Rick Lee

I've done just about everything mentioned in this thread and most of it is very worthwhile. But Germany has a lot of very cool stuff that's not real well known outside of Germany.

Dachau is what I consider (forgive me) an "entry level" concentration camp. No one was gassed there, it wasn't an extermination camp and it housed political prisoners. To see the really, really bad stuff, you have to head to Poland. Though I was just in Germany in May (to see Rush play in Frankfurt) and stumbled upon one I had heard of, but had never visited or knew much about. Check out Nordhausen Dora-Mittelbau, just inside the old E. German border over from Kassel. That's where the slave laborers were worked and starved to death in 15 km. worth of tunnels carved out of a mountain, while building Werner von Braun's V1 rockets. Average prisoner lifespan once at the camp was 10 wks. Lots of old V1's to still see there.



Bonus that the A38 hwy. going out there is always empty, pretty straight and you can really let loose out there.

And along the former inner-German border are several excellent museums about the old border with lots of photos and border fortifications. I crossed that border a lot when it was still a real border and it's pretty moving to see the museums now.




Don't forget to visit Ruf in Pfaffenhausen. It's kind of hard to find and it's in the middle of nowhere, but it's a pretty drive and maybe halfway between Stuttgart and Munich. Stop in Ulm for lunch.

And don't forget about Meilenwerk. I've been to the one in Duesseldorf and I think they have one in Stuttgart and one in Berlin. It's like a public garage where rich folks house their cars and let everyone else walk around and drool on them. They have a bar and several repair facilities, a total man cave, toy store kind of place.





And here's a 35k Euro 2.0l engine for sale at Mittelmotor in Bochum.


Very cool shop, but crazy expensive stuff there.

The beers you really want to look out for are the original Budweiser/Budvar, called Czechvar in the US.


Jever and Krombacher get honorable mentions.


As mentioned, you have to drink this too. Only sold around Munich.


If you make it to Austria, this is the best stuff there and I did find it in Salzburg this time.


These are two of my favorites, usually only found in northwestern Germany.



And this one is great, but only found around Stuttgart. Found this in a hwy. rest stop on the way to Strassbourg.


Go to BMW Welt in Munich. If you want a factory tour, it's best to arrange it in advance. I could only get the German tour on the spot, but my wife doesn't speak German.


BTW, eastern Germany has the most and best kept secrets in Germany. It's a wonderful place and I'm glad so few people know or are curious about it.

Floodj

Here are the links to the Porsche Factory Tour folks.

http://www.porsche.com/international...porschemuseum/

factorytours@porsche.de

+1 on the Eastern Germany.

race911

Anyone been to Leipzig? Tried to get in there a couple of years ago.

Back to Dachau. I get that it's different than what is commonly viewed as a concentration camp. But it's near Munich, and with the display there (though I think it's significantly upgraded since we were there in '99) you get the point. My dad liberated a couple of smaller camps with his unit in chemical warfare. Places along the Rhine. Didn't talk too much about it. Point came across loud and clear as I was growing up/understanding things in context of Vietnam that man's inhumanity toward other man really knows no bounds.

(Sorry to be a downer on a vacation thread, but I tend to look up historical things of both good and bad when traveling.)

Rick Lee

Yes, been to Leipzig, once before the Wall fell and many times since. Of course, you have to go to the Bach Museum and Thomaskirche where he played. The train station is also a sight to behold. IIRC, the Nikolaikirche is where the protests started that eventually brought down the GDR regime. I always visit friends near Halle, so I know the area very well, but don't spend a lot of time in Leipzig. Wittenberg, where Martin Luther tacked up the 95 Theses is nearby, as is his place of birth, Eisleben. Anytime you can find a Stasi Museum, you must go see it. About six yrs. ago I was in Halle and they were renovating the old Stasi prison called Rote Ochse (Red Ox) to make it into a museum. The workers there let me walk around inside, which surprised me. I got to go in a few of the cells, which had been untouched for years. If you've ever been to East Germany in the communist days, it had a smell you can never forget. Those cells there still had that smell. Very surreal. If you're going to Dresden, go see Bautzen, which was E. Germany's largest and most infamous prison for political troublemakers. Colditz Castle is between Leipzig and Dresden. That's where the Allied POW's built the glider plane. Very hard to find that place and I know how to get around there pretty well anyway. Eastern Germany is just so awesome. I love the tiny villages, the country roads, the local dialects, the fabulous beer (Radeberger and Wernesgruener). Such a wonderful place and people.

Rick Lee

Here I am in a tiny village in the summer of 1989 and there was absolutely no sign of the regime falling then. Still a total police state in those days and you could feel the tension and fear in the air then.

race911

Oops........meant the factory there! But now after your description I'll make sure to plan for a more thorough visit whenever we make it over next.

bart1

I tried to get in Weissach, but it doesn't seem like that's happening. I have a friend that works there, but still no love.

alexl911

I lived for a total of almost 5years in Germany (Hamburg & Bayreuth (near Nuremburg)) and have done most of the car related stuff. I really, really loved living there and so much stuff to recommend.

For example, in Hamburg you can go here: http://www.prototyp-hamburg.de/

Drop me a PM and can give you more specific recommendation.

Kein_Ersatz

Yup factory tour and track session in 2009. Not a headliner attraction, but worth it on a 2nd or 3rd trip.