Europe By Train - Germany, Austria and Denmark

As you probably already know, visiting Europe by train is one of my favorite proposals and I have planned lots of trips in this zone. Today's itinerary is an alternative proposal that will cover the countries of Germany, Austria and Denmark. The whole route is done by train, as the crossing with ferry is done with the train inside! Of course, my recommendation is taking one of the multiple country passes that exist either for Europeans and people coming from abroad.

Frankfurt is, by far, the best destinations where you can fly to if you have the chance, because it is the European central for low cost flights and at same time the taxes can be pretty low. Also the rail connections are enormous there so even if you don't plan to visit Germany it can save you some money to land there to start your European route.

Leaving Frankfurt and its skyscrapers behind, in this case you will face to the North of Germany, going through Koblenz and Köln, where a visit to the cathedral is a real must. Size really matters in some situations. After spending a night in Köln, you can follow your route taking another train to Bremen. There you can visit "The Schnoor", take a walk at the city hall, the statue placed in Roland and the Buergerpark.

Now the time has come to cross the border and point to the capital of one Scandinavian country, the little Denmark. Copenhagen is city of contrasts. The Mermaid is a lot smaller than what you could imagine so you will need to choose the right time to be able to take a picture of it, probably fighting with a huge amount of Japanese tourists. Tivoli is also a must see and the city itself offers a wide range of possibilities, specially with Christiania, officially part of the city since 1986 but started as a camp of hippy squatters. Fortunately, you still can breath there the air of this period.

Spend at least a couple of days in Copenhagen, visiting also the towns around, specially Roskilde, which will introduce you to the viking history with some rebuilt Drakkar (the war boats they used to navigate rivers upstream and conquer European cities).

The route can follow to Berlin taking the ferry with your train inside. It is a night trip, and returning to Germany you will begin with one big city to digest. Berlin has the history of many wars in its streets. Being nowadays one of the most powerful economies pulling all Europe ahead, the capital of Germany has suffered a lot and scars are found everywhere.

Visiting the Reichstag, the Brandenburger Tor, Checkpoint Charlie, and specially the Berlin Wall are some things you can't forget to do there. The Berlin Cathedral has also a lot to offer, as well as Postdamer Platz. Don't forget to visit the outskirts town called Postdam. It's just a 30 minutes train ride and it has some enormous beautiful gardens with palaces that you will not finish even in a whole day!

Time to move on, and the train will take you now to Leipzig. This recent days the streets are suffering from a constant modification, so you will find plenty of road work there. After all, the city is beautiful and has a lot of history too. Don't take it as a point A to point B city. The magic is in every building, in the streets. Walk them, close your eyes, and place yourself some years back. And now open your eyes because this street light is not gonna move out of your way.

Following to the south of Germany you will cross Nürnberg to arrive to Munich. Don't forget to visit the National Museum there, and also take a look at the precious fountains you can find on your way through the city center. St Lorenz church is also a must.

When arriving to Munich, leaving the beer and the famous Oktoberfest apart, visiting Marienplatz and the Englischer Garten will be an exceptional way to land into this border lands. Olimpyapark is asking you to take a walk inside, also visiting the stadium, and a visit to one of the concentration camps will be extremely worth: Dachau is a good one to take a look at.

The time for Austria has come now, and entering the country you will notice specially one thing: how flat is Germany and how gorgeous are the high white peaks of Austria! Welcome to the mountains capital of Europe, together with Switzerland. Salzburg is a good way to start the trip, taking a look at the old castle and jumping into anything that can bring you uphill and give you a perspective of the city from above.

Follow your trip to Vienna and spend at least 2 days in the capital of the music. Vienna is the house of many well-known classic musicians, and walking its streets still can let you feel what made this old song composers feel so inspired to produce such amazing melodies. Do not leave the city behind until you have visited the Schönbrunn and Hofburg.

Going north again you could stop to take a look at Innsbruck, but then train connections can be pretty bad. What is really important is to take the ride to Füssen, near Munich, either when you visit the city or when you come back heading Frankfurt, as it has 2 of the most enchanted-looking castles you can ever dream of.

Finally, take your train heading to Heidelberg (you can visit Stuttgart but it has really not a lot to offer, many travelers get disappointed there) and after visiting the city, the next step will be Frankfurt again and get a plane back home. This in case that Frankfurt is not your home town!

In any case, If you are looking to plan any route across Europe and don't know where to start from or how to coordinate everything, a visit to Travel Planning Help can be very useful.