Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [342]
It’s as much as travellers can do to tear their gaze away from the bewitching scenery, shifting from terraced vineyards between Heidelberg and Stuttgart to the Swabian Alps’ misty castle-topped crags and the Upper Danube Valley’s precipitous ravines. Swing south to Lake Constance and the pastoral picture becomes one of ripening cornfields and wetlands outlined by the jagged Swiss Alps. To the west, the fabled Black Forest serves a soothing tonic of luxuriantly green valleys, where woodsy farmhouses crouch below softly rounded hills.
Let your journey unfold in half-timbered villages stuck in the Middle Ages; in the baroque palaces in Karlsruhe and Ludwigsburg; in Roman-style decadence in Baden-Baden’s spas; or in the here and now exploring Stuttgart’s futuristic car museums and the energetic nightlife of university towns Heidelberg, Freiburg and Tübingen. Goethe, Turner, Twain and the Brothers Grimm drew inspiration from Baden-Württemberg, which time and again amazes with its roll-call of genius, incredible natural beauty and sweet eccentricities.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Gorge on the one-and-only Black Forest cake and hear the world’s biggest cuckoo call in Triberg
Soak up Altstadt views with a jolly punt along the Neckar in Tübingen
Abandon modesty for a naked splash in the thermal waters of Baden-Baden’s Roman-Irish Bath
Border hop, bathe and bed down in the straw on Lake Constance
Strain your neck for a good look at the world’s tallest steeple topping Ulm’s Münster
POPULATION: 10.75 MILLION
AREA: 35, 752 SQ KM
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Activities
HIKING
Baden-Württemberg practically coined the word wanderlust as the base of the Schwarzwaldverein (www.schwarzwaldverein.de, in German), Germany’s first hiking club founded in Freiburg in 1864. Whether it’s to be leisurely strolls through Stuttgart’s vineyards and Lake Constance’s orchards, or multiday hikes into the darkest depths of the Black Forest, nearly everywhere in this hike-friendly state has well-maintained, signposted trails and lodgings where muddy boots are not an issue.
Local tourist offices stock maps and can suggest day hikes, but for longer treks check the website www.wanderbares-deutschland.de (in German). Wandern Ohne Gepäck (www.wandern-ohne-gepaeck.com, in German) is a savvy initiative where walkers can hit the trail without luggage on two Black Forest routes, including a three-day hike from Freudenstadt. The 1:50,000 scale maps produced by the Landesvermessunggsamt and Kompass are recommended.
CYCLING
Thousands of kilometres of signed cycling routes criss-cross Baden-Württemberg, a great place to exchange autobahn speeding for two-wheel cruising. The state’s cycling appeal reaches from gentle spins around Lake Constance to the uphill slog and invigorating scenery of mountain biking in the Black Forest. For free-wheeling with watery views, try these:
Bodensee-Radweg Loops around Lake Constance and through three countries: Germany, Switzerland and Austria (Click here).
Donautal-Radweg (www.donau-radweg.info) Traces the mighty Danube from Donaueschingen (65km east of Freiburg) to Ulm (190km northeast of Donaueschingen), continuing to Vienna, Budapest and beyond.
Neckartal-Radweg (www.neckartal-radweg.de, in German) Shadows the Neckar River for 357km from Villingen-Schwenningen northward to Tübingen, Stuttgart and Heidelberg.
Rheintal-Weg Follows the Rhine from Konstanz westward to Basel and then northward via Freiburg (or Breisach) to Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Mannheim and beyond.
Veloroute Rhein Traces the Rhine River along its left bank (in France and then Germany) and the right bank from Basel northward to Mannheim (415km).
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Getting There