Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [680]
Travel agencies and other service-oriented businesses unlock doors from 9am to 6pm weekdays and till 1pm or 2pm on Saturday. Public servants, on the other hand, often shut down their PCs as early as 1pm on Friday. Museums usually take Monday off but stay open late one evening a week.
In villages and suburbs, shops and businesses often observe a two- to three-hour lunch break. And speaking of lunch, it’s generally served between 11.30am and 2pm, while dinner feedings are from 5.30pm to 9.30pm, although many restaurants continue to dish up throughout the afternoon. Some also observe a Ruhetag (day of rest), usually Monday or Tuesday.
Pubs and bars pour libations from around 6pm, unless they serve food, in which case they’re also open during the day. In cities without closing hours, such as Hamburg and Berlin, bars stay open until the last tippler leaves; otherwise, 1am or 2am are typical closing times. Big-city clubs open around 11pm but don’t kick into high gear until 1am or 2am and keep buzzing until sunrise or later. Cities like Berlin have a growing number of daytime clubs, so it’s quite possible not to go home at all at weekends!
Variations on the above are noted in individual reviews.
CHILDREN
(Tiny) hands down, travelling to Germany with tots can be child’s play, especially if you keep a light schedule and involve the little ones in the day-to-day trip planning. Plus they’re a great excuse if you secretly yearn to ride roller coasters or go ape in a zoo. Lonely Planet’s Travel with Children offers a wealth of tips and tricks on the subject. The websites www.travelwithyourkids.com and www.flyingwithkids.com are also good general resources.
Practicalities
Germany is a very family-friendly destination and most places are happy to cater for kids, whether with smaller dinner portions, a high chair, special attention on a tour, making up a special bed or giving them a little extra attention. That said, amenities and services specifically geared to children are rare.
Overall, children enjoy lots of discounts for everything from museum admissions to bus fares and tour tickets, although the cut-off age can be anything from six to 18. Many hotels have family rooms with three or four beds or large doubles with a sofa bed. Practically everyone can provide cots, though sometimes for a small charge. Some properties, especially those in the countryside, don’t charge extra for small children staying in their parents’ room without requiring extra bedding. In vehicles, children’s safety seats are compulsory and available through the car-hire companies, but book them in advance.
Baby food, infant formulas, soy and cow’s milk, disposable nappies (diapers) and the like are widely available in supermarkets and chemists (drugstores). Breastfeeding in public is practised, especially in the cities, although most women are discreet about it. Most tourist offices can lead you to local resources for children’s programs, child-care facilities and English-speaking paediatricians. If you need a babysitter, ask staff at your hotel for a referral.
Also see Eating with Kids on Click here.
Sights & Activities
It’s easy to keep the kids entertained no matter where you travel in Germany. The great outdoors, of course, yield endless possibilities. A day spent swimming, cycling, windsurfing, walking or otherwise engaging in physical activity is sure to send the little ones quickly off to dreamland. Farm holidays Click here are an excellent way for city kids to get fully immersed in nature. Germany’s legend-shrouded castles, including the medieval fortresses along the Romantic Rhine, the stately Wartburg in Thuringia or dreamy Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, are sure to fuel the imagination of many a Harry Potter fan.
Theme parks are also perennially popular playgrounds. Phantasialand in Brühl and Europa-Park in the Black Forest are among the best ones. Older kids might get a kick out of Hollywood magic at Filmpark Babelsberg in Potsdam near Berlin and Movie Park Germany in the Ruhrgebiet.
Even in the cities, possibilities for keeping