9-Day Romantic Fairy Tale & Berlin Self-Drive Tour (9S02)

Frankfurt International Airport is your gateway to central Europe and a great place to start your Romantic Fairy Tale & Berlin Self-drive tour. After you picked up your rental car (GPS included) you will be traveling on the Autobahn to nearby Aschaffenburg for a visit of Johannisburg Palace and Gardens (30 minutes, 47 kilometers – 30 miles – admission included).The important Renaissance Palace was built 1605-1614.

From Aschaffenburg follow the Autobahn right into Wurzburg, hometown of the German basketball player Dirk Nowitzki, your first stop at the Romantic Road (55 minutes, 80 kilometers – 50 miles). Your hotel is located in the Old Town. The city is idyllically located in the midst of vineyards, with the medieval Fortress Marienberg towering above. Wurzburg is an old bishop’s seat and a lively town, proudly presenting monuments of different eras. Culture, art, history and hospitality are ever-present in this remarkable city! Fortress Marienberg (admission included), Wurzburg´s landmark, has of course changed its appearance a great deal since it was first mentioned, today the oldest part of the fortress is the “Rundkirche” (round church) which was built in the year one thousand. The Cathedral, the Marienkapelle, the “Alte Mainbrucke” (old bridge across the river Main ), the Juliusspital and the “Kappele” are musts, but make sure that you do not miss out on the “Furstbischofliche Residenz“, Prince Bishops Residence (admission included). This “Palace above all Palaces” is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy this beautiful town which offers not only cultural but also culinary highlights such as the hearty cuisine and, of course, the world-famous Frankenwein (Franconia wine!).

A day trip to Rothenburg ob der Tauber along the Romantic Road is on your agenda on the second day of your vacation package. In the morning follow the Romantic Road via Bad Mergentheim (you might want to visit the marketplace), Weikersheim (you may want to visit the Renaissance Palace and Garden) and Creglingen (Riemenschneider Altar in the Church of the Lord) to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, one of Germany’s most beautiful medieval cities. Your hotel is located in the historic Old Town, within the Old City Walls which are surrounding the complete town center. Taking a walk thru this charming little town is truly a journey back in time. Rothenburg ob der Tauber was once a powerful free imperial town and its monuments, landmarks and buildings still bear witness to these days. Marvel at the half-timbered buildings and at town walls which are withstanding time since hundreds of years, protecting the city since the Middle Ages.

Visit the town’s most famous spot, the Ploenlein square, probably the most photographed place in Rothenburg. The Gothic St.James Church is the town’s most prominent church, here you can take a minute and relax in quietness while you enjoy the beauty of the famous Altar of the Holy Blood and the Twelve Apostles Altar. Rothenburg also offers museums which are cultural highlights, such as the Christmas Museum with an exhibition showing Christmas tradition in Germany, the Doll and Toy Museum where the history of playthings is shown, as well as the Crime Museum, where the visitor gets an insight into the law and especially its execution during the last 700 years. In the evening return to your hotel in Wurzburg.

In the morning take the Autobahn northbound directly to the city of Leipzig, which is on your way to Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Travel time to Leipzig is about 3 hours. In the eighteenth century, Leipzig developed into a major music metropolis. Great musicians such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert Schumann, and Richard Wagner all lived and worked in the city. The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the St. Thomas Boys Choir, the Opera House Ballet, and a host of other ensembles form cornerstones of a lively music scene. One of the most frequented sights in Leipzig, along with Bach’s tomb in St. Thomas Church, is St. Nicholas Church. St. Nicholas is the oldest church in Leipzig’s city center and dates back to the year 1165. Visit the Old City Hall which was built in 1556. It is today held to be one of the finest example of municipal Renaissance architecture in Germany.

Drive on for about half an hour to Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Your hotel is located in the historic city center. A “must see” in Wittenberg is, of course, the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) where texts of the 95 Theses are cast in bronze on the door. Next you can tour the Lutherhalle (Luther House) Museum. In 1508, when Martin Luther came to Wittenberg, he lived here with other Augustinian monks. Later, Luther and his wife, Katharina von Bora, raised six children here and hosted many guests. You may also want to visit the Stadtkirche St. Marien (St. Mary’s church) where Luther preached and where his children were baptized.

Day 4

In the morning of Day 4 of your tour package drive on to Berlin, Germany´s Capital City. You will need about an hour and a half to get to your hotel which is located right in the City Center. It is not easy to describe this great metropolis, which fascinates the visitor both with it’s culture as well as with it’s history. Of course, every Berlin visitor wants to walk thru the Brandenburger Tor, Berlin’s only preserved town gate which became a symbol for the separated city as is was once located in “no man’s land” directly at the Berlin Wall. The Reichstag (Parliament) with its new dome is the most visited monument in Berlin, its eventful history reflecting the turbulence’s of German history. Berlin’s “Museumsinsel”(Museum Island) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this “title” has also been rewarded to the castles and parks of the city of Berlin. Stroll along “Unter den Linden”, Berlin’s most beautiful street, the “old” heart of the city, leading from the Brandenburger Tor to the “Schlossbrücke”. Or how about Friedrichstrasse, this legendary road where the tradition of the “Golden Twenties” is combined with the architecture of the new Berlin.

