Dachau Concentration Camp and other Bavaria, Germany Things to Do Tips

We took the Munich Walking Tour Company's Dachau tour. Our tour guide, Brian, is an English speaking-American who is very knowledgable about WWII and Nazi history. The tour provides all transportation costs, which includes the train and a bus. Upon arriving at the camp our guide gave us a brief, but consise history of the Nazi party. We entered the camp and were guided through its beginnings and liberation. We were given about 45 minutes to view the newly updated museum which has English translations of all of its exhibits. Our group watched a documentary about the camp, which was very outdated and boring. Luckily, Brian took the time to expain newly discovered evidence which was not shown in the movie.
Please don't visit Dachau expecting to get some great historic photographs. It was very disheartening to see families snapping pictures of the "kids in front of the ovens." This is a memorial to the thousands who died on its grounds, not a tourist attraction. Please visit it with respect and rememberance.

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Address: Dachau (outside of Munich)

If you are looking for WWII sites and history, look no more. Take the English speaking Eagle's Nest Tour hosted by David Harper. You are driven in a mini-van all around Berchtesgaden while David shows you old Nazi sites, such as the train station and Hitler's personal platform, Hitler's Architect's house, Bormann's experimental farm, the location of Hitler's "Berghof" and the former sites of Nazi offical's homes.
Your first stop is the museum and bunker system. David breezes you through the museum, only looking at Berchtesgaden-related information (you can use your ticket to come back again the next day to see the rest of the museum). Then you are led into part of the underground bunker system while he explains how and why they were built.

You then board a special Eagle's Nest bus which drives you up the 27% grade mountain to the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest). You walk through the tunnel and take the brass elevator up to the top. David shows you the inside of the haus, which is not open to anyone who isn't on a guided tour. The building is now a restaurant whose proceeds go to charity. The view from the top of the mountain is amazing and there are plenty of opportunities for great pictures. We were lucky enough to be there on the very first day of it's unseasonably early opening. There was still mounds of snow on the ground.

David's tour is the only licensed tour of the area, due to the fact that German's do not want to give Nazi sympathizers any pilgramiges to these sites. If you plan on going to the Eagle's Nest, you should take this tour. You will not be disappointed. The cost is 36,00 Euro per person and it includes all transportation and entrance fees.

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Address: Berchtesgaden Visitor's Center

Rothenburg is the most unique town we came across in Germany. Certainly many other tourists feel this way because even on a rainy day (like we had) the streets were crowded. There are a few actual attractions to this town, such as The Medvial Crime Museum, but its real charm comes from the streets themselves.
This once ´free imperial city` is known over the world and ranks among Germany`s most frequented towns. It lies on a plateau at the intersection of the so-called ´Romantic Road` and the ´Castle Road` 425 m above sea level. Below the town flows the Tauber River in its 180 ft deep valley and this is the reason why the town has the additional ´ob` or ´above` the Tauber.

We found that we were dodging Japanese people and their umbrellas up and down the streets. If you do not like over crowded or "touristy" areas, then Rothenburg is not for you. But if you love history and souvenier shops then you will love this walled-city. Many of the shops are filled with the typical German souvenir: cuckoo clocks, beer steins, Christmas ornaments, etc. But among these stores we were able to find some of the more unique places to shop. We found our most prized take-home in Rothenburg. A shop there makes wooden signs for your home which are hand-carved and can be personalized while you wait.

The town square has its own version of a Glockenpspiel, but this one displays two men: one drinking a beer and one eating a pretzel. We made our way over to the wall for some great views of the Tauber River and also to see the Romantik Hotel Markusturm. The hotel has been in existence since 1264 and is actually built into the wall that goes around the city: a very impressive site.

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The much-photographed Neuschwanstein Castle was built between 1869 and 1886, by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Access is by foot, by small bus or by horse drawn carriages from base of hill in Hohenschwangau village.
When you arrive to the town of Fussen, you must buy a ticket for the bus to take you up to the Hohenschwangau ticket center. Then you have to walk up hill past shops and restaurants to the Ticket Office where you have to stand in line for an IMMENSE amount of time. They sell tickets for both castles (Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein) by languange and time. For example, we got an English-speaking tour at 1:40pm. Don't worry, they give you plenty of time to get up the hill to the castle before your tour time. We were unsure of how long it would take to get up the hill, which turned out to be only 15 minutes. You can either walk up, which seems to be the most popular choice for everyone but Americans ;) or you can take a bus or horse-drawn carriage. We took the bus, which also requires a ticket. After it was all said and done we had bought 3 separate tickets to get to see the castle. It is an expensive endeavor, but WORTH IT! When you get up to the castle you can walk around the courtyard where lines are set up for the different tours. While you are waiting you can catch some marvelous scenery of the surrounding area, such as the waterfall. Each line is labeled with your tour time.
When your tour time shows up above a line you can get in it and you are taken into a long hallway to wait yet again. We were met with a tour guide who hurriedly draged us through the five rooms of the castle that are finished. The tour isn't long. You can't take pictures and most of the time someone is in your way. The tour itself wasn't the best I have ever been on, but the castle was amazing. If you have trouble walking up or down stairs, this tour isn't recommended.

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Address: Fuessen
Directions: There are plenty of opportunities to purchase souveniers, so don't feel like you have to do this in Hohenschwangau. There is also a snack shop/souvenir shop up at the top of the hill where you can grab a hotdog and a coke for a "small" fee.

The church was built in 1311 and is spectacular! There are two main altars and a couple of side altars. One of the two main altars is made entirely of hand-carved wood. The other main altar is made of gold and wood. After paying a small fee (I think it was 1.50E), you are allowed to walk freely around the church. If you are lucky enough, someone will be giving a guided tour in your language nearby and you can listen in. If you are unlucky, like we were, there will be tours all over the place that don't speak your language! Take your time though and let it all soak in.

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Address: Klostergasse 15

Heidelberg is many things. It is a college town, a historic site, a river city, and a great place to visit. We were lucky enough to have a guide with us on this leg of our honeymoon, but it is an easily navigable city. Obviously the castle is the main attraction here. It sits atop a hill and can be accessed by foot or by the funicular (a train that requires a ticket). We went up on foot and while it is a long, steep hike, it was an interesting way up. Atop the hill you have to buy a ticket for the Castle Gardens, which also includes the Grosses Fass (Big Barrel), which is the largest wine barrel in the world. Once in the gardens, you have to buy another ticket for the guided tour. We decided to skip the tour because we had heard that it was short and boring. Instead we wandered around the gardens and the inside courtyard, which was well worth the price of our admission. After spending some time atop the hill, we made our way down and found an outdoor cafe to have lunch in the Markplatz. Our German friend then suggested that we take a walk up the Philosphenweg, little did we know what we were in for! We walked across the new bridge, away from Bismarckplatz and then followed the road upwards. This way is pretty steep at the beginning I'm afraid. We actually walked up through one of the most expensive areas in Heidelberg to live - most of these houses have got great views of the old town and castle. We also passed a number of University buildings. By the time we made it up to the top, we were very out of breath. We walked back down the other side of the hill and found ourselves the closest Italian Eis shop. We took our Eis and went down to the river "beach," where hundreds of college students were laying in the sun. This was a great way to experience the local scene.

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A must visit for all tourists. The glockenspiel is interesting, but don't give up your day to stand and wait for it to move. I highly recommend climbing the Rathaus tower to get a view of downtown Munich and the surrounding areas. The cost to go up to the tower is 2,00 Euro.

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Address: Marienplatz