Going to Germany, what are must sees?

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BWRIGHT

BWRIGHT

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I have the fortunate opportunity to have my company pay for a week stay in Germany here soon. I am almost totally unfamiliar with Germany outside of what I can gather from the few Germans I have met recently. Our parent company is based out of Germany and I'm going to do some training. I believe I will have a couple of days I will not have to work. I don't know how far I can travel, but would like to see SOMETHING other than the inside of the plant. We will be statying in the Ulm/Blaustein area. Anyone have any suggestions? I believe we'll be about an hour from Munich, so the Hofbrauhaus is currently at the top of my list along with Neuschwanstein Castle.
 
Ulm is a fun town. The fishing village is fun to hang out in and the bars are great. Munich is incredible and close enough for a visit.

For a day trip of nice hiking a world class beer, I recommend going to Andechs (a little south and west of Munich). They have the Cloister Andechs brewery and creamery there and it is on a beautiful lake.

Munich is a great city and you could spend forever wandering around there...

Also, spend the money and hike to the top of the Ulm Munster... it is the most incredible spire I have been to the top of. I don't really know why, I think it is just the shape of the building and the old school feeling. The top steps are about 1.5 feet wide for both up and down traffic with no guard rails (you are inside the tower though :)) and the top lookout is great.

Have fun, I am sure you will!
 
Ulm isn't too far from Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is an old medieval walled city, that has a lot to see. And a little further north is Weikersheim, which is a smaller walled city. It has an excellent castle that still has all the original furnishings. You can probably see both of them in one day and return to Ulm at night (if you're driving a car).
 
First off, you have to master the famous local tongue twister.

In Ulm und um Ulm und um Ulm herum

Rothenburg is a very cool city to tour. When you get to the Hofbrau Haus, remember the locals and even the band members go to Augustiner, which is catty-corner from HB. The beer is better and cheaper!
 
It's a nice train ride between Munich & Nurnberg, at least it is during Oktoberfest, might be nice in late winter/early spring too. Try stopping in at some of the little "hole in the wall" pubs/breweries in some of those tiny little villages, get off the U bahn/autobahn & into the countryside. You would do well to pick up a phrasebook, or a "how to speak German" CD/DVD, even speaking a tiny bit of German will help you immensely. Regards, GF.
 
IMHO I would spend my time in the Germany of today and not spend my time depressing myself. WWII was horrible and has given every German I know a lasting shame and disdain for their heritage. You can do research about WWII from the comfort of your home. Experience Germany for the wonderful things it has to offer and interact with the great people who live there.

If you are a WWII buff and can't help yourself from just wanting to be in the place where "it" happened, then by all means do it. Just be warned, that is some heavy stuff to do if you only have a couple days to spend.
 
Boerderij_Kabouter said:
IMHO I would spend my time in the Germany of today and not spend my time depressing myself. WWII was horrible and has given every German I know a lasting shame and disdain for their heritage. You can do research about WWII from the comfort of your home. Experience Germany for the wonderful things it has to offer and interact with the great people who live there..
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+1 Yep. Lived there 5 years and have visited more times than I can remember and have never visited Dachau. I can get that info online or the library.

I'd rather tour hop farms and breweries. :mug:
 
That all sounds great. I've really got to narrow it down. I will only have maybe 2 full days to do anything other than work. I'll be staying at the Comfort in Blaustein. Probably avoid the WWII stuff. Interesting, I've never been out of the country and would like to see how it is now. Hop farms, now that would be nice. It'd be a hell of a tough sell to the SWMBO though.
 
With two days, my priorities would be:

1st free day: Go to Munich SUPER early in the morning or late the night before. Get up early, go to Sankt Peter's Platz south of the Marienplatz and walk around the market and buy some snacks for the day and a picnic for lunch. Eat weisswurst, bretzen, and weissbier for breakfast at the little cafe at the south end of the market. Then after a relaxing breakfast, I would head to the Englischer garden, walk around see the sights, and lounge nude with my wife while reading a book in the nude sunbathing area (this may also be a fun time to eat your picnic:)). I would then hit the street and wander around looking at the shops and major sites. The Marienplatz with the Glockenspiel is cool, the olde Rathskellar, the Dom, etc... I would go for dinner at the Houfbrau haus and see the whole thing. Then at night I would go to the Augustiner bier garden just outside the city that is very near the Bahnhof (train-station that is on the east side of town). Then stumble onto the last train out of town.

2nd free day: I would just hang out in Ulm. Climb the Munster, hang out in the fishing warf, bar hop, and relax.
 
I am taking notes on all these suggestions. SWMBO and I are heading there in the fall and I've never been to Europe so we're making a list of all the spots to hit.
 
Boerderij_Kabouter said:
With two days, my priorities would be:

1st free day: Go to Munich SUPER early in the morning or late the night before. Get up early, go to Sankt Peter's Platz south of the Marienplatz and walk around the market and buy some snacks for the day and a picnic for lunch. Eat weisswurst, bretzen, and weissbier for breakfast at the little cafe at the south end of the market. Then after a relaxing breakfast, I would head to the Englischer garden, walk around see the sights, and lounge nude with my wife while reading a book in the nude sunbathing area (this may also be a fun time to eat your picnic:)). I would then hit the street and wander around looking at the shops and major sites. The Marienplatz with the Glockenspiel is cool, the olde Rathskellar, the Dom, etc... I would go for dinner at the Houfbrau haus and see the whole thing. Then at night I would go to the Augustiner bier garden just outside the city that is very near the Bahnhof (train-station that is on the east side of town). Then stumble onto the last train out of town.