Day 5

Spend another day sightseeing in Berlin. May be you want to join a free english speaking walking tour or you want to visit the Memorial Church on Kurfürstendamm, the Gendarmenmarkt square which forms a beautiful and harmonious architectural synthesis with the Konzerthaus (concert hall). There are the German Cathedral and the French Cathedral with their impressive architecture and the Potsdamer Platz with ultra modern buildings, with shops and entertainment. “Checkpoint Charlie” hardly needs any explanation at all, at the former border crossing American and Russian tanks stood vis-a-vis after the wall had been build in 1961. Your tour includes a walking tour suggestions for Berlin City Center which make it easy for you to visit different sights located close by to each other.

Take the Autobahn to Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city, where quite often a fresh breeze coming from the North Sea greets the visitors. Driving time from Berlin is a little less than 3 hours. You may want to park your car at a parking garage near the „Jungfernstieg“ and start your sightseeing from there. You will be right in the City Center at the „Binnenalster“ (a large inner-city lake). From here you may also take a short cruise on a boat along the Alster river. Along the short boat trip you will see some romantic and hidden places which otherwise can not be seen. Take a walk though the Speicherstadt (“warehouse quarters”), the houses all have an entrance to the street and one out to the water in order to easily unload the ships bringing in merchandise. If you have time you may also take a look at the harbor of Hamburg and the Elbe River.

Bremen is located about an hour and a half from Hamburg. You may want to be at your hotel in Bremen City Center before dinner so you have time for a for a walk through the “Schnorr“, the towns oldest living quarters. Here you will find a large variety of restaurants.

You may want to start your day doing a little bit of sightseeing in Bremen, home to the famous Bremen Town Musicians, before you drive on to Hamelin. Bremen’s Town Hall with its Renaissance architecture is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and definitely a “must see”. Along with the statue of the “Roland” and the bronze display of the Bremen Town Musicians on the Town Hall’s western side it is an incomparable tourist attraction.

Driving time from Bremen to the famous city of Hamelin is just about two hours. Your hotel is located right in the historic city center. Who is responsible for Hamelin’s fame? Of course the “Rattenfaenger von Hameln”, the Pied Piper! In Hamelin you will find many historic stone- and timber-framed-buildings, many built in the Renaissance style, such as the “Rattenfangerhaus” (Pied Piper House), the “Dempterhaus” and the “Hochzeitshaus” (wedding house). The Munster is the oldest church in Hameln. Services have been held here for over 1,000 years. It is open every day from 9am to 6pm. Enjoy the rest of the day and the evening in this lovely historic town!

Today your vacation package takes you to Alsfeld. Total driving time from Hamelin your hotel in Alsfeld is about three hours. Along your way you may want to visit the small town Hann Munden as well as the city of Kassel. Hann Munden is a historic town “off the beaten tracks”. Start your tour in the Old Town with its more than 700 half-timbered houses. In front of the Town Hall you find the “Doctor Eisenbart Play“. Daily at noon, 3pm and 5pm the carillon played the Song of Doctor Eisenbart.

Drive on to Kassel, the heart of the Fairy Tale route. Here in Kassel the Brothers Grimm lived for over thirty years, working as librarians at the Electoral Library, known now as the Fridericanum, Europe’s first public museum, which today is the center of the documenta exhibitions. Within the beautiful UNESCO Bergpark Wilhelmshoehe, called “Mountain Park”, there is the Lion’s Castle, built in the years 1793-1806, it resembles the ruin of a medieval English knight’s castle. Take a short hike up to the Hercules Monument, Kassel´s landmark, from here you have magnificent view over the city.

Driving time from Kassel to Alsfeld is about an hour. Your hotel is located in the City Center. Take a walk through the historic town center with the late Gothic Town Hall, one of the most important half-timbered buildings in Germany. About one mile from the town center is the Altenberg Castle and Castle Church built in the 18th century and also worth a visit.

Today your tour ends at Frankfurt Int. Airport. Driving time from your hotel in Alsfeld to the airport terminal is a little more than an hour (please allow a little more time during rush hour). If your flight is later that day you may want to visit Frankfurt which is along your way to the airport. Frankfurt is a very modern metropolis which nevertheless offers many historic sites such as the Roemerberg with the historic Roemer Town Hall its beautifully restored timber-framed houses and the Cathedral, located on the opposite side. Worth a visit is the Goethe Haus where Germany´s famous poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once lived. St. Paul’s Church, the “Paulskirche”, is a symbol for democracy and freedom in Germany.