Germany

Germany is not considered a top tourist country. If you ask anyone where they want to go in Europe, Germany won't probably be on the first place. I cannot say whether it's true or not. Each country is unique and in our reports we never put one country over another.

We've been to Germany many times, so visited a lot of places. As a rule, it were one-day trips, but there had also been one long route for 17 days, which we described below. We should say that some important places were not included in the route: Dresden, Hamburg, Bremen. So, if you decide to use the route, consider this fact. The long route was planned so that we could see as manyinteresting places in Germany as possible.

We used trains and buses. Germany has one of the best transportation networks, and railway connection is definitely the best in the world. Besides, there's a wonderful website www.bahn.de, which combines all kinds of transport.

And did you know that German highways have no speed limits?

Our personal top of best places in Germany (in random order):

Berlin, Reichstag dome, Airlift, Aquarium in Radisson Hotel and other places
Dresden
Wilhelmshöhe Park in Kassel
Hamburg
Rhine Valley from Rüdesheim to Koblenz by bike or car
Cologne Cathedral
Potsdam by bike
Neuschwanstein Castle
Frankfurt am Main, especially the evening
Zollverein mine in Essen
Mount Nebelhorn
Bremen Market Square
Weimar together with nearby palaces (Belvedere, Ettersburg, Tifurt) and Buchenwald concentration camp
Wartburg Castle
Wernigerode
Zugspitze
Eagle's Nest (Kehlsteinhaus)
Quedlinburg
Koenigssee Lake
Eltz Castle
Hannover Zoo
Schwebebahn in Wuppertal

Our map shows the main points of our 17-day route. Just consider that it was an experimental route, and we have never travelled so actively since that time :)

 

Day 1 - Berlin

We started with Berlin. First we settled in the hotel, which was the worst in the entire trip. The overall impressions of German hotels is great, and it's easy to find a hotel for 50-60 euros almost in the downtown. But in Berlin we didn't find such hotel and lived far from the downtown, in a hotel with shared shower and toilet. As it turned out, such hotels are popular in eastern Germany, especially among football fans.

Then we went for a walk. Our route in Berlin is described in this article.

Day 2 - Berlin, Potsdam

Early in the morning we went to see the Reichstag dome. The entrance is free and queues can be impressive, so we arrived at 8 am and were the first to enter.


Then, on the shortest metro line in Germany, U55, we reached the main railway station and went to Potsdam by S7. There, right at the station, we rented bicycles and went for a ride.








By S7 we went back to Berlin and reached the Hackescher Markt station in the downtown. We walked along the main street and visited the Berlin Aquarium and Berlin High Flier. In the evening we also visited the most fashionable food shop in the city, KaDeWe (Wittenbergplatz metro station), which is located on the top floor of the shopping mall.




Day 3 - Berlin

In the morning we first went to the central station and left our stuff in the baggage storage. Then we took a subway to Südstern and walked in the Kreuzberg district, the route map is here.






After that we returned to the central railway station and traveled to Essen by IC (4 hours 30 minutes, 54 euros for two of us). We bought all tickets for traveling between the regions in advance and therefore they were not expensive. In Essen we stayed for 3 days close to the train station (http://www.gasthaus-nordstern.de/).

Day 4 - Atta Cave, Zollverein Mine, Ronald McDonald House in Essen

Early in the morning we went to Attendorn (1 hour 50 minutes) and visited the Atta Cave.


Then we returned to Essen, reached Zollverein by tram and visited the famous mine museum.






In the evening we took a tram to Grugapark to see the unique Ronald McDonald House.


Day 5 - Wuppertal Schwebebahn, Burg Castle, Movie Park

Early in the morning we went to Wuppertal by S9 (46 minutes). At the station, we boarded the Schwebebahn and went to the final stop W-Vohwinkel Schwebebahn. There we took a bus #683 and drove to the Burg Bruecke stop. Then we took a cable car to the Burg Castle.


By the same bus we returned to W-Vohwinkel, there took S9 to Bottrop Hbf and changed to NWB to reach Feldhausen. From there we walked to the Movie Park.