2nd free day: I would just hang out in Ulm. Climb the Munster, hang out in the fishing warf, bar hop, and relax.
Click to expand...
I've done all that plus purchased our plates of hash at the EG...back when it was $1.25 gram...

Also been to Buchenwald Concentration Camp...

PA121007.jpg
 
Are you into skiing/snowboarding at all? Can't believe no one mentioned this yet but south of Munich is Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Fun little town at the base of the Zugspitze (highest peak in Germany) Check this picture out!

The great thing too is that there is a big military presence so LOTS of english speakers. Although that could be a downside too if you want to stay away from that. AWESOME boarding though and resonably priced. Although this would kill an entire day.

Also there is the Neuschwanstein castle, which is the one the Disney castle is based on. Pretty cool but a little further away.
 
There used to be some rather interesting old "hotels" close to the bahnhof in Frankfurt.
Fun to walk thru and see all the stuff, knowwhatimean?
nudge,nudge,wink,wink.
AP
 
Something else to keep in mind about Cologne: You are in Koelsch country, a 20-minute train ride away from Duesseldorf with its Alt bars, and maybe a 50 minute train ride away from Belgium with its myriads of beers. Believe me - you CANNOT go wrong with the Cologne area - the Cathedral alone is worth the visit alone (and I am not a very religious person).
 
I spent a few weekends in Cologne and can say it's a cool town, but hell I wouldn't trade it for Munich anyday. From my experience, southern Germany is less populated and more culturally flavorful. Not saying the rest of Germany is bland, but you will probably get more bang for your buck, or hours i should say since you have only two days, in southern Germany.

If you do hit up an area like Nuremberg, make sure to buy a small glass of the champagne beer and some of the alt-brau that has been aging under the city for centuries. Those tours are fantastic.

Bamberg, home of Rauchbier, is in northern bavaria near Nuremberg and you can get a beer diploma. You have to go to 6 local breweries in one day and complete a pint of their in-house-special beer and after you get all the stamps you are rewarded with the Bierdiplom. Just throwing that out there.
 
Ja, Bamberg ist Toll!!!

I worked in Bamberg for 5 years (1999-2004).

We lived in Altendorf, about 11 miles south, off the Buttenheim exit. Buttenheim is home of the St Georgen Brewery and Levi Strauss (of jeans fame...) :rockin:
 
I can't say enough positive things about Bamberg...only drawback is the whole "This is FranKen!" attitude.....darn Franks.
 
onejdn said:
I am taking notes on all these suggestions. SWMBO and I are heading there in the fall and I've never been to Europe so we're making a list of all the spots to hit.
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There is a train called The Rhine-Gold Express that runs along the Rhine river, it's gorgeous in autumn with all the trees turning colors, the old castles on the hills, the mist over the water... But there's no place like Munchen (Munich) in autmn: it's the "Mecca" of Oktoberfest. You're going to have a great time in Germany. Regards, GF.

EDIT: You might enjoy Holland too, I did. Regards, GF.
 
gratus fermentatio said:
EDIT: You might enjoy Holland too, I did. Regards, GF.
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Great country, and extremely nice & friendly people - just not very good beer for the most part. I love Zeeland is particular - all the dunes, islands, North Sea, Delta Works, etc - lots to see and do there.
 
Köln is great, but a pretty long ride from Ulm and probably not worth it for a day trip. I would plan that one in if you ever make a return trip though. The north is a whole different experience that should not be missed IMHO.
 
Well, I'm leaving March 2nd for Germany. Be there till the 15th. Going to be there a week myself then fly the SWMBO over for the 2nd week. Anyone have any last minute suggestions for someone who's never been out of the country? The only drawback is that we have to fly through Atlanta and Paris before we get on to Germany, but 1 round trip ticket was only $550. So, any info anybody has for me would be appreciated. Cheapest way to make phone calls? Trains? Things close to Ulm? I don't really want to rent a car over there but would like to get out and see some things. I do have a friend in Garmisch. May go see her.
 
germany has such a good public transport system you wont need a car for most of it. trains from town to town and light rail(trolleys and subway) for in most bigger towns.

if you take the trip from munich to nurnberg i suggest you stop in parsberg and go to the hotel across from the train station. the guy who runs it is greek and makes some awesome food and ouzo in his basement.

you'll be a little early in the year for the fest season unfortunately.


most younger germans can speak some english but do yourself a favor and at least learn directions and how to order a bier in german.
 
I could have spent a lot more time in Munich - Marienplatz, Olympic Park, Hoffbrau. Great city. Neuschwanstein is not too far and worth seeing. We took the DB train from Berlin (also great) to Dresden and Munich, then had a car to cover the south over to the Schwarzwald. I speak German, but most places it wasn't needed, though it helped in smaller towns. I'd go back in a minute.
 
Well, I'm here in Blaustein. About 5 minutes from Ulm. Went to the top of the Munster. Pretty Amazing. Thinking about going to Munich and Neuschwanstein on Saturday. We're not going to have much time though. If you only had time to see a couple things in Munich, what would they be? Also, does anyone know if the castle is open on Saturday? One thing I think is strange is that I can't find a lager to save my life. Almost every beer is a Weizen of some sort. I guess it doesn't really matter when you're drinking out of a 1 liter glass though!
 

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