Ten days in December- Germany with kids: Itinerary feasibility
Hi all- throwing myself on the goodwill of the community.
I'm currently planning an approximately 10 day trip to Germany this December with my wife and our two boys (6 and 10).
I am constrained by the will of the people as follows:
My Wife: Wants to see the Christmas markets in Cologne and wherever else they may be in the cities we go through. Cologne is a must, though.
My elder son: Is obsessed with tanks and really wants to see the German Tank Museum in Munster (Lower Saxony not Munster in Westphalia). Honestly, so would I.
He had also really wanted to see the u-boat preserved at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven so Bremen seemed like a good midpoint. It turns out the ship exhibitions are closed during winter alas. In any case I'm not closely wedded to Bremen specifically but I will need to take a day trip to the Tank Museum from a nearby city. Staying specifically in Munster seems counterproductive as it appears to be a rather small town (I'm willing to do so if anyone has good things to say about it).
I'm stuck with these dates too, as I have to be elsewhere by the 21st for Christmas celebrations.
Currently the broad strokes are as follows:
10 Dec (Tues)
AM: Land in Frankfurt 0610. Connect to Cologne via train
PM: Check in to hotel. Cologne Christmas markets
11 Dec (Weds)
AM & PM: Tourist stuff in Cologne
12 Dec (Thurs)
AM: Connect to Bremen via train
PM: Wander Bremen old town
13 Dec (Fri)
AM: Rent car, drive to German Tank Museum in Munster
PM: Back to Bremen, check out Christmas markets
14 Dec (Sat)
AM: Connect to Berlin via train
PM: Check into hotel, get orientated
15- 18 Dec (Sun- Weds)
See Things In Berlin (would be glad for suggestions here)
19 Dec (Thurs)
AM Connect to Frankfurt via train
PM Last minute sightseeing Frankfurt
20 Dec (Fri)
AM Fly off from Frankfurt Airport
Would be grateful for any feedback and/or suggestions.
Your itinerary looks fine to me, if that's what you want to do :) For Berlin: I've been there a few times visiting friends and doing a bit of touristy stuff and it heavily depends on what you're interested in. You can go political (current), you can go cold war, you can go DDR/East Germany, you can go WW2, you can go on a foodie tour and experience different cuisines, you can justs check out different sights that Berlin is known for. It really is very individual, maybe checking Wikivoyage will give you inspiration, just browse and see what's cool. I thoroughly enjoyed the Fat Tire Bike tours when I was there, but with a 6yo and in winter it might not be the best suggestion :D
Hella out of your way, but if you're into tanks, submarines and airplanes, I can recommend you the Technikmuseum in Sinsheim and Speyer. It's very well-known and there are thousands of vehicles and you can walk through a Concorde and other stuff. If you're very interested you can spend easily 2 days there :D (there's a giant Badewelt in Sinsheim with a bit of Spa stuff, if you need arguments to convince your wife, but as I said, it's very out of your way).
And keep one thing in mind: German trains are not on time, even worse in winter, and you have a bunch of them in your plan. Just assume that most of them will be an hour late, so don't plan anything that depends on the train being on time.
PS: Wikivoyage also might give you ideas for some other towns or starting points to see where to eat out.
The Technikmuseum looks amazing! We might be able to land a couple of days earlier in which case maybe I'll extend a day more in Frankfurt and drive down.
Thanks for the advice about Berlin. The older kid is obsessed with WW2 and to a certain extent the Cold War.
Speaking of "hella out of your way" (well, not that far from Berlin and it's kind of the direction of Frankfurt), the Museum of Military History of the German Army is in Dresden. One of the best museums I've ever visited, and Dresden is one of the prettiest German cities.
I'd replace Bremen in a heartbeat for that, or even better if you actually do arrive early.
Dresden is stunningly beautiful, and definitely worth a visit just to walk along the Elbe through the old city. I second the military history museum if military history is your jam, it's a very good museum that should be completely accessible in English. The Frauenkirche is also beautiful, and has a really cool history. If you come in advent, the square around the Frauenkirche also has a really good Christmas market with loads of great food.
There's also a GDR museum, although it's more about life in the GDR than the Cold War itself, and I don't remember it being all that great when I visited.
