In Poland, try Lower Silesia. It borders the Czech Republic so it shouldn’t be too hard to get to from Prague. There are loads of interesting small towns (e.g. Jelenia Gora, Swidnica, Bolkow) and villages, beautiful nature (the Karkanosze mountains are on the Czech/Polish border and are good for scenery and realtively easy hikes), castles, old spa towns, etc. The capital city, Wroclaw, is nice too.

Also not too far from the border (but a bit more east) are Paczkow, Otmuchow and Nysa. The first has a medeaval core complete with city walls and gates; the second has an interesting old town hall, castle, and lakes nearby; and the latter used to be known as the "Silesian Rome" because of the many religious buildings, but it was badly bombed in WWII, so only about 10% is left. You could see all 3 in a day.

A bit farther of are Kazimierz Dolny (between Krakow and Warsaw) and Torun (NW of Warsaw).

In Germany, I would recommend Regensburg in Bavaria, not very far from the Czech border.

Nuremburg! It’s a bit of a journey from Prague but it is in SE Germany (northern Bavaria). It’s actually a city of half-a-million people, but the walled old city (largely reconstructed in medieval fashion after severe WWII bombing) is a hoot and boasts several excellent museums and the requisite hilltop castle. It’s only 90 minutes by train from Regensburg, which Seraphim recommended.

Yeah, Nürnberg is nice too, but I didn’t really think of it when I saw "small towns". I actually went there as a daytrip from Regensburg.

[url=‘http://www.goerlitz.de’]Görlitz[/url] at the German/Polish border is a really nice town.

[url=‘http://www.germany-tourism.de/e/cities_18901.html’]Germany Tourism[/url] – map with enchanting towns (green dots)
[url=‘http://www.nuernberg.de/english/tourismus/tourismus.html’]Nuremberg[/url], [url=‘http://www.regensburg.de/’]Regensburg[/url] and [url=‘http://www.dresden.de/index.html?node=12248’]Dresden[/url] are cities by German standards. Nevertheless worth a visit and also connected by direct trains from Prague.

You can buy in the Czech Republic a ticket called "SONE+" which is valid on a Saturday or Sunday not only in the Czech Republic, but also for local trains (S-Bahn, RB, RE, IRE) in the German border region to the Czech Republic.
[url=‘http://www.bahn.de/d_regional/view/sachsen/bahnangebote/swt_tschech_info.shtml’]more[/url] info (in German)
[url=‘http://www.bahn.de/d_regional/view/mdb/alle/dbregio/ausfluege/sachsen/pdf/MDB14578-boehmen_ticket.pdf’]map[/url]

Apart from the above:
Zittau (Saxony) can be reach on (cheap) Czech domestic tickets
Bayerisch Eisenstein/Zelezna Ruda is a station directly on the Bavaria/Czech border (the border runs straight through the station building)
From these places you could e.g. use the Saxony-Ticket (also valid for Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia) or the Bavaria-Ticket
[url=‘http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/travelservice/laender_tickets.shtml’]more[/url] about the Länder-Tickets (Länder = German states)

Some of the cooler small towns in Germany are those that lie in remote countryside spots that were not bombing targets during WW II. They usually have terrific pre-war architecture and are often located in scenic river valleys. Some have castles in town or nearby. Here are a few of the towns in different parts of the country that I’ve enjoyed and that you might look up.

Hameln
Celle
Rinteln
Hannoversch Muenden
Goslar
Trier
Bernkastel
Cochem (castle)
Linz am Rhein
Bacharach (castle-hostel)
Braubach (castle)
Mittenwald
Bamberg
Weissenburg
Pappenheim (castle)
Burghausen (castle)
Bad Wimpfen

Maybe you can hit a few of these on your way through the country. If you hope to see German towns on daytrips from Prague, you are limiting yourself in the extreme geographically due to the travel time involved.

The Chiemsee is a nice set of islands in a lake, do-able for a weekend trip from Prague. There’s a big castle, beach life, a distillery/nunnery, sailing, etc.

You have a good point Russ, but I am going to be studying abroad in Prague so my travel time will be confined to weekend trips when I don’t have too much work to do. I looked up some of the towns that you all listed and they are exactly what I want. Older less traveled jewels. I hear that the castles in Germany are unbelievable. can’t wait to check them out.

