# Wine regions near Amsterdam, Paris, and western and South East Germany



## seth8530 (May 23, 2010)

Well, my summer trip is here and Me, my mom, my bro, and moms bf are all going to europe. We are flying into Frankfurt and that will be our home base because we can room for free there. So we are gona be going to amsterdam for a couple days, then we are going to explore Paris and some other places there.. Before we go back to Germany where we will do some more exploring before we fly back to the states... 

We are going their for 11 days and i was wondering if any of yall had any expiernce in europe whether it be with the fine wine's of France or the Beer's in Germany.

Isnt Reisling wine from germany?


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## jeepingchick (May 23, 2010)

enjoy!! Sounds like a great time!


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## St Allie (May 24, 2010)

Amsterdam is my favourite spot to visit.

The museums are wonderful, so is the shopping, the open markets enjoyable, bonus is watching the Brits make idiots of themselves.. ( ok maybe that's just me!) you can walk everywhere and less mugging in the central district, plenty of security around.

Not keen on Paris.. the locals are rude and the wine is awful, go for the museum, notre dame and the eiffel tower, if you want to say you have been. ( I have great pics from inside a french mall.. a man with his head in his hands while his wife was shoe shopping...quelle despaire!) lots of theft happening.

The museum can't be done in a day though. You'll get fed up.. it's too big to see in one day. You won't appreciate all the paintings or statues. it's just far too much to absorb.

nothing to share with you about germany, have never been.

Allie


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## seth8530 (May 24, 2010)

I can understand the paris being a giant tourist trap theft magnent. Lol and are you seriouis about the wine being awfull lol? thats like brutualy ironic? When you went to amsterdam where there any breweries that were open to tour?


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## crazyx2 (May 24, 2010)

From what I remember my brother went to the Amstel Brewery (I was underage!) in Amsterdam. The diamond factory is pretty cool, if you like safe the inside of a diamond factory is definately so! haha I found Amsterdam fun for the first 2 days but by the third day I was ready to keep moving, their public transport system is top notch though!

If you get the chance go to Wurzburg, its about 1.5 hours out of Frankfurt. Its a smallish town with rolling hills filled with desert wines of some kind (this was before I started making wine so didnt take too much notice). But you can walk through the vines that lead up to the castle, eating the grapes as you go hehe. 

Yep Allies right, we got pick pocketed in the Paris underground on our first trip to europe, was a right pain in the ****. Had to travel to the Hague in Holland and pay $1000 NZD for each passport, definately not a thing to recommend. But apart from that, Paris has so much to see. You get the rude people, but thats just the French. If you give their language a go they seem to be more reluctant to try yours. But you come off ignorant they will definately be reciprical lol. 

If you've got time head to Burgandy, it's the Champagne region of France. From what I remember its around 3 hours out of Paris. My favourite was the Pommery vineyard, amazing buildings and they take you on a tour through their tunnels they use to age their wine (theres like 200 kms of tunnels under their fields). Absolutely amazing, theres sculptures in the walls and bottles that have been there for hundreds of years. Plus you get to taste the final product! You've got to love the French, kids drinking and buying alcohal is as normal as eating snail or frog pie hahahaha

Damn now I want to go back! haha


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## whine4wine (May 25, 2010)

We recentely visited Germany, it was very cool. Lots of places to see.

Enjoyed Munich very much, The Residenz, the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs was awesome, also while in Munich make sure to stop at The Hofbrauhaus, the world famous pub to enjoy a huge draft beer,traditional music etc. So much to see there, a bus tour is a good way to start.

Neuschwanstein Castle is an unforgetable sight, it is the castle Disney modeled his Cinderella castle after. Its right across from Hohenschwangau Castle, the summer hunting castle of the royals. Some of the woodcarving in these places is unbelievable.

Lots of wonderful old buildings, walled cities, castles, churches are works of art, in most old cities the church steeple is the highest point allowed.

People are friendly, most speak english, a subject required in school. I'm leaving out a ton of stuff, one could spend alot of time there,with no problem. All in all ours was a very enjoyable trip.

Watch out for ash clouds.......thats another story.


