Tips for visiting Germany?

[iLoveFoood]

Me and Dp are off to Germany this week and have never been. Any tips for visiting the country? What beer, food is good? What is the culture like? The transport system?

Lived in Germany for a couple of years, however this was in the Düsseldorf area, so opposite ends of the country really. I visited Nuremburg briefly whilst there but this was with work and I didn't have a lot of time to see the area.
Overall I love it there, the people are nice, it's so clean in comparison the UK and things seem to run efficiently (public transport, roads etc). I would say the majority of locals can speak English to some degree and are willing to speak it if you don't know any German. The roads can be quite fast and furious, and it seemed commonplace to tailgate and/or flash and beep.
The beer is so good, and if you like brandy then try Asbach too as I've heard it's lovely.
Bar snack type things - bratwurst, bitteballen, frikadellen (sp?) etc. As a previous poster mentioned, the cuisine is fairly meat heavy but brilliant.

When I went to Frankfurt I went to the Tourist Info and booked a walking tour of the city centre in English. The guide was fantastic and the tour was timed to end so that we were on the viewing platform of the Main Tower at sunset which was great.

Eeeek thanks everybody, I'm so excited! All this sounds right down my lane... bread, pastries I'm big on food as is Dh so we're really looking forward to that aspect.

We are staying in a hotel beside main central station so hope it's not too dingy, but the hotel has great reviews

What do you mean great Black Forest cake? Is that where Black Forest gateaux originated from?!

I grew up in Germany, my top tips are:
-Bring cash. A lot of places don't accept card. Especially true in restaurants/ bars.

• Most shops and quite a few restaurants and attractions will be closed on a Sunday.

-If you travel on buses, trams and regional trains you need to buy a ticket and stamp it it one of the machines on the train. If you have a ticket but don't stamp it, ticket inspectors will treat this fare evasion. -Germany makes good and affordable wine. In your area it's possible to go directly to the vineyard and buy there.

Totally agree with @gleegeek the Maultaschen is wonderful. Have a great time, it is a wonderful place to visit.

@firstevernamechange hi, thanks for the info. And in relation to the stamping of the ticket will it be clearly sign posted or will someone be available to stamp it the minute you get on or do you put it into a little scanner machine or how does it work?

Don’t cheerfully tell them how proud you are of your grandfather for giving Dresden a good rogering in his Lancaster.

There are machines on the trains/ buses, normally by the door. They are hard to miss if ypu know what you are looking for.

I can help you with Frankfurt...

Somebody mentioned the Frankfurt walking tour. This is a fantastic way to learn about Frankfurt and you will undoubtedly see places and things that you would otherwise have missed. Your tour guide will also be able to give you a few tips about where to go and what to eat.

www.frankfurtonfoot.com

You are too early for the Christmas markets. Almost. There's one on top of a multi-storey car park just off the main shopping street (the "Zeil"). It's already open and the views are amazing.
Try a red or white Glühwein (mulled wine) or a Feuerzangenbowle. Be careful with that one. It's strong!

If you're around on Thursday (9 till 8) or Saturday (9 till 5), go to the Konstablerwache farmer's market. That's at the top of the Zeil. It's a brilliant place to people watch. Also to drink good local wine, a great beer, or to try one of the other local specialities...

Apfelwein: Like a non-fizzy, acidic scrumpy cider. Hugely beloved in the Frankfurt area. Drunk "pur" (as is), "sauer" (mixed with fizzy water, pronounced very like "sour") or "suß" (mixed with Fanta. Not ordered by locals). I strongly recommend trying "sauer".

Handkäs' mit Musik: A sour milk cheese. Quite string tasting. Usually served with a dressing of oil, vinegar, caraway seeds and raw onions. These last provide the "Musik" later on. As farts.

Kartoffelpuffer: Deep fried potato pancake. (Batter contains milk - these aren't pure potato) often served with "Apfelmus" (apple puree) or Frankfurter Grüne Soße.