HomeSkillet, Nuremberg isn’t a small town. This might sound crazy but my entire two-week trip in Europe was based in Coburg and Roedental (15 km, or 2 cities northeast of Coburg). Not much to do, except that I went to the Hofgarten 4 or 5 times and went atop the Veste Coburg and biked a lot (everyday just to commute between the two cities). I also went to Ottobrunn (just outside of Munich; get off at Neubiberg station) to spend a night at my friend’s friend’s place who also happens to be the Human Resources CEO of Siemens company, crazy stuff, eh?! Small world I’ve gotta tell you. Oh, and Munich’s just overated and expensive. "Just", yes.

If you read the original email more closely, OregonDuck was interested in "small towns or cities." Nuremburg falls into the "city" category, and therefore qualifies.

hello everyone,

I am jumping on this post to ask about Ulm, Freiburg, Wurzburg, and Heidelburg.I am currently in Munich am looking to leave tommorow to one of these places.
Thanks and happy travels

Würzburg is nice, but not very special imho.

Heidelberg is very nice, but also very touristy.

quote:
hello everyone,

I am jumping on this post to ask about Ulm, Freiburg, Wurzburg, and Heidelburg.I am currently in Munich am looking to leave tommorow to one of these places.
Thanks and happy travels

Well if you are in Ulm You are very close to both Kempten and Memingen. Both worthy of a visit. Ottobuerren is close by and boast one of the oldest monestaries in Europe. Also, there is a little town between Kempten and Memmingen called, Bad Groenenbach, if you ask around, there is a place tucked up in the hills. The locals know it as Marion’s place. Her lodge is the best food in the Allgauer. I can not remember her lodge name, but trust me all the locals know her. It is truly a great meal!! Kase Spaetzle ist Gut.

Hello everyone,

So I have been in Wurzburg since yesteray evening. Like Seraphim said, it is nice but nothing special. Not worth more than a day. A good place to start on the Romantic Road.

Currently I am at hostel Babel Fish. It is really clean, with a kitchen, comfy beds, and nice staff.

Third opinion on Wurzburg—nice, nothing special. I was underwhelmed.

Way too touristy, but really very beautiful and interesting: Rothenburg. Old walled medieval city that now pretends it’s still the middle ages, but the streets have never been paved over and you can walk the old walls.

Würzburg is a nice city to study and/or to live at.
There is one really special thing is the interior of the[url=‘http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/wu_res.htm’]Würzburg Residence[/url].

Man, take the sage advice from abalada. When it comes to Germany, hands down, he’s the ringleader of info and such on this forum, but really, cities like Husum and Sonnlingen and Goerlitz could easily and be conveniently affordable through the purchase with a Happy Weekend Ticket if you’re going on a Saturday or Sunday. Oh, and ask for a map of the state you’re in. I got on the wrong train (dangit!) and the conductor handed me a map of Bavaria in Ingolstadt when I should’ve been in Nueremberg (got on track 21 instead of 25), hurrah!

Some of the towns mentioned in Germany were under three feet of water this week, and if the floods have passed they’ll still be a bit of a mess.
I think Regensburg and Passau got flooded amongst many others.
Anyone heading through Central Europe, especially Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Bulgaria and Romania, should check to see what state the towns they’re visiting will be in.

Yes, some places have practically been washed out.

Meanwhile, Dominius~XIII inadvertantly mentions a small city worth visiting, Ingolstadt. I was there, about 2 years ago.

What especially attracted me was the Audi factory and museum. The factory tour was okay (about on par with the Mercedes tour in Sindelfingen), but the museum was heavenly! Better than Mercedes, BMW, or Porsche! (But rankings may change, when the new Mercedes and BMW museums are finished.)

I also visited the Asamkirche (amazing painted ceiling, like a Baroque virtual reality) and the small, but respectable modern art museum.

On the local bus to Audi, I got zinged by the plainclothes fare inspectors. Apparently, my Lander ticket wasn’t good for riding on the local bus system. But the damage wasn’t fatal, I just had to shell out for the bus fare.

