Germany Trip Report 2016 - Completed

[Rapunzellover]

Wow! 10 adventurers. Will be interesting. Germany is still popular, I think, just not in July. When my Germany ABD was cancelled, the vacationista said June ones sold well. I'm assuming the Oktoberfest time ones sell well too. I think July is just not Germany's month.

 

[Skatetigger]

We did this trip in 2010 and loved it, thanks for the trip report, it's like reliving the trip all over again!!! our trip was one of the adult only departures in September and it was pretty crowded. Highly recommend this trip for anyone who hasn't been there. I loved Alsfeld but it was Sunday so many things weren't open but it was still lovely!!!

 

[TXTransplant]

I feel like I'm reliving our trip last year! We had the same guide on our tour of Heidelberg Castle (our group was large enough that it was split into two, and she led our half), we went to the gummi shop right after the tour, and we did the same solar-powered boat ride. Even some of your pictures are the same as ours!

 

[Cousin Orville]

I feel like I'm reliving our trip last year! We had the same guide on our tour of Heidelberg Castle (our group was large enough that it was split into two, and she led our half), we went to the gummi shop right after the tour, and we did the same solar-powered boat ride. Even some of your pictures are the same as ours!

I got the idea of the cruise from your trip report, so thank you! It was a great afternoon activity.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Wow! 10 adventurers. Will be interesting. Germany is still popular, I think, just not in July. When my Germany ABD was cancelled, the vacationista said June ones sold well. I'm assuming the Oktoberfest time ones sell well too. I think July is just not Germany's month.

Yep. I asked and it sounds like the trip a couple of wks ago (before the canceled one) and the one after ours has more guests.

 

[tgeorge]

I had to laugh at the Gummy shop and all the flavors. I work for a German company and we routinely have colleagues here for various meetings (or we go there) and there are always assorted flavors of gummies lying around. I guess there are worse problems to have

It surprises me that July isn't a more popular time. Although, I could see the appeal of other times of year. Glad to hear that it is still very popular. It looks like a good trip. Dare I say, yet another to add to the list

 

[Cousin Orville]

I had to laugh at the Gummy shop and all the flavors. I work for a German company and we routinely have colleagues here for various meetings (or we go there) and there are always assorted flavors of gummies lying around. I guess there are worse problems to have

It surprises me that July isn't a more popular time. Although, I could see the appeal of other times of year. Glad to hear that it is still very popular. It looks like a good trip. Dare I say, yet another to add to the list

Yeah, not sure what's up with July. Seems like a perfect time to visit Germany to me! Weather's been great. I even wore a sweater out today for a bit and will probably again tonight.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Day 3 Heidelberg to Waldeck



Today we journeyed north to Waldeck. Along the way we stopped in the small town of Alsfeld. Alsfeld is famous for being the home of the Brothers Grimm and their ferry tales. The forest you drive through looks like a backdrop straight out of Snow White. We were met by one of the two Brothers Grimm. The other Brother must have been having a coffee somewhere. So, our step on guide along with one of the Brothers took us around the very old town of Alsfeld. They interweaved the ferry tales and the charm of the town. It was well done.

In the center of town is the town hall. This is where we ate lunch. Talk about a unique setting for a meal! It seems to be used now mostly for small weddings. The local butcher came by to make sandwiches. She brought ham and turkey from her shop. I’m normally not a fan of cold sandwiches, but these were tasty.

We had an hour or so to walk around the town which was plenty of time. It was a Sunday so most of the shops were closed, but they didn’t appear to be interesting shops anyway to be honest. It was the atmosphere that we were there for. The cobble stone streets. The German timber framed houses. Gavin hunted Pokemon for a bit and then we sat in the main square and ate a strawberry ice cream sundae.

We continued on our way to Waldeck Castle - our home for the next 2 nights. We arrived mid afternoon. Once we settled in we had a guided tour of the castle museum, much of centering around the prison and instruments of torture. The castle btw is up on a hill as many castles tend to be. So, keep in mind there’s a good amount of walking and climbing involved. Not a huge deal for most, but if you have any mobility issues, some of these sites we visit may be a struggle I would think.

