Which part of Germany

[JoyAngerOut]

My dd has just started learning German at school and has asked if we can have a holiday there. We have mostly done UK breaks in the past but last year really enjoyed visiting Italy.
We like going somewhere with a bit of history, love a museum and some gentle walking where there are interesting things to see. We are not a sit by the pool family but equally not into climbing mountains and roughing it.
So can anyone recommend an interesting area of Germany for us to visit?

Around Munich area, but they speak a different dialect, or they did fifty years ago. They pretended not to understand me when my German was perfect.

Do this
DH is German and we love Bavaria

I had the same experience as a southerner arriving to my job at a factory site in Glasgow. Security had to call through to the office for a translator.

I thought it interesting how other peoples experiences differ when a previous poster said they didn't think dialect matters.

The Schwaebisch accent around Stuttgart is, to me, right up there with Bavaria for being difficult to understand and I've been married to a Schwabe for 30 years. German television even puts German subtitles on so the rest of the country can understand what they're on about. And they change the case, not just the words!

But if learning a second language, something I singularly failed to do at school, has taught me anything it's that everyone learns differently. I find reading relatively easy, understand pretty much what people are saying to me (see previous caveats), can write well enough to be understood but am not grammatically perfect but still utterly hate speaking.

Even with that mix I got a distinction in German from the OU which utterly horrified my German friends who lost no time in telling me how appalling my German grammar is :)

@crustybreaddarling DD is bilingual but despite 2 years German for GCSE as an additional subject often mixes her grammar. It doesn't help that DH and I mix English and German at home as well.

She has a friend (English) at 6th form who does German for A-level. He thinks DD's grammar is awful, she thinks his pronounciation is a nightmare and his vocabulary is too limited.

They both bonded over a shared essay topic in German Nationalism in their history class.

To be honest I doubt the German spoken will matter much to us. It is more about soaking up a bit of the culture, seeing it written all around us and visiting a country our dc haven’t been to yet. To that end I think the suggestions that are towards the south where we can border hop for one or two days out appeal. Lots of lovely suggestions, thank you all, I really want to repeat my experience of eating currywurst and chips in a German cafe. Is there anything else we should make sure we sample?

@reluctantbrit

Our friends children always amused me. The parents are English and although his mum was German it wasn't spoken at home as it was a post-war marriage.

They moved over to Germany post university, did another degree (oh so German), settled here and had children.

The girls grew up bilingual but it took years for them to stop asking in English 'What o'clock is it?' when they wanted to know the time.

@JoyAngerOut

Bavaria / Bodensee area and attendant country hopping will be lovely. If you enjoy food / beer / outdoors you'll be very well served. Enjoy!

A hot pretzel off a cart is lovely

@JoyAngerOut Germany has a wide variety of foods and regional specialties - it’s not all the Bavarian ham hock!
If in the south, I would recommend Linsenspätzle, maultaschen, dumplings, potato salad…also if in Austria, Wiener schnitzel (although you can get it in Germany also), kaiserschmarrn, apfelstrudel or my favourite topfenstrudel.
German bakeries are excellent with lovely pastries, breads etc.
There is a huge Turkish population in the area also leading to some very tasty Döners.

If you do go to Bavaria though the fayre for Vegetarians can be tricky, Munich is fine but the rest of it not so much

Kasespatzle.

I spent my near abroad in Ravensburg, not far from the Bodensee. We’re spending a few days in Friedrichshafen on our way back from Austria next year. It’s a lovely area.

The Tegernsee near Munich is a bus ride from Austria, so very easy to hop across.

My kids do this!!

apropos Germany, is there a thread/space for in Germany Mumsnetters? I’d like to join if so and would be great for questions like this.
If the language is not the key factor for you then I would recommend going south also, it’s beautiful, so much to do and easy travelling to other countries. If language important definitely north of Hanover. I really like Hamburg contrary to other posters - but yes, seedy 🫣
Lübeck is lovely.

Obviously for historical stuff to do you can’t get much better than Berlin, but you’ll hear little German and it’s not the prettiest to say the least (don’t be angry with me Berliners…)

I would fly to Basel, and catch the eurobus from the airport to Freiburg (45 minutes). Make Freiburg your base and explore that area

Europa Park is amazing if you’re in that area.

Freiburg is fantastic and you can easily take a trip into France if you want, its not huge so after a couple of days you will have kind of "done" it but there are plenty of places nearby to visit as well

Is there anything else we should make sure we sample?

♡ Mezzomix or Spezi it's a mix of Fanta & Cola , my DC love it!
♡ Flammenkuchen or Zwiebelkuchen - if you decide on Black Forrest, its a pizza type thingy
♡Ice cream from an ice cream shop, honestly the selection is fantastic!
♡ I think it's worthwhile to look out for a Bäckerei/ Conditorei and eat yourself through the 🎂 🥮 Selection. Käsesahne Torte is a favorite (pure sugar & fat, presented in the most delightful way!!)
♡ If you go self catering and eat meat visit a butchers and get some of their sausage selection... if they are kind, they will let you try some before you buy!
♡ If you do border hopping, go to a French supermarket and get some cheese!
... and Switzerland has cheese vending machines in case you need a fix.

Now I am homesick and hungry!!! 😭

I could live on Käsespätzle, I go to Germany a lot and can't order it fast enough when I arrive 😆

Freiburg is beautiful dds friend did her erasmus there and she visited her many times, they loved it there.

South west. Freiburg, Heidelberg.

Best cities in Germany.

The south is so beautiful.

Bavaria is lovely, seems to meet what you are looking for.

Visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber if you want DD to fall in live with Germany...
We stopped there for one winter's night 10 years ago and my DS (16) still has it as his screen saver.
All the Southern suggestions are excellent, but if you want something different how about the Harz mountains over to East? Base yourself in Goslar- an outstandingly preserved medieval town; the Harz are perfect for hiking.
If you want historical inspiration and haven't already read it, take a look at A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor. It's his account of walking through NL, Germany and Austria as a boy 90 years ago- so much is still recognisable and it will make anyone love that part of the world.