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BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG. Germany's most
popular tourist area, Baden-Württemberg
contains such well-known destinations as
Heidelberg shown above) with its famous
castle overhead), the Black
Forest region of the southwest
including the famous Triberg
waterfall (shown below), and
the German Castle Road stretch along the
Neckar River and the castles along the east
bank of the Rhein such as the Strahlenburg
over Schriesheim and the Windeck over
Weinheim. The largest city is
Stuttgart, with its grand Neues
Schloss (New Palace) and the
massive U-shaped garden that
leads to Europe's largest zoo, the Wilhelmina.
Near Stuttgart is Ludwigsburg, a small royal
city with not one, not two, but three beautiful
palaces. Other popular locations include
Baden-Baden, a very famous spa town in the
northern Black Forest; Schwaebisch Hall, a
beautiful medieval river town in the Swabian
region; and Ulm, sporting the tallest cathedral
spire in the world (768 steps to reach the
top)! In all, 30 travelogues available here and
more to come!
BAVARIA.
Germany's
second
most
popular
tourist area, and probably
the country's richest state. Bavaria (or Bayern
as it is known locally) was a beautiful state
with lots of color, gorgeous mountain scenery,
and great castles (thanks in part to King
Ludwig). The Bavarian cities of Munich and
Nuremberg (shown above) were must-sees, big
cities that are more like huge friendly towns.
The northern stretch known as Franconia had
several great river cities like Bamberg and
Wuerzburg with impressive palaces and
cathedrals. The Romantic Road connected
several popular medieval towns that are mustsees like Rothenburg o.d. Tauber (shown
below), Dinkelsbuehl, and Augsburg. And the
Alpine region around Garmisch-Partenkirchen
was a year-round destination with great
scenery and great skiing on the Zugspitze. And
finally, there's the Danube River valley with
beautiful cities like Regensburg perched on it!
In total, this section has 25 travelogues over 41
pages with over 230 photos.
BRANDENBURG (and
BERLIN). The former East
German state of
Brandenburg was mostly low
rolling hills and beautiful
forests, great for outdoor activities. Frankfurt
(Oder) sat on the Oder River border with
Poland and became a major gateway when the
borders became more open in 2004. In the
center of Brandenburg was the city-state of
Berlin, formerly at the heart of the Cold War
(Checkpoint Charlie pictured) and now the
capital of the re-unified country. The premier
destination in the former East, Berlin was
returning into one of Europe's cultural
centers. Near Berlin was the Brandenburg
capital of Potsdam with its famous and
fabulous Sans Souci palace.
HESSEN. The state of Hessen is one of
Germany's primary commercial centers,
particularly with its best known city Frankfurt
(Main) hosting one of the most traveled
airports on the continent. Its
big cities are impressive, like
Kassel in the north which is a
modern metropolis but also a
center for the arts and home
of the Brothers Grimm during their days of
collecting folk tales from across the country,
and Wiesbaden in the southwest with its
ancient baths. Ruedesheim on the banks of
the Rhine is a popular wine town, while Erbach
and Michelstadt in the Odenwald are treasured
old cities hidden away among beautiful forests.
MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN. The state of
Mecklenburg and Lower
Pomerania follows the
coastline of the Ostsee
(Eastern Sea), and includes
the very popular beach resort
island of Rügen and the
wonderful castle town of Schwerin, the state's
colorful capital.
NORDRHEIN-WESTFALEN. NordrheinWestfalen contains the
industrial heart of Germany's
northwest, the Ruhr Valley,
but also has its share of
major, recognizable
destinations such as Cologne
with its famous massive Dom
(Cathedral, pictured), the
booming commercial city of Düsseldorf, Bonn
which used to serve as the capital of West
Germany during the Cold War, and Aachen
which was the site of Charlesmagne's
coronation.
NIEDERSACHSEN (and BREMEN). Available are
four-chapter travelogues for the Niedersachsen
capital of Hannover and the city-state of
Bremen. Bremen has two
cities spread thirty-minutes
apart on the wide Weser
River, Bremen and
Bremerhaven, its major port.
Bremen's Altstadt has several zones of interest
-- the huge marketsquare (Bremen's famous
"Town Musicians" shown), the tiny Schnoor
district, the Boettcherstrasse and the Weser
Promenade. The chapter on the Buergerpark
covers Bremen's various outdoor and cultural
attractions.
SAARLAND. The Saarland is Germany's
smallest province in landmass,
but whose significance during
the early 20th century is
great. It was a major
industrial center built after
Prussian conquest from
France, now preserved in the form of the
Voelklingen Iron Works (pictured) along the
Saar Valley. French influence in the region is
evident in the Vauban-designed defensive
structures of Saarlouis. The capital of the
state, Saarbruecken, has been refashioned into
a beautiful modern city.
RHINELAND-PFALZ. The Rheinland-Pfalz
region hosts a number of cities
of great historical
significance, and includes
Germany's best wine areas -following the regions two
major rivers, the Rhine and Mosel. Along the
Rhine are several major cities, such as Mainz
and Koblenz, that are big,
beautiful, and striking
(witness the Deutsches Eck
shown in the photo above).
SACHSEN. The state of Saxony is covered with
fantastic mountainous terrain
and the peaceful setting of
the Elbe River. Saxony's
major destinations are very
well-known -- the gorgeous
royal city of Dresden with its
impressive Semper Oper Haus, the Zwinger hall
with the massive Crown Tower (Kronentor)
entrance, and Pillnitz Castle; and the former
Prussian stronghold of Leipzig with its old town
hall and immense war monument.
Further up river are the great
Holy Roman Cities of Speyer
and Worms, where Martin
Luther made his famous stand
in 1521, while down river is
the city of Remagen and its famous bridge
which was the first point where the Allies
crossed the Rhine in 1945. Along the Mosel is
the ancient Roman city of Trier (pictured
below) and the lovely wine town of Cochem.
In between is the Moseltal, a fifty-mile stretch
of pristine wine valley with tiny towns nestled
in the bends of the river. Meanwhile, along
the western foothills of the Rhine sits the
Weinstrasse (German Wine Road) that connects
some forty wine towns and is one of Germany's
great scenic drives.
SACHSEN-ANHALT. Currently,
one travelogue is available for
this former East German
province -- the Elbe River city
of Lutherstadt Wittenberg,
where Martin Luther began what became the
Protestant Reformation. The city has been
restored and is eagerly welcoming tourists to
its charming downtown.
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN (and HAMBURG). The
northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein is
very historically significant from a maritime
perspective. The capital of
the state, Luebeck, (shown)
was the site where the famous
Hanseatic League was formed,
one of the world's earliest international trade
unions that connected cities from Russia to
Belgium. The city-state of Hamburg is the
largest city in the German north, a massive
port city on the Elbe River and huge
commercial center with great shopping!
THÜRINGEN. The state of Thüringen resides in
the center of country and is
best known for the Thuringian
Forest, a lovely forested
region of rolling hills and
great waterfalls. The capital
of the state is Erfurt
(pictured), a fabulous city with a huge citadel,
two large churches perched on a hill over the
main market square, and a bridge built with
buildings and shops on it. A place with great
historical significance is Weimar, site of
Germany's first (failed) democracy. And
there's Eisenach with its famous Wartberg
Castle where Martin Luther lived in exile for a
year.