How is this itinerary for first trip to Europe

My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe this Spring. I've never been
to Europe before...we plan on about 2 weeks (~ 15 nights). Both of us are
English-only speakers.

Our current plan:

Fly to London, 4 nights in London (maybe 1 in Bath?)
Rail to Paris, 4 nights in Paris
Rail to Koeln, _rent_ a car and spend 7 days/nights exploring Germany
(Rhine River Valley, Romantic Road, Rothenburg, Munich, etc.)
Fly out of Munich

I'm a little skittish about renting a car in a foreign country. I know
Europe's rail system is supposed to be fantastic, but we like exploring
and enjoy checking out smaller towns and scenic countryside. Any thoughts on this?

P.S., we are coming from the United States!

> My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe this Spring. I've never been
> to Europe before...we plan on about 2 weeks (~ 15 nights). Both of us are
> English-only speakers.
>
> Our current plan:
>
> Fly to London, 4 nights in London (maybe 1 in Bath?)
> Rail to Paris, 4 nights in Paris
> Rail to Koeln, _rent_ a car and spend 7 days/nights exploring Germany
> (Rhine River Valley, Romantic Road, Rothenburg, Munich, etc.)
> Fly out of Munich
>
> I'm a little skittish about renting a car in a foreign country. I know
> Europe's rail system is supposed to be fantastic, but we like exploring
> and enjoy checking out smaller towns and scenic countryside. Any thoughts on this?

In news:pan.2007.01.22.04.17.45.260060@example.com,
Mike <mike@example.com> typed:
> My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe this Spring. I've never
> been
> to Europe before...we plan on about 2 weeks (~ 15 nights). Both of
> us are English-only speakers.
>
> Our current plan:
>
> Fly to London, 4 nights in London (maybe 1 in Bath?)
> Rail to Paris, 4 nights in Paris
> Rail to Koeln, _rent_ a car and spend 7 days/nights exploring Germany
> (Rhine River Valley, Romantic Road, Rothenburg, Munich, etc.)
> Fly out of Munich
>
> I'm a little skittish about renting a car in a foreign country. I
> know
> Europe's rail system is supposed to be fantastic, but we like
> exploring
> and enjoy checking out smaller towns and scenic countryside. Any
> thoughts on this?

A car does give you more freedom for doing those things. But there is a
downside, including finding both the pickup and dropoff points, getting
fuel, parking, the unknown roads, the unknown drivers, etc. In some ways,
it's a tradeoff of freedom for anxiety.

"Otter" <konrad@lorenz.net> wrote in message
news:51ito8F1kjfrgU1@mid....
> In news:pan.2007.01.22.04.17.45.260060@example.com,
> Mike <mike@example.com> typed:
> > My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe this Spring. I've never
> > been
> > to Europe before...we plan on about 2 weeks (~ 15 nights). Both of
> > us are English-only speakers.
> >
> > Our current plan:
> >
> > Fly to London, 4 nights in London (maybe 1 in Bath?)
> > Rail to Paris, 4 nights in Paris
> > Rail to Koeln, _rent_ a car and spend 7 days/nights exploring Germany
> > (Rhine River Valley, Romantic Road, Rothenburg, Munich, etc.)
> > Fly out of Munich
> >
> > I'm a little skittish about renting a car in a foreign country. I
> > know
> > Europe's rail system is supposed to be fantastic, but we like
> > exploring
> > and enjoy checking out smaller towns and scenic countryside. Any
> > thoughts on this?
>
> A car does give you more freedom for doing those things. But there is a
> downside, including finding both the pickup and dropoff points, getting
> fuel, parking, the unknown roads, the unknown drivers, etc. In some ways,
> it's a tradeoff of freedom for anxiety.
>
>

Otter is right, but, my wife and I have made numerous (16) trips to Europe,
taking the train on our first two visits, but renting an auto on all the
others. Maybe we have just been lucky, but having a car really gives you
the freedom to go many places, taking the country roads, and seeing things
you would not see on the train. We like especially to go and stay in one
place, making day trips out to the nearby towns. Having one or two of these
base places to drive from makes it nice.

Have driven in England, Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, and
the Czech Republic, among others.

At 75, I am not sure I will be able to rent an auto next trip, but we will
see.

Have a good time on your trip.

Joe in Texas

Mike wrote:
> My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe this Spring. I've never been
> to Europe before...we plan on about 2 weeks (~ 15 nights). Both of us are
> English-only speakers.
>
> Our current plan:
>
> Fly to London, 4 nights in London (maybe 1 in Bath?)
> Rail to Paris, 4 nights in Paris
> Rail to Koeln, _rent_ a car and spend 7 days/nights exploring Germany
> (Rhine River Valley, Romantic Road, Rothenburg, Munich, etc.)
> Fly out of Munich
>
> I'm a little skittish about renting a car in a foreign country. I know
> Europe's rail system is supposed to be fantastic, but we like exploring
> and enjoy checking out smaller towns and scenic countryside. Any thoughts on this?

It's no problem if you only speak English. Learn some useful phrases
(e.g. how to get gas in German) and you'll be OK. Lots of English
speaking people in Germany.