Edit: the biggest issue with Dresden is getting there, the though - in terms of the major train routes, it's kind of out of the way. It's a couple of hours from Berlin, though, so you could almost do a day trip from Berlin if you timed things right. Otherwise a night here before or after Berlin could work, but it would make the journey back west longer.
I live in Berlin so here are a few of my thoughts on what might fit. Of course there are tons of Christmas markets here, if your family wants more of that. Given that your son is interested in tanks and u-boats, y'all might enjoy the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin. I don't remember it having tanks but it does have ships and airplanes. The DDR museum is my recommendation if you want some history, as it's indoors (and reportedly gets pretty hot in the summer, so I assume it'll be pretty comfy inside in December). The Wall Memorial is also great but it's really something I'd only recommend in good warm weather since it's all outdoors and requires a fair bit of walking if you want to see the whole thing. Your kids might get a kick out of going up in the TV tower at Alexanderplatz, but don't waste your money on it unless it's clear out. If you can't see the top from the ground, skip it. There's reportedly a restaurant up there but I haven't tried it. Expect it to be priced for tourists.
Also make sure to eat Döner Kebab while you're here. That stuff is one of my favorite things about living here.
Thank you, much appreciated.
And trains, so many trains (the ancient, massive, black steam trains). Next to the main building is the children part of the museum, which might work for the 10 year old, depending on their interests (it's part of the ticket anyway). Can recommend the whole museum, just leave when you're getting tired: you won't get to see all of it anyway.
The park behind the museum (Dreiecke) is also super nice, with lots of playgrounds. It's a new-ish park, and turned out great.
Ooh I didn't make it to the train section when I went... a good excuse for next time!
https://technikmuseum.berlin/en/exhibitions/permanent-exhibition/rail-transport/ traiiins. :)
There will be Christmas markets in all the towns you mentioned, though if you've been to one in a big city you tend to get your fill for the year :D
I am not familiar with Berlin (I live in the opposite side of the country, pretty much), but there are a number of museums and cultural sites to visit!
The botanical gardens greenhouses can be a nice break in winter!
I don't know the name in English, but Pfaueninsel could also be a good visit! Bunch of historical landmarks and stuff to visit combined with a walk along an island
Thanks so much! Good point re the greenhouses.
Pfauninsel looks interesting
It's fun, but bit hard to reach; you might want to keep it for summer. Potsdam is easier to reach, and has more warm drinks available :)
(and is pretty, and I'm sure has some Christmas markets in December)
In what's feeling like a really small world moment, my wife and I also just randomly booked a 2-week trip to Germany in December. We'll be in Berlin but definitely going to be keeping an eye on this thread for ideas.
If you have any particular things you tend to enjoy on your trip, do mention it and I'll try to find some recs for you! If you're spending all two weeks in Berlin you'll have time to do a lot but different people have different priorities when it comes to travel and tourism stuff.
Hmm, my wife and I tend to do all the big tourist things like museums and art galleries and whatnot. We also love finding great places to eat. My wife is vegan so usually it's a little bit easier to find more "local" places vs tourist traps.
We're debating spending some time outside the city as well, so if you have suggestions of any cities or towns we should check out, let me know!
Ooh okay, well for museums you're pretty spoiled for choice, and a lot of them are concentrated in the "Museum island" in the city center, you'll have plenty to see there within walking distance. Berlin's big so your food options are vast depending on where you're staying and how far you go. If you like Vietnamese food, Berlin has a ton of great options (there's a big diaspora here) -- there's good stuff all over but the best stuff is in Dong Xuan center in east Berlin. It'll be a little train ride from wherever you're staying probably but it's in the city enough to be covered by an AB metro ticket so it's not too much of a pain to get to.
It’s a bit more movement than I normally like on my trips but it’s nothing too crazy. If your kid is really into WWII there’s the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst which is about the Eastern Front and is where the Germans officially surrendered it’s just outside Berlin proper in the suburbs and should be easy to take the S-Bahn to. They have some tanks and other vehicles there too. When I went (~8 years ago) it was pretty empty except for myself but had some cool stuff. Though probably should remember that the Eastern front could be pretty brutal so maybe just keep an eye out for the kids.
Thanks for the recommendation!