July 1 - July 18 Germany trip report

well the internet seems to be very slow so i will try to upload more pictures in the morning. we made it through the day and are now in Nuremberg at the Novotel Hotel which is quite nice the rooms are clean and spacious, and we have good air conditioning. the only flow with this hotel is you are on the out skirts of Nuremberg so unless you have a vehicle you are pretty much stuck at the hotel as there is nothing around, where with Dresden we were right in the middle of the square with everything around, but it is very quiet and should get a good night sleep.

Wow! This all looks amazing! Dresden is so pretty! Wonderful photos.

Sorry about the no A/C, but that's not uncommon in Europe. I always ask when I'm booking on my own, as I got stuck with no A/C in Seattle once during a freak heat wave, and didn't sleep all night.

And the paid bathroom thing is crazy, too. But, as you'll find out, it's another advantage of doing an ABD, as the Guides know where the best/most convenient bathrooms are, and if there's a charge, they'll have coins for you!

Sayhello

Good morning,
well had a great sleep now we are ready to go tour Nuremberg, it thunder showered all night and looks like it is going to be cloudy all day with a chance of rain, which if the rain stays away will be a nice break from the sun ha ha ha. Sayhello i agree with the air conditioning but when we booked the hotels for this trip we were strictly looking for hotels with air-conditioning and on the website they say they have air conditioning which is not the case and like i told the lady at the front desk that they should not promote air conditioning when they do not have it. any how our trip so far has been our trip of a lifetime and is getting better every day, and in 2 days we meet up with ABD to start our adventure with them. here are some more photos from yesterday, these photos are from the largest porcelain piece in the world as every tile used is made from porcelain, which is pretty amazing to look at. this piece they call The Procession of Princess

Here are some pictures of the Zwinger, beautiful court yard

more pics of the Zinger

Here are just some Random pics from around Dresden

Dresden had never been on my radar before, but it looks like there's really a lot to see. Cool photos. I like the building with all the animals painted on it. What's going on there?

HI Cousin Orville. the last 3 pictures are of a court yard just off the road that you would not know is there unless you knew of it and it was rebuilt because it was demolished in WW2 and the government rebuilt it as a replica of what was there and then artists were allowed to express on the outside of the walls and inside there was a couple of souvenir shops and coffee shops, pretty cool. Dresden was beautiful and the architecture and history were amazing if you have not been i would go to Dresden before Berlin if we were to come back, Nuremberg was amazing as well and a bit more fun for the kids with the Dungeon and Toy museum (this will be my next post)

Today we toured Nuremberg (our next stop) and this trip just gets more amazing every day. We first toured the nazi rally grounds and you don't actually realize how big these grounds were until you are looking down them. This is where Hitler held his speeches and would come out the Iron Door to address everyone, this is where we learned that the Nazi party actually paid hundreds of people to look like they supported the Nazi regime in pictures and broadcasts. After this we went to the Documentation centre and if you wanted to learn any history of Germany this would be the place to go as it was amazing with pictures, movies and documentation. the Documentation centre is the oval stadium that Hitler wanted to be twice as big as the Colosseum in Rome. We learned more history here than any other place on our trip.

OMG!! That is such an interesting stop! Your TA booked the whole pre-ABD itineraries including the tours? Are you traveling by car? And are you driving?

