<p>Haven’t been to any but Nuremburg, but I can tell you they used to run special trains from Munich (which has a lovely Christmas market of its own) just to go to the Nuremburg Market. I even have an ornament that they passed out on that train! Where ever you go be sure to eat a dampfnudel with vanilla sauce and drink some gluehwein - traditional fooe at least at the Munich market.</p>
<p>Lol, I’m getting so confused. I think this is a problem of too many fantastic places and not enough time.</p>
<p>I can see that this trip is going to create a desire to return for longer period of time, which is not a bad thing. :)</p>
<p>Little bro says he’s been to Heidelberg and Salzburg (is that actually in Austria?) and both are nice but S is larger, possibly offering more things to do/see. Nuremburg is specifically noted for its Christmas market from what I’ve read.</p>
<p>Salzburg is lovely and you get mountains.</p>
<p>Christmas week in Salzburg! We’ve done it. The markets in Old Town are delightful. (though Munich and Vienna markets are much larger) After a Mozart dinner show at St. Peter Stiftskeller you and your family are wandering Old Town with gigantic snowflakes landing on your lashes and you feel the need for some hot mulled wine so you stumble upon a restaurant/bar with and outdoor stand up table. Your family breathes in the magic while being warmed by the spiced wine and the propane heaters! The next day is Christmas Eve. Almost everything shuts down around 2. At about 4 you start seeing people everywhere carrying 12-18 inch pine boughs heading over to Grandma’s house. Maybe around 7 or 8 the night air is filled with ringing church bells echoing off the narrow alleyways and families strolling arm and arm to the Christmas Eve church services. If you opt to go to the service at the Cathedral (very long service) you will be in for a treat. At the very end of the service all the lights go off and up in the balcony is one tiny candle and one man playing Silent Night as it was first played on a guitar. For those not Christian, it is still a beautiful experience. (google history of Silent Night church in Oberndorf outside Salzburg)</p>
<p>We ended up using Christmas Day as a travel day as nothing was open.</p>
<p>(Munich and Salzburg could certainly be a separate trip)</p>
<p>Nrdsrb - I am going to Cologne, Germany in a week (have never been). I am staying at a Marriott there (this is a business trip) but do have a day or two open for sightseeing so I’ll keep you posted. </p>
<p>I think Berlin is more than “eh.” It’s a fascinating city, though very sobering.</p>
<p>I have no other advice to give, since I’ve only been to Dusseldorf, Berlin and of course the airports in Munich and Frankfurt but that doesn’t count for much.</p>
<p>^Hey a friend of mine designed parts of the Munich airport!</p>
<p>Pizzagirl,</p>
<p>Thank you! I will be very interested to hear your report.</p>
<p>Bumping this up per Nrdsb4’s request.</p>
<p>Am in Cologne now, leaving tomorrow morning.