We met in the hotel dining room for dinner. It was perched at the upper level of the castle overlooking the lake and forest far below. It was a pretty setting. For dinner we had a choice of fish, roast beef, or goulash. I chose the goulash and it was good. Tonight was Jr Adventurer Movie Night. While Gavin watched Robin Hood, I walked in and around the Castle for a bit. Be sure to catch the sunset. The colors that fell on the forest and villages nearby were beautiful.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Day 4 Waldeck



This morning we had the option of a bike ride around the lake or sleeping in an extra hour and taking a longer boat ride. We opted to sleep in and take the longer boat ride. Breakfast was good. It was in the same restaurant that we had dinner at the night before. Pretty standard buffet, but they also included a freshly baked cake. Today it was a pound cake. (The next morning they had carrot cake). Of course there was a beautiful view below of the lake.

Before boarding the boat we visited the dam that was responsible for the lake. The boat ride was very nice and relaxing. We made it over to pick up the cycling crew before finishing the boat ride at our lunch destination. There we had sausages and other items from the grill. Lunch was quite good. The food on this ABD has been generally better than most.

After lunch was archery! Everyone got a few turns at shooting - as much as they cared to. They set up balloons on the target to try to pop. I hit it once. Gavin, twice! It was fun. A bit more casual than the archery we did in Ireland.

Afterwards was beer tasting. Kids and those who weren’t drinking beer were offered pretty much whatever they wanted including German fruit spritzers. They had 3 beers, all of which were good, and if you wanted more of one, more was given. All the beer was brewed locally.

Next came a hike. We hiked down a hill through a forest and took a skyway bucket back up to the hotel. It was a nice little walk. We finished up around 6:00 and were free for dinner. There’s a very small little village with a couple of restaurants at the base of the castle. Not really anything of interest. We went back to the room and rested a bit before having dinner at the hotel dining room. I had fish, Gavin had spaghetti. He enjoyed his, I thought mine was just ok. We finished dinner around 7:30 and headed back to the room.

My one critizism about this castle is that in the evening the place is kind of dead. Dromoland Castle on the Ireland ABD had lounges to enjoy in the evening and guests walking around enjoying the evening. Due to it’s much smaller size there’s nothing like that in Waldeck. After about 6pm, other than having dinner, there’s really no place to go other than your room.



Nevertheless, we enjoyed Waldeck overall. it was nice to have a relaxing day. And certainly it was cool to see other Germans on holiday enjoying themselves at the lake. But Waldeck is not a place I must to go back to. Dromoland (or perhaps Ashford Castle) in Ireland (thanks @calypso726) is a place I would love to return and spend several days. Waldeck, while nice and enjoyable, doesn’t quite rise to that level for me. I suppose the 2 nights we spent here is just right. I’m very much looking forward continuing on to Rothenburg.

 

[sayhello]

I need to catch up on this report! Just wanted to say, if @pandw are on your trip (they should be!) please say "Hi!" and give them a hug from me!!

Sayhello

ETA: All caught up! And I *did* spy pandw in a couple of your photos!

Looks like a great time so far. I agree that DL in Paris is gorgeous, but the Studios is a bit underwhelming. Ratatouille was not open when I went, but Crush's coaster was, and I *LOVED* it. I didn't care for their Space Mountain, though. Way too rough for me! I also agree about the Disneyland Hotel. Fabulous location, but totally not worth 1000 euros a day! (Did it smell of perfumed powder when you were there? )

Provins looks excellent! I'll have to remember it if I ever find myself in that area again!

I thought it was amazing when pandw told me there was only 10 on their Germany trip, but they still got 2 Adventure Guides! I didn't realize until today you were on that same trip!

Looking forward to more of this report!

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Glad to hear the food is better than normal on this trip. Your pics are fabulous as always!

 

[Cousin Orville]

I need to catch up on this report! Just wanted to say, if @pandw are on your trip (they should be!) please say "Hi!" and give them a hug from me!!

Sayhello

ETA: All caught up! And I *did* spy pandw in a couple of your photos!

Looks like a great time so far. I agree that DL in Paris is gorgeous, but the Studios is a bit underwhelming. Ratatouille was not open when I went, but Crush's coaster was, and I *LOVED* it. I didn't care for their Space Mountain, though. Way too rough for me! I also agree about the Disneyland Hotel. Fabulous location, but totally not worth 1000 euros a day! (Did it smell of perfumed powder when you were there? )

Provins looks excellent! I'll have to remember it if I ever find myself in that area again!

I thought it was amazing when pandw told me there was only 10 on their Germany trip, but they still got 2 Adventure Guides! I didn't realize until today you were on that same trip!

Looking forward to more of this report!

Sayhello

Ratatouille and the immediate area is worth a visit some day, but Walt Disney Studios still needs a ton of work. Gavin didn't like Space Mt 2 either. We only rode it once. Unfortunately Big Thunder was closed. I think I liked that better.

