# Where to stay on way to Brugges from Freiburg



## vacationlover2 (Mar 1, 2013)

Hi all,

We are travelling from Freiburg to Brugges.  We have a couple extra days to play with.  We have 2 nights at Brugges planned.  Should we add the nights on there or stop 2 nights on the way.  Any suggestions?


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## Jimster (Mar 1, 2013)

*travel*

How are you getting there-train? car?


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## vacationlover2 (Mar 1, 2013)

We will have a car.


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## optimist (Mar 1, 2013)

Before you head out, cross the border into France and visit Colmar. One of the most beautiful little towns I have ever seen.  Most of the buildings were from the 17th century.

I would stop in Luxembourg is it was me...


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## x3 skier (Mar 1, 2013)

Brugge is worth at most, two days to me.

Second the recommendation for Colmar. Gent is a nice stop in addition to Brugge.

Another idea is to travel along the Rhine up to Cologne and then over to Brugge. 

Cheers


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## mav (Mar 1, 2013)

Yes, Colmar is a must. It's  exqusite !  "Petite Venice"  You will love it!


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## Pompey Family (Mar 2, 2013)

x3 skier said:


> Brugge is worth at most, two days to me.Cheers



That's being too generous.


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## vacationlover2 (Mar 2, 2013)

We can skip Brugges altogether if you guys think it isn't worth it.  A lot of others told me it was great.  We have about 4 days after Freiburg to go anywhere we like, but we are flying out of Amsterdam.


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## beejaybeeohio (Mar 2, 2013)

vacationlover2 said:


> We can skip Brugges altogether if you guys think it isn't worth it.  A lot of others told me it was great.  We have about 4 days after Freiburg to go anywhere we like, but we are flying out of Amsterdam.



Please don't skip Bruges!  But I agree with others that more than 2 nites isn't needed.  We were there for 6 hours on a Sunday via cruise ship. It was too short a visit to take in everything, especially since not all was open.  We did take a Segway tour for a reasonable price so got to see much of the town.  We did consider returning for a daytrip out of Brussels last July because we enjoyed Bruges very much, but Brussels kept us busy.  The Ommegang festival was a highlight!!


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## x3 skier (Mar 2, 2013)

vacationlover2 said:


> We can skip Brugges altogether if you guys think it isn't worth it.  A lot of others told me it was great.  We have about 4 days after Freiburg to go anywhere we like, but we are flying out of Amsterdam.



Brugge is certainly worth a visit but it can be done in a day. I took one of the canal boat cruises and enjoyed some good Belgian Beer at a bar on the canal. 

Amsterdam is one of my favorites and if you are in Holland during tulip time, the growing area is flat out beautiful. As I suggested earlier, the Rhine and Mosel Rivers are good for sightseeing and wineries. 

Cheers


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## Carolinian (Mar 2, 2013)

There are a number of interesting towns and cities in Alsace-Loraine, Colmar and Strassbourg being the two best, but there are others.  Also, the castle at Haut Konigsberg.


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## akp (Mar 3, 2013)

Carolinian said:


> There are a number of interesting towns and cities in Alsace-Loraine, Colmar and Strassbourg being the two best, but there are others.  Also, the castle at Haut Konigsberg.



I have the best memories of Strasbourg!  We'd been staying in hostels in Eastern Europe, pretty humble ones, and we splurged on a "nice" hotel in Strasbourg.  I remember the claw-foot tub in the room, and the wonderful Alsatian wine.

I am dying to go to Bruges one day.

Anita


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## GetawaysRus (Mar 7, 2013)

I waited a few days for activity to die down in this thread.  I didn't want to hijack it too quickly....

I'm in the early stages of trying to dream up a vacation for May-June 2014.  My wife and I live in California, but we have a major family event to attend in Boston on May 17, 2014.  And, since we are already all the way across the US, we may as well go further and make it into a vacation.  I'm toying with a few ideas:

Idea #1. Iceland should be pretty easy to reach from Boston.  That would be pretty different.

Idea #2. Brugges in on my to-visit list.  I'm considering flying from the US to Brussels.  Some places we might visit: Brussels, Brugges, Cologne, Berlin, Poland (Krakow, Warsaw, perhaps Gdansk?)
- Anyone care to comment on visiting Brugges as a day trip from Brussels?  Would that be enough time or would we be shortchanging ourselves?  On these big international trips, I find that moving our luggage can be tiring, so it's tempting to base at a hotel in Brussels and take a day trip.  But I have learned that there is the alternative of taking a train from Brussels airport to Brugges and making Brugges our first stop.
- How about Cologne?  There is train service from Brussels to Cologne.  Looks like about a 2 hour trip.  Probably too long for a day trip.  Any comments about Cologne?  How much time to spend there?  Is it a worthwhile stop?
- From Cologne, I see some really cheap fares on Air Berlin from Cologne to Krakow.  That's tempting, because we could then reverse course, going from Krakow back to Warsaw (by train) and then back to Berlin (probably by train).  I'd expect that there would then be a greater number of flights from Berlin back to the USA than from Poland to the USA.

