Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [679]
Responsible Hiking Kerry Christiani
Follow these tips to tread lightly and minimise your impact in the Alps and other fragile natural environments.
Rubbish
Carry out all rubbish (including cigarette butts, tin foil, plastic wrappers and sanitary pads).
Burying rubbish disturbs soil and ground cover and encourages erosion. It may be dug up by animals (potentially harming them).
Take reusable containers or stuff sacks. Avoid plastic bags and bottles.
Human Waste Disposal
Make an effort to use toilets in huts and refuges where provided.
Where there is none, bury your waste. Dig a small hole 15cm deep and at least 100m from any watercourse. Cover the waste with soil and a rock. Use toilet paper sparingly and bury that, too. In snow, dig down beneath the soil.
Erosion
Stick to existing tracks and avoid short cuts that bypass a switchback. If you blaze a new trail straight down a slope, it will turn into a watercourse with the next heavy rainfall.
Avoid removing the plant life that keeps topsoil in place.
SOAKIN’ & SWEATIN’
If the road has left you frazzled and achy, a trip to a day spa may just be what the doctor ordered. Every place has its own treatment menu of massages (shiatsu, deep tissue, Swedish, hot stone, etc) and beauty treatments (facials, wraps, botanical baths, mud baths, etc). Many hotels, especially in the countryside, have so-called ‘wellness areas’, with a sauna, perhaps a whirlpool, a steam room or even a swimming pool. Massage services are often available on request. Note that not a stitch of clothing is worn in German saunas, so leave your modesty in the locker. And always bring or hire a towel.
‘Taking a cure’, ie booking a multi-week regimen of sauna, bath, massage and exercise in a spa resort (Kurort), has been a German tradition for more than 100 years. Visitors can pick and choose from treatments offered through the local spa centres (Kurzentrum) or spa administrations (Kurverwaltung). Bookings can usually be made at short notice.
Water parks, which seem to be proliferating faster than rabbits on Viagra, are also good for getting pummelled into a state of bliss. Most have several indoor and outdoor pools (often filled with thermal water from local mineral springs), hot tubs, surge channels, massage jets, waterfalls and multiple saunas, plus a big menu of pampering options. A few hours in such a wellness oasis can do wonders to brighten your mood on a rainy afternoon.
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Water Sports
Germany’s coasts, lakes, rivers and canals are all popular playgrounds for water-based pursuits, even if the swimming season is relatively short (June to September) since water temperatures rarely climb above 21°C.
Canoeing and kayaking are popular in such places as the Spreewald in Brandenburg, the Naturpark Altmühltal in Bavaria and the Müritz National Park in Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania.
Sailors and windsurfers should steer towards the North Sea or, if you prefer calmer waters, the Baltic Sea and such lakes as the Chiemsee, Lake Constance and Starnberger Click here.
BUSINESS HOURS
Most shops open between 9am and 10am, except for bakeries and kiosks that may open as early as 6am and some supermarkets which open at 7am or 8am. Closing times vary from 6pm or 6.30pm (1pm or 2pm on Saturday) for shops in rural areas and suburbs to 8pm or 9pm for malls, department stores and stores in the bigger city centres. There is no Sunday shopping except in December and a few times throughout the year. After hours and on Sundays you can get basic (and overpriced) supplies at petrol stations and larger train stations. Bakeries open for a few hours on Sunday mornings.
Banks do business from 8.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday (sometimes 6pm on Thurs-day), while core hours at post offices are 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and to noon or 1pm on Saturday (also Click