Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

In late August, my family, including two sons, 31 & 29, and a girlfriend, spent 10 days in Germany on a trip organized by Claudia. Most of us had been to some parts of Germany before and we were looking for new experiences. The trip was Berlin, Bavaria & Munich. Claudia was easy to work with and did a great job of designing a tour to meet our needs. For instance, no tours in the morning due to anticipated clubbing!

Some of the highlights were our penthouse apartment in Berlin, Gorki Apts., which made us feel like real residents, the kayak Berlin tour, and our WOW Moment, a privately prepared dinner in our apartment. (Excellent, charming chef, lots of protein, not a lot of fillers.) Bavaria was next where we met up with Stephanie, an excellent guide, for hiking. Our private Neuschwanstein tour before opening was a highlight. In Munich, Stephanie took us on a food tour which exceeded expectations. Claudia chose wonderful restaurants throughout. She even advised me later regarding Dresden which my husband and I visited on our own.

Travelers Ian and Suzy Crabb on the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

Ian and Suzy Crabb on the Charles Bridge in Prague.

We were in Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden and Prague. It was fantastic and Claudia and Juliet were amazing. They added SO much value to our trip. They made great suggestions for the itinerary and really listened to what we like to do and see. Claudia personally knows the guides and they were all wonderful — great English, easy to be with, loads of history and local information. Seemed to love their jobs. All had personal stories about the history that really made it come alive and touch us.

Claudia and Juliet helped us get concert tickets and dinner reservations. I had done this myself for a trip to Spain and having someone else do it was such a relief. We were given a wonderful book that fit in my purse that had all the information — hotels, tours, dinner, concerts, suggestions. If there was a change like in a train schedule, Claudia or Juliet would notify us, which was so reassuring. If there was an issue with a hotel (and there was one that was out of their control) they got notified and they took care of us. Communication through the process was excellent! Quick responses, efficient.

The trip planner added huge value to our trip and we plan to use her agency again! We had so many amazing experiences. We visited two brothers we had hosted who then hosted our children and we had not seen them for 20 years. Took a train to Braunshweig which Claudia arranged for us. We had a really interesting dinner at CODA in Berlin where every course looks and tastes like a dessert but it’s not. Driving through Saxony, Switzerland was not something on our radar and it was such a nice break from all the history and architecture and our guide Malek was really great. Having a guide in the Palace and Monastery in Prague was invaluable and Claudia arranged for us to have lunch within the walls with a magnificent view of the city. Touring the Meissen factory was also not on our agenda—a Claudia suggestion—and that day trip (boat down the Elbe to Meissen) was great.

Nothing negative to say. Everything went incredibly smoothly and we were SO pleased with our first WOW experience. We wish Claudia and Juliet were experts everywhere — we would use them again in a heartbeat.

We did a 30th birthday celebration for our son at Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany from Sept, 24- Oct. 1, 2024. We used Claudia Schwenger from The WOW List to plan the trip. There were 9 family members, ages 24 to 57 on the trip, so having Claudia work out the travel logistics was invaluable. Claudia secured the hotels, excursions, Oktoberfest tickets, dinner reservations, transfers and more. Claudia took the time to have phone converstations plus several follow-up emails during the planning process. She always gave options for each trip decision so the whole adventure was customized to our liking. We spent 4 days in Munich and then travelled to Salzburg, Austria for 3 days. Each day of the trip had one planned excursion but we never felt we lacked downtime or time to wander on our own. The Munich excursions included a city walking tour, an Oktoberfest tour, Dachau, Olympic Park, and Neuschwanstein Castle. In Salzburg, we did a Sound of Music bicycle tour, streudel making and beer-pairing dinner. Every dinner reservation was enjoyed by the whole group. We were even able to reach Claudia while on the trip to change plans for our last day. She was able to take care of the request from afar in no time. My husband and I even enjoyed a WOW Moment during the trip with a lovely drink at a rooftop bar in Munich that boasted a city view. Overall, it was an incredible family celebration! I wouldn’t hesitate to use Claudia again.