(It may seem that I'm skipping some major places of interest, but we've visited some other areas in Germany in the past.)

That's about as far as I've gotten so far.  Like I said, this is early stage planning and nothing is firm in my mind now.  But any comments are welcome.


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## Pompey Family (Mar 7, 2013)

Any particular reason for Gdansk?  I only ask because it's quite an industrial city and certainly wouldn't be on my list of stop off's especially when you have so many other options.  Krakow is a must.  An absolute gem of a place and well worth a couple of days.  From Krakow you can also visit Auschwitz which is also a definite, you simply cannot go to Krakow and not visit such a momentously important place.  There are so many tour operators providing tours to Aushwitz from Krakow.  We took a bus which took about two hours but you can travel by private car (more expensive).  I much preferred Krakow over Warsaw.  Warsaw has its charm but it is not as attractive or interesting as Krakow.  With the exception of the Old Town it is relatively modern and charmless and the Old Town is relatively small.

I haven't really visited Germany much so I can't advise you on Cologne.  I would recommend Heidelberg though if you're inclined to visit that area.

What about the Baltic States?  Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia?  Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn are all attractive cities and they're all flourishing now that they're free from their Soviet shackles.  I particularly like Tallinn.

The upside of these 'lesser' tourist destinations compared to the main ones such as London, Paris, Rome etc are that they are less crowded, less expensive and you get to see some fantastic places that are often overlooked.

You can also venture further east for the delights of Budapest or Bucharest but I'd imagine you're probably not looking at going that far.


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## Carolinian (Mar 7, 2013)

I would concur on the Baltic states, which are great.

As to Gdansk, it like Warsaw was heavily damaged in World War II and rebuilt after the war.  However, unlike the Germans, in say Frankfurt, who largely built modern crap as replacements, the Poles in Warsaw and Gdansk (Danzig) recreated the Old Towns from photographs and they are quite charming today.  The same is largely true of Wroclaw (Breslau) another Polish city worth seeing. The Breslau Old Town had much less war damage than Warsaw or Danzig so at least most of the buildings are authetic.  Krakow received almost no war damage and the buildings there are as old as they seem to be, unlike the reproductions in the other cities.  Lvov, a historically Polish city given to Ukraine after WWII, is also well worth seeing and just over the border.




Pompey Family said:


> Any particular reason for Gdansk?  I only ask because it's quite an industrial city and certainly wouldn't be on my list of stop off's especially when you have so many other options.  Krakow is a must.  An absolute gem of a place and well worth a couple of days.  From Krakow you can also visit Auschwitz which is also a definite, you simply cannot go to Krakow and not visit such a momentously important place.  There are so many tour operators providing tours to Aushwitz from Krakow.  We took a bus which took about two hours but you can travel by private car (more expensive).  I much preferred Krakow over Warsaw.  Warsaw has its charm but it is not as attractive or interesting as Krakow.  With the exception of the Old Town it is relatively modern and charmless and the Old Town is relatively small.
> 
> I haven't really visited Germany much so I can't advise you on Cologne.  I would recommend Heidelberg though if you're inclined to visit that area.
> 
> ...


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## beejaybeeohio (Mar 7, 2013)

GetawaysRus said:


> Idea #2. Brugges in on my to-visit list.  I'm considering flying from the US to Brussels.  Some places we might visit: Brussels, Brugges, Cologne, Berlin, Poland (Krakow, Warsaw, perhaps Gdansk?)
> - Anyone care to comment on visiting Brugges as a day trip from Brussels?  Would that be enough time or would we be shortchanging ourselves?  On these big international trips, I find that moving our luggage can be tiring, so it's tempting to base at a hotel in Brussels and take a day trip.  But I have learned that there is the alternative of taking a train from Brussels airport to Brugges and making Brugges our first stop.



I think that using Brussels as a base for a train trip to Bruges is an excellent plan. There are numerous runs from Brussels and you can spend a really long day/evening in Bruges and return to your Brussels lodging at day's end.  I wouldn't make Bruges your 1st stop from BRU, you'll be jet-lagged and it would be good to settle into your hotel and do a daytrip there after your batteries are recharged.

There are other Belgian cities worth a visit just a short train ride from Brussels- Antwerp & Ghent come to mind (not speaking from experience regarding this idea).


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## x3 skier (Mar 7, 2013)

Took a short visit to Iceland last year and really enjoyed it. Friendly people and brilliant summer weather. If you do go I recommend a bike tour of Reyjavik. Easy riding and knowledgable guides. Also the Blue Lagoon is quite a sight but you need to take a tour or rent a car. 

The flight from Boston was pretty short relatively speaking. If you don't have a great deal of time after your stop in Boston, it's a nice place for a three or four day visit. 

A day trip from Brussles to Brugge or Ghent (or even both) is easy. 

Cheers


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