Perhaps I’m just overtired after 2 weeks of being on the road, but honestly, I would not recommend Cologne as a destination unless there is some compelling reason.</p>
<p>The city itself is rather charmless (though granted, 80% of it was bombed in WWII). Graffiti, homeless, and the architecture (except for the cathedral and churches) was uninspired. The main shopping / pedestrian areas were unimpressive as well. Touristy-looking pubs. Schildergasse – supposedly a huge shopping street - well, big deal, I can find an H&M, a Zara and a McDonald’s anywhere. </p>
<p>The cathedral is oddly placed – it is literally right next to the train station - meaning you can’t stand back and get a true sense for the grandeur of it all. It’s filthy black on the outside - I expect some of that with European cathedrals, of course, but this was a lot. The inside of the cathedral itself is pretty wondrous, I will say that, but the beautiful stained glass windows are so high off the ground you can’t really see them well.</p>
<p>There are some museums around there that are supposed to be good, if you like modern art, and the Roman-Germanic museum was of interest to me. But I felt that beyond the cathedral, there wasn’t much to see or do, and it didn’t have a lot of charm.</p>
<p>Nrsdb4 - I did walk in the hotel that you indicated you’d be staying at and it does look like a lovely hotel. It’s literally right across the street from the cathedral and it’s a good downtown location.</p>
<p>I’ve only been to Berlin and Dusseldorf (earlier this year) and Dusseldorf gets a bad rap compared to Cologne but honestly I thought Dusseldorf was more pleasant to walk around, even though it doesn’t have a grand site like the cathedral. I would highly recommend Berlin - there is lots to see and do.</p>
<p>Sorry not to be more positive – and I’m a pretty upbeat, open to anything traveler – but I had been to Bordeaux, FR and Barcelona, SP just prior to this, and there was no comparison between those cities and Cologne. </p>
<p>PG, thanks very much. I’ve kind of gotten the impression from reading and asking around that Cologne would be fine for a day, but maybe not more than that. I keep hearing how nice Munich is, so I’d been considering changing my itinerary to include Salzburg and Munich instead of Heidelberg and Cologne.</p>
<p>What a grand coincidence that you were going to Cologne right as I asked the question. You may have helped to make our trip so much more enjoyable! Can’t thank you enough!</p>
<p>Munich and Salzburg are very travel-worthy. You could do Heidelberg and Freiburg in the Black Forest, or Heidelberg and Strasbourg to get a two country experience. </p>
<p>Bavaria and Salzburg are more interesting than Koln, that is for sure. </p>
<p><a href=“The official website of the City of Munich • muenchen.de”>http://www.muenchen.de/int/en</a> </p>
<p>For the Frankfurt airport hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn is a few steps more distant than the Sheraton from the airport, but looks nicer and a lot newer. Thanks BB for adding it to the choices. </p>
<p>Nrdsb4 - If you go to Munich the Le Meridien on Bayerstrasse is a very comfortable hotel and is right across the street from the train station where you will also find rental cars. If I recall, it was about 4-5 blocks to the main shopping area and out door ice skating rink. We also took a train to Augsburg and watched the “Presentation of Angels” at their city hall during Christmas week.</p>
<p>Oh wow, thank you!</p>
<p>+1 to Salzburg</p>
<p>The only time I was in Koln was for Fasching (Mardi Gras) which I am sure colored my view of the place! 
I also agree with the assessment that Berlin and most of southern Germany is more interesting than Koln. </p>
<p>I always found Salzburg a little too touristy (and I hate The Sound of Music which doesn’t help). But do go see an opera at the puppet theater and take a trip to see a salt cave.</p>
<p>As an alternative to Salzburg, one might look to head a bit South of Munich</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.munich-to-vienna-via-salzburg.com/munich/garmisch.html”>http://www.munich-to-vienna-via-salzburg.com/munich/garmisch.html</a></p>
<p>It might offer a taste of the skiing in Europe and beautiful scenery. The famous village of Oberammergau is in the area. <a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g187301-Oberammergau_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria-Vacations.html”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g187301-Oberammergau_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria-Vacations.html</a></p>
<p>The biggest issue might be with the timing of the vacation as the mountains might make finding lodging around Christmas more difficult than in the bigger cities. </p>
<p>In the end, it might come to a choice between the amazing and the super attractive! </p>
<p>^^^^I think so. I don’t think we will necessarily go wrong not matter what we do. It’s just that this is the first trip I’m trying to plan where I am really starting off with NO knowledge whatsoever. Usually I am the one who initiates travel, and it’s usually because I have been reading about a place for years and finally take the initiative to lobby for it and plan. </p>
<p>If you are a Roman history buff, there is a nice Roman museum nxt door to the cathedral in Koln.<br>
<a href=“Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln”>http://www.roemisch-germanisches-museum.de/Startseite</a></p>
<p>Since you are visiting during winter, the museum will offer you an opportunity to get warm.<br>
The exhibit captions are all in German, but the museum is worth visiting. It has a nice collection. The most spectacular, world-class, ancient Roman collections in Germany are at Rheinisches Landesmuseum museum in Trier, and at the Pergamom Museum in Berlin. </p>