Click on the links above for great photographs, information, and important links!
General Information
Germany - the land of storybook villages and fairy-tale castles. When you visit Germany, you enter a land where beauty and ancient history envelop you with their magic.
This website provides holiday planning information, photographs, and the official website link for each town or sight discussed. Plus some hints and tips.
There are many beautiful and unique areas of Germany one can visit. If you've never been to Germany before, you may want your first visit to include the city of Munich, and a tour of the famous Romantic Road. This provides a nice variety of big city attractions and medieval villages with their attending castles. Please visit our informative webpages dedicated to the Romantic Road and Munich.
During the Middle Ages, Germany was divided into many small principalities and feudal states which were in constant conflict. In addition, there were various religious wars over the centuries. As a result, cities and towns constructed walls and guard towers for protection, and rulers build fortified castles in strategic locations to ward off approaching enemies. Thus, Germany has hundreds of beautifully-preserved castles and other impressive monuments and artifacts from the Middle Ages onward with which to fascinate the lucky visitor to Deutschland.
Today there are 16 states, or Länders, in the nation of Germany. Three are city-states (Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen) and the rest are area states. The states are shown on the map below.
The topography in Germany is varied:
- The North German Lowlands are flat, are bordered by the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, and dairy farming prevails in the region.
- The Central German Uplands are moutainous, contain extensive forests and parks, and support various types of farming.
- The furtile Rhine River Valley, in western Germany, has a mild climate, and is famous for its vineyards. The Rhine River is Germany's longest and busiest waterway.
- The Apline Foreland in southern Germany is beautiful with its lakes and rolling farmland.
- The German Alps, in southern-most Bavaria, rise abruptly from the hills of the Alpine Foreland and provide stunning views of mountain peaks over 6500 ft (2000m) tall.
Planning Your Trip
Planning a trip can be time-consuming. With so many possibilities, it can be difficult to decide what sights to see. Then an efficient route must be planned to maximize precious time. Reserve a bit more time than you think you will need for most activities so you can thoroughly relax and enjoy each sight.
Some folks prefer group tours and many are available. A qualified travel agent can make arrangements for you. For independent travelers, Rick Steve's "Germany & Austria" is a very useful guidebook.
If you wish to reserve accommodations ahead of time, booking.com has a huge selection of hotels, inns, and B&Bs. Only after guests use a reservation are they offered, via email, an opportunity to provide feedback on the facility. Pay attention to the facility's rating and read the comments of the guests that have recently stayed at the facility to ensure that it will meet your particular needs.
Traveling in Germany
Trains
Train travel in Germany is easy and affordable. Be aware of a wonderful deal the individual German states are currently offering. Up to 5 people can ride the train all day, and part of the night in some cases, for a VERY inexpensive fare as long as travel is within the particular state. These special fares are called German Rail Länder-Tickets.
Train schedules and fares can be viewed at the German Rail website. Choose a language at the top of the page, then enter cities and date. The website can be complicated for non-Germans, but it is possible to get an idea of the cost and scheduled trains between two locations. If the system offers multiple stations for a city, just click on the city name. Click "Show Map" to see a map of the route, and click "Show intermediate stops" to see all stops and times.
Reservations are recommended on some trains depending on the city, day, and time. If you do not want to wait until you arrive in Germany to make reservations with someone who speaks English (for just a few Euros more), you can make reservations with a credit card, or contact a local travel agent.
Car Rental
Driving in Germany is easy for most Westerners because Germans drive on the right side of the road. Most large U.S. car rental companies have locations in the larger cities and towns. Hertz is popular, and most of their locations in Germany are corporate owned offices versus contracted agents, which can be problematic. Rick Steves also recommends Auto Europe and Europe by Car.
|
Free PC Tutorials! Easy-to-use, printable tutorials on Windows, Excel, Word, Internet, Accounting, and more! www.keynotesupport.com |
Before driving in Germany, learn their traffic rules. Information can be found at bugeurope.com/transport/drivede.html and volu.de/stade-tourist/. When driving on the autobahn, keep two rules in mind: 1) cars traveling at tremendous speeds in the left-most lane can be unseen one moment and bearing down upon you in less than 10 seconds, so stay out of the left-most lane, and 2) trucks tend to convoy in the right lane, so if you must pass on a 2-lane autobahn, be prepared to pass a multitude of vehicles and keep a very close eye on your rearview mirror in case you need to squeeze back into the right lane without much warning.
The German Language
You can get by quite well in Germany without knowing any German. Folks at airports, train stations, banks, etc. all speak English. Some younger folks speak English well, but Germany's senior citizens typically do not know much English.
That being said, it is our opinion that if you visit a foreign country, you should learn enough words to be polite and get by in an emergency. Rick Steve's has an inexpensive little book available at his website or at most large bookstores. Learn a few basic words and how to pronounce them. For instance, w's are pronounced as v's (think Wagner). As you peruse the Speedy Turtle website, you will see some of the words below - possibly as part of a city name.
Note: The letter ß is a letter in the German alphabet and is called an Eszett. It is typically sounded out as a sharp "s" or "sz" sound. Often "ss" is substituted for the letter ß in English text. For example, many German streets end in straße (or strasse), which means street.
Deutsch = German; Deutschland = Germany; bad = bath; wasser = water; wein = wine; bier = beer; essen = eat; stadt = city; heim = home, haus=house; kirche = church; burg = castle; berg = mountain; tor=gate; straße (or strasse) = street; hohen = high; steig = path; bahn = train; stein = stone; garten = garden; hof = yard; fürst = sovereign; Donau = Danube; Bayern = Bavaria; buch = book; bach = stream.