Germany

[Mashmann]

We are going to Germany next July and generally any tips or advice would be appreciated. We'll spend two weeks there and the last week or so will be near Dresden.

I thank you in advance.

Ed

[mtgoat]

Ohh the industrial part. Don't drink the water but do drink all the Beer and Wine you can. People are great, especially if you take some unique treats to share (I like to take homemade smoked salmon). If you don't like the food you will need to be sent to Antarcia for a while.

[Head]

The Beer and Vino are the BOMB! Food is pretty good as well. We stayed in Hamburg and travelled North to the North Sea, and into Berlin as well. You'll have to stop at one of the Turkish fast-food joints to get a Donor (Doo-nuh). Best food over there for the buck! People are all really nice. Sights are amazing. Go now...HAVE FUN! (The Bird has been down along the Rhine and along the Romantic Highway as well...hed be a good resource if youre gonna be in that area.)

________________

BirdHead Studios

[Fox]

Some of my fondest memories

are from a two month stay in Germany. I found Mosel wines to be better than the Rhine wines. The beer was excellent. The people were the best...

I was there in October in a small town (Gonzerath) and the whole town did something I thought was wonderful (I think they called it budesvalk). They all went for a walk in the woods. I was invited along and it was amazing.

One tip I would offer: make every effort to learn a little German. I found the people really appreciated the fact that I was trying (I sat in a Gasthaus one morning clucking like a chicken to get eggs for breakfast).

Have fun.

[Mark Schaefer]

One of my favorite areas in Germany is the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). There was an old hilarious Spike Jones parody titled "The Blue Danube is not blue, it's green" which is a derogatory reference to its pollution during the 1950s. I came up with a similar expression: "The Black Forest is not black, it's green" (and I mean that as a compliment). There are some areas affected by acid rain near Stuttgart. However, the southern, or upper forest is a very picturesque mix of forests, a few 4K peaks, farm pastures with old combo farmhouses/barns, and scenic villages.

The Bavarian Alps are also very nice and close to Munich and the Romantic Road. I never find enough time to do serious hiking. I shamelessly use the ski lifts and trams to get into a good position and then do some short hikes at the higher elevations. There is often short/easy hiking near many castles. I especially liked some of the walks around mad King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau in the Bavarian Alps. If you go take the castle tours early in the day to avoid the long lines and do the hikes in the afternoon.

If you find yourself in cities most of the time, climb the staircases in church towers and many city hall towers. It seems like every city and small town in Europe takes great pride in their towers and many are open for a small fee. These satisfy the hiking urge and provide many bird's eye views onto the scenic rooftops. Many old cities, e.g. Rothenburg and Nordlingen on the Romantic Road, have city walls that can be walked. These provide scenic and romantic city views, especially in the late afternoon light.

The Rhine valley north of Mainz and the Mosel valley are also very scenic. One autumn I went up the Rhine while the vineyards were still green. After two weeks in the Black Forest, Bavaria, and the Romantic Road I went back down the Rhine and then up the Mosel when the vineyards had changed to their autumn gold. Lots of great castles and castle ruins in both valleys.

[rondak100]

Burg Hohenzollern....

...is a castle I visited in Southern Germany. It was amazing. It might be a little far from Dresden though; I am not sure.

Mike

[Mavs00]

I spent 2 years there.....

Of course, that was 15 years age. I was about 40 minutes from Dresden. Drink, eat and be merry, that what its all about.

Jump on a train, or rent a car and drive to Garmish (south of Munich), it incredible there. Skiing all year on the Zugspitze. Its a really mountains area, and there is much to discover if your are so inclined.

Another castle to visit is Schloss Neuschwanstein , it was the inspiration for the Disney castle

Enjoy it, I did.

[Rick]

Ditto on the Schloss NeuSchwan stein and Crazy Von Ludwig.

I spent 2 years on the East German Border (what was) in Fulda Germany 23 years ago. I absolutely loved it. My wife has cousins near Schwangau, so we usually take the obligatory castle tour every few years.

I used to tell folks to stay out of the big cities and get into some of the small villages. Although, the last few trips back, the small villages have sprouted new suburbian housing everywhere.

Places I found of enormous interest:
Koln (Cologne) Cathedral
Anywhere in the Black Forest
Mosel & Rhine River villages
Heidelberg Castle
visiting a cemetary of a very small old farming village

What I always found interesting is that if you get down into areas of southern Germany like Freiburg, you find buildings with French or Italian names and dates on them (like from the 15th through or 19th century, when the cities may have been part of a border country, rather than Germany.

And Don't underestimate the beer. I haven't been drinking in a gasthaus for many, many years, but IIRC, putting up your index finger and asking "eine bier bitte" will get you 2 beers rather than one (Not a bad thing really) as the thumb counts as the one and the index finger as two.

Southern Germany sports the ability to cross into Italy or France for a day trip as well, though I don't know what the border crossings are like with an American passport now (I use a British passport when traveling outside of the US.)

Haben Sie Guten Tag!!!!

[Mashmann]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Kind of odd how this thread came alive yesterday. We were at Logan International dropping my son off for his six months in Dresden.

We are planning on at least two weeks so we will visit many of the places you recommend.

Again, thanks a lot and if you have any more ideas please let me know. I'm an open book at this point.

Ed

[Kubik]

Hey Mashman...

A good friend of mine has a bike shop in a small town near Hamburg.... if I can find his contact info I will forward it to you..
He is from Syracuse but has been there for 10 years ..
He fixes bikes in the summer and teaches skiing in the Alps in the winter..
As all true good friends we keep in sporadic touch with each other and if I hear from him (e-mail) before you leave I will be glad to make the connection. He would be a good contact and guide for a bit.


BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If he still paints the nail on his left pinky finger black... don't make eye contact...back slowly away ... then flee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ron

[rondak100]

How was your trip...

Mahsmann?

Mike