experienced the towns at night. In October, some towns were cleared out, shops closed, and we were more than happy to simply stroll the town and skip the touristy museums. In December, I'd imagine we'll have more of the same and less options once the sun goes down...in the small towns...which we're mostly skipping...
...except Rothenburg. Next to Salzburg, probably the big touristy splurge on the trip. (It'll probably be our Neuschwanstein Castle of the trip.) From München it's a confusing, multi-connection feat to get there...only 3 hours or so. The issue is that our flight is departing from Amsterdam on the 14th. And we'd probably want two nights in Amsterdam to catch a flavor of the city. Which means we need to get from Rothenburg to Amsterdam in a day.
Ugh. It's a long train ride. 7-8 hours. We only have one other really long rides like that going from Ljubljana to Wien...but it'll be interesting riding in two different countries.
Should we shave off Salzburg or shorten München to one night and opt for a night in Wurzburg or Köln to soften the train ride? Should we skip Rothenburg all-together and hit another town that is more centrally located?
One itinerary option had us heading from Wien to Prague, Dresden (yes, near Weimar!)...but we really wanted to hit Bayern again so thus the swoop West from Wien instead of North.
Sincerely,
Confused Travel Planner
Labels: Germany 2008, travel
posted by Ryan and Scott and Deutschland @ 07:34
2 Comments
Glastonbury, England.
2 Comments:
I've been mulling over your question, and I have to say, I have no answers.
Honestly, I don't think that 7-8 hour train rides are that long, even if they do eat up an entire day... to me it is more efficient than breaking the trip up and eating up two days with travel.
If you do decide in favor of breaking up the trip, I would vote for breaking it in Köln--I've spent the bare minimum amount of time in the city, but it struck me as a really interesting and nice city--one that I would like to revisit.
As for getting the flavor of Amsterdam, I believe I've said it before, but it's both expensive and over-rated. I will again argue against staying in Amsterdam--you should stay in Haarlem, Leiden, or Den Haag and limit your experiencing of Amsterdam to the daylight hours.
If you decide against my advice, and do spend a night or two in Amsterdam, let me urge a visit to Boom Chicago, a Chicago-style comedy club at Leidseplein in Amsterdam. It's good--at least in my experience.
I hope my muddled thoughts help... and I should pine for you to do Prague, Dresden, Berlin--but the train ride from Berlin to Amsterdam is long and painful (hint: Transavia.com )
Adam
PS- Judging from the dates you list here, I doubt I can meet up with you, that week leading into the 14th is pretty hectic as is...
Rothenburg to Amsterdam...brutal!! Even just getting there (Rothenburg) from Heidelberg is a pain, it's so out of the way.
I guess I'd probably cut Rothenburg to avoid this, but it's all personal preference!
If you break up your train ride, I agree with Adam - Break it up in Koeln before you break it up in Wuerzburg! Much more interesting place!
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