My road trip itinerary in Germany and surrounding areas
Day 1: Arrive in Munich and check into the Munich Airport Hotel (a Radisson Collection hotel).
Day 2: Morning stroll in the nearby town of Hallbergmos Bavaria (Free State of Bavaria), a beautiful town. Morning train ride to Munich's Old Town Ostbahnhof, followed by a taxi to the BMW Museum. Afternoon flight to Hamburg, check into the Ibis Styles Hamburg Bambek Hotel.
Day 3: Morning train ride to Miniature World. Lunch at the nearby Kartoffel Keller, a nice place with good food and ambiance. After lunch, walk to the nearby St. Nicholas Church, a truly impressive sight, its towering bell tower standing alone after being bombed during World War II. Then walk to the Elbphilharmonie.
Day 4: Rented a car and drove to Bremen, checking into the Adgio Bremen Apartment Hotel. At noon, we ate at the nearby West African restaurant Mammie's Corner, trying cassava "fufu" for the first time. In the afternoon, we visited Bremen Cathedral in the Old Town to see the "Bremen Musicians" sculpture. Bremen has a rich cultural atmosphere; we saw many parades and speeches, and in the evening, there was an open-air concert with lively music and dance.
Day 5: Drive to Amsterdam, taking the Afsluitdijk bridge and visiting the town of Zurich (which shares a name with Switzerland) near the bridge entrance. We checked into the Accor Rae Amsterdam City Hotel.
On Day 6, in the morning, we strolled around Noorderpark near the hotel. The traditional houses in the area were quite charming, and there was a beautiful windmill on the canal to the north called Chalk Mill d'Admiral (1792). For lunch, we ate Thai food at Masha Thai Kitchen in the nearby Noord station. There were also Indian restaurants nearby, and both were quite delicious. In the afternoon, we went to the Old Town Stromma | Open Boat Tours Amsterdam for a boat trip along the Old Town canals.
On Day 7, we drove to Antwerp, Belgium, and checked into the Hotel Indigo Antwerp City Centre near the train station. Antwerp Central Station is beautifully designed, and the surrounding area has many classic streets. In the evening, we dined at De Pottekijker, a Belgian restaurant near Antwerp Cathedral; the ambiance and food were superb, especially the mix grill.
On Day 8, we drove to Liège and checked into the Ibis Styles Liège Gülman Hotel. Liège Train Station, Gare de Liege-Guillemins, is a modern and distinctive station. Liège is French-speaking, and in the evening, we ate at La Capitainerie, a French restaurant on the banks of the Meuse River. The clam stew with ail crème paired with red wine was delicious.
Day 9: In the morning, we visited the Wallonia Public Transport Museum, a local transport museum, to see the historical evolution of Liege's urban transportation. In the afternoon, we drove to Cologne and checked into the Courtyard by Marriott Cologne.
Day 10: In the morning, we visited Cologne Cathedral. The cathedral was tall and dark, and there were so many people. After that, there wasn't much else to see. We drove to the Rhine Valley, entering the valley from Koblenz-Rhineland-Palatinate. There are many castles on the mountains on both sides of the river. We entered Rhinefelsberg, which was quite magnificent, and the countryside on both sides of the river was particularly beautiful. We continued driving along the valley and arrived in Frankfurt in the evening, checking into the Adina Apartments in Frankfurt West.
Day 11: We drove to Strasbourg, France, and stopped by Heidelberg's old town, which has an old castle and an ancient bridge. Of course, Heidelberg University is even more famous. We also detoured to Colmar's old town, a very beautiful French town. Checked into the Strasbourg Marriott Hotel Merlin in the evening. Dined at Le Männele, an Alsatian restaurant near the hotel; the ambiance and food were good, although the pork knuckle had a strong porky smell. The hotel is near the European Parliament headquarters.
Day 12: Visited the Strasbourg Covered Bridge in Alsace's Old Town; the scenery was very photogenic. In the afternoon, drove to Stuttgart and checked into the Aloft Stuttgart Hotel.
Day 13: Visited the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum.
Day 14: Drive to Frankfurt and returned the car.
Day 15: Took the train to Hamburg in the morning and to Lübeck, a historic old town, in the afternoon.
Day 16: Returned home from Hamburg.
Tips: 1. All public transportation in Germany, including trains, does not have ticket checks. Remember to buy a ticket [Grin]. There are ticket validators, sometimes on the platform, sometimes on the train. Not validating your ticket is equivalent to not having a ticket.
2. Long-distance train tickets can be purchased on an app called Omio. Buying in advance offers significant discounts, and e-tickets don't need to be printed.