"Discover Germany’s incredible diversity" Top 5 Page for this destination Germany by Trekki

Often it needs many years or even almost half lifetime and many travels abroad to learn to appreciate a home country. This is what happened to me, after I have decided that it is time to discover my country. I did start in my close surroundings, with visits to my beloved (Rheinland-)Palatinate, to some places south of where I live, to my dear old University town of Marburg and took several boat tours along the middle Rhein valley. And every time I explored more I thought how ignorant I was to have never really considered Germany as a destination for short or even longer holidays. It is beautiful, it is diverse and I enjoy every day I get out during a weekend and find more gems.

I won’t consider myself a typical German but more someone of European descent. Maybe as I was born in Saarland, a tiny little state in western Germany, which once belonged to France, then to Germany, to France again, back to Germany, became autonomous for a while and finally decided to be integrated back into Germany two years before I was born. The famous Day X of complete integration and introduction of our good old currency Deutsche Mark was 17 days before I was born. That’s why maybe frontiers don’t mean much to me and why I can “adapt” to almost everything provided I have my own little personal freedom and individuality.

So I try to accomplish the task to write a little compendium of Germany. I will do my very best to try and convince you that there is much more to Germany than Oktoberfest, Neuschwanstein Castle and Heidelberg. Our country is full of magic little places and villages, of valleys and mountains and hills, of castles with mystic legends and sagas, of beaches, of romance and culture, of gardens and delicious dishes, of windmills and vineyards, of magnificent museums and half-timbered houses, of industrial heritage and of world heritage – in brief, there is something for everyone.

I might be very slow in the sightseeing section. So if you end up here and are frustrated not to find much tips, at least I would like to guide you to pages about Germany, you should not miss :-)

Celeste’s (Weissdorn’s)pages about Germany.
I like her page very much. She was born in US, but lives in Germany since many years and her descriptions also tell how nice it is for a foreigner (well in her case, ex-foreigner) to step aside the beaten paths and open the eyes for new places.

Don’s (Nemorino’s) pages, if you like opera:
I'll guide you to his homepage because from there you can easily find your way to what you are or might be looking for. He is opera and music fan and writes the most incredible pages about places, where he saw wonderful performances. Also, his page about Hessen and Frankfurt gives you excellent views about the centre federal state of Germany and its secret capital :-)

To-do section:
I will guide you to sights and places you might have heard of but also to places which are extra special but not much known outside of Germany. Forget Oktoberfest, I will not recommend this (only in the tourist trap section one day) and forget Neuschwanstein Castle, Rüdesheim and Rothenburg (not mentioned either). I simply want to show you that there is much more in Germany than these mass magnets and that you will definitely have more fun when you try and explore other beautiful cities, villages, landscapes and regions.

Accommodation section:
In the meantime I have stayed at some places nearby and those I like I am recommending here. In addition, I have some suggestions where to look up places to stay, depending on your travel habits (hotels, farm stays, castles, camping, youth hostels, all with overview and selection websites), tell you what you have to consider in terms of arrival time and tell you about the so-called visitor tax (Kurtaxe). More to come as time permits.

Restaurant section:
My restaurant tips are mostly not about specific restaurants, but tell you about our food habits and special dishes during the year. Also I write a bit about habits in restaurants, so that you know how to move around and find your way through the menus, tipping, seating etc..

Shopping section:
I will try and convince you that you should buy some nice souvenirs and not these mass made (most probably made in China….) beer steins and other crap but how to find real genuine souvenirs from Germany. I also write a bit about the daily shopping, like department stores, farmers markets, opening hours etc.

Transport section:
I will describe our modes of transport and how to move around with car, train, plane and how to operate ticket machines, where to park (or where not to park) etc.

General section:
I have realised that so many questions about topics are asked in the travel forum, which are so normal for us Germans that we hardly think about. That’s why I write about shopping hours, shops, banks, health and safety, post offices, holidays, best time to travel, times to avoid travelling, how to find toilets and tourist offices etc.
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Since my Germany writings have grown over the time, I have decided to list each individual review in a separate album. If you like, pick the ones that match your interest:
=> Germany reviews

• Pros:Magnificent castles, rivers, food and villages :-)
• Cons:The mass magnets can get crowded
• In a nutshell:Germany is more than Neuschwanstein, Rothenburg, Rüdesheim and Oktoberfest!! Come for a visit and find out :-))