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DPChallenge Forums >> Out and About >> Germany, Brussels and ?
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08/27/2015 11:23:05 PM · #1
Hi DPCers,

I'll be in Nuremberg on a Sat afternoon through Monday morning, last weekend of September. I figured I'd take advantage of my open day onSunday to do some stuff. Any comments on a few options I have thought about?

1) stay in Nuremberg and explore the city. All weekend.

2) go to Munich(and Dachau) on Sunday. I'd like to visit Dachau even if I decide to forego Munich(providing I can make it work)

3) go further afield- like to Innsbruk or Salzburg or some other part of southern Germany or Austria. I love the mountains and have never been to The Alps. I'll have a rental car and I'm totally OK with driving wherever. I know these cities are probably total tourist "traps" but the drive to and from looks cool.

How easy is it to drive across the border?

I'll then be in Brussels Tues to Friday but will be busy with work. Probably only sneak out for some afternoon or evening fun and photography.

I'm not into beer, hope to take photos of course, wondering if there will be any fall colors, and enjoy exploring the streets of a city. I'll be a tourist but would enjoy being off the beaten path. I like to cover ground via feet or car. I'll be flying solo.

Thanks!
Mark

P.s. Would love a DPC mobile app Langdon... :)

Message edited by author 2015-08-27 23:27:20.
08/28/2015 06:44:03 AM · #2
Originally posted by mpeters:

Hi DPCers,

I'll be in Nuremberg on a Sat afternoon through Monday morning, last weekend of September. I figured I'd take advantage of my open day onSunday to do some stuff. Any comments on a few options I have thought about?

1) stay in Nuremberg and explore the city. All weekend.

You can get a good idea of Nürnberg on Saturday evening and Monday morning and spend Sunday elsewhere.

Originally posted by mpeters:


2) go to Munich(and Dachau) on Sunday. I'd like to visit Dachau even if I decide to forego Munich(providing I can make it work)

In Munich at that time there is the Octoberfest. If the weather is good, try to avoid it on weekends, it's incredibly crowded. One can take nice shots of people and the Wiesn (=Oktoberfest), though.

Originally posted by mpeters:


3) go further afield- like to Innsbruk or Salzburg or some other part of southern Germany or Austria. I love the mountains and have never been to The Alps. I'll have a rental car and I'm totally OK with driving wherever. I know these cities are probably total tourist "traps" but the drive to and from looks cool.


You don't have to go this far. If you like the mountains there are very nice areas not too far from Munich, such as Tegernsee. For instance, from the Wallberg one has a beautiful view across the Alps and the area in front of it (Voralpenland).

Originally posted by mpeters:


How easy is it to drive across the border?


Piece of cake - no controls between Germany and Austria.

Originally posted by mpeters:


I'll then be in Brussels Tues to Friday but will be busy with work. Probably only sneak out for some afternoon or evening fun and photography.


No idea about Brussels, haven't been there yet.

Originally posted by mpeters:


I'm not into beer, hope to take photos of course, wondering if there will be any fall colors, and enjoy exploring the streets of a city. I'll be a tourist but would enjoy being off the beaten path. I like to cover ground via feet or car. I'll be flying solo.

Thanks!
Mark

P.s. Would love a DPC mobile app Langdon... :)


Feel free to PM me if you have questions.
08/28/2015 08:12:09 AM · #3
I am not 100% certain of this, but I do believe that if you are driving from Germany into Austria that you must purchase a "Toll Pass" that you display in the wind screen of your vehicle... otherwise you could face a rather hefty fine.

If you happen to be driving on some of the autobahns that have no speed limit, do yourself a big favour and stay out of the left lane unless passing. Keep an eye for flashing lights behind you since that means someone is coming at you rather quickly.

Have a great trip.

Ray

Message edited by author 2015-08-28 08:15:14.
08/28/2015 08:30:16 AM · #4
Originally posted by RayEthier:

I am not 100% certain of this, but I do believe that if you are driving from Germany into Austria that you must purchase a "Toll Pass" that you display in the wind screen of your vehicle... otherwise you could face a rather hefty fine.

