Travel the Romantische Straße Holiday Route in Bavaria

The Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) is Germany’s most popular holiday route. It passes through medieval towns including Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen, and Füssen.

photo credit: albany_tim

The Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) in western Bavaria is the best known and most popular of Germany’s numerous thematic holiday routes. The top sights include the fantasy, neo-Romanesque Schloss Neuschwanstein castle and wall-enclosed medieval town Rothenburg ob der Tauber. »»»Continue reading…

See Germany’s Romantic Road Route on Public Transportation

Although a car is convenient, public transportation (either trains or buses) are available to most sights on the Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) in Bavaria, Germany.

photo credit: uLe @ Dortmund

The Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) holiday route in Bavaria is for many visitors a top destination and highlight of a trip to Bavaria. This 350-km (220-mile) route has some of Germany’s most romantic sights. The Romantic Road is easiest traveled by private car but public transportation (trains and buses) are also available to most sights. Popular stops along the Romantic Road include medieval castles (Schloss Harburg), the fantasy Disney-line Schloss Neuschwanstein Castle, wall-encircled towns (Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen), palaces (UNESCO-listed Residenz in Würzburg, Schillingsfürst), and churches (the UNESCO-listed Wieskirche).

• The Europabus EB190 has changed its route and from 2008 only stops at major sights and no longer run the full length of the Romantic Road as it has done for more than half a century.

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Deutsche Touring Started a New 2009 Schedule for Seeing Germany’s Romantische Straße

Europabus EB 190 connects Frankfurt and Füssen via much of the Romantic Road daily during summer. Stops include Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Augsburg, Nördlingen, Dinkelsbühl, Würzburg, and Munich (München).

photo credit: gatowlion

The Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) was founded in 1950 as a tourism promotion project. This massively popular holiday route has since become a top destination for visitors to Germany. It is hugely popular with bus parties from all nations – notice the Japanese road signs.

Although a car is the easiest and most convenient way to travel the full 350-km (220-mile) route, the Romantic Road can also be done on public transportation. The easiest way is on the Europabus, which has been operating along this route since its inception.

• The routing of the Europabus on the Romantic Road has been changed drastically from summer 2008 – all previous timetables and routings are now completely redundant.

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Travel Cheaply from London to Cologne (Köln), Frankfurt, Berlin, and Munich (München)

Cheap bus and train tickets offer alternatives to low-cost airlines for travel from England to Germany. On the London to Cologne (Köln) route the Eurostar, Thalys TGV, and ICE trains can be faster than flying.

photo credit: Umland

Low-cost airlines helped to make traveling between London and German cities such as Cologne, Frankfurt, and Berlin cheap. However, in recent months the number of flights from England to Germany has been reduced drastically.  At the same time, more traditional ways of travel including  buses and trains are still available and increasingly appealing for travelers from England to Germany. On some routes, such as London to Cologne, trains can be both price and time competitive, while trains from London to Southern Germany (Stuttgart and Munich) or London to Berlin take much longer than flying.

One-way fares from London to Germany can be as low as €49 when using Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn trains only.

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Save while Sleeping in Luxury Comfort near GVA Cointrin Airport

The Suitehotel Genève, conveniently close to Geneva Airport (GVA) in Switzerland, is a comfortable three-star hotel with cheap rates. Rooms sleep up to four people and children often stay for free.

Suitehotel Geneva

Cheap hotels in Geneva, Switzerland are far and few between. The recently opened Suitehotel Geneva thus offers a very pleasant place to stay on a reasonable budget. The hotel is comfortable and very modern. Rooms can sleep up to four adults while a microwave, fridge, and some worktops allow meals to be taken in room.

