Germany is a country rich in history and natural beauty, but it does not get the number of foreign visitors it deserves. And what is more: the visitors who do come all gather in the same few places. There are days when you seem to hear more English than German voices in Berlin, the Black…
Nuremberg is one of Germany’s most storied cities. The town’s rich history reached its apogee in the Middle Ages when Nuremberg was the unofficial capital of the Empire (the castle on top of the hill was where the Imperial Parliament met) … … when Albrecht Dürer, Northern renaissance painter par excellence, plied his trade just…
A frequent change in scenery: This is the key ingredient of a successful spazierwanderweg trail – according to the of the German Hiking Institute, which, after all, invented the whole concept of German “easy hiking”. The Haywain of the Teutoburg Forest Seen like that, a walk alongside a small country creek – and a particularly…
What exactly does “easy hiking” mean? Occasionally, people still ask me that question, particularly if they have just received our calling card. One would think that I, after all these years, had developed a one-sentence standard reply, something along the lines of “adventures for beginners” with a bit more meat on the bones, but one…
Germany’s northwesterly region between Bielefeld and Gütersloh is one of the country’s economic powerhouses. The names of the region’s towns and cities may mean little to you, but you are probably familiar with some of the brands and products that come from here. The kitchens and white goods of Miele, frozen pizzas and baking goods…
Today, we will provide you with more suggestions for easy walks in the Lahn area of central Germany. Towns in this part of the country tend to be small, and their green spaces quickly blend into the surrounding countryside. Which is why even in town centres, you will never have to look long and hard…
Several posts ago, I said that there were no more bits of “undiscovered” or unknown Italy. Germany, however, present a different picture. One might even say that Germany consists wholly of unknown regions – as far as the rest of the world is concerned, that is. Inside Germany, this is a different matter: the Germans’…
Ready for more “Cologne through the prism of its Romanesque architecture”? All right then, here we go. This week, we shall visit six more early medieval churches, now turning our attention to the southern half of Cologne’s Old Town. We will walk through some pretty and picturesque streets with much local atmosphere, making sure that…
By and large, while we may provide you with tips and suggestions, we leave you pretty much free to do whatever you like, dishing out only occasional Iron Rules of Easy Hiking. Here, however, is one: whenever the town you are visiting offers a wall walk, go and take it. Wall walks – carefully landscaped…
There are many more walks in the Lower Rhine Plains between Krefeld and the Dutch-German border other than the two that we introduced here over the past two weeks. The European Long Distance Trail GR8, for example, will take you from Nijmegen to Kalkar or Xanten and beyond, while an extensive network of picturesque foot…
