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Europe Travel Assistance

It's definitely worth it to go to Rothenburg ob der tauber, which looks to be only about an hour and a half from Stuttgart. It is a medieval walled city that has the typical German look and was one of my favorite stops. Do the night watchman's tour while there. Rick Steves was on my tour and filming while I was there. Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a good base for the German Alps as you can do a lot of hiking and outdoor activities, as well as go to the highest peak in Germany and see the famous Neuschwanstein castle from there.
 
Ugh there's too much to do and too many tough decisions to make
 
What time of the year are you talking about? That really matters in this part of the world, I'll probably give you two fully separate suggestions if it's summer or winter.
 
It won't be winter. Probably summer but it could be spring. Probably not fall.
 
make sure to point out all the. early bird specials
 
Ireland is awesome. One of my favorite countries.

In Dublin, you obviously have to do the Guinness Storehouse - the Guinness really does taste 100x better in Ireland. We also did the tour at the Kilmainham Gaol which was interesting, lots of stuff I didn't know about Irish history, the Easter uprising, etc. and the old Jameson Distillery which was ok but nothing special. Trinity College to see the library and the Book of Kells is a good stop too. Dublin is a super walkable city, and most places that are too far to walk can be easily reached by the luas (tram) which is pretty cheap. You could spend days just wandering around and stopping in pubs - my favorite was the Stags' Head.

If you're going to be driving around the country, Blarney Castle is a must-visit. The grounds are beautiful to walk around and of course you have to kiss the Blarney Stone. We spend a night in Kinsale, which is a pretty little seaside town down on the south coast about an hour from Blarney Castle. We did the Cliffs of Moher as well, which were breathtaking. Highly recommended.

One thing to keep in mind if you're driving is that once you get off the main highways, the roads are often VERY narrow. We made it through with only some minor scratches on the rental car, but it was certainly an adventure at times.

When is the best time(s) to do Ireland?
 
I'd do Ireland over the summer.

I studied abroad over the fall semester and everyday got shittier. December is a miserable time of year there.
 
Was there for 12 days in July and it was about 60 every day, some drizzle but not a lot of outright rain.
 
When is the best time(s) to do Ireland?

I'd do Ireland over the summer.

I studied abroad over the fall semester and everyday got shittier. December is a miserable time of year there.

Worst part of Ireland is the fucking drunk Americans everywhere singing songs in large pubs. The weather not that great pretty much year round so go when there are fewer Americans. I went the week after Easter once and the crowds weren't bad and the weather was pretty decent/not cold.
 
Looking at Rome and Tuscany in May before the kids get out of school.
 
Outdoorsy stuff or more cities and night life? Going to try and make a list of some of my favorite stuff for you.

I honestly am not sure, I want to do both but I know that it's not possible to do everything that I'm interested in.
 
Outdoors and countryside:

Someone mentioned Rothenburg ob der Tauber earlier, which is a picturesque medieval German village in northern Bavaria. It's actually one of several towns and cities along a wonderful piece of highway the runs north and south through Bavaria known as the Romantische Straße (Romantic Road). In the summer time in particular (and then again around Christmas) this is a spectacular car trip, but I'm not sure if it's a "2 bros in a car" kind of a thing. Might be more of a "1 bro and a blond fraulein" kind of a trip.

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Bodensee (Lake Constance in English) is a large Alpine lake that makes up much of the border between Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the summer it's gorgeous, tons of outdoors activities and beautiful people. You'd want to stay at Limdau am Bodensee in Bavaria.

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Innsbruck is the "Capital of the Alps" and has access to a tremendous range of outdoors activities (you stay in a hotel in Innsbruck and the city provides with you free guided hikes, for example). Everything from simple hiking to full on Alpine climbing, if it happens in the mountains it happens based out of Innsbruck. It also happens to be a terrific university town with lots of fun to be had just in the city itself. If you go, hike the Zirbenweg trail which runs between two mountain peaks (one of which was used for 2 Olympics) on the south side of the valley. It's one of the great hikes of the world and the views are beyond stunning.

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The Salzkammergut is an area of lakes and hills east of Salzburg which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's where Habsburg and German royalty vacationed for centuries, and is truly spectacular. You can explore the whole region in a car, seeing the various castles and villages and swimming / kite surfing / boating / etc. You'd probably want to stay in Hallstatt or Bad Ischl (which is where the Habsburg "Kaiservilla" summer home is) as a base.

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A little bit farther trip (you'd need to get a cheap domestic flight from Stuttgart to Hamburg) is Rügen on the Baltic coast of Germany. It's famous for it great historic beach towns and giant white cliffs. Probably comparable to a German/Scandinavian cross between Martha's Vineyard and the Hamptons, with the wildness of the maybe parts of the Carolina coast. It's a fantastic beach location. If you're in Germany in the late summer, it's definitely worth going to.

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And from Stuttgart, the closest outdoors adventure is the Schwarzwald (the Black Forest). Dark wooded roads, hills, an ancient land that feels unchanged since the middle ages - that's the Black Forest. Base out of Freiburg and make sure to see Hohenzollern Castle.

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good stuff, thanks

FWIW his GF may be in tow too
 
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