Day 6 - Cologne, Satzvey Castle, Bonn, Drachenburg Castle

At 7 am we went to Cologne, put our stuff in a baggage storage and took a RB to Satzvey, where we walked around the castle and the courtyard.


Then we took a train to Bonn and walked around the city. After that we reached the local train station Bonn-Beuel and took a RE to the Königswinter station. There's a funicular up to the Drachenburg Castle.

We took a RE back to Cologne, settled in the City Pension Köln guesthouse (49 euros, 5 minutes from the cathedral), and went for a walk around the city. In the evening we visited the observation deck.




Day 7 - Koblenz, Castles of the Rhine Valley, Rüdesheim, Loreley Cliff

In the morning we took an IC to Koblenz and found our hotel near the train station (67 euros). Then we rented bicycles (http://www.fahrradverleihkoblenz.de, Stegemannstraße 43, from 9 am), returned to the station, bought daily regional tickets and went for a ride along the Rhine Valley. Read more in the article.








After that we returned to Koblenz and in the evening went for a walk around the city.








Day 8 - Eltz Castle, Frankfurt, Forest Spiral House in Darmstadt

In the morning we left our stuff in baggage storage in Koblenz and drove to the Moselkern station, where walked through the forest to the Eltz Castle, one of the best castles in Germany.


After visiting the castle we returned to Koblenz and went to Frankfurt. There we settled in a hotel near the train station and then took a train to Darmstadt Nord. In a 15-minute walk from the station there's a house by architect Hundertwasser, "Forest Spiral".


After that we returned to Frankfurt and went for a walk around the city.

The best pictures of Frankfurt can be made at sunset. In our article we described the place where you can shoot such pictures.


Day 9 - Baden-Baden, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg

In the morning went to Karlsruhe (29 euros, 1 hour 10 minutes), left our stuff in the hotel (Best Western Queens Hotel, 60 euros) and took a train to Baden-Baden (20 minutes), where we spent 4 hours.








Next we took an S3 to Heidelberg (43 minutes) and walked there in the old city.






After that we returned to Karlsruhe.

Day 10 - Karlsruhe, Munich

In the morning we walked around the Karlsruhe downtown for a couple of hours and then traveled to Munich (54 euros, 3 hours). We had settled in a hotel near the train station (Winter's Hotel München City Center, 69 euros per night), where we stayed for the following 7 days. And went for a walk around the city.










Day 11 - Neuschwanstein Castle, Mount Tegelberg

In the following days we had planned various trips in the Bavaria region. We were selecting the destinations depending on the weather, which was quite convenient. This day we went to see the most famous castle in Germany, Neuschwanstein.






We also took a cable car to Mount Tegelberg.










Day 12 - Nymphenburg Palace, Allianz Arena, Therme Erding, indoor water park and thermal baths

This day, we continued to walk around Munich and visited the Nymphenburg Palace in the morning.




Then we took a tour around the best stadium in Germany, Allianz Arena.






And then we took an S2 to Altenerding where we changed to bus #550 and visited Therme Erding, indoor water park and thermal baths.




Day 13 - Residence Museum

This day was rainy, so we went to the Residence museum.




Day 14 - Nuremberg, Bamberg, Würzburg

This day we visited three cities. We woke up as usual at 6 am and went to Nuremberg (1 hour 40 minutes).










Then we went to Bamberg, 45 minutes to go.








And in the late afternoon we went to Wurzburg. Summer daylight hours in Germany last almost until 10 pm, so there's enough time for everything.






Day 15 - Mount Nebelhorn

This day we went to Oberstdorf and took a cable car to Mount Nebelhorn.






We returned to Munich early and walked in the English garden.




Day 16 - Eagle's Nest (Hitler's house), Koenigssee and Obersee lakes

This day we got up at 5 am and went to Berchtesgaden Hbf (3 hours) to see the Eagle's Nest (Hitler's house). Bus from the train station to the ticket office runs not frequently, so we took a taxi for 11 euros.




Then we returned to Berchtesgaden Hbf by bus and took a taxi fo 10 euros to Koenigssee, where we bought tickets for the next boat ride on the lake.






Day 17 - Zugspitze, Oberammergau

This day we went to the famous winter resort Garmisch-Partenkirchen and took a rack train to the top of the highest mountain in Germany, Zugspitze (2962 meters). The tickets here were the most expensive for the entire trip, they cost about 35 euros per person.














