Itinerary Suggestion

Do you like big or small cities? Where will you be traveling from in Austria? Germany is well served by trains. Without knowing more about you, I would recommend Berlin and Munich. Both would also have interesting day trip options.

Germany is full of interesting local and regional cultures, history and sights / attractions. The official German tourist website gives you a good high-level entry into information.

There are also some important basic infos you need to know when traveling to Germany.

Your interests would help to make a relevant suggestion for you.

Around Easter traveling will be more expensive and intensive - Germans visit their families or do a loong weekend trip, e.g. to Berlin.

On Easter Sunday some regions (east and north) have the tradition of an Easter fire. You will find that rarely in cities (e.g. Hamburg), more on the countryside. In the larger cities you will find spring festivals, e.g. Hamburg Dom (do not be confused, just the same German word like for a cathedral).

Be aware that April 19 and 22 will be public holidays, means shops closed (besides very few at major train stattions of large cities). Everything else operates in Sunday mode.

Thank you for the info. I am a student of history, and languages (French and German) so those are my interests, but I am really just interested in seeing the native culture. I am pretty competent in my German speaking skills even though I still have to ask someone to repeat something now and again, especially if they speak a dialect. I am an American so the Visa thing is not a problem for me. My university is in Klagenfurt, which is four hours from Vienna by train, and five hours from Munich. Is there a rail pass I can buy to travel across the whole country? I would like to start from the south and spend that free time I mentioned before going across the country. Does anyone have any large or small city recommendations I am open to both?
Nicholas

Munich and Berlin are both great places. However, don't ignore the smaller towns, like those on the Romantic Road that runs from Wurzburg to Fussen/Garmisch.

You could do Munich then the Romantic Road from the southern end, then head to Berlin. The Rhineland area is another great area.
https://www.romanticroadgermany.com

which era of history are you studying?

Are you a high school student or a university student?

I'm a student at the University of klagenfurt and my focus is military history and diplomacy in modern Europe (1750-1991) roughly.