Situated in the heart of Europe
and bordering nine other countries, Germany
provides an ideal gateway to any tour of the subcontinent. Its land is wide and
varied with turreted castles
nestled below snow-capped mountains, lush river valleys, dark and mysterious forests
and bustling medieval villages. Denmark
to the north, Poland
and the Czech
Republic to the east, Austria
and Switzerland
to the south and France , Luxembourg
, Belgium and the Netherlands
to the west. Germany has coastlines
in the north-west on the North Sea and in the north-east on the Baltic.
Germany has many large cities
but only three with a population of one million or more the population is thus
much less centralized and oriented towards a single large capital than in most
other European countries. To start
in the north, spend some days in Hamburg
, Bremenor Lubeck, those old "Hanse" cities, whose prosperity arose
from the independent shipping trade. Berlin, the capital, is of course one of
the top travel destinations in Germany - no matter if you are going there for
business, cultural or political reasons, or just to enjoy yourself: Berlin
has everything! Right in the centre Hannover
is worth a visit. In the eastern part of Germany , you can find real jewels: Leipzig
, Weimar , Schwerin
and even Dresden
, although it was bombed horribly, saved lots of their prewar architectural heritage,
and the latter has just restored the famous Frauenkirche. Continue going southwards,
maybe with passing Nuremberg
, you will sooner or later arrive in Munich
, the capital city of beer, but also of
art, with the famous Pinakothek. It is a good starting point to find the treasures
of Bavaria
.
Discover the beautiful Southwest of Germany with cities like Freiburg,
Heidelberg
and Tubingen . In the western part cities still have some french influence, discover
Bonn,
Dusseldorf,
Cologne-
the heart of the Rhineland,
Trier, the oldest city of Germany and a former capital of the Roman Empire or
Aachen with its impressive cathedral and
history back to Charlemagne.