well the internet here is not that great so i will have to wait to post the pictures i have from Nuremberg. After the Nazi Rally Grounds we made our way to Old Nuremberg which is really quite neat as there is a 4 1/2 mile wall around the town that used to protect it, we went through the town and were able to see the Catholic and Protestant Church which were unbelievable (will post pics later) afterwards we went for lunch then the restaurant we was right beside the "old Dungeons" where we were allowed to go through and see where people were jailed and tortured and the boys really thought this was cool as they thought it was like the bat cave ha ha ha. we were also shown different pieces of torture equipment that they used and for why. After this we then went to the World Toy Museum which had every toy you could think of from the early 1900's and some you were allowed to try which they kids were totally into this. Then we ended up at St Johns Church which is a church from the 1400's that was not touched during the bombings of WW2, around this Church is also the most amazing cemetery i have ever seen. the tomb stones are above ground and the length of the coffin and on the coffin is a code of armour that portrays that persons life as to how many kids the person had and profession etc. you could depict all of old Nuremberg people through this cemetery which is still used today. our guide then had us walk down the street and we went into this coffee shop and oh my the gardens that were there were unbelievable, this was huge having the guide as if it wasn't for her we would have kept on walking as you don't even know it exists and they don't advertise it but it is open to the public. These gardens were part of the wealthy summer house back in the old day where they figured there was 200 of these gardens and now there are 3 1/2. these gardens have statues and water fountains with benches that is very tranquil. this summer house is now a coffee shop. from there we went to Nuremberg Castle which over looks the old town. they have a tour that you can climb up (149 stairs) that overlooks old Nuremberg that has amazing sites and picture taking. the tour of the castle shows where they had their church and get togethers etc but it also has old replica artifacts such as the crown and armour etc that the king would wear, this kids thought this was pretty cool as it had an armoury of cross bows and other weapons that they found interesting. We had lunch at the town hall which was very delicious as i am hooked on German Sausage and mustard, this is what it seems i am having for lunch and supper ha ha ha. the people in "old Nuremberg" (as that is where we went) were very friendly and helpful with translation. i am stuck now as I didn't think it would get better than Dresden and now going through Nuremberg i am stuck as they are such beautiful Cities but i think the kids enjoyed Nuremberg a bit more as they were interest in the weapons and Dungeons. so far my advice to anyone that is looking at doing some pre days before Disney i would definitely think of Dresden and Nuremberg as when i was planning this trip all i could think about is Berlin as that is what is all over the history pages etc and thought Berlin would be the best place to visit and now if i had to choose i would probably skip Berlin and do Dresden and Nuremburg as the history and architecture is all here as well and Berlin is a BIG city that looks like a city. well when i can i will try and post the pics as pictures are better than words and tomorrow we are off to Rothenberg for 1/2 day then onto Wurzberg which will conclude our pre trip to meeting up with Adventures by Disney on Friday
Good Night Everyone

Hi tufbuf,
yes my Travel agent booked everything for us, it was a group package which included everything except flight and food, though all our hotels have come with a hot breakfast which is good for us. every tour we have had has been a private tour wether in Berlin, Dresden, or Nuremberg. We have had the same driver from Berlin to when we hook up with Adventures by Disney in Heidelberg. unfortunately he has to leave us tomorrow as his father in law passed away so we will have a new driver for 2 days. But the travel agent book all our tours with local historian guides which has been so helpful. In Berlin we did 5 hr tour the first day with guide, 1/2 day concentration camp tour with guide, the Berlin Zoo we had to pay for and did on our own. Dresden we had 1/2 day tour with guide and the next day 1/2 day tour with guide, Nuremberg we had a full day tour with guide. with being private it is just the 5 of us and the driver who will drive you anywhere you want to go and do even after he drops you off at your hotel. we still have a 1 1/2hr tour of Rothenberg tomorrow and a 2hr walking tour of Wurzberg on Friday morning. Wurzberg wasn't part of the deal and he made it happen (no extra charge) this has definitely been our trip of a lifetime. i do think the kids miss running around with the other kids like when we are with Adventures by Disney but they can wait a couple more days. i will say that the 9 day pre trip was quite a bit cheaper than ABD but that did not include the food but i think we still have to purchase 4 or 5 meals with ABD
if you have any other questions please let me know

Hi Tufbuf
sorry forgot, the travel agent hooked us up with a Driver and Travel van from when we left Berlin to Heidelberg which drives us around and shows us the sights and is basically at our beckon call. The driver is one of the nicest people i have ever met and he is awesome with the kids (he could be an ABD Guide). we are looking at doing ireland next year very similar to what we have done this year but thinking of just using our Travel agent to hook us up, but we will see after the ABD portion as your still can't beat the magic of the guides

Thanks, ronaldnelson for your extensive response!! Germany is a huge country and sometimes it's difficult to think of where to go if you were to visit the country and maximize your time.

Thanks for the Nuremberg explanation too. I guess it will make more sense once you post the pics. Keep 'em coming!! Looking forward to the next installment.

pics of the Nazi Rally Grounds, specifically the Documentation Ceter

this is The Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Old Town

more pics of Church of our Lady, at noon everyday the bells go off and then a little display happens in the middle where figurines start playing the music and the deciples come out around the priest

Wonderful pictures! You will love the church in Munich where there is a multiple level of moving figurines that happens on the hour. It is amazing how old these clock displays are and still work "like clockwork"...

carpenta said:

Wonderful pictures! You will love the church in Munich where there is a multiple level of moving figurines that happens on the hour. It is amazing how old these clock displays are and still work "like clockwork"...

Click to expand...

yes it is and how we all get entertainment for a few minutes from something so old is quite special

this is the Dungeons we got to walk through the kids thought were pretty neat, these are behind the town hall