Andy's Travel

Ask people where they want to go on their European holidays and if they’re not heading to the beaches of the Mediterranean they’ll most likely tell you about Paris, London, Barcelona or Venice. Some may head east to Prague, Krakow or Budapest. Yet despite being the most populous European country (excluding Russia) Germany hardly ever gets a mention.

It does appear that Germany is something of a forgotten country in terms of European tourism and while the main tourist spots in the country can get crowded it is still largely ignored by the millions of tourists visiting Europe each year. I also plead guilty: I spent a few days in Germany last month and this was my first trip there for 20 years. So why should Germany be worthy of a closer look when planning a European trip?

Historical sights

If you like exploring castles you’ll be spoilt for choice in Germany. There’s Neuschwanstein Castle, the most famous castle of all and the inspiration for Disney’s fairytale castles (it is to here that it seems every tourist in Germany heads). But venture along the Rhein and you’ll find many more splendid castles with far fewer visitors. And these are the best type of castles – ones where you can both scramble around the ruins and explore the interior, decorated to reflect life in the building’s heyday.

Then there are the medieval walled cities along the Romantic Road in Bavaria. We visited Nördlingen, a delightful city with the wall fully encircling its perimeter. The 3km walk along the full circumference of the wall would be heaving with tourists anywhere else, yet here on a Saturday in July we barely saw another tourist as we strolled around.

The Great Outdoors

It’s easy to imagine Germany as dominated by its major cities, yet the country probably offers some of the finest hiking and cycling in Europe. Whether we were walking in the Alpine hills above Neuschwanstein or along the Rheinsteig (a long distance trail that follows the Rhein through the winelands between Bonn and Wiesbaden), we found well-marked trails, welcoming rest stops and once again, very few fellow visitors.

Value for Money

The Euro may be used in most of Europe but having the same currency does not equate to having the same prices. Compared to most of its neighbours Germany is surprisingly cheap for the average traveller. As in many countries prices are cheaper outside of the big cities and a pizza and beer is not likely to cost you more than €10 (not that I’m recommending this as a daily diet).

Travel is reasonable too, with Deutsche Bahn offering some fabulous train tickets. Most regions have a day pass where a group of you can travel on any bus or train within that region for a single cheap fare. We paid €26 for two of us to travel freely around Bavaria (the size of Ireland). If there are more of you the deal becomes ridiculously cheap.

In a few paragraphs I can barely scrape at the surface of what Germany offers  and I’ll add a few of our adventures here in the coming weeks.  But as someone who was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed my first proper visit here, I certainly recommend anyone planning a European trip to give Germany a closer look.

Useful sites if you’re thinking of a German trip (I used these myself while planning):

Germany is Wunderbar – a nicely presented site full of handy tips and trivia

Romantic Road Germany - good descriptions of the many places along the Romantic Road

Easy Hiker – Michael and Marlys are hiking enthusiasts and offer some valuable information for those planning to explore Germany on foot