Grüne Soße: Literally green sauce. A cold sauce made from 7 fresh herbs and sour cream. Traditionally served with boiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs. Also great on a schnitzel.

Schweinehaxe: Pork knuckle. Should be huge and covered with amazing crackling. Some are better than others. Usually served with mashed potato and Sauerkraut. Huge food.

Check out Alt-Bornheim or Sachsenhausen for traditional Apfelwein pubs with traditional German food. (Lots of pig. Also Sauerkraut)

And if you like museums and art galleries, Frankfurt has some wonderful ones. They're mostly along the south bank of the river. Unfortunately they're not free entry though.

I think that'll do for now, but feel free to PM me. I'll be travelling, but I'll try to get back to you.

Frankfurt gets a bit of a bad rep, but I love this city!

Oh, one more thing then... You don't need to stamp your tickets here in Frankfurt. Just buy a "Tageskarte" (daily ticket) for about 5€ each day and hold onto it. You can use this to hop on and off the "Ubahn" (underground), "Sbahn" (overground, kinda), trams and buses as many times as you like within the Frankfurt Zone 50.
The chances of you accidentally going outside this are extremely slim, though it is worth noting that the airport isn't included in the basic daily ticket.

Oh and Handkäse tastes strong. Not of string.

Have been few times for work and found Germans to be lovely and very helpful (except those employed to work in the Berlin airport for some reason!). If you can, avoid that airport at all costs. Facilities are limited and staff incredibly unhelpful. To be fair, this may have been just my experience. They lost my luggage somewhere in Berlin before my connecting flight and then later nobody could track that luggage because people in Berlin apparently didn't bother posting updates in the system, which, I was told, happens often with Berlin airport.

Max
Ahhh OP I'm jealous, an ex army brat and spent my early teenage years in Germany, it's a great country.
Loads of excellent tips from others, all I would add are -
Find an ice cram parlour (if that's your thing) and have Spaghetti Ice
Chips with mayo from a Schnellimbiss (sp?). Yum.
And try and learn a few phrases before you go, English has a lot in common with German so it's actually really easy to learn. Plus I'm crap at accents so find the German one is easier to get the hang of compared to say, french. Just have to be careful not to get too 'Alllo 'Alllo 😳.
Have a fantastic time!

I grew up near Stuttgart and can only second @gleegeek's suggestion of Maultaschen. Another thing I can recommend is Spätzle, a local type of pasta made with flour, egg, salt and some water. There's a dish called "Linsen mit Spätzle" which is delicious, it is lentils with Spätzle, usually topped with a Frankfurter. Does not look the most appealing, but oh so good.
Most people in Stuttgart and around should know at least some English, due to the American Army bases there.
Should you fly out of Stuttgart, they sell local wines in the duty free there - I usually take a bottle or two when I fly back to London.

If you do go to Heidelberg, mind the cyclists, they cycle where they please and pedestrians are usually in the way - even if it is on the pedestrian side of the pavement.

There have already been quite a lot of great tips about Stuttgart already, some of which I will check out myself!

If you like heights, and amazing views, then the TV Tower in Stuttgart is worth a trip, and there are some nice walks in the area.

You can take a train to Ludwigsburg and have a look around the Palace Gardens or a guided tour of the Building. Sadly, you have just missed the Pumpkin Festival.

Käsespätzle is my absolute favourite German dish, and my MiL called me a proper swabian when I cooked it for the first time. Zwiebelrostbraten is also very yummy, it is steak topped with fried onions. And Maultaschen are a must.

Other than that, if you spot an Edeka supermarket, pop in there and by some Limited Edition Spekulatius Twixes, you will not regret it!

Most people speak English here, but even if you did speak German, the dialect here is like dropping someone learning English into Newcastle. Nothing like what you’re taught in school, and the way they tell the time is mind boggling!!

Have a great time!

Most people speak English here, but even if you did speak German, the dialect here is like dropping someone learning English into Newcastle. Nothing like what you’re taught in school, and the way they tell the time is mind boggling!!

