Cologne, Bremen, Hamburg by Brisbird

During the Summer, many destinations in Europe are popular with tourists - museums have lines around the corner, hotels are usually more expensive, and the temperatures are hot. Now is a great time to visit Europe, especially if you don’t mind the changing climate. Grab your sweater and head to Venice for a trip down the canal, taste great chocolate in Belgium, or sip beer at Ocktoberfest in Munich, you’ll find plenty of things to see and explore while traveling in Europe this Fall. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

Touring Germany

Right now, Ocktoberfest is underway in Munich. The largest beer festival in the world, this two week long celebration includes great food, music and of course, beer. If you are not there right now celebrating, don’t worry, there’s plenty to enjoy in Germany all year long, even as the weather cools - spend time in one great city, or travel by bus, train or car and see a few. You can even explore by boat as RealTraveler Brisbird recently discovered during her trip to Germany. She took an extended bus tour from Frankfurt that includes visits to Remagen, Cologne, Bremen, Hamburg and a river boat tour down “Father Rhine:”

“Today after breakfast we board the bus off on our German coach tour. First stop is in a town called Bingen where we board a river boat for a River Cruise down the Rhine river, known in Germany as ‘Father Rhine’. Up on the open-air top deck we get a birds-eye view of the towns, vinyards and castles which line the river.” (more…)

Her tour also included an afternoon visit to the town of Bremen, where she learned a bit about the history of this area from her tour guide, Maria:

“On arrival in Bremen, Maria takes us on a short walk to the Bremen square, pointing out the typical old merchant houses and places we might like to investigate further during our two hours of free time. We were also to find ourselves something for lunch during this time.

Outside the Bremen Parliament stands the Roland Statue, one of which stands in each Handseatic controlled town of olde. Maria explains that in olden times, each town used its own measurement scale, so that merchants coming to town to buy goods like cotton from the port did not know how much to purchase in terms of the local measurement scale.” (more…)

Useful Resources on Germany
Down the Rhine To Cologne - A family’s boat trip down the Rhine
Short Trip To Germany - 3 day itinerary to see the Churches and Museums in Germany
Germany Travel Guide
October Festivals

More Inspiration for Fall Getaways in Europe
Greek Island Getaways
Tuscany Wine Regions