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I was fortunate to have opportunities to visit Germany in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Each of the visits was joined by my travel buddy who resides near western border of Germany. I became especially more familiar with the cities such as Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Bonn, Stuttgart in western part of Germany Despite of Germany's sense of modernity, safety, and convenience, Germany does not seem to be among the most popular destination among world travelers. For a nation with a long history, I would like to highlight some of the tourism dimensions in location, transportation, history, culture, food, and geographic diversity.
CENTER OF EUROPE LOCATION
Located in the geographical center of Europe, specific cities are western German cities of Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. Easy access by train from Frankfurt to other major cities such as Paris (3.5 hours), Berlin (4 hours), Amsterdam (4 hours), Zurich, Switzerland (4 hours). Less expensive high speed bus options FLiXBus is also readily available.
TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS IN GERMANY
- Rental Car: Autobanh Freeway - Smooth and No speed limit
One of the perks of traveling in Germany is their nicely built Autobahn freeway. Imagining driving down the smooth freeway road in one of the inexpensive rental BMW or Mercedes Benz at 200 Kilometer per hour. The time it takes to drive from Berlin to Frankfurt on the Autobahn is similar when compared with taking German high speed train.
- High speed train: Fast and modern
German InterCity Express is known to be one of the most sophisticated train system in the world. Fast, smooth and punctual are the bases of the quality of Germany train system. At reasonable ticket price, I was able to take day trips from Dusseldorf to nearby cities such as Cologne and Bonn at about $15 to $30 USD.
- Flights
Being centrally located in Europe and having Frankfurt as the major financial center of Germany, there is no lacking of flights, both major airlines and budget low cost budget airlines. Airlines such as Lufthansa, Germanwings, and Air Berlin can take guests in and out of Germany fast and affordable.
RICH GERMAN CULTURE
Germany has been known for its rich culture despite of being less well known than France and Spain. Few examples of Germany's rich culture are:
- Oktoberfest
Beer festival celebration well known all over the world. People celebrate with drinking high quality German beer. Most festive celebration takes place in Munich in southern Germany.
- Ludwig van Beethoven, the Great Musician
One of the most famous composer in the world in the history of music, was born in Bonn Germany, near Cologne and Frankfurt. Day trips to Bonn is very feasible for submerging yourself in the world of classical music culture.
- Sports Culture
Soccer or football is Germany's national sport. Spontaneous decision to see a soccer game in Germany is easy when compared to other blockbuster teams such as Real Madrid or FC Barcelona in Spain.
SIGHTSEEING IN GERMANY
From ancient monuments, iconic castles, to stylish BMW factory, Germany is full of sightseeings. I have listed a few examples to illustrate some of the most popular spots in Germany.
- Frankfurt Römerberg area
Visiting Romberberg area in the modern Frankfurt city feels like traveling in time. The City of Frankfurt has done a great job preserving their ancient architecture ambiance in the Germany city nicknamed Manhattan of Germany or Mainhattan.
- Berlin Brandenburg Gate
Areas nearby the iconic Brandenburg Gate are worth spending time strolling through when traveling in Berlin.
- Romantic Road
Germany Romantic Road is a tourism inspired route in southern Germany. South end of the Romantic Road starts near the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Fussen. The Romantic Road is filled with boutique ancient Germany towns that are worth stopping by when driving a car through it.
FOOD IN GERMANY
- Beer
Germany is known to be the nation of beer brewery. Many regional or artisan beer brewery restaurants also serve delicious beer food to go with their artisan beer.
- Sausages and Currywurst
Germany is also a sausage nation. One of my favorite German snacks is Currywurst, which consists of chopped up wurst(sausage) in special brown sauce and topped with curry powder. Many of the sausages shops are located inside or nearby major train stations, I highly recommend travelers to try this popular German street food if you want to eat like a local.
- Pork Knuckles
I believe there are two major types of German pork knuckles, deep fried and oven broiled. Both are as delicious as they are representatives of German cuisine. Due to the large serving portions, I recommend groups of 3 to 4 travelers to share one pork knuckle.
- Diversity of food, including Indian, Kebab, and Japanese
Much of the German cuisine consist of heavy meat dishes. After a few trips to Germany I started to look for other ethnic food and I have learned to appreciate how Germany embraces diversity in gastronomy. Kebab, seasoned meat slices in sandwich bread with salad and yogurt sauce, is one of the most popular food found on the streets of German cities. Authentic Asian cuisine restaurants are everywhere in Dusseldorf and Frankfurt.
DIFFERENT GERMAN CITIES AND AREAS
Different cities and areas in Germany have different characteristics. I am listing some of the major highlights and key sightseeing of each of the major cities in Germany to help potential travelers to plan their trip around the nation. Many major Germany cities are also known to have the best Christmas market during winter seasons.
*Frankfurt
Manhattan of Germany; Central hub of transportation by flight and high speed train at
Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof main train station; Romerberg Square.
*Cologne
Cologne Cathedral
*Berlin
Berlin Wall; History of Nazi Germany and Post World War II; Brandenburg Gate; Reichstag building; Check Point Charlie.
*Munich
BMW World exhibit center; Football Club Bayern München; Munich Oktoberfest; Olympiapark; Hofbrauhaus Munchen.
*Bonn
Beethoven's birth house; University of Bonn campus; Sterntor
*Stuttgart
Mercedes-Benz Museum and factory; Porsche Museum.
*Dusseldorf
International business and financial center; trade fair convention center; Japan town of Europe; Königsallee shopping street (Champs-Élysées of Germany); Rhine Embankment Promenade.
HISTORY
Since I am not a world history aficionado, I would like to defer the history section to links to Wikipedia pages. Overall, Germany is full of history and my special interest were in Berlin and post World War II, and the love and hate between East and West Germany.
*From the Holy Roman Empire to Imperial Germany
*Hitler and Nazi Germany
*Post-World War II
*Reunification and the Berlin Republic
*Berlin Wall
USEFUL AND PRACTICAL TRAVEL INFORMATION
*TripAdvisor - The Top 10 Things to Do in Germany
*TripAdvisor - Best of Germany Tourism
*Hotelscombined Frankfurt - Compare Reasonable and Affordable Hotel Prices in Frankfurt, Germany
*Hotelscombined Berlin - Compare Reasonable and Affordable Hotel Prices in Berlin, Germany
*Hotelscombined Munich - Compare Reasonable and Affordable Hotel Prices in Munich, Germany
*Europe Consult - Affordable, Cheap, Convenient, and Reasonable Hotels near Dusseldorf Train Station in Germany
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