<p>First off, thanks to all who have given me suggestions on places to see and things to do on previous internat’l business trips - I appreciate it.</p>
<p>I now have an opportunity to travel for business to Norderstadt, Germany, which appears to be right next to Hamburg. I have never been to Germany (except for the Munich and Frankfurt airports). </p>
<p>So, if you had 3 days to extend off a trip in this area, where would you go? Prefer something that is “train-able,” though would consider flying (if not too expensive) or driving (if there is something that really isn’t reachable via public transportation). </p>
<p>Open to all suggestions (including possibly Denmark or the Netherlands). Will need to wind up in a reasonably major city where I can fly back to the US.</p>
<p>Well you seem to be four hours from Cologne (Koeln), Amsterdam and Copenhagen. All worth a detour. Amsterdam is worth a trip on its own. (I’ve been a couple of times and loved it.) Three hours from Berlin. (Spent two weeks there researching low cost housing when it was still behind the wall.) My vote would be for Berlin if you haven’t been there. Lots of museums, tons of recent history as well and plenty of transportation. But Amsterdam is also on the list of must see places.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would spend the time to visit Auschwitz. I did so years ago and it was an unforgettable memory of the horrors that the Germans visited on the Jews. Of course it might not be convenient given your location and timeframe. But many of the items in the museum are decaying and will not be available for viewing forever.</p>
<p>For a 3 day side trip my vote goes to Lubeck. Well preserved medieval architecture, rich history and if you like marzipan they produce one of the most famous brands (niederegger). Should be easy train ride from Hamburg area. If you are traveling before Christmas you’ll find extensive outdoor Christmas markets in any of the cities, roasting chestnuts, fresh lebkuchen, beautiful crafts. The impressive Holstentor in Lubeck appears on stamps and on the former currency. Just a suggestion for further googling…</p>
<p>“My vote would be for Berlin if you haven’t been there. Lots of museums, tons of recent history as well and plenty of transportation.”</p>
<p>Yes, that is a great choice. Lots of history, both recent and not so recent. The Berlin Museum of History is worth visiting, but plan a few hours. We ran into the building to take a quick cover from the bad weather but ended up spending 4 hours in there.
The Dome of the Reichstag Building is a fascinating place! One used to be able to get in there just by showing up and standing in line, but nowadays pre-registration is required. Still very much worth it, and the price is still right - the admission is free:</p>
<p>I’m not at that stage of planning yet, but I would assume whatever airport services Hamburg. I typically fly United out of ORD, but if there’s an inter-Germany airline in between cities I could take that (though as said before, prefer to train to keep expense down). Can you tell me where you’re going with this? Not sure why my departure airport or airline matters; I have to get to my business meeting first.</p>
<p>Edit:if you are saying there are two airports that service Hamburg (a la Heathrow and Gatwick in London), yeah, sure, I can fly into one and out the other.</p>
<p>Spoke too soon - looks like the meeting may now be in Neuss, which appears to be near Dusseldorf, which means that the temptation to do Belgium and/or the Netherlands will be tempting.</p>
<p>If you go to Hamburg, consider visiting Schwerin, which is a beautiful small town with castle about 1.5 hours by local train.</p>
<p>If you are near Dusseldorf, I agree that seeing the sights in the Netherlands or Belgium might well be more appealing, as the Dusseldorf area is not exactly known for its charm.</p>
<p>I did however once take trains all the way from Amsterdam to a small town in Germany near Dusseldorf. The last leg was on local commuter rail, and it was strange to get on the equivalent of the subway in a Dutch town and get out at a German one.</p>
<p>I’d vote for Copenhagen. I was there a few years ago (went with my H who was going to a climate conference). The city is extremely easy to negotiate and the people are very friendly. Everyone speaks English–not just those working in hotels and tourist areas. I walked to all the historic sites (castles and Tivoli Gardens), took a canal tour and checked out several art museums; I also took public transportation to see the Little Mermaid statue (not impressive) and Christiania. I love gardens so I made a special effort to see the Copenhagen Botanical Garden and the Frederiksborg Castle Garden–worth the time if you like plants/gardens.</p>
<p>Close friend of mine went to Berlin this summer. Her husband’s an architect and they specifically went to go on architectural tours. I guess Berlin is awash with significant modern architecture. They loved Berlin and plan to go back. If you choose either of these two cities, send me a PM and I can give you more specific information</p>
I wanted to know which airline, so I could look at that airline’s route map to see if there is a logistically reasonable open-jaw routing. That way you don’t have to backtrack to Hamburg for your return flight to the States. </p>
<p>The next closest United destinations are Amsterdam & Berlin. Both cities are wonderful, but Berlin would be easier to travel to from Hamburg. That way you can spend more time enjoying the sights, than sitting on a train. Here is a link to Deutche Bahn:
[DB</a> BAHN - TravelService - Query page](<a href=“Deutsche Bahn: bahn.de - TravelService - Query page”>Deutsche Bahn: bahn.de - TravelService - Query page)</p>
<p>Besides its obvious geopolitically significant sights, Berlin also has one of the greatest museums in the world (and one of my favorites): the Pergamon Museum. It ranks up there with the British Museum:
[Staatliche</a> Museen zu Berlin - Museums](<a href=“Fehler 404 | Staatliche Museen zu Berlin”>Fehler 404 | Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) </p>
<p>Hmm - near Dusseldorf? Well you could go to see the Museum of Modern Art in Moenschengladback (Hans Hollein, Pritzer Prize winner was the architect), and then on to Aachen to see the oldest Cathedral in Europe [Aachen</a> Cathedral - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachen_Cathedral]Aachen”>Aachen Cathedral - Wikipedia) and then on to Belgium (or the Netherlands). (Well at least that’s the route we took many years ago.) :)</p>
<p>Ugh, you mentioned Dusseldorf after I spilled my guts on Berlin. Dusseldorf is indeed boring. </p>
<p>Brussels is nice (especially if you like mussels & beer), and there is enough there to keep you busy for a couple of days. But there is way more to do in Amsterdam. It’s not even a close contest…</p>
<p>Thanks! I thought you meant you needed to know my departure airport in the US and while it’s no secret that it would be ORD, I was wondering why that mattered! Thanks for the help - much appreciated.</p>
<p>If you haven’t already been there, my vote would be for Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum, vanGogh Museum, Anne Frank House, etc. plus easy day trips to charming small towns like Delft or Gouda.</p>
<p>By the way, I do agree with the rest that Amsterdam is your best bet with the new location. If your time is limited you’ll want to go straight there and just enjoy it. Not only are there at least three must see museums, it’s also just a great place to walk or bike around. Taking a day to go see the shore (and dikes) is also really cool.</p>
<p>Flying home from Amsterdam would be easy. If you opt to go there, try to get your Anne Frank tickets from your hotel. The ticket lines can be quite long and don’t forget to take the canal ride.</p>
<p>I cannot imagine being so close to the Cologne Cathedral and not stopping in for a quick view. This is easily accomplished. Board the train at Dusseldorf down to Cologne, get off the train and walk across the street to the cathedral, tour and return. (though there is a charming shopping street on the other side of the cathedral for a nice stroll and a quick lunch)</p>