We are travelling to Germany in Nov 2008 after the Rugby world cup in France and have no idea where to go or what to do when we get there. We are from the other side of the world (New Zealand) and need some help.....Suggested places and things to do would be great....HELP !!!
PS: There is only so many churches, museums and architecture you can see... we are more the thrill seeker type... well within reason.
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It really depends what you are interested in and how much time you have. Are you more interested in mountain/hills or prefer the coast.
I still haven%26#39;t seen everything despite being from Germany. Anyway, some of my favourite areas so far are:
Coast of the Baltic or North Sea, for example the islands of Föhr, Rügen or towns like Warnemünde on the Baltic Coast.
Towns/cities worth visiting are Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Köln/Bonn, Stuttgart, Munich, Dresden, Potsdam, Bamberg, Rothenburg, Lübeck, Bremen ... just to name a few.
Saxon Switzerland (south of Dresden) is a beautiful area. As is the Spreewald (south of Berlin) or the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (an area with heaps of lakes north of Berlin).
The Harz, Black Forest and the Eifel are supposed to be very nice as well.
A lot of people like the Romantic Road which I haven%26#39;t done yet. I kind of prefer the coast and have seen more of Northern Germany and not so much yet of the South.
Maybe the site www.germany-tourism.de will help you a little bit to get an overview. If you have time you should visit parts of the South as well as parts of the North. Landscape, mentality etc. are different.
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You have plenty of time to plan, so go to your library and get books on Germany that have lots of good pictures. Because you seem to want to see only a few churches, museums and architecture you should probably select the best of each to visit. Germany is full of wonderful things to see and do, the only thing is it is hard realizing all that you will miss. Christmas Markets will be open in late November.
On Nov. 11 there is a nice ritual washing of the instruments for Guggen bands in Schwaebisch Gmuend to open carnival season. Guggen music is unusual and was developed in Switzerland and has since spread to nearby German-speaking areas. The bands wear elaborate costumes and play only drums and other percussion instruments and also brass ones which are washed. Several heavily dressed men enter the fountain and a band will approach playing only percussion instruments until the brass ones are all washed. Then the entire band plays two numbers before the next band approaches.
Because you say you are the thrill seeker type, maybe you should concentrate mainly on southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the mountains. There are downhill slides (bob sled-like), paragliding, and something where people go down narrow stream canyons using ropes. Fairly recently, a number of people were killed doing the later during a flash flood. It is also possible to drive on race tracks (of course a rental shouldn%26#39;t be used for this) or be a passenger in a race car. Ballooning is another possibility. It is also possible to take a zeppelin ride in Friedrichshafen on the Bodensee (Lake of Constance), but this is very expensive. However, I don%26#39;t know if November is conducive to any of these activities.
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Wow, you%26#39;re planning ahead!
November obviously isn%26#39;t the best time to visit but obviously that can%26#39;t be changed. Apart from limiting adventure sports opportunities, I wd suggest you leave the coast for a visit at a different time of year.
Northern Germany is much flatter than the south, so for variety of landscape you%26#39;re better in the south. Wonderful towns and cities in all parts of course.
I would say you have to include Berlin in your plans in any case. It%26#39;s such a vibrant city.
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