Bremen, Hamburg or Lübeck?

Bremen would have fitted the bill but the airport has become a bit of a hassle regarding outbound GA passengers and it is not particularly cheap.

As a northerner, I feel compelled to answer:

Bremen: no hassle airport. Fees roughly 70 Euros (incl. DFS) for a nightstop with a 172. The airport is very close to the city. You can jump into the tram at the airport and be in the city 15 minutes later. Otherwise a short taxi ride (20€?). Bremen does have a (small) old town of course, but overall is not too scenic.

Hamburg: a metropolis and often considered the most “visitworhthy” and vibrant city in all of Germany. Despite what you might think, the airport is also no hassle at all. German airports “just work”. For IFR, you need to get airports slots via phone from German AIS, but no big deal. Fees are about 140 Euros for a 172-nightstop, incl. DFS. A taxi to the city costs approx. 50€ (depending on where exactly you want to go). Alternatively, you could take the S-Bahn, but the station is not at the GAT, but at the main terminal, and the two are rather far apart.

Lübeck: no hassle airport. Fees roughly 50 Euros (no DFS) for a 172-nightstop. A train runs from 500 meters from the airport directly to the city. Busses as well. A taxi will cost maybe 30 Euros. Has the most charming Altstadt of them all, being located on an island with waterways all around. Not exactly a “vibrant” city though.

Note: while all three airports are, from a piloting point of view “no hassle”, they are all three “airline airports” and thus have security procedures, which can be a bit inconvenient at times.

On our last visit to Bremen we had to leave via the main terminal, find someone who would allow us through security and escort us to the gate where we were picked up by car and taken to the aircraft. Almost an hour wasted in contrast to the old system of leaving via the GA terminal

That is correct, but if you know these things before hand, I guess you normally lose much less time than that. They do have a very good webpage that explains it in every detail.

Hi Bobo,
May I endorse your choice of Lübeck. We popped there in September.
It might not be a ‘vibrant’ city but it has some beautiful architecture, Gothic red-brick Cathedrals and river walks.
Being an old port city, plenty of interesting cuisine. Bosco forgot to mention the Niederegger marzipan.
We boarded the bus into town and returned via the train. Both work well, follow Google Map’s directions.
We took AVGAS and hangarage for four nights. I do not recall the exact costs but nothing made me raise an eyebrow.

Please, guys…

I end up fixing so many posts and don’t have the time. You will also get a better response because many airport names are ambiguous.