We returned to Garmish by cable car and then went to a small town of Oberammergau, which was famous for painted houses.




This place concluded our journey around Germany.

Useful links:

Tourism
http://www.guide-to-bavaria.com/en - Bavaria travel guide
http://www.burgen-und-schloesser.net - all castles of Germany

Routes
http://www.burgenstrasse.de - road of castles
http://www.romantic-road.com - romantic road
http://www.deutsche-maerchenstrasse.com/en/ - road of tales
http://www.hanse.org/en/ - road of Hanseatic League
http://www.deutsche-alpenstrasse.de/en/stages/ - Alpine road
http://www.nibelungen-siegfriedstrasse.de/ - two parallel routes dedicated to the famous "Song of the Nibelungs", Siegfried route and route of the Nibelungs
http://www.deutsche-donau.com - route on the Danube
http://www.eurob.org/index.php/1/4 - road of gothic
http://www.die-glasstrasse.de/ - road of glass
http://www.spielzeugstrasse.de - road of toys

Transport
http://www.bahn.de - website of German transport. Definetely the best such website in the world. Here you can find any route for any kind of transport.
http://www.ryanair.com/en - The largest lowcost has flights to Germany.
http://www.lufthansa.com - main German airline
https://www.germanwings.com/en/ - German budget airlines
http://www.airberlin.com - German lowcost
https://www.berlinlinienbus.de - buses
http://www.gratisparken.de - free parking

Hotels and apartments
http://www.fewo24.de - apartments
http://www.hotel.de - hotels

Miscellaneous
http://www.wetter.com - weather, there are other sites, but we use this one
http://www.zeit.de/2008/48/Karte-48 - a list of 300 cities and towns with the most preserved historical centers

Some movies where you can see Germany:

Run Lola Run (1998) - Tom Tykwer's movie, one of the most famous in Germany, got a bunch of different awards. Was shot entirely in Berlin.

Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997) - a German drama, shot almost entirely in Germany. The movie brought fame to the actor Til Schweiger, most of his movies were shot in Germany. Among the last ones is the Guardian Angel thriller (2012).

Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) - another must-see German film, which was shot entirely in Berlin.

Inglourious Bastards (2009) - a German-American movie about the World War II, which was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Shot entirely in Germany.

The Very Same Munchhausen (1979) - one of the few Soviet films that was shot in Europe. It was impossible to shoot it in the real hometown of Munchausen, Bodenwerder, as it was in West Germany. Therefore, an authentic town in East Germany, Wernigerode, was chosen.

The Name of the Rose (1986) - a historical thriller with Sean Connery and Christian Slater, which was shoot partly in Germany. It shows the Eberbach Monastery that is located in the Rhine Valley. To find it, the filmmakers visited more than 300 monasteries in Europe.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) - a fantasy thriller about hunters for different evil creatures, which was shot entirely in Germany.

Three Nuts for Cinderella (1973) - a famous fairytale film that shows the Moritzburg Castle.

Unknown (2011) - a thriller with forever cool Liam Neeson, which was shot entirely in Germany, mostly in Berlin.

Resident Evil (2002) - a thriller with Mila Jovovich. Some scenes were shot in Germany. For example, the Lindstedt Palace in Potsdam was Spencer's mansion. And the Berlin underground station Bundestag was shown as an entrance to the Hive.

Aeon Flux (2005) - a thriller with Charlize Theron, which was shoot entirely in Germany, mainly in Berlin and Potsdam. Modern German architecture is shown as buildings of the future in a post-apocalyptic world.

Hanna (2011) - action thriller about a killer girl, which was shot almost entirely in Germany.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) - old British musical movie which shows the Neuschwanstein Castle and the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

The Neverending Story (1984) - a movie by Wolfgang Petersen, one of the best children's movies in history. It was shot at the Bavarian Film Studio. Though Germany is almost not shown, as most of the action takes place in a fictional world.

Iron Sky (2012 ) - a must-see movie :). It was shoot partially by using donations from fans who watched the viral trailer. Although Germany is shown a little, the movie is about very unusual Nazis.