Who Says Germany Is Boring? Netherlands-Germany Christmas Road Trip

When talking about winter in Germany, many people only think of Christmas markets. But in fact, Germany’s winter has more beautiful scenery worth exploring—here’s a share of our Netherlands-Germany road trip guide! 🚗 Pre-Road Trip Prep Winter Tires: Germany is colder than the Netherlands, especially in snowy areas. Winter tires are essential. There’s also a saying that you may be fined if you don’t use them. ❄️ Eco-Sticker: Opinions on this vary, but it’s safer to book one just in case. 🟢 Daily Driving Time: 2-5 hours. Due to short daylight hours in winter, it’s usually dark by 17:00. Germany’s highways have no speed limits + no streetlights, so try to avoid night driving. ⏰ Cash: Some places in Germany don’t accept cards—you must bring cash. 💶 📅 Day 1: Amsterdam → Maastricht → Aachen (3-hour drive) Visited Attractions Most Beautiful Bookstore + Helpoort (Hell’s Gate) + Christmas Market (choose between Maastricht Christmas Market or Valkenburg Cave Market). We picked Maastricht’s—rode the Ferris wheel and ate churros. Overall, it wasn’t particularly amazing. 🎡 Three-Country Point (NL/BE/DE): We caught the sunset there, which was a nice surprise! There’s also a big outdoor amusement park and maze—perfect for families with kids. 🌅 Food Recommendations Dadawan Maastricht Lao Yan Wei Dao (Old Yan’s Taste) 🍜 Hotel to Avoid Mercure Aachen Europa Platz Hotel: Booked it thinking it was a 4-star hotel, but the stay felt like a total scam. ❌ 📅 Day 2: Aachen → Stuttgart (5-hour drive) Visited Attraction Porsche Museum: We arrived around 16:30 and it closed at 18:00. 1.5 hours was a bit tight—recommend setting aside 2+ hours. 🏎️ Stuttgart City Library is also worth a visit, but it was closed during Christmas. 📚 Food to Avoid Panda Chinese Restaurant: Once again, I sigh that it’s really hard to find delicious and authentic Northeast Chinese restaurants abroad. ❌ Hotel to Avoid Hampton by Hilton Stuttgart City Centre: Great location, but the rooms are small + parking is a hassle (expensive and inconvenient). 🅿️ 📅 Day 3: Stuttgart → Titisee (2-hour drive) Visited Attraction Mercedes-Benz Museum (morning): Showed the Porsche Museum ticket to buy on-site tickets and got a 25% discount. Recommend arriving early in the morning—otherwise, the queue is very long. You can also buy souvenirs before entering the museum; some car models sell out by the afternoon. Reserve 4-5 hours for this visit—it’s great for both exploring and shopping. 🚘 We had lunch across from the museum shop. The owner was super nice—gave Little A a big glass of milk and a large pack of cookies. Such generosity is something we never experienced in Dutch restaurants! 🥛 Recommended Hotel Hotel Jägerhaus: A family-run hotel in Titisee town. The owner is kind and provides free round-trip transport tickets to Titisee Lake for guests. ✅ #Netherlands #DutchLife #Germany