Nothing gets you in the holiday spirit like roaming through these bright outdoor markets while sipping a mug of Glhwein and trying traditional Christmas German sweets. Vacation entitlement According to the Federal Holidays Act, all employees in Germany with a 5-day week are entitled to a minimum of 20 vacation days per year. If you dont have time to sit down for a Bavarian Maof beer (or arent a beer drinker) you can take a walk through the famous Hofbruhaus. Notice the river surfers doing their tricks! Since this can be a harrowing experience, we suggest booking a tour led by a professional tour guide. Cate has been traveling to Germany for 30+ years. The city's darker World War II connections are on display at the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rallying Grounds and the Memorium Nuremberg Trials museum. The city offers a quieter, more serene atmosphere complete with parks and eye-catching historical landmarks. I have seen websites where you can buy them online ahead of time but you have to register the cars information, which you cant do with a rental car. They could probably also tell you the best place to purchase one for each country (you should be able to get one at rest stops, gas stations, etc along the freeway near the border). Respectively 24 days of paid holiday for a 6-day work week. After looking at whats do-able with a balanced approach to traveling in Germany over 10 days, youll be able to decide whether 10 days is enough for you or not. Sylt, located in the North Sea, is known for its long sandy beaches and clear water. 2. An easy day trip you can do in half a day is to the Dachau Concentration Camp. Must-see Roman relics include St. Peter's Cathedral, Porta Nigra, the Basilica of Constantine and the Imperial Baths. If you love nature, Grunewald forest is an excellent place to start your adventure from. ? Visitors flock to Munich every fall to take part in Oktoberfest, a two-week-long ode to Bavarian traditions featuring Germany's best beers and bratwurst. At the very end of this article Ill share our 14-day Germany itinerary from a few years ago, just to give you another idea of whats possible in that time-frame. "The higher the intensity of the story, the stronger and faster the toy's reaction will be," the . If youve never visited a concentration camp before, I highly recommend Dachau. The flat was developed as a shared apartment concept. Click to find out where to stay from here and here. Is Frankfurt part of your 5 days in Germany itinerary? All Rights Reserved. You can go on an exciting underground visit to the salt mines of Berchtesgaden, which is actually a huge amount of fun! Then, ride the funicular railway to Heidelberg Castle, and continue on to Knigstuhl for impressive views. When you're not sipping on delicious vino, consider visiting the grand Marienberg Fortress or snapping a photo of Wrzburg's iconic Old Main Bridge. Explore festivities ideal for maximizing the sweater weather season. (Remember, though, that if youre coming from the US, a 14-day trip means you typically have 11 full days in Germany.). Do read this additional post for German travel tips! Along the way you can stop by Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the best-preserved medieval old town of Germany. Or Cologne and the Rhein or Mosel. This is the first thought that springs to mind when you clap eyes on the sandstone wonderland of Saxon Switzerland, just south of Dresden. Since moving back to the US, weve taken many 10-14 day European vacations (flying to Europe from the US east coast) and have felt like we were able to not only see and do quite a lot but also relax and really feel like weve gotten away from our everyday lives in the US. Nuremberg. These websites are also great for getting rental cars. You can opt to end your day by going to the Belgian Quarter. Most employment contracts now provide different carryover rules for statutory minimum leave and the additional leave voluntarily granted. ACCOMMODATIONS:We recommend usingBooking.comsince they have widest range of accommodations available from hostels, boutique hotels, luxury chains, aparthotels, at the best prices. When leaving in the second half of the year, you get the full amount of vacation days (either vacation or financial . Your employer also cannot forbid you from undertaking strenuous activities such as. Visit lakeside towns like Konstanz and Lindau for fun water activities like sailing and windsurfing or stroll along the quaint villages with a backdrop of the Swiss Alps. 4 In the first 6 months after you start a new job, your vacation days are prorated: 1 you unlock 1/12 of your vacation days every month. If you make a purchase from our site, we may earn a commission. From the castle, travelers can get an eyeful of the surrounding mountains, Alpine lakes and striking foliage (especially during fall). One might even say it's too cute for its own good, if the deluges of day trippers are any indication. Your employer may only refuse your holiday if there are extraordinarily important operational reasons against justifying your vacation or if other employees have already planned leave for this period. If you arrive on time or have oodles of energy, you have even more time to explore! This will be our second trip to Europe and from our experience earlier we realized that we like history, architecture, medieval . Only 30 minutes away, Burg Eltz is a little more challenging to visit (on the weekends theres a bus you can take) but its worth a visit to this beautiful area, especially if youd like to do a little hiking. Day 1-2: Home to Germany's busiest airport, Frankfurt is where most travelers start their journey. German painterAlbrecht Drerhailed from the Altstadt, his house now a museum. On one of my winter Munich visits I spent several