hoyasaxa what do you and the Mrs(?) want to do on your stop-over? Sightseeing ? Something car related maybe?
I agree with all the cities mentioned above... Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Black Forest, Frankfurt, etc... all nice places to visit.
Maybe go visit Klassikstadt in Frankfurt and then to downtown and go shopping on the "Zeil" pedestrian area. You can go to the top floor of Galeria Kaufhof(a German dept store) and go to the restaurant there. Outside on the terrace there is an awesome view of the downtown Frankfurt area.
Klassikstadt - Frankfurt am Main
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=636805
Are you doing an ED ? Or are you just flying into Lucerne and then trying to get to Cologne ?
Can you take a detour for a day or two or must you drive right away to Cologne ?
IF you drive directly from Switzerland... when you travel up the A5 you might want to take a detour to Mulhouse, France and visit the famous Schulmpf Museum...
We show you the Schlumpf Collection - Mullhouse, France...
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...php?p=21869244
IF you haven't seen my
"Places to visit in/near Munich" thread... go check it out(link bellow)... lots of great places and day trips. For me... I love Germany, but Southern Bavaria, Austria(Tyrol) and Northern Italy(Tyrol) are my go to places to recharge my soul. You can't go wrong anywhere in Tyrol if you ask me.
Places to visit near Munich while on ED...
http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1170588
IF you decide to drive thru the Black Forrest area... you could drive the High Alpine Strasse B500 thru the Black Forrest Alps. I would recommend to stay over at this little hotel half way up the Alps there... Berghotel Mummelsee... a really sweet hotel high up in the alps and absolutely nothing is there but the hotel and this little lake. At night its so quiet but by day all the driving tourists are there. Rooms were very reasonable and the food was great!
Berghotel Mummelsee
https://www.google.de/maps/place/Ber....2012001?hl=en
FYI... the
Unimog Museum and
Fahrzeugmuseum Marxzell are also close by in this area of German.
IF you want a real Cuckoo Clock... go visit:
Triberg This is the area in the Black Forrest that the Cuckoo Clocks are made in. There is also a nice waterfall that the city of Triberg is famous for.
The direct drive from Lucerne to Cologne(thru Basel and up the A5) is kind of boring drive. Once you get to the A5 it's a nice straight and fast Autobahn... but its boring.
I would say for you to go thru Austria, drive the Hahntennjoch(Pass) and then drive to Reutte, Austria - there they have the Highline 179 bridge... if your brave enough to hike up there. There is also a hotel castle near by if you want to stay over night. Also just over the border from Reutte is Neuschwanstein Castle. So that's always a nice detour. Just don't stay there... bc the hotels are double the price bc of the Neuschwanstein Castle. I would stay way outside of that area. On your way up North you could still stop in Heidelberg or Frankfurt.
a driving route like this is what I would say to do...
https://www.google.de/maps/dir/Lucer...7531!3e0?hl=en
A really nice small German city I discovered years ago is Wangen im Allgäu. I really like this small city. I always stay at the Blaue Traube(literally the Blue Grape Hotel) the owners are very sweet and its a family run hotel. The hotel rooms are small, but modern and clean. Ask to stay in one of their Penthouse sweets. The hotel is cheap and the food is excellent! Take a walk around this walled city and sample how quaint this village is. I like staying here because its close to the German/Austrian border and its very convenient for me when I travel to points South.
Hotel Blaue Traube
Zunfthausgasse 10,
88239 Wangen im Allgäu
Another route would be this...
https://www.google.de/maps/dir/Lucer...7531!3e0?hl=en
Würzburg is also a great city with an awesome castle fortress that overlooks the city. Also on the A7 is the Illertal Autobahn rastplatz... its a crazy looking place!
Illertal Autobahn rastplatz. On the A7 traveling North, just before where the A8 Autobahn crosses.
And of course I don't have to remind you that the Nurburgring is quite close to Cologne!
Ok, let me know what you think of my ideas for some side tours. I hope I haven't melted your mind.
Dackel