Reader Travel Tips

Cycling in Germany is a pleasure. I spent three weeks riding from Berlin to Munich following the World Cup last summer and I am still reveling in the experience. It was like getting reacquainted an old friend I thought I already knew everything about, only to find I have only scratched the surface. Pleasures of the trip included traveling without a set itinerary and knowing that with inclement weather or fatigue or curiosity I could throw my bike on a train and zoom to new surprises. Happily, the weather was amazing and, actually, I only took the train once on a side trip to the bike-friendly city of Münster. Next time, I look forward to riding in the Alps. I became excited for that adventure reading a book I found in a Globetrotter travel store in Berlin, an excellent starting point for any traveler to Germany -- and beyond, for that matter. -- Matt Furber

I have visited both England and Germany many times and I always return home to the US heavier from Germany. My absolute favorite meals are breakfasts in small town hotels with the meats and breads from local providers. -- John R. Grum

Germany has my admiration. I just come back from a week in Leipzig where the town was wearing the best Christmas decorations I have seen in my whole life. It was a fairyland. People were very kind, organized and clean and German food was of the highest standard. -- Myriam

On our recent visit to Germany we had the pleasure of going to the town of Jever. Known for its great tasting beer, a tour of the brewery was awesome. We couldn't have been more pleased by the hospitality we received at our stay at the Hotel Schwarzer Adler. The food was great and the Jever beer on tap was well worth the visit. -- Rich Solecki

I recently traveled to Germany with my brother. We stayed for two weeks in different parts of it. I must tell you, everything that one hears about the big glasses of real good beer is all true. We arrived in Munich to pick up the car my brother had just bought, and we stay there for a couple of days. In December it was a little cold for us but not too cold to spoil the vacation. As tourists we took photos of every big and old building, and everything else. We ate in every German restaurant we could find and drank the local beer. One night at the Hofbrauhaus we felt like real Bavarians with our big glasses, wheat beer, folk music, long wood benches that could seat 10 people and everybody singing and dancing. I don't remember if we had six or seven beers each, but they charged us only 26 euros. Lucky for us, the hotel was nearby. I love Germany! Some say Germans are cold -- it is better to travel and prove them wrong. P.S. Autobahn in English means happiness. -- Pedro Olivencia

I hired a car and visited Germany in October 2006. I took my seven-year-old son and we stayed in Braunlage, Schierke and Wiehe in Thuringia. It was very fascinating and historical. I felt I could freely ask the locals walking if the were originally from the East or the West. A German would probably feel more hesitant to ask that simple question. In Scheirke, you could really feel the former GDR. The atmosphere is somehow inexplicably different from Braunlage, and even formerly eastern Eland and Drei Annen Hohne. Parts of Saxony-Anhalt seem so well reconstructed that it is often difficult to imagine that less than 20 years ago it was part of East Germany. For both Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, the change after 1989 must have been very spectacular and unforeseen. I had the impression that for people older than 25 to 30, the border is still very much remembered. - Charles Beadle