From Cologne I would probably spend some time in the Rhine Valley. The most scenic portion of the Rhine is between Koblenz and Bingen and you could explore it by train, bus, or boat. Visit a castle and stay overnight in Bacharach or St. Goar. If you continue on to Frankfurt you’ll be in a major transportation hub so it will be a fast train trip to any German city. Munich (3 1/4 hours by train) offers great day trips into the Austrian Alp and interesting sights. Berlin (4 1/4 hours) is another option with perhaps a livelier bar and music scene??????

Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels/Bruges would also be easy to visit by train from Cologne. The fast, but expensive, Thalys trains serve these cities from Cologne.

Budget for 10 days: airfare to get to/from Europe
City to city transportation: $150 to $300.
Daily living: $75 to $100 per day. Since you’re likely to be in expensive cities, $75 per day will be tough.

Oldlady,

Thank you for your suggestion, but I really preffer to go to a little towns and no cheaps. Can you help me with this. How can I save money and visit nice pleace in Germany?

I would still start out with the Rhine valley. Take the train (or you can start out by boat) to Koblenz and then take one of the many “cruise boats” to St. Goar or Bacharach. Here’s the website for the largest of a handful of cruise lines: http://www.kdrhine.c…. This one is owned by the German National rail company so is covered by a rail pass if you end up traveling far enough to make that pay. Explore castle, stay overnight, etc. Continue on toward Mainz the next day, either on boat or train. You can stop off at other towns along the Rhine if you take the boat or one of the local trains that stops at most towns. This will be relatively cheap and, while a bit touristy, it will not be big cities. You can then continue to Frankfurt where you’ll have fast and relatively cheap trains available to anywhere in Europe.

Any guide book will cover this area and one’s like Let’s Go and Lonely Planet are desgined for budget tourists. Any of the Rick Steves guides (Europe through the Back Door and others) that covers Germany has great information about the trip and suggestions for hostels and cheaper hotels along the Rhine.

Use http://reiseauskunft… for train schedules anywhere in Europe. You can usually find advance purchase web specials for trains in Germany that will save a lot on the city to city transportation part of the budget.