Yes, DL Hotel still smells of perfumed powder. That's a perfect way of describing it. When I just visited the resort a couple of years ago it had the same smell. Not awful for me, but it is very distinct and unmistakable.

I took a "guess" (a very educated guess) as to who pandw were at dinner tonight. They were excited to talk about you and the Danube cruise. Small world! Yes we're having a great trip together. About to head to Munich tomorrow. I'll try to catch up on my TR.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Glad to hear the food is better than normal on this trip. Your pics are fabulous as always!

Thank you! Yes the food has better than past ABD's. We just finished another dinner and again it was pretty good. It is German food.. not exactly complex cuisine, but yeah it's been good. I can't go so far to say spectacular and shockingly good. But very good yes.

 

[carpenta]

That dam was made famous in a WWII movie done in the 60's I believe called "Dam Busters". The RAF had to skip bombs along the lower water to blow up the dam which both flooded the valley and knocked out the hydro electric power. Pretty good movie. Love the report Cousin Orville. Hope you get to meet "Michael".

 

[Cousin Orville]

That dam was made famous in a WWII movie done in the 60's I believe called "Dam Busters". The RAF had to skip bombs along the lower water to blow up the dam which both flooded the valley and knocked out the hydro electric power. Pretty good movie. Love the report Cousin Orville. Hope you get to meet "Michael".

That's funny, Gavin was asking the guides if there were any movies made at (or about) the lake since it was so scenic. They didn't know of any. I'll have to let him know... Maybe we'll see if we can find it when we get home.

I don't believe I met Michael??

 

[carpenta]

With luck you will meet Michael in Munich. Gavin will really get a kick out of him.

 

[calypso726]

I appreciate the feedback about the castle. I'd hate to have high expectations and then be underwhelmed. I'm glad we did Dromoland before Ashford for that same reason. Love the trip report and looking forward to Germany down the line!

 

[TXTransplant]

I appreciate the feedback about the castle. I'd hate to have high expectations and then be underwhelmed. I'm glad we did Dromoland before Ashford for that same reason. Love the trip report and looking forward to Germany down the line!

That castle is probably my favorite hotel of any I've ever stayed at! I really loved it! But, Cousin Orville is right...the castle is a little isolated, being up on the hill, and it pretty much shuts down in the evening (I think the torture museum closes at 6), so it's pretty deserted. But, you're only there two nights, and I found that to be a really good excuse to go to bed early and rest up for the remainder of the trip.

 

[carpenta]

I agree that the castle is a great stay but it is isolated. On our trip it was a dinner on your own night and there wasn't a lot down town ( I use that term loosely) so we went to the local supermarket and purchased some different German foods, wine and bread and had ourselves a lovely German picnic overlooking the sunset and the lake. On our trip it was unusually hot and our room was HOT and a little electric fan didn't cut it.

 

[Cousin Orville]

With luck you will meet Michael in Munich. Gavin will really get a kick out of him.

Now that you mention it, I think the guides have been talking about Michael. Hopefully we'll see him in Munich.

I appreciate the feedback about the castle. I'd hate to have high expectations and then be underwhelmed. I'm glad we did Dromoland before Ashford for that same reason. Love the trip report and looking forward to Germany down the line!

You should absolutely add Germany to your list!

That castle is probably my favorite hotel of any I've ever stayed at! I really loved it! But, Cousin Orville is right...the castle is a little isolated, being up on the hill, and it pretty much shuts down in the evening (I think the torture museum closes at 6), so it's pretty deserted. But, you're only there two nights, and I found that to be a really good excuse to go to bed early and rest up for the remainder of the trip.

It is a very cool, unique hotel, and one that I probably never would have tried without ABD. I always like those experiences.

I agree that the castle is a great stay but it is isolated. On our trip it was a dinner on your own night and there wasn't a lot down town ( I use that term loosely) so we went to the local supermarket and purchased some different German foods, wine and bread and had ourselves a lovely German picnic overlooking the sunset and the lake. On our trip it was unusually hot and our room was HOT and a little electric fan didn't cut it.

I think the picnic at sunset sounds like a perfect idea. That would be an ideal way to cap off a stay at Waldeck. (Definitely not at the hotel restaurant which itself was kind of deserted and a bit sad.) Our guides did suggest picking up some things at the store and having a picnic, but I didn't give it much thought at the time. Definitely the way to go for future adventurers!