Nothing doing in Germany in August ?

Where are you looking? There are more festivals in August than you can shake a stick at. The biggest fest of all is the Museums Riverbank fest in Frankfurt the last weekend in Aug. This is the largest cultural fest in Germany. There are all kinds of festivals though, from small town and village fests, to carnivals, wine fests, medieval festivals, light festivals, rose fests, and more.

For spas look at almost any town with a Bad in the name. So, Wiesbaden of course, but also Bad Homburg, Bad Nauheim, (they have an Elvis fest in Aug. I think, as he lived there) etc.

docic,

There's also Baden Baden which has at least two Spas, but there probably won't be much else happening there in August (although I haven't checked). They do have a legendary Casino which was frequented my Marlene Dietrich, so you could entertain yourselves there.

Hopefully Lee will spot this Thread, as I believe he just visited a "textile frei" Spa somewhere in Germany.

Happy travels!

Bad Kissingen is partiularly nice. Let's see, if you're not into public nudity... well, there's a castle ruin that overlooks the town, at least. And a quite large and very attractive public park. There's also some good hiking in the region. And any spa town will also have an old-style casino, if you're interested in losing money in sytle.

For Bad Kreuznach and Wiesbaden, you're very close to the Mittelrhein, which needs no introduction. Plenty of nightlife in Wiesbaden and Frankfurt. If you want a very unique nightlife experience, have dinner in Rüdesheim near Wiesbaden. Most of the restaurants feature nightly live Schlager music. There's also an open air folk museum in the area (Hessenpark), although it's only about half complete. Wiesbaden itself is one of the ritziest cities in Germany... rich people generally don't like to live in ugly areas. If you like to hike, the walk up to the top of Großer Feldberg (that's the most prominent mountain in the region, with all the TV and radio towers on the summit) is worth your time, particularly on a clear day. And if you have lots of time, give Königstein im Taunus and Kronburg im Taunus a look.

PS- Too bad you're visiting outside of the Bundesliga season. A visit to Neuss puts you within easy reach of Dortmund, Schalke, Leverkusen and Mönchengladbach. And from Wiesbaden, you have Mainz just over the Rhine and Frankfurt a few kilometers to the east.

If your goal is to go to Germany and August is the only time you can make the trip, go for it. But if your goal is to escape the Florida heat and are not tied down to a specific country, you may want to look farther north to Scandinavia. Sure, a typical summer is cool by Florida standards, but Central Europe has had some intense late summer heat waves of late. We got caught in this summer’s heat wave at the end of July and first of August. The same with friends two or three summers ago. And, even if your hotel is air-conditioned, few shops and restaurants have AC. But this was a dry, Texas, heat, instead of a humid, Florida, heat, if that makes a difference. The double irony for me, was I returned to Alabama – and much cooler temps -- with a great tan.

Hi,

Now that would be a game to see since you love soccer...Schalke against Borussia Dortmund, just like Paris vs Marseilles. Neuss is a nice place, good that you're going there.

Of the three spas I have visited in Germany, the Palais Thermal, in Bad Wildbad, is far and away the most elegant. Supposedly built by a Duke in the 1800s, it boasts a Moorish theme with beautiful tilework. The have recently added an openair pool on the top of the building.

Yes, it is coed and textile-frei, but you don't know anybody, and they don't know you, so what the heck.

As others have mentioned, any town with "Bad" in the name will probably have at least one spa, although be aware that the term "spa" can be anything from a ritzy U.S. style spa to a glorified public swimming pool (albeit one fed by mineral springs, at least). Something to keep in mind. Every major baeder has a webpage which will give you a feel for them. Many of them do require swimsuits in the pools as well, but sauna areas are always textile-free.

Bad Canstatt is not exactly a romantic spa town anymore (nor was it ever as far as I know), it's a district of Stuttgart. There are three different spas on the river here, but none of them are particularly luxurious. If you time it right, however, we have a big "Sommerfest" in August that's lovely and the nightlife scene here is hopping in August, and there's the Mercedes and Porsche museums as well.

If you're willing to push your trip back to the end of August/beginning of September, both Stuttgart and Frankfurt have large wine festivals during this time. They're not snooty, high-class affairs, either - quite the contrary.

Roy said:

"But this was a dry, Texas, heat, instead of a humid, Florida, heat..."

Oh, Honey, where have you been in Texas?!? Perhaps the high desert plains in the far western part of the state?

;-)

Ed, are you looking at August proper, or maybe some July or Sept sneaking in there? That could make a big difference in the festivals, sports, etc., you could enjoy. Is your trip time flexible?