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Germany. Need LOTS of help!
Finally got my dates for my trip to Germany this fall. I will be there from mid/late November until mid December. I need to be in the following cities on the following dates AND I will need to get to them easily. (and before anyone points this out...YES I KNOW I AM INSANE!)
23.11.2012 - DE - Dresden ? Strasse
24.11.2012 - DE - Erfurt ? Gewerkschaftshaus
26.11.2012 - DE - Dortmund ? FZW
27.11.2012 - DE - K?ln ? Live Music Hall
28.11.2012 - DE - Bremen ? Schlachthof
30.11.2012 - DE - Magdeburg ? Factory
01.12.2012 - DE - Leipzig ? Anker
02.12.2012 - DE - Berlin ? C-Club
04.12.2012 - DE - Mannheim ? Alte Seilerei
05.12.2012 - DE - M?nchen ? Backstage
06.12.2012 - DE - N?rnberg ? Hirsch
I think I might just have to suck it up and rent a car because I need to be in a new city almost every single day.
Not opposed to taking the train since it might be faster than flying.
Also looking for decent priced hotel suggestions that are near any of the above locations.
Re: Germany. Need LOTS of help!
I would check out the train. Check out the times and routes to see if they meet your needs. http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/prices/europe/eurail_pass.shtml
You want to take the IC trains (Intercity) and ICE (Intercity express - fastest) vs the regional ones that stop at small train stations along the way. I have done specific routes but never did enough consecutive days to buy a pass. I have done Bremen to Koln. One route is along the river which i wanted to do but arrived too late to catch that train. Also did Bremen to Berlin and back in one day. So based on that I would say the train would be workable for you. Most central train stations are in the center of what tourists want to see. If you need information there are kiosks or office at the train station for that - look for the white small letter i in a blue circle.
Some hotels in Germany charge for parking even on the street and sometimes it is hard to find. I know Bremen, Berlin and Munich have trams. The Bremen one has a day pass you can buy for unlimited rides (BSAG). Berlin also has this but I cannot remember the name - the visitor office in the train station helped us with this.
In Bremen I have stayed at several places. The cheapest was probably the InterCity Hotel at the train station. I was concerned that the sound of trains would bother me but I never heard them - they must have great insulation. The Best Westerns are near the train station and small but nice.
If you rent a car make sure you read up on their signage. The signs marking town limits usually carry unwritten notice to reduce speed through the town. There is also a great use of cameras to detect speeding and they will send you a ticket. So if you are in cities with local transportation where you want to go I would pick that means over renting a car. We also left the Munich area by car to go to Butcherdgarden. The route we took was briefly through Austria on a toll road but we did not know that and got a heafty 300 euro fine.
DH and I just returned from spending 12 days in Germany and we went to a knew City every 2-3 days. The train is totally the way to go! If you buy a rainpass, you can use any IC, ICE, or s-bahn trains. The website mentioned in the PP has everything you need to look up your train times. Just type in your departure and arrival station and you'll see the trains (IC and ICE are the fastest), their departure times, and if you have to switch trains. I purposefully booked hotels near the train stations so we didn't have to walk far with our luggage. Larger cities have U-bahn (subways) so you can take your IC or ICE train with your railpass to your next town, check in to your hotel and drop off your luggage, then just hop on the U-bahn to go where ever in town you want to go! It is SO much easier than renting a car, trying to figure out where to park, etc.....
As far as hotel recs, you can email me and I can share that with you. I went to a lot of the same places you are, some of them we had amazing hotels for great prices...others, not so great.... cutypie953 at aol dot com.