Beer, bratwurst. Munich – beer halls, try the weiss beer and a weiss wurst with pretzel and sweet mustard for breakfast, Neuschwanstein, Englisher Garten, don’t end up at the nudies area. Public transport has day or 3 day tickets that may save you money. Also the partner-tickets, that are for up to 5 people on one ticket, will help you get around town easy and save money. Tollwood cool festival in July.
Easy to get around Bavaria with the Bayern Ticket, Bob-trains go to lovely places too. Train to Salzburg also on this ticket, valid all over Bavaria plus to the train stations in 2 places in Austria: Salzburg and Kufstein. Oktoberfest (link to oktoberfesttrips.com)
Passau: lovely student town, stay in the boatel, just don’t be shocked by the very small rooms (it’s based on the huts on a boat), but interesting architecture.
Berlin – TV tower, Checkpoint Charlie museum, wall, Brandenburger Tor, Reichstag visit, interesting building, Sir Norman Foster’s idea to have a glass dome at the top where the people can walk around. That way the parliament will always be reminded who really are in power: the people above them, the people who voted them in, and they are the ones who are able to vote them out again. Try a Curry Wurst and the Berliner Beer (red or green).
Füssen: Golden Stäbchen (just of the main pedestrian street), Hertzl am Rathaus, Beim Olivenbauer, good restaurants. Lovely old town, also used in the movie The Great Escape, the escaped men on the river in North Germany, the French café at the bridge, the streets, the fields in the area with the motorbike scenes and even a flight over Neuschwanstein. Wander around the small streets and check out the town hall (Rathaus). Nearby also Bad Faulenbach, with walking trails (also a bare-feet path), and small lakes to go swimming in.
Hopfen am See very nice, bit of an riviera kind of feel. Also a Beim Olivenbauer restaurant here, with home brewed beers, and great meals.
Kassel – Wilhelmshohe great in autumn, amazing colors
Freiburg – student town, close to great forest walks, Schwarz Wald very close by.
Bayerische Wald – Grosse Arber, good walks, you can combine it with a cable car ride.
Allgäu – Several ‘Klamms’ Partnachklamm – Garmisch Partenkirchen (Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant, Zugspitze, highest mountain in Germany), Breitachklamm – Oberstdorf, Starzlachklamm – town?, beautiful gorges to walk through, not open all year round, but amazing both in summer and in winter (torch walks along frozen icicles).
Heidelberg, lovely town on the water, castle up on the hill
Trier, Porta Nigra / Simeonstift (Simeon’s college), famous Unesco landmark, end of 2nd century AD.
Eat and drink: beer and sausages, pork knuckle or crispy pork. When in winter, definitely go to a Christmas market and have some mulled (warm, spiced) wine.