• Room rates at the Suitehotel, Geneva often fall to a very cheap less than Sfr100 (US $90) per night – all taxes included – for advance reservations. Even the standard Sfr200 rate is very low by Geneva hotel standards. »»»Continue reading…

Medieval Sights, Museums, and Churches in the Old Town

Altstadt Lübeck is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed site famous for the finest brick-Gothic architecture in Germany. However, Lübeck has many sights in addition to the Marienkirche, Rathaus, Holstentor, and Buddenbrookhaus.

photo credit: jonmcalister

The top sightseeing sites in Lübeck in Northern Germany’s Baltic Coast are the Holstentor, brick-Gothic Rathaus and Marienkirche, Café Niederegger, as well as the Buddenbrookhaus. However, there are many other sights worth seeing too. The narrow, medieval alleys of Lübeck’s island-based old town are literally littered with brick-Gothic marvels.

• Lübeck can also be written Luebeck – Lubeck is understood easily enough but spelt  (and pronounced) wrong.

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Holstentor, Rathaus, Marienkirche, Buddenbrookhaus, and Marzipan

Lübeck is famous for its UNESCO-listed old town with brick-Gothic architecture including the Marienkirche, Rathaus (Town Hall), and Holstentor, the Buddenbrook House, and Niederegger marzipan.

photo credit: hsivonen

The Baltic Coast city Lübeck has a wonderful old town located on an island in the Trave River. Lübeck preserved its original medieval town layout and has over a thousand listed buildings – both reasons contributing to its inclusion as one of more than 30 German sites on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. Lübeck is best known for its magnificent Brick Gothic buildings including the Holsten Tor, Rathaus,and numerous churches including the Marienkirche, which served as model for many similar Brick Gothic churches that were built in the Baltic region. Lübeck is also famous as the birthtown of Thomas Mann an the home of Niederegger marzipan. »»»Continue reading…

Santa Trackers Follow Sleigh and Reindeer Trip Around the World from the North Pole

Each Christmas Eve, the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center uses radar, satellites, Santa Cams, and jet fighters to track Santa Claus on his flight from the North Pole to bring gifts to children the world over.

photo credit: rick

NORAD’s radars track Santa Claus’ progress around the world on Christmas Eve. Using radar, satellites, and even jet fighters, NORAD can follow Santa’s progress and report where Santa and his reindeer-pulled sleigh are on their trek from the North Pole to bring Xmas gifts to children on the night of December 24.

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From CGN by Train or Bus to Köln, Bonn, Frankfurt, and Düsseldorf Airports

Getting to  Köln/Bonn Airport (CGN) near Cologne in Germany is cheapest (and often fastest) by train or bus. ICE trains are also available to Frankfurt (FRA), and Düsseldorf (DUS) airports.

photo credit: fxp

Köln / Bonn Airport (CGN) is the closest airport to the German city Cologne. CGN is particularly popular with low-cost airlines allowing for cheap flights from many part of Europe to the Rhineland city with its famous cathedral (Kölner Dom) and refreshing Kölsch beer.  Trains are generally the cheapest and easiest way to travel from Köln / Bonn Airport (CGN) to Cologne while buses are best used for Bonn.

• Small groups, those traveling with lots of luggage, or at odd hours may also find private airport shuttle bus services worth the splurge. Always compare prices as fees vary widely. »»»Continue reading…

Low Airfares on Budget Airlines Flying to Köln/Bonn Airport (CGN)

Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is very popular with low-cost budget airlines. Cheap flights go to over 100 destinations including London, the UK, Scandinavia, and Southern Europe.

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photo credit: fxp

Cologne/Bonn Airport (Köln/Bonn Flughafen or CGN) claims to be the most important low-cost airline hub on continental Europe. Non-stop flights from Cologne/Bonn Airport went to 130 destinations in 2006. In contrast to many other European airports popular with low-cost airlines, Cologne/Bonn Airport is very conveniently located for travelers to Cologne (Köln) and other Rhineland towns. Ground transportation is particularly fast and easy to Cologne Main Station (Köln Hauptbahnhof), which is a major railway hub in Western Germany.

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