What are the best things to do and see in Germany this summer?

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DeSaxe

Welcome to Germany,
I would like to recommend, starting off with the castles of Fussen Neuschwanstein
http://www.neuschwanstein.de/english/index.htm

A cruise down the Rhine

http://cruises.about.com/od/europeanrivercruises/ss/vikspirit_log2_8.htm?terms=rhine+river+cruises

Then eastward to the Black forest Titisee, perhaps a black forest kuku clock?
http://www.black-forest.com/

Up and across to Rothenberg OB Tauber
http://www.rothenburg.de/index.php?get=121

On across to Munich and Dinner at the Hofbrauhaus
http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/en/index_en.html

A sunny morning at Chemise
http://www.tompgalvin.com/places/de/bayern/koenigschlosser_herrenchiemsee.htm

A sobering piece of history at the Dachau
http://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/englisch/content/

Across the border to Czech and dinner at Chobovar
http://www.chodovar.cz/id2en-lapidary-pub-ve-skale.htm

Slip into Prague
http://www.prague.cz/

Evening in the Romantic city of Bamberg
http://www.stadt.bamberg.de/

Maybe a night in the last Monastery Brewery left in Germany
http://www.kreuzbergbier.de/content/kb_brauerei.html

Then back down to Kaiserslautern

These were just a few ideas, enjoy your travels.

porschefraulein

First, decide what area of Germany you want to visit-- you just can't do everything. My personal favorite is Bavaria & SW Germany-- generally tourist friendly, and a lot to do within reasonable travelling distance, including Switzerland and Austria.

If you decide you'd like to give that area a shot, I highly recommend a visit to this website:

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/index.html

Someone put it together just as a hobby, but the information on it is excellent. I recommend reading some of the trip reports for ideas on places to go and things to see.

That said, here are my personal recommendations:

---Heidelberg. I'd recommend it as a day trip, but it's just a great little place to visit. My German-born dad always recommended it to first-time visitors.

--Munich. Big city with tons of stuff to do-- museums, concerts, thermes, palaces... I could go on and on. I personally recommend the Deutsches Museum-- their flight gallery is excellent.

---Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberammergau. The first is nice, good sized town in the Alps, and the other is a smaller village famous for it's woodcarving. The scenery is beautiful, and there's plenty to see and do. I recommend O-gau as a day trip from Garmisch-- there's a bus you can hop at the train station that will take you right over.

---Finally, for me at least, it just isn't a proper trip if I don't pay a visit to Neuschwanstein, King Ludwig II's "fairytale" castle (and the inspiration for the Disney one). Get there ealy for tickets or order them ahead online. And, really, if you're going to visit Neuschwanstein, just make a day of it and visit the nearby castle of Hohenschwangau (Ludwig's boyhood home) as well.

Other possible destinations you might consider are the Rhine & Mosel rivers, noted for their castles and wines; Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a largely intact medieval walled city, and Stuttgart, home to much of Germany's auto industry, cheif among them Mercedes - Benz, Volkswagen, and Porsche. If anyone in your family is a car nut, I highly recommend the new M-B museum. "Amazing" and "impressive" is putting it lightly. On the day I was in Stuttgart, I had planned to visit both the M-B and POrsche museums. Instead, I got so involved at the M-B museum I spent the whole day there!!

One final word of advice: spend some time just enjoying Germany for what it is. Eat the local grub, hit a local market, or just wander around town a little. That's my favorite part of a trip. :o)

Have fun, and Gute Reisen!!!!

FaZizzle

Where in Germany are you going to be?

John M

Read about the history of each town you may visit. The people are very friendly and welcoming. Learn a little basic German...plenty of books available from the library.
Have fun and take lots of pictures.

PeachPie

go to garmisch, that place is really nice. I stayed in the edelweiss lodge and I loved it.

Mary

OMG Germany is just awesome. Try to do anything and everything. Ride the strausses, ride the buses. Go to the shops, eat the food. eat at a outside restaurant. walk the sidewalks, ride a train. HAVE FUN oh dont forget the castles !!!!!

V L

I just moved from Germany last year and I really miss all the great food there! There are so many things to do and see. The Black Forest is a really nice place to visit and it is one of the few places that the shops and things will be open on Sundays there. If you get the chance go to the oldest walled city in Rothenburg. Since your children are young you may like to go to Lego-Land which is about an hour out of Stuttgart. Don't forget to go to some of the castles there and take in a few of the fest that most of the bigger cities have going on during the weekends!

Kaiman

Kieler Woche is coming up during the summer. The whole city of Kiel, which is in Schleswig-Holstein, is one large party. Something for everybody, for singles as well as for families. Foods from the area as well as all over the world. There will be ships and boats form many Nations.

http://www.kieler-woche.de/eng/englishdefault.htm

Drew

I live in Germany so I've been to many different places. The Black Forest is always nice (especially in summer). Garmisch is a great place to go to if you want a truly Bavarian experience - plus you could take the train to Munich from there. My family likes going to this walled in town called Rothenburg, which is only about 2 hours from Kaiserslautern. The Rhein and Mosel Rivers are also near Kaiserslautern and there are some interesting towns along them. All of these places are very child friendly... I hope you have fun.

Andrew

go to the villages and small towns - they are the parts with historical places- the rest - the big cities are all rebuilt from the war -

Berlin is very modern and would be good to see

atlantagal

Well, it depends on where in Germany you are going, and if you want educational or fun?

If you want educational, I highly recommend going to Berlin. So much happened there during World War 2. They still have the Brandenburg Gate, the largest piece of the Berlin Wall is still there, there is a Jewish museum there, and you can see where Hitler's bunker once stood if you can find a good tour guide because it isn't marked.

I went there 2 years ago and hope to be able to visit the whole country one day. I went on a cruise, so unfortunately, was only able to spend 8 hours in Berlin, not enough time in my opinion to see everything I wanted to see.

Have fun, wear comfortable shoes, and take an umbrella!

Dogsnoop

Love Germany, but would avoid Berlin.

allthebadonesaretaken

I would rent out a Porsche and then take a drive down the autobahn.

Mz.Joe Jonas

i dont know..(2 more points)

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