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.
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.
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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![]()
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.
Although some might see it as quite a grim thing to do, we visited a German concentration camp. Both wife and I enjoy history, so it was a must for us. It was extremely emotional exhausting, but it was worth the visit to get a sense of the hostility of the Nazis. I cannot remember which one we visited, but know that it was en route from Munich to Vienna in Austria (and there was a stone quarry inside the camp).
You can visit Dachau, which is close to Munich. I think it might have been Mauthausen-Gusen, which is in Austria.
Oktoberfest is the world's largest fair held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.