hours wandering all around the grounds and really enjoyed my time there much more than Id expected! Here, you can do the following; You can start your day by visiting the second tallest building in Cologne as well as the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Cologne Cathedral or Kolner Dom. If you still have some penny left on you, go out shopping at the Best Vintage Shop. Or you could focus on one region, say, Munich for 2 days and the Garmisch area for 3 (visiting smaller towns and the alps). Luxury Couple's Trip. Nothing beats the rush of the anticipation of whats to come on your first trip. If they omit to do so, your vacation will not expire and may roll over to the next year. A common misconception is that vacation entitlement only applies after your probationary period; however, it applies from the moment you begin working, and for every month you work, you will be entitled to one-twelfth of your annual leave. Travel Style. Mist, snow or shine, the deep, dark Black Forest is just beautiful. German regional holidays Although the federal government has the power to declare national holidays, control over public holidays rests primarily with the individual states. Visiting Germany provides you with lots and lots of exciting cities and locations beyond beer halls and beer gardens! It is the largest forested area in Berlin, and you can access it through S-Bahn. With 2 days just for Munich, youll be able to see and do quite a bit! Not only can travelers enjoy beautiful architecture, they can expect manicured gardens and parks, such as Ring Park and the University of Wrzburg's Botanical Garden, along with numerous vineyards and estates offering wine tastings (Wrzburg is located in Germany's Franken wine region). Figuring out a country's visa requirements can be confusing, but fortunately entering Germany is usually a straightforward procedure for many travelers. Familotel Feldberger Hof - Traveler rating: 4.0/5. But Munich, one of the largest German cities, offers so much more than just this festival. It helps you to have a unique experience as you visit new sites and meet new people in your life. check train schedules and buy tickets here, booking a tour led by a professional tour guide, click here for our Stuttgart Christmas Market guide, How to Plan a Family Trip to Germany in 2023, 9 Best Hop On Hop Off Bus Tours For Your Trip To Germany, How to Visit King Ludwigs Fairytale Castles in Bavaria, Germany, 2 Days in Munich: Perfect Itinerary & Best Things To Do, Best German Translator Apps for English Speakers, How to Plan a Trip to Germany (Your Step by Step Germany Trip Planner for Traveling to Germany for the First Time!) Holidays in other countries Holidays are calculated using the local time in Berlin. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Day 1: Fly to Berlin (from the US east coast) Day 2: Arrive in Berlin (we were supposed to arrive in the morning but due to a flight delay in Newark we didnt arrive until the evening), drive to Magdeburg after a short visit to the Brandenburg GateDay 3: Magdeburg Day 4: Quedlinburg, Wernigerode and the Harz mountains Day 5: Drive to Bochum (we went here just to see one of our favorite bands perform in the evening)Day 6: Drive to HamburgDay 7: HamburgDay 8: North Sea beach day Day 9: Hurricane Music Festival (near Hamburg) Day 10: Drive to StuttgartDay 11: StuttgartDay 12: Drive to Freiburg for the day Day 13: Drive to the Black Forest Open Air Museum Day 14: Fly home from Stuttgart. Though you'll have your pick of stunning structures, make sure you visit the Dresden Zwinger (a Baroque-style palace) and Dresden Royal Palace (a Renaissance landmark where the Frstenzug, the world's largest porcelain mural, resides). It was established by a group of Frankfurt citizens and takes you on a horticultural journey from the blooming flower gardens in Europe to the rain-forests exotic plants to the African Savanna. The rooms and suites vary in terms of prices. Just to give you another example of a Germany trip itinerary, one of ours is below. If you want to fit more in your day, you can also make your way to other fairytale castles like Linderhof and Hohenschwangau castle, King Ludwigs childhood home. Come with U.S. News on a tour of the XV Beacon Hotel in Boston. Come with U.S. News on a tour of the InterContinental Boston. You can visit the aquarium where you will get an opportunity to see sharks, insects, crocodiles, amphibians, as well as fish floating on the colorfully illuminated tanks on the dark corridors. That means you do not need to check your emails or answer any phone calls. Train or plane? Germany wants to encourage travelers to take trains over planes, Hiking, climbing, cycling, paddling and more: Germany's best adventure activities, Wine on the Rhine: three German wine regions off the beaten path, Everything you need to know before you travel to Munich, The best times to visit Munich through the year, What to pack for your trip to Ireland in 2022, 7 great destinations to consider for your first post-pandemic trip, The worlds most powerful passports for 2021 have been revealed, How to visit magnificent Munich on a budget, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Situated about 10 miles east of Germany's border with Luxembourg, the country's oldest city draws history buffs in droves. Terms of Service | Privacy. Formerly a concentration camp, the remaining structures show the dark history of WW2 while paying respect to victims and survivors. So I recommend talking to your rental car company before you go and then confirming everything in person when you pick up your car. My husband and myself along with our son are travelling to Germany for 8 days in April (entry and exit travel days excluded) and would like some advice on planning the perfect trip.