That's right. When you want to drive on the motorway or highways in Austria you need a Toll Vignette. You can buy them at the border or at fuel stations. A vignette for 10 days cost you about EUR 9,00.
08/28/2015 09:40:16 AM · #5
If you have a car in Brussels, you could drive to Bruges for an afternoon. Or take the train, it's quite simple and fast.
08/28/2015 04:05:28 PM · #6
We are currently in Lago Maggiore about to cross the Alps through Zermatt and onto Lausanne. When we came in we crossed from Salzburg due south and wanted to do the gross glockner alpine road but the weather was crap so am going to mark it down for next year. It is supposed to be amazing if you get the chance.

Otherwise we drove from Strasbourg to Salzburg (Southern Bavaria) and really enjoyed the mountain views once we passed Triberg. You can ascend the Zugspitze (Germany's highest peak) from Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Forgot to mention that the first thing we do is is tell our GPS to avoid motorways, firstly because the tolls are wickedly expensive and secondly you get to see so much more by taking the quieter country roads.

Message edited by author 2015-08-28 16:07:41.
08/28/2015 08:12:13 PM · #7
Thanks for the good info everyone. I will continue with my research and your input was great.

@Ray - I'm too slow for the left lane... :)

Regarding Brussels- I was thinking a quick side trip to Bruges or Ghent would be cool.

@bjoern - good tip on the mountains nearer Munich. I'll check them out.

@Michael - the alpine road looks interesting. Tx

Kroburg and Tome -tx!
08/29/2015 04:57:31 AM · #8
Ghent is nice and shorter to Brussels. But Bruges is definitely worth the trip.
Being a Flemish Belgian, Bruges is definitely my fav.
Both cities focus on keeping cars out of the center. You can drive 'till the city limits and park there in one of the cities underground parking lots. Same is applicable for Brussels and Antwerp.
Brussels also has some nice spots and you can't just leave without visiting the Atomium, Manneke Pis and Jeanneke Pis, his girlfriend. Those are the clichés of Brussels.

Message edited by author 2015-08-29 04:57:58.
08/29/2015 05:37:09 AM · #9
For Brussels, don't forget " The Grand Place" and the little streets.
To eat some nice "fritten" (French fries) You have to go to "Chez Antoine" in Brussels, Place Jourdan, near the EU buildings)
Ghent is extremely nice and my favorite.
In fact there are many nice places in Belgium that totally unknown for the mass tourism.
(Btw I'm Flemish Belgian, too)

08/29/2015 05:47:32 AM · #10
Originally posted by GeorgesBogaert:

For Brussels, don't forget " The Grand Place" and the little streets.
To eat some nice "fritten" (French fries) You have to go to "Chez Antoine" in Brussels, Place Jourdan, near the EU buildings)
Ghent is extremely nice and my favorite.
In fact there are many nice places in Belgium that totally unknown for the mass tourism.
(Btw I'm Flemish Belgian, too)


Figured that there was at least a Dutch connection :-)
08/29/2015 11:31:39 AM · #11
Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:

Brussels also has some nice spots and you can't just leave without visiting the Atomium, Manneke Pis and Jeanneke Pis, his girlfriend. Those are the clichés of Brussels.

I actually visited Brussels for the world fair in 1958, at age 12, and I STILL remember vividly the Atomium. Don't miss the opportunity to go inside it, if you visit. It's such a bizarre piece of architecture...
08/29/2015 05:27:05 PM · #12
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:

Brussels also has some nice spots and you can't just leave without visiting the Atomium, Manneke Pis and Jeanneke Pis, his girlfriend. Those are the clichés of Brussels.

I actually visited Brussels for the world fair in 1958, at age 12, and I STILL remember vividly the Atomium. Don't miss the opportunity to go inside it, if you visit. It's such a bizarre piece of architecture...

Last I checked, they had the same escalators from 58 :-).
08/29/2015 09:23:41 PM · #13
Originally posted by tome:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:

Brussels also has some nice spots and you can't just leave without visiting the Atomium, Manneke Pis and Jeanneke Pis, his girlfriend. Those are the clichés of Brussels.

