Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [533]
You won’t have to sleep in triple bunks, but staying at Altena’s DJH hostel ( 235 22; www.djh-wl.de/jh/burg.altena, in German; Fritz-Thomee-Strasse 80; dm under/over 26yr €19.10/21.80; ), which is inside the old castle, is still a nostalgic throw-back with two giant dorms sleeping 13 and 14, respectively.
The castle and hostel are about a 15-minute walk from the train station. Altena is served by regional trains from Hagen.
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ATTENDORN
02722 / pop 24,800
The main attraction of Attendorn, a typical Sauerland town on the northern shore of the Biggesee, is the Atta-Höhle ( 937 50; www.atta-hoehle.de; Finnentroper Strasse 39; tours adult/child €7/4; 9.30am-4.30pm May-Aug, reduced hr Sep-Apr), one of Germany’s largest and most impressive caves. The 40-minute tour takes you past a subterranean lake and stalagmites and stalactites shaped into curtains, domes, columns and shields.
The Biggesee is great for water sports as well as lake cruises, which are operated by Personenschiffahrt Biggesee ( 02761-965 90; www.personenschiffahrt-biggesee.de; cruises adult/child €9/4.50; Apr-Oct).
Attendorn’s tourist office ( 4897; www.attendorn.net; Rathauspassage, Kölner Strasse 12a; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Fri year-round, 10am-noon Sat Jun-Sep) can help out with accommodation.
Fine options include Landhotel Struck ( 02721-139 40; www.landhotel-struck.de; Repetalstrasse 245; s €69-83, d €100-127; ) in the suburb of Niederhelden. Everything speaks of sophistication at this family-owned hotel, from the grand wooden staircase to the fluffy duvets on your bed. Rooms in the annexe are cheaper but more basic (single/double €45/79).
A memorable place for a meal is the knight’s hall in Burg Schnellenberg ( 6940; Schnellenberg 1; mains €17-28), a 13th-century castle perched high above town. It’s pretty formal, so bring your manners and evening finery. It also has rooms (from €125).
To get to Attendorn by regional train requires changing in Hagen and in Finnentrop.
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WINTERBERG
02981 / pop 14,500
Winterberg, the main town in the Rothaar-gebirge nature park, is the Sauerland’s winter sports centre. Its primary ski mountain is the 843m-high Kahler Asten. Besides skiing, attractions include a 1600m-long bobsled run that hosts international competitions and an indoor skating rink. In good winters, the season runs from December to March, helped along by snow-making machines if nature fails to perform. In summer, there’s lots of good hiking, including a popular and moderately strenuous 5km trail to the top of the Kahler Asten.
For more ideas, stop by the tourist office ( 925 00; www.winterberg.de; Am Kurpark 6).
Winterberg is served directly by trains from Dortmund every two hours (€15.90, 1¾ hours).
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SIEGERLAND
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The hills and mountains of the Sauerland continue southward into the Siegerland region, with the city of Siegen as its focal point. Frankfurt, the Ruhrgebiet and Cologne are all about 100km away.
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SIEGEN
0271 / pop 104,000
Wedged into a valley hemmed by dense forest, Siegen is the commercial hub of the Siegerland and birthplace of the painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). For centuries it was ruled by the Counts of Nassau-Oranien, the family that ascended to the Dutch throne in 1813. Two palaces from those glory days survived the bombing squadrons of WWII, but in every other respect Siegen is a thoroughly modern city. The hilly Altstadt has some appeal, but its streets are increasingly quiet as two giant shopping malls down by the Hauptbahnhof zap away the bulk of the business.
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Orientation
Siegen’s Altstadt slopes up from the Hauptbahnhof via pedestrianised Bahnhof-strasse and Kölner Strasse. For drivers, the main artery through town is Koblenzer Strasse (B54/62).
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Information
Banks with ATMs are right outside the