Solo trip in October. No flying.

[MinnieMountain]

I've got the second week of October off work so I can go somewhere alone (DH and 12yo at home).

I have booked Baden-Baden and Munich but now I'm dithering as whilst I love Germany, I'm already going to Cologne in February.

Where would other people go that has some activity and doesn't involve flying?

Not a beach holiday. I get bored alone on the beach.

Paris? Amsterdam?

I’d go on a cruise from the UK.

Rotterdam

I went to Amsterdam and used the Eurostar. It was great!.

You could try Paris or Brussels.

Or maybe take the Ferry to Ireland or as others have suggested a cruise with a UK departure would be good.

I'd ditch Munich and do Baden Baden Freiburg and Strassbourg instead.

It's possible to get Eurostar to Paris and then High-speed train to Freiburg.

Train to Paris then onto Berlin.

Ohh. Freiburg is pretty.

Strasbourg and Colmar

Cruise to the fjords, book a week out for the best prices (or even 24 hours which my dd did though she didn’t mind flying)

Ghent, and you can spend a day in Bruges or Antwerp whilst you are there.

Cruise or Barcelona (will take a full day to get there on the train). I know Barcelona is on the sea but it doesn't feel like a beach holiday.

By the sea is fine @MonkeyMonkeyUnderpants1 so long as there's things to do other than sit on the beach.

Train to the Netherlands and explore various cities, I use the train a lot when going from Amsterdam to Germany and while there are delays, the network offers plenty of routes and trains.

Utrecht, Leiden, Rotterdam are good for example.

In case I think Barcelona would be great for you. Lovely weather, lots of museum, Gaudi's house and parks, cathedral, Gothic Quarter etc.

I have booked Baden-Baden and Munich but now I'm dithering as whilst I love Germany, I'm already going to Cologne in February

So what's wrong with the original plan? Those places are a long way from each other and both have plenty of different things to see and do.

The fact that they're in the same country is a strange reason to change your plans especially when it's a country you love. Don't you want to see more of it?

I've got other things going on @Bjorkdidit so I'm probably overthinking as I need a distraction.

However, I'm now considering Trier for the ancient Roman stuff, then Baden-Baden.

We went to Madrid and Granada this October. We flew, but we have taken the train to Spain plenty of times and that’s also feasible. Lovely temperatures, good food, loads to see and do.