I actually visited Brussels for the world fair in 1958, at age 12, and I STILL remember vividly the Atomium. Don't miss the opportunity to go inside it, if you visit. It's such a bizarre piece of architecture...

Last I checked, they had the same escalators from 58 :-).


It's a protected monument meaning they cannot change anything which is part of the original construction. The may only maintain, replace what's "invisible" etc...
08/30/2015 12:19:00 AM · #14
Do you know it's forbidden to publish the pictures of the Atomium. You can only take shots for own use.
Many, many people got sued by the family already, and they all lost in court
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomium

Message edited by author 2015-08-30 00:22:53.
08/30/2015 01:37:41 AM · #15
Originally posted by GeorgesBogaert:

Do you know it's forbidden to publish the pictures of the Atomium. You can only take shots for own use.
Many, many people got sued by the family already, and they all lost in court
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomium


I will publish one on DPC, but only under a ghost account. :)
08/30/2015 07:55:25 AM · #16
From the Atomium official website:

Originally posted by Atomium:

There are some cases however where use of the image of the Atomium is not restricted by any rights.

>>> This is the case namely where photographs are taken by private individuals and shown on websites, social media sites, blogs for no commercial purpose.
08/30/2015 12:26:25 PM · #17
Has anyone mentioned Belgian Waffles yet? Only in Brussels did I ever find Belgian Waffles dipped whole into a vat of Belgian Chocolate.
It's decadent and delicious. One of these will do you for a life-time, but you'll always remember it. Of course you can take home to your loved ones a few boxes of their chocolates which are IMO the best in the world.

Take time for the art museums, again a world class collection of art.

Beware of Brussels taxi drivers; some seem to have the art of fare extraction honed to perfection.
08/30/2015 01:56:07 PM · #18
If you really want to take Belgian chocolates with, then the best are
Godiva which are handmade
Leonidas nearly as good but not artisanal
and a little speciality:
Dominique Persoone who creates chocolates with wasabi, bacon, grass, etc... sounds weird but The Hairy Bikers had to agree: it's delicious.
Dominique can be found in Antwerp and Bruges.

Sounds that you won't have enough with 1 day :-)

Message edited by author 2015-08-30 13:57:04.
08/30/2015 02:50:30 PM · #19
These are my favourites Pierre Marcolini The store in Place du Grand Sablon is worth visiting even if you don't buy any chocolates!
08/30/2015 06:42:12 PM · #20
I love waffles...and especially Belgian ones.

Is Brussels pretty walkable? I get around well on my own two feet but some cities are much better than others for pedestrian travel.

I do have 4 days in Brussels so should be able to fit several things in.
08/30/2015 09:02:44 PM · #21
Originally posted by mpeters:

I'm not into beer...

I would reconsider this. Germans are quite proud of their brewing practices and purity law and are quite easily offended, but Belgium is on another level entirely. To say what you have and have plans to spend nearly a week in Belgium is tantamount to saying you're not into art as you depart for a string of overnights at the Louvre. At the very least you should arrange a fake passport so you cannot be tied to this documented blasphemy, lest they deny you entry.
08/30/2015 10:04:35 PM · #22
Originally posted by bohemka:

Originally posted by mpeters:

I'm not into American beer...

I would reconsider this. Germans are quite proud of their brewing practices and purity law and are quite easily offended, but Belgium is on another level entirely. To say what you have and have plans to spend nearly a week in Belgium is tantamount to saying you're not into art as you depart for a string of overnights at the Louvre. At the very least you should arrange a fake passport so you cannot be tied to this documented blasphemy, lest they deny you entry.


Better? :)
08/30/2015 10:26:30 PM · #23
Much!

Have a great time. Very nice destinations.
08/31/2015 02:35:30 AM · #24
Originally posted by mpeters:

I love waffles...and especially Belgian ones.

Is Brussels pretty walkable? I get around well on my own two feet but some cities are much better than others for pedestrian travel.

I do have 4 days in Brussels so should be able to fit several things in.


The center of Brussels is pretty walkable
I'd advise you getting a good map at a touristic shop (those where they sell Manneke Pis statuettes in general have them) or at the hotel.

And Brussels has a great metro and "tram" network. You can get almost anywhere in Brussels by these means.

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