Mike a écrit :
> My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe this Spring. I've never been
> to Europe before...we plan on about 2 weeks (~ 15 nights). Both of us are
> English-only speakers.
>
> Our current plan:
>
> Fly to London, 4 nights in London (maybe 1 in Bath?)
> Rail to Paris, 4 nights in Paris
> Rail to Koeln, _rent_ a car and spend 7 days/nights exploring Germany
> (Rhine River Valley, Romantic Road, Rothenburg, Munich, etc.)
> Fly out of Munich
>
> I'm a little skittish about renting a car in a foreign country. I know
> Europe's rail system is supposed to be fantastic, but we like exploring
> and enjoy checking out smaller towns and scenic countryside. Any thoughts on this?

Looks reasonable: driving a car in larger cities in
Europe is [most of time] no fun, parking a nightmare
and/or expensive.

For travelling mostly small towns and villages, car
still is the right option (motorbike or bicycle when
luggage and weather is not a concern). Just try to
get a car with a navigation system. And for Köln
a car rental pick-up near a railway-station, drop-off
at Munich airport if feasible.

In addition, learn at least some basic sentences,
such as greetings, thanks, and "sorry, I dont speak
German, do you speak English"

As for driving the highways in Germany: no big
deal, just that right lanes are used for driving,
left for passing only. An important part of the
highway network has speed limits (100, 120km/h)
and often enough to much traffic for driving at
really high speed - otherwise, check traffic far
behind your car before using the blinkers and
changing for left lane ....

Check also for some websites on road-signs and
rules, including translation for some of the basic
words (such as "Ausfahrt" for [highway] "exit")

And have a great trip!

"PeterL" <po.ning@> kirjoitti
viestissä:1169442885.734528.90250@38g2000cwa.googl egro...
>
> Mike wrote:
>> My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe this Spring. I've never been
>> to Europe before...we plan on about 2 weeks (~ 15 nights). Both of us
>> are
>> English-only speakers.
>>
>> Our current plan:
>>
>> Fly to London, 4 nights in London (maybe 1 in Bath?)
>> Rail to Paris, 4 nights in Paris
>> Rail to Koeln, _rent_ a car and spend 7 days/nights exploring Germany
>> (Rhine River Valley, Romantic Road, Rothenburg, Munich, etc.)
>> Fly out of Munich
>>
>> I'm a little skittish about renting a car in a foreign country. I know
>> Europe's rail system is supposed to be fantastic, but we like exploring
>> and enjoy checking out smaller towns and scenic countryside. Any
>> thoughts on this?
>
> It's no problem if you only speak English. Learn some useful phrases
> (e.g. how to get gas in German) and you'll be OK. Lots of English
> speaking people in Germany.
>
How to get gas? Aren't all the pumps in Germany self-service?

In article <6oke84-lk6.ln1@doof.home>, paul+usenet@dwerryhouse.com.au
(Paul Dwerryhouse) wrote:

> *From:* Paul Dwerryhouse <paul+usenet@dwerryhouse.com.au>
> *Date:* Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:45:42 +1100
>
> Mike <mike@example.com> writes:
>
> > Fly to London, 4 nights in London (maybe 1 in Bath?)
> > Rail to Paris, 4 nights in Paris
> > Rail to Koeln, _rent_ a car and spend 7 days/nights exploring Germany
> > (Rhine River Valley, Romantic Road, Rothenburg, Munich, etc.)
> > Fly out of Munich
>
> That looks quite reasonable to me, except for the one night in Bath.
> You'll
> waste the best part of a day getting there, and the same on the way
> back, and
> won't have time to see the town itself. Stay in London and maybe do a
> day-trip
> to a nearby town if you'd like to see a bit of non-city UK. Canterbury,
> perhaps?

I agree - looks like a good itinerary, but spending a night outside of
London is going to fragment the short UK element of your trip too much.
You can easily do Bath as a day trip too, of course.

> Fly to London, 4 nights in London (maybe 1 in Bath?)

I wouldn't bother staying 1 night in Bath. It's doable as a day trip on the
train.
But then I really hate changing hotels when I don't have to.

> Rail to Paris, 4 nights in Paris
> Rail to Koeln, _rent_ a car and spend 7 days/nights exploring Germany
> (Rhine River Valley, Romantic Road, Rothenburg, Munich, etc.)
> Fly out of Munich
>
> I'm a little skittish about renting a car in a foreign country. I know
> Europe's rail system is supposed to be fantastic, but we like exploring
> and enjoy checking out smaller towns and scenic countryside. Any thoughts
> on this?

Rail in Germany is good, but nothing beats renting a car. Just remember to
get an auto tranny if you are not used to manual.
You have the advantage of being used to driving on the wrong side of the
road already, so go for it!

"Mark Hewitt" <nomail@here.com> kirjoitti
viestissä:1169479642.932499@ucsnew2.ncl.ac.uk...
>
> You have the advantage of being used to driving on the wrong side of the
> road already, so go for it!
You are provocative in this. However, now that winter has arrived in Finland
at last, many people seem to drive on the wrong side of the road which
results some nasty collisions when the oncoming cars don't do the same.