We spent a week travelling along Southern Germany. It was not the most direct route from Czech Republic to Belgium, but since leaving Austria we had been craving some mountains again so decided to go and see the Bavarian Alps. Unfortunately, the weather gods weren’t playing ball. It rained every day and during our 3 days in the Alps we didn’t see a single mountain. Sometimes you could barely see 30 meters in front of you, but still we got out and explored.
Our Route:
Regensburg – Munich – Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Neuschwanstein castle – Lindau on Lake Constance – Black Forest – Heidelberg – Mainz – Bonn – Cologne
Nature
Partnach Gorge – We visited on a pretty miserable day. But there were plenty of other mad people out in the rain and cold trying to make the most of it. With the mountains in thick cloud, hiding in the gorge seemed like the best option. Unfortunately to walk alongside the river you have to pay, so we walked along just up above it and had a lovely view looking down for free.
Lake Constance – Its huge. 63 km long in fact, and borders Austria to the east and Switzerland to the south. Felt like being at the seaside, the lake was so clear and endless (maybe on a sunny day it would seem less endless).
Black Forest – Another wet and cloudy day, which meant we couldn’t get a feel for the scale of the forests from driving through it as we could hardly see the road in front of us. Thankfully our walk started off ok with just some drizzle, which meant we had nice views out over rolling forests. We weren’t enthralled by our day exploring. Most of the paths were wide and open and lacked a feeling of being in the wild. We didn’t spot or hear much wildlife and there was clear evidence of logging and plantations.
Neuschwanstein castle
We went because it is listed as the castle in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – one of my all time favourite films. Maybe my expectations were too high. I was hoping for the tour to be very c.c.b.b. focused, but they didn’t mention it once! Turns out it’s just the castle they flew over. None of the film was actually shot there. Once I got over my initial disappointment I was able to enjoy the castle for what it was.
Built over several years from 1868 for Ludwig 2nd, who sounded like a right eccentric. Unfortunately, he only lived there for 172 days before he died in 1886 and six weeks after his death it was turned into a museum. This means the very impressive original interior is incredibly well preserved with detailed paintings and dark woodwork. The castle even has a small room on the top floor which is made to look like a cave (complete with stalactites and stalagmites)! Told you he was an eccentric.
No photos of the inside were allowed. So instead, here’s two cloudy photos of the castle and lack of view.
Towns
Germany know how to do a good historic town. We are always impressed by the beautiful old architecture; and by how busy and lively a lot of the towns are. The high street certainly doesn’t feel dead in Germany. So many independent shops that all seem to be alive and well; plus some great looking bakeries, cafes and always lively beer halls.
Regensburg – Lovely old town which apparently has one of the best preserved medieval centres in Germany. Great cathedral with stunning stained glass, old town hall, cute cobbled streets, very nice vibe, and on the edge of the Danube.
Munich – Not one of our favourite city’s we have visited. It lacked a main hub of old buildings to wander around for the budget traveller. Don’t get me wrong it is a nice city and worth a day trip. There are plenty of nice buildings but they are just dotted around. The main centre is very shopping focused and full of high street shops. The town hall is definitely the highlight.
Lindau – Its essentially a small island on Lake Constance. We walked all the way around and wandered the cobbled streets in the main town. Probably a nightmare in the height of summer but really lovely in autumn. Its old harbour is guarded by a giant lion dating from 1856 and a little lighthouse made it feel like it was beside the seaside.
Heidelberg – Essentially one long main shopping street with a couple of squares and some nice side streets. There’s also a castle with lovely views and a nice old bridge. Not a huge amount to see as a tourist but a nice town to wander around for half a day.
Mainz – Wasn’t really worth the effort. Emission zones, as wonderful as they are, do make visiting some places a bit trickier with a big van – with finding somewhere to park out of the city and finding transport in. The best thing about Mainz was the main square and the small collection of old timber houses.
Bonn – We were lucky enough to have a tour guide in Bonn as we met up with one ofGraham’s Uni friends, Rachael. Such a busy lively place, already gearing up for Christmas. Negatives were that most of the nice buildings; cathedral, uni buildings and palace all had scaffolding up. Positives were the food and drink. We drank Kolsch a local beer made 30 minutes away in Cologne; Rachael made us a veganised German pasta dish called Spatzle for dinner and she brought this amazing bottle of Roter Sauser (a popular autumn drink in Germany made from fermented freshly pressed grapes; it has a slight fizz to it and is essentially a very light wine. The one we drank had a max alcohol content of 9%.)
The following day we had a lovely cycle along the river Rhine, got the ferry across the river and walked up to Drachenburg castle.
Cologne – The old town had a slight Plymouth feel to it. Mix of nice old buildings and some more functional, less aesthetically pleasing buildings. The cathedral is the main reason to go to cologne. Other than that, the next reason seems to be to shop! The city centre is essentially just focused on shopping.
Hopefully the next we visit Germany it will be a little drier.
Scooby Van Life 