Who has been to Germany?

[FriedPet]

Been twice & speak the lang.

Its one of those places where there isn't really one "must see" thing...but pretty much every little town has a ton of history & culture. So its very much dependent on you whether that works for you. So generally the history fanatics do better than the rest.

Obviously also a very modern country...but that manifests itself more in a subtle "sht just works" fashion rather than as a must see location / event.

Check out the Rhein / Rhine area...there are a billion castles there (trade route in the past so every local wanna-be prince built a castle on the shore to exert power.

If Christianity is your thing then there might be some specific locations to visit though @ Luther. e.g. Schloss Wittenberg

>"must do" things

Maybe try out the no-speed limit Autobahn. (NB not all routes are speed limit free...)

Also check out the bulk train tickets...you get tickets valid for X days that cover a bunch of routes...can work out well for tourists.

Advice...you'll be fine...as I said "sht just works" and everyone below 30 can speak English anyway.

Personally I'd head towards the south...its a little more "exotic" plus seeing how you'll need a Schengen Visa anyway you can easily hop across a border. Else the German / Netherland border towns have a certain quaintness to them too (and hybrid culture due to border disputes in the past)...excellent for cycling too.

Rhine area sounds beautiful, will try to go there.

The Autobahn, you can't drive on it unless you have a special license?

Thanks for the tip regarding bulk train tickets

Spent a night in Munich.

We did supper at the Hofbräuhaus, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Afterwards we wandered into town, enjoyed the stroll and had an ice cream somewhere.

YouTube Link

Awesome, We'll have to put the Hofbräuhaus on our list! Could you buy one of those jugs??

I spent 2 nights in Berlin as part of a whirlwind European tour in 2010. Loved the city. Clean, efficient and generally very friendly. A must see for me was the Lego museum. We also just did loads of walking around looking at the typical touristy stuff: Brandenburger Gate, Alex Platz, Checkpoint Charlie. A highlight (not sure about the choice of word) was the holocaust mural close to Checkpoint Charlie. Tugged my heart strings.

PS: do not have your photo taken with the "American" soldiers at Checkpoint Charlie... they don't know enough English to barter for a lower price :P

Thanks for those names, it helps to have something to google

No trip to Germany is complete without Hofbrauhaus.

The most touristy thing I did while there was visit Dachau. Personally, we spent most of our time touring the countryside which I highly, highly recommend - the Bavarian countryside is like something out of a fairytale - and little time in cities.

Yep, we'd love to experience the countryside of Germany, city-life is not our thing.