We just returned home from a 16-day trip to Germany, plus 2 travel days. I urge everyone to visit Germany. The country is scenically gorgeous, the food is outstanding, as are the wines and beers, but the very best part of Germany are its people. The German people are polite, welcoming, and very helpful. They take pride in what they do, and in their country. It is sparkling clean, and safe at all hours of the day and night. My husband & I saw so many young people out late at night having a wonderful time. Overall, it’s a country that has not forgotten its past, good and bad, and looks forward to the future with acceptance and love.

I think I would have liked to have seen what was inside the various museums we saw from the outside. Basically, Germany is a new country, (since its structures were destroyed during World War II), rebuilding since the mid 1950s to look old. The German people are very proud of how they are restoring the appearance of old Germany. Due to this there was a great deal of emphasis on the exterior of buildings, and I would have enjoyed seeing more of the interiors. Maybe we needed to plan more time for our trip. We covered a great deal of territory as we landed in Frankfurt, then headed south to the Black Forest area and then on to the Bavarian Alps, and up to Berlin and then back to Frankfurt. Both the Black Forest and Bavaria were as beautiful and as perfect as I had imagined. I think as far as big cities went, I would say Munich was my favorite because it seemed to be just the right size with just the right amount of things to see and do. Berlin is a very cosmopolitan city, like going to NYC, and Frankfurt struck me as such a “bank/money” place, that I felt it, too, was not as wonderful as Munich.

We did not plan this, but we happened to be in Germany during the celebration of reunification of Germany, which is a very big deal to its population and it involved a 4-5 day holiday for them, so there was a great deal of traffic, but also a great vibe of happy energy. I loved it!! We also happened to be there for a week of a “light show” in Berlin. Again, it brings out a huge population of people, of all ages to view the light show which is like New Year’s Eve and Christmas lights displays here in the USA. We saw more young people and bicycles in Germany than we had seen on past trips to China and other Far East countries.

Our driver and guide, Ulrich Hies, was absolutely amazing: an excellent driver, compassionate human being and a gentle giant of a man. I really messed up and left part of my CPAP equipment in the hotel we had last stayed at and did not realize it until I unpacked at the next destination, after we all had said good night to each other. When Uli found out, he drove back to the hotel while we were enjoying a leisurely dinner to retrieve it for me. A 4-hour back-and-forth drive after a day of touring and guiding us just to make sure I had what I needed. You couldn’t have a more caring or kinder person than Uli. I also neglected to tell you that I am an obese handicapped individual who cannot walk. Uli provided us with a large Mercedes van that had an extra platform that extended out to make it easier for me to enter and exit the vehicle. He also brought along a battery ride-on scooter and a wheelchair for me to use so I could enjoy this trip.

Our hotel room in Schwangau, at the Hotel Das Ruebezahl, had a perfect view of both castles from our patio. We had an arrangment for us to visit Neuschwanzstein Castle before it opened to the public. This involved pushing me up a 20-degree incline of about 1,000 feet while I sat in the wheelchair. Uli never complained or seemed to resent aiding me throughout the trip. Mr. Wonderful for sure!! There were no glitches of getting in to this private tour and we had two English-speaking people with us, as my husband was able to use stairs with one guide, while the other guide went with Uli and me in elevators to get to each elevation. Everyone was unbelievably friendly, informative and kind. We found this to be true throughout Germany.

Uli had 2 friends who joined us in Munich and Berlin who really knew these cities extremely well. They were able to give us insider information about these cities. Marcus and Andreas, both of whom were such special additions to our tour.

Every hotel we stayed in was fabulous in location, amenities, and comfort. We were upgraded to a full suite which had a dining room, two full bathrooms and a living room in Dresden at the Bulow Palais Dresden. Another hotel that surprised us was the Heidelberg Suites in which we found ourselves in a Jr. Suite with a full kitchen (including dishwasher). In Munich we stayed in the Charles Hotel where we found a large bottle of Perrier Jouet Grand Brut Champagne 750ml on ice waiting for us along with some snacks. Each hotel greeted us with a welcome beverage and snacks of some kind in the room.

We thank our travel company and especially Claudia for working with us to make this a most wonderful, perfect holiday.

We also thank Wendy Perrin for putting us in touch with Claudia in the first place and for her very special WOW Moment luncheon overlooking the Rhine River. Truly a WOW experience that we will never forget.

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