Yep the German you hear on the street in Stuttgart won’t be easy to follow but people will switch from dialect (Swabish) into more standard German I’d you are speaking to them. My spoken German always pegs me as someone who learned it in that region as despite some English accent it also has strong Swabish influences.

In addition to Maultaschen and Spätzle also try to have Katoffelsalat” if you can (potato salad) it’s made with vinegar not mayo and is totally delicious.

Also try to go for Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) in an afternoon. The cakes are amazing. They have a slightly complicated system where you pick your cake at the counter and get a ticket but they will explain to you if it gets confusing.

For a trip out from Stuttgart Ludwigsburg is lovely and should be doable on public transport. Heidelberg is also lovely.

Don’t jaywalk. Only cross on the green man. Germans do not nip across the road on red even if it’s clear.

Long time since I’ve eaten out in Stuttgart but wherever I’ve been in Germany I’ve never had an Italian meal that wasn’t great and also cheap.

Just to add:

This is the link from Stuttgart Tourist Information with the Top 10 regional dishes

www.stuttgart-tourist.de/en/traditional-recipes-from-stuttgart

How could I forget Zwiebelrostbraten in my earlier post (this topic has made me a) hungry and b) glad that I'm flying to Germany in three weeks

Heidelberg is an easy hour's train ride from Frankfurt and well worth spending a day there. It's beautiful.

My spoken German always pegs me as someone who learned it in that region as despite some English accent it also has strong Swabish influences.

I once heard an interview with Eric Carle (The very hungry Caterpillar) on a radio station from Stuttgart. His German was exactly that, pure Stuttgart with an American accent.

Ive only reallt been to Munich. Food is very meat heavy so hard for a vegetarian. Lots of potatoes, cheese and onions. But the bread, cakes and pastries are really excellent. Transport system is almost faultless - very good underground railway.

I found the culture incredibly relaxed and friendly - the people are so nice, we had a really great time.

Dont understand people who book to go somewhere and then seek asvice about things to do ir see. Surely you do your research first to see if you want to go

Frankfurt used to have an Apfelwein tram tour, don’t know if it’s still running?

If you tire of Frankfurt (I have unhappy memories of living/working there nearly 20 years ago so slightly biased and probably out of touch) then Wiesbaden and Mainz are easy day trips. Rüdesheim (big wine town) is a bit further afield but might be nice to visit. There was also a nice spa town in the Taunus area at the end of one of the tube lines IIRC, will try and dredge the memory banks!

I spent a happier year in Franconia - look out for their lovely wines in the distinctive (ram’s scrotum 😬/Mateus rose) bottles. Actually the main towns of Franconia are doable from Frankfurt - Würzburg especially or Nuremberg (slightly further afield).

Think the spa town must have been Bad Homburg at the end of the S5 line

It's the perfect season to visit these areas as they are so beautiful at the moment.

Ask somebody where there is a Biergarten from a local brewery, as I find these are the best for traditional cuisine (and beer). Sauerbraten, Bratwurst, Maultaschen, Kohlrouladen, Spätzle, Currywurst, Schnitzel, all delicious. Stuttgart should (just) have Flammkuchen, which is also excellent.

New Wine might just about still be in, it's a partially fermented grape juice which tastes like Shloer and is deceptively alcoholic. Traditionally served with Zweibelkuchen (onion tart) which I'm not as big a fan of, but you may enjoy.

I think you are too early for Christmas markets yes, but you can enjoy the mild temperatures and gorgeous Autumn colours.

If you do get the chance for a day trip to the blackforest, take it.

"Dont understand people who book to go somewhere and then seek asvice about things to do ir see. Surely you do your research first to see if you want to go" That's a bit unkind, Seniorcitizen1, the OP said that her DP is going there on business, so she's tagging along - and has no choice where they're going.

I wonder, not having been there myself, whether you can do a day's river trip from Frankfurt - on the Main? If the weather's dry there must be some lovely views and perhaps they stop off at a riverside town somewhere for lunch?!