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## winemanden (May 25, 2010)

Head west from Frankfurt through WiesBaden and you're in quality Riesling country. Lots of fine wine there. If it's tourist type wine drinking you're after, head for Rhudesheim. There's an alley called the Drosselgasse which is nothing but drinking wine, oompah bands, dancing, and singing, pubs, bars, top to bottom. There's a hotel just off the gasse where you can even have a room in a winebarrel. I'm assuming it's still there, they don't tend to demolish their old buildings. Also in Rhudesheim is the Asbach Uralt brandy distillery where you can do a distillery tour if you want.
Enjoy your trip.
Regards to all, Winemanden.


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## seth8530 (May 25, 2010)

That sounds like heaven on earth to me so is Rhudesheim a city?


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## winemanden (May 28, 2010)

No Seth, Rhudesheim is not a city. It's many years since we were there and no doubt like most places it's grown in size, but it is one of the many Wine villages along the river Rhine. Touristy but still worth a visit. I forgot to say, there is a musical instrument museum, a cable car over the vineyards, and also an Abbey in the middle of the vineyards where the nuns make wine. Lots of the places where you can do tastings. Beautiful white wine area, but don't expect the best around the tourist spots. 
Just around the bend in the river, 4 or 5 miles or so is the village of Assmanhausen which is unique in that they make red wine in the middle of a huge white wine area. Keep driving along the river and every few miles or so you'll find a wine village either side of the river.
Enjoy your trip, regards to all, Winemanden.


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## seth8530 (May 28, 2010)

That sounds almost like heaven lol


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## seth8530 (Jun 1, 2010)

Well, my plane leaves in an hour. It leaves at 9PM EST and i should be ariving in germany at 1PM local time tomrow.


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## Runningwolf (Jun 1, 2010)

Best of luck and be sure to post pictures when you get back!


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## ashappar (Jun 1, 2010)

in Amsterdam you can tour the Heineken brewery, I went there and also sampled many beers at various pubs. I second Allies comment about Brits behaving loud and stupid, but all in good fun I guess. 

I didnt try any wines though, not once in all the times I've been there. definitely do see the national museum and the van gogh museum. they are very nice. I also like artis zoo and hortus botanicus.


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## whine4wine (Jun 1, 2010)

Have a great trip Seth.


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## seth8530 (Jun 12, 2010)

Thanks, i had a great trip.. I visited the Heineken brewerie and sampled a lot of beer during my travels.. Drank a 5 dollar bottle of champaigne while in Paris which tasted suspiciously like sprite -_- and gawked at the masses and masses of vines around Trier, Germany... it was a great time


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## morg-cas (Feb 16, 2011)

St Allie said:


> Amsterdam is my favourite spot to visit.
> 
> The museums are wonderful, so is the shopping, the open markets enjoyable, bonus is watching the Brits make idiots of themselves.. ( ok maybe that's just me!) you can walk everywhere and less mugging in the central district, plenty of security around.
> 
> ...



Hey, same here! I made absolutely the same experiences as you did! I wholeheartedly agree with absolutely everything you said! I really loved Amsterdam the two times that I went. It is such a great place to just relax as its nice and slow paced. The first time we stayed in the NH Barbizon Palace in the center of Amsterdam but the second time around we looked into renting one of the Amsterdam apartments and it was absolutely fantastic. I can only recommend it.



> Thanks, i had a great trip.. I visited the Heineken brewerie and sampled a lot of beer during my travels.. Drank a 5 dollar bottle of champaigne while in Paris which tasted suspiciously like sprite -_- and gawked at the masses and masses of vines around Trier, Germany... it was a great time



Good to hear you had a fab time.


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## Wiz (Feb 16, 2011)

We were in Paris in the mid 80's. We did a bus tour one day and the tour guide pointed out that the little "statute of liberty" that we were passing was a donation from the U.S. after we gave them their big "Statue of Liberty." We were there in Jamuary and arrived at the beginning of the first snow that had hit Paris in one hundred years. Boy was it cold. Cheese sucked. I didn't think the wine was really that bad as described by St. Allie and today liike several of their wines. My French was limited to 2 years of high school but surprisingly white a bit was remembered to the extent of stopping people on the street in self directed walking tours and asking directions. We found most people very willing to help and did not experience the rudeness that the French are reported to have with Americans. Here in Costa Rica I have found that if you try to speak in the native Spanish language, even though you may butcher the language, you will be more accepted than if you did not even make the effort.


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