Hi all - as always, I come to you for ideas before planning a big trip.
I will go through what is already posted and searchable but…\
the plan so far - Early August trip (thats when we can go so sadly that has to work)
We will fly to Berlin. Fly home from Frankfurt (probably best airport to fly back from since we want to finish the trip in the Mosel)
We have about 1.5 weeks.
How many days should we plan in Berlin ? This is my first time there.
From Berlin - should we head to Frankfurt and grab a car and proceed to the wine areas or should we do Koln ? or something else that we are nuts to miss out on? We are not visiting the camps.
The other idea - Koln - grab a car and drive from there…
Musts for us are Berlin, Mosel/Saar…maybe Nahe as well depending on time.
Would love any and all recc for food/hotels or areas to stay in / must do experiences etc
Personally I would not combine a Berlin trip and a wine trip. Paris is much closer to the Mosel than Berlin. Berlin is well over 8 hours driving. Having said that I can provide lots of recommendations for the Mosel / Saar.
please do!! and Berlin ideas if you have them as well. I get the point but I am absolutely not doing Paris in August lol We will take the train from Berlin to Frankfurt and drive from there - it may not be “ideal” but will be ok. (may stay a night in Leipzig on the way since it might make sense?)
Also we travel EXTRA light. The 2 of us pack ONE carryon and a bookbag for my camera gear. thats it.
We “may” be working on a plan to see Paris in the fall… I have never been btw.
I was not necessarily suggested Paris just pointing out that geographically Berlin and wine country are not exactly close. I did take the high speed train and was amazed that I went from the Mosel to Paris in about 4 hours.
yes …I love those trains. We took one from Copenhagen to Stockholm - great ride. And one in Italy from Rome to Florence and back. wish we had those here tbh - unlike airplanes there is no check in and no waiting around.
My most memorable meals in Berlin last fall were at ernst and Freundschaft. I stayed in Mitte which was fine for sightseeing purposes but lacked in neighborhood charm. Outside of the obvious touristy things, I’d suggest setting aside some time to wander the parks.
We basically did this in September but in reverse. We fly in and out of Frankfurt and got a car a drove over to the Mosel first. Stayed at Schloss Liesser. Then drove back to Frankfurt and caught the high speed train first to Stuttgart so we could drink Altbier and then caught the high speed train to Berlin. Two to three days seemed fine there to me for an introduction (even though it was my second trip to Berlin).
We rounded out our trip via high speed to Munich followed by regular train to Mainz. Quick and easy taxi right back to Frankfurt airport from there.
My buddy who is German balked at me for suggesting Koln so I’m taking that as a knock against it. FWIW.
Berlin we mostly did walking tours of the Mitte: Brandenburg Tor, Reichstag, TV Tower, Altes Museum, Berliner Dom, Spree, St. Marienkirche, Neptunbrunnen, Rotes Rathaus, Soviet War Memorial Tiergarten, Colonne de la Victoire, Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Jewish Museum, Nazi Book Burning Memorial, etc… We stayed at The Westin Grand in Mitte and all were within walking distance of our hotel.
Foodwise we ate very basic while in Berlin. But one of our favorite places for beer and simple food was Treffpunkt Berlin “Alt-Berliner Kneipe”. Treffpunkt Berlin "Alt-Berliner Kneipe"
Mosel wise once again we didn’t eat very high end. Just basic. The nicest meal we had was the restaurant at Schloss Leiser: Puricelli Restaurant. Besides that a casual spot with nice wine selection in Bernkastel is Rieslinghaus Bernkastel. Comfort food at Restaurant Cafe Thiesen in Bernkastel. We attended the Weinfest while there and burn a fair amount of time drinking instead of eating.
Ok lets get this started with the Saar which is easy…
Stay at Lauer and eat dinner there.
It might be hard to get appointments during that time as depending on the growing season that is a time when many winemakers take off before harvest starts. Check in with @Lars_Carlberg
Here are my recommendations for this area.
Egon Muller
Falkenstein
Karthauserfhof
Lauer
Van Voxlem
Von Schubert
Not sure if Van Voxlem and Von Schubert require appointments the others do.
I would start in the Saar and the backtrack through Trier and have lunch at Yong Yong on your way to the Mosel
yes absolutely staying at Laur - we stayed there last time and i just LOVED it.
plus gets me very close to Florian and also i love just walking out at sunrise and into the vineyards at Kupp
Laur will be an absolute must although i think so is Zilliken for me. just love their wines.
I would love to visit Falkenstein as well - but i do not have a good contact. Maybe I will bug you closer to if you dont mind? I will be starting to plan soon.
thinking that an afternoon at Trier is def a must.
It’s a good point. Depending on the connection, you can take either an ICE from Paris to Saarbrücken or a TGV from Paris to Luxembourg and then a regional train to Trier in just over 3 hours. The route from Saarbrücken to Trier runs along the Saar. Another option is to take either the high-speed train to Saarbrücken or Luxembourg and then rent a car.
It’s true that many producers go on vacation in August. I would also recommend to visit Dr. Wagner in Saarburg and von Othegraven in Kanzem.
If you’d like to visit Hofgut Falkenstein, I would send an email to the winery (info@hofgutfalkenstein.com). The Webers are already sold out of the new vintage and don’t have a tasting room that is open to the public.
We will take the train from Berlin to Frankfurt and drive from there - it may not be “ideal” but will be ok. (may stay a night in Leipzig on the way since it might make sense?)