Germany is a such wonderful place!! What time of year are you going?

In Munich, a visit to the Hofbrauhaus is great fun. Good German food, beer and polka music! And make sure to see the Glockenspiel. I don't remember the times it plays, I think it's like 11am and 1pm or something like that. Well worth timing your sightseeing to watch it. Marienplatz and the open air food market are good places to check out.

You may want to go to the library and check out a Frommer's or Fodor's travel guide. Lots of good info to help plan your trip.

Will you be traveling by car, rail or air between the two? How much free time will you have?

Linda

It's been awhile since I've been there, but I recommend that you spend at least half your time eating their WONDERFUL breads and baked goods. :) Theirs are the best I've ever had.

In the 'old city center' in Munich... left of the glockenspiel, there was a restaurant (do not recall the name)... you can see wooden bench seats through the front windows, sort of rustic looking from outside. Wonderful food! and they have musicians playing on tiny alcoves that overhang the dining areas. :)

We stayed in Prien Am Chiemsee (sp?) which is SE of Munich. We were awestruck seeing King Ludwig's castle! (you must take a ferry, it's on an island).

From there we drove to the old city center of Salzburg in Austria. You must visit while they have the vendors set up... they were THE BEST "hotdogs" ever!!! and I had the best salad made with chick peas, artichokes, red peppers... and the beer! OMG, I LOVED that place! And, if you like jewelry, old city Salzburg is the ultimate!

Can you tell that I loved it?! lol!

I visited Munich when I was in high school and my brother lives in Berlin so I've been there once. The thing I remember most from Munich (and all of Germany that we visited on that school trip) was the great food. I have photos of us shopping the huge farm market in the center of Munich, buying stuff for a picnic. I remember seeing lots of old churches in Germany. Munich was one of my favorite cities but all I rememeber doing was walking around and eating, lol! Oh yes, and seeing the city hall or whatever that building was with the carved wooden figures that spin around. One of my favorite things to do was eat italian ice (called eis in German). My favorite parts of the S. Germany trip were taking the train out to the countryside to little towns where we stayed at hostels, and then hiking around. We went to a local beirfest which was a couple miles from our hostel, just because we started hiking down this trail and walked right into the middle of it. The wayside trails in Germany are very beautiful. They are much more into hiking there than we are here in the US. Here in the US you have to DRIVE to a hiking trail, lol! I would ask at the hotel or tourist place where I was staying what some good walks were, but that's just me, that's what I like to do.

As for Berlin, lots of beautiful old buildings to see there too. My brother lives in the Turkish quarter. We went to the Berlin Conservatory or Horticultural Gardens or whatever it is called, which was fabulous. Also saw a concert of the Berlin Philharmonic in their amazing concert hall. Hung out around Univ. of Berlin. Went to the WWII memorial there, ate at a lot of little restaurants and cafes, did the market thing there too. Did some shopping on the main 5th avenue street, can't remember what it is called, but at the end of the street is a big ruin of the Lutheran Cathedral in Berlin which was left as a WWII memorial, and there is a beautiful new church and fountain out in front of it. It is called the "GedachnessKirche" or some such spelling, which means sort of "Church of Thankfulness" which I liked. Lots of fun shopping in little boutiques in Berlin too. It's very similar to NYC I think, it just has a vibe wherever you go. Lots of great museums there too, but I'm kind of outdoorsy, so since the weather was nice and it was early summer, we took some suburban and country excursions and walked around a lot instead of going to a lot of indoor attractions. It was in the cafes of Berlin that I developed my cappucino addiction. It was the alternative to beer, which I am allergic to.

Here's a link to the Gedachtniskirche and my German got very rusty there, because "gedachtnis" means "rememberance" not "thankfulness." After I read over that I thought, wait a minute . . .

Also, the street, according to the article in the link, is called "Ku'damm" and it is like 5th Avenue in New York, not actually numbered 5.

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche

Oh, and it's the Berlin Botanical Garden. It's one of the biggest and most famous in the world. If you are at all into plants, should definately go. It has a HUGE greenhouse!
Berlin Botanical Garden

Art museums are the things to do in Berlin, that and chipping off a piece of what used to be the Wall.

Trip Advisor has good forums, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Munich

I can't really answer the question, but I thought I would add a funny story or two regarding Berlin. I went for a weekend in 1990 because I had a free First Class ticket and I needed a break from my then girlfriend (now my DW). After working all day and jumping on an evening flight connecting in JFK and then Frankfurt I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got to the hotel. There was a complimentary bottle of wine waiting for me. I turned on the television and drank the wine. I fell asleep with the t.v. on.....and when I awoke there was a ballgame on the t.v.......the Detroit Tigers were on the game of the week! I was so disoriented I didn't know where I was.....I found that really ironic that the Tigers would be on the t.v. when I woke up in Germany!

On Sunday morning, my only real full day I had in Berlin I was eating breakfast in the restaurant and about 10,000 people streamed by outside the window ...running a marathon. It was quite a site to see.

I wandered around the city and wanted to go on a tour to see the Berlin Wall before it was torn down. Unfortunately due to the time change and my watch being off by an hour I missed the tour! I went all that way and missed seeing the wall before it was torn down either later that year or soon after.

Have fun in Germany! My mom's happiest time in her life was when she was in Germany when my dad was stationed there in the army. We thought we would go crazy hearing the same stories over and over....and now with my mom gone...I would give anything to hear them all over again.

Duane

Adele, Germany is beautiful. Since you hav enever been there, I strongly suggest that the first thing you and your daughter do is take a guided city tour. Generally a half day tour will let you get your bearings and decide what you might want to go back and see at a more leisurly pace.

Mad King Ludwigs castle, Neu Schawnstein, which Disney used to create Cinderellas, is a jewel. The Hofbrau Haus and the Glockenspeil are musts also.

If time allows, take the train to Berln and see the country side.

As always, you all come through with so much helpful advice and great stories:)

I will be in Olching outside Munich for the 3/1-3. My daughter will then join and we will try to conquer Munich in very little time - 2 to 2.5 days. We decided to fly to Berlin in lieu of the train due to the little bit of time we have. We will then have 2 days in Berlin. My DD really wanted to see Berlin.

This trip is part of a new family tradition. My DD, my oldest child, turned 30 in November. We decided to give each child on his or her 30 birth day a special trip with one parent - together time.

You all have given us many great ideas. I think we should start with the guided tour.

I will report back.

THANK YOU!

Adele

I understand that you can save enough to pay for your trip if you buy a car there.

Assuming you need to buy a German car.

dcarch