Germany

Wow, Germany is a big place. Can you expand a bit on your interests? Is there a geography that interest you? Art? History? Culture? Wine? For me, I've always remembered our visit to Weimar and then Wartburg. Weimar for the people we met and Wartburg for the castle and its history. I loved the little town we stayed in when I studied in German, but I have to admit that the best thing was the Neckar river valley scenery and the apple cider type drink that was served. Oh, at the wurst salad, and the kartwuffell salad and the pomme frites machine. Hmmm, these are more student memories than place I think. ; ) Pam

Pam...I think you mean kartoffel salat...on the other hand, if there are wild kartwuffells in the area and they could probably make salad out of them.

Do you really think you could handle them?

Of the major language groups in Europe, the Germans are the most multlingual, yet still I find that in the out-of-the-way towns, most people do not speak English. You're best off to stay in the mainline tourist areas where English is usually spoken.

ahem, this is really a very broad question. what does "out-of-the-way" mean for you? No American tourists in sight (that would be 90% of Germany) or no tourists at all in sight? Or something that's not mentioned in RS guidebooks? That would be in particular Northern Germany and also large parts of Eastern Germany.

As Pam suggested, Eastern Germany doesn't get quite as much tourist traffic and there are some fantastic sites. Mecklenburger Lake District, the Baltic coastline with the Island of Ruegen ... those are beautiful landscapes. If you're more interested in culture and history Dresden, Leipzig, Weimar are good destinations.

I would not be too worried about a lack for German, if that is an issue. I did study German but not French, DAnish, Dutch or Italian; and we traveled to those areas. Often you would find a little English but if not a phrase book (Berlitz was our choice) would get you the necessities. Learn to say please and thank you (Bitte and Danke in German), count up to 10 and learn a couple phrases.

Some of the pleasantest experiences came when we did not speak each others' language. In a small hotel in Italy I asked for a room in French after trying English and German. It was off the cuff as we had just come from France. The rest of the time the hotel staff struggled with us in French, which we did not speak anymore than Italian. We did not have enough Italian or French to explain the situation. We had a great time and the hotel staff seemed to enjoy the effort as well.

Regards, Gary

I love Rothenburg, not undiscovered but so cute! Also check out Bavaria - can't remember town names, but the scenery is gorgeous.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber has to be near the top of any list, Oberammergau is touristy but a lovely spot and Berchtesgaden is a beautiful place as well as interesting for Hitlers Eagles Nest, Konigsee, and close to Salzburg.

I loved Bamberg and Regensburg was very nice as well. Both UNESCO heritage sites.

Margret,

Rothenburg odT is arguably THE most touristy place in Germany. Mind you, it's for a reason since it's for sure a beautiful place. However, I'm at a loss as to how this can be defined as an "out-of-the-way" town.

"out-of-the-way towns or cities to visit in Germany"

I suppose you mean "out of the way" for tourists, and not for Germans. That would be all of northern Germany and most of the former GDR. Germany's most populous state, Nordrhein-Westfalen, with the exception of perhaps Cologne, is probably one of its least visited by foreign tourists. But the question is extremely vague for a country as large and varied as Germany.