FreeOrion

Like certain forum spam bots, I'm (likely) going to be travelling to Germany for two weeks or so in late October / early November of this year. I'll be at a conference in Dresden from around the 22nd to the 25th and then Jülich (near Cologne / Köln) around the 27th and 28th for a separate I'm-not-quite-sure-what-it-is-yet-but-it-doesn't-matter-for-this-discussion. I'll probably spend another week and a half total before and after being a tourist (exact days not yet set), and can probably get a few hours a day during the conference itself to do things in Dresden or the immediate area.

Since there's a good number of Germans on these forums I thought I should ask if anyone has suggestions of what to do or see or where else to go or stay in the area of these cities.

During the conference I'll have to stay in the hotel where the conference is held and don't have to pay for it, but anywhere else I have pay for myself and but pick for myself, so suggestions are requested.

I'll probably want to check out some other cities in the vicinities. Berlin seems interesting, and perhaps Prague while I'm in the east, and then I'm not sure what to do while in the far west Germany / Netherlands / Belgium / Luxembourg area. Just going to a few cities for a day or two each to see the sights would be me default plan, but again I'm interested in any suggestions of specific things or places to check out.

Any ideas?
Thanks.

If you're into nature and/or castles, you should take the train from Dresden to Königstein (Sächsische Schweiz). The ride is 40 minutes. At Königstein you can visit the castle or hike up to the Lilienstein, or you can just relax in a Biergarten at the Elbe shore... very beautiful landscape there... the German article about the Lilienstein has a couple of nice pictures of the area: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilienstein
Highly recommended!

Of course, Dresden itself with the rebuilt Frauenkirche, the Zwinger, the Semperoper as well as the UNICEF world heritage Elbe shore is worthwhile seeing. Don't go see the VolksWagen manufacture, it's far off the center and just merchandising.
I can also highly recommend to visit Prague. Just watch your wallet. (No offense intended, Czechian friends.)
No suggestions for Jülich - haven't been much to this part of Germany.

Btw, nice work on the supply routes!

well, there is Amsterdam....

I thought this was about Germany M4|V

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Captain? What does the big shiny red button do?

Actually, I ended up getting a flight out of Amsterdam on the way home, so I'll probably spend a few days there after leaving the Cologne area.