(BTW, Ingolstadt is also known for being the place where Dr. Frankenstein studied chemistry and was further inspired to pursue the creation of life… And then there’s the matter of the Illuminati…)

I personally love the Black Forest area in Germany. My favorite town is Gengenbach (about an hour from big city-Offenburg with a youth hostel in a castle). Another gorgeous city is Freudenstadt in the Black Forest. Summer is a great time to visit these because of the flowers and foliage.
Heidelberg is very touristy and not my favorite places for sightseeing. It’s great to meet college friends and have a beer though.
Freiburg is also a big college town in the Black Forest and is very pretty with old buildings and a student infused atmposphere.
I would look up the YHA hostels in Germany and plan trips from there. Most of them are located in off-beat locations—hence, the cheap prices.

Sidas, those hostels you mentioned: How much did they cost to spend the night? The famous Jugendhaus hostel in Frankfurt cost me 16 EUR/night, which worked out at the time to be roughly $27 CDN – don’t get me wrong, but I find that slightly pricey. I would love to go to those places. And also, as far as trains go, did anyone happen to pick up a train map of routes of the state you were in? For instance, I had the Bavaria map handy when I took the wrong train one night and brought a couple of copies for me to remember the good ol’ times.

i have to agree on heidelberg…. go across the bridge and look up at that old castle and there is nothing like it. also for you peoples who dont know heidelberg very well…. (i used to live there)
across the bridge way up on that hill is a pre-celtic amplitheatre where in WW2, the very one and the same, Hitler, preached to his nazis in the old ruins. i used to have to go there every year for a damn school field trip and i thought it sucked until i hit about 15 and finally realized what it all meant about the pre-celtic ruins and the signifigance(Sp) of hitler using it for his main podium in the altstadt of heidelberg.

Danielle

Holy thread resurrection!

I was gonna ask basically this same question, but good thing for the search feature

I’m looking for smallish towns in Germany/Austria/Switzerland and maybe the low countries. I consulted the helpful lists in this thread, but wondered if anyone who’s been here in the last four years (haha) has any insight into any quaint little towns you’ve stayed in. I like to break my trips up with small towns in between cities for “relax” time. I guess I’m looking for places where are cool to just hang out, maybe walk in the woods, stroll around a bit and not have to elbow through the tourist crowds…. while at the same time not being so remote as to completely stick out like a sore thumb. Hallstatt, Austria is kind of close to what I’m looking for, but it’s grown increasingly tourist-ridden over the last few years.

Nobody?

I think Bamberg and the small towns around it are exactly what you are looking for. Its an absolutely beautiful city in Bavaria (about an hour from Nuremberg) and is not touristy at all. It’s an extremely old city and one of the few that was not destroyed by bombings during World War II, it is pretty much the quintessential German small city.

I’m really interested in seeing Trier (hometown of Karl Marx, for one, and the oldest town in Germany) which is a smallish place near the border with Luxembourg. It has alot of Roman ruins. Also, Füssen, because the scenery in the pictures looks AMAZING and that is where Neuschwanstein Castle is!

Funny you bring up Trier; it’s one of the places on my list, but it definitely falls into the “bigger cities” category. I’m doing research this summer (in a nutshell) about Roman-Germanic interaction along what was the borderland of their empire for several hundred years. I’ll be visiting a fair amount of sites along the former Limes (border structure… fences, ditches, etc) as well as bigger cities like Köln….. hence why I am also looking for some smallish towns that are nice, but I won’t necessarily have to “DO” anything while I’m there… hehe

And I’ll look into Bamberg, Cannons… thanks

All of my family lives throughout Bavaria….these are the places that really stand out for me!
Regensburg is a great medieval college town (I’d live there if I could!)
Berchtesgaden is beautiful and in the Bavarian Alps
Landshut , Passau, and Straubing are awesome.

Check out the following link for more info.
http://www.bayern.by/en/d2429ac2-a321-a2ac-54fb-566faec2b4bf.html?listpos=0&artid={d2429ac2-a321-a2ac-54fb-566faec2b4bf}

Thanks for that link, designgal!

Has anybody been to this town “Blaubeuren” near Ulm?