1

http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/ for accomodation you can check here, often you can get a family room and might be able to prepare small meals in the kitchen.

http://www.spreewald.de/the-spreewald/index.html close to Berlin and fun riding the little boats, http://en.harzinfo.de/ not to far from Berlin, you could also go to http://www.saxony-switzerland.de/ or the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ore_Mountains maybe a day trip to Dresden if you like.

All these places are in the eastern part of Germany, food and accomodation is usually very reasonable in those places, keep your travelling distances down to save money, often you can get train passes for a region that cover 5 people on regional trains for a day.

Going up to the east sea is also possible and very nice, if you go to the ore mountains even a day or two day trip to Prague could be done.

Look into to the http://www.visitberlin.de/en/welcomecard?tid=860, I would spend at least 3 days better 4, in Berlin and then pick another region that appeals to you, if you decide to go lets say to Munich check 92 days before you want to travel on http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml
for best fares, you have to stick to the train you book or loose the ticket.

Since you didn't tell any of your interessts it's very hard to recommend anything, but I hope you get a start from my post.

2

The less expensive 'restaurants' you will find in the town halls in nearly each quarter of the city. A main plate is between 1€ and 5€. There are also a lot of other places with the same system. those places are called "Kantinen". Even if you do not speak/read German, have a look on this site. You will find all adresses - sometimes it is better to call first to know the opening time and days. Think about hey take only cash.

3

Thanks to you both.

Interests are very broad. We ove the city and we love countryside. Most interested in the experience.

Kids are all teenagers - 16,15 and 13

Thanks - both very very helpful.

4

http://www.berlinerkantinen.de/

5

My itinerary would look like this:

day1: arrival in Berlin
day2: Berlin
day3: Berlin
day4: Berlin
day5: leaving Berlin in the morning and going to Dessau by direct train (1:30h ride) for the Bauhaus experience http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus
day6: leaving Dessau before noon and going to Leipzig by direct train (0:45h ride)
day7: Leipzig
day8: leaving Leipzig in the morning and going to Weimar by direct train (1:20h ride) for the Goethe, Schiller and Bauhaus experience
day9: leaving Weimar at 10:48h in the morning and going to Dresden by direct train (2:16h ride)
day10: Dresden, I recommend the extensive sightseeing tour incl. paddle steamer trip on river Elbe which is offered by several promotion people around Altmarkt
day11: leaving Dresden by plane

6

October can be very variable weather-wise from beautiful warm autumn colours to even early winter snow so try to plan a couple of up-the-sleeve alternatives. No one has mentioned the usual day trips from Berlin which could include the Spreewald (mentioned in #1 above, good on a dry day) Potsdam (don't go all the way on the S-bahn, get off at Wannsee, catch the bus to Glienicke Bruecke where the spy swaps took place, and go on into Potsdam on the tram), and Sachsenhausen Camp at Oranienburg which is at the northern end of the S-bahn. Do look at the fare options on bvg.de for group day tickets.

Depending on the children's ages the DDR museum in central Berlin (near the TV tower) may be of interest, but don't assume all DDR museums are the same. At Lutherstadt Wittenberg, about an hour from Berlin on a regional train (see bahn.de and check out Lander tickets on that site too) not only can you visit the church made famous by Martin Luther, and see a nicely restored small town, but the DDR museum there contains the things found in a typical East German house of the 1950's including furniture, toys etc.

Of all the other places mentioned above, the Dresden area probably has the most to offer - yes it is touristy, and there are museums etc, but if you have some decent weather the outdoors beckons south of the city in the Elbe - paddle steamer to Pillnitz perhaps, a bit further south is Pirna, then several picturesque villages to Koenigstein fortress and then Bad Schandau is abot 45 minutes on the half-hourly local train - transport tickets details on vvo.de

7

Many thanks to all those that responded. We will take up the suggestions above.

8

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ore_Mountains maybe a day trip to Dresden if you like. " I can recommend the ore mountains as well. Its a very nice region with a beautiful landscape and nice traditions. The region is known for the manufacturing of nutcrackers, christmas smockers and music boxes. --> German Music Boxes

9

Hi,
we have been in Berlin last November with our children and stayed in the Hotel Rheingold, which was great, very friendly and clean; booked on http://www.berlinbedbreakfasts.com, which seemed to offer good value for money.

It was close to the major attractions, just off the Kurfuerstendamm; breakfast included, which was good with the kids. Hope this helps.