# Germany! are you ready for us?



## gillnpaul

We are on the move...the hols are booked. 'The Boss' has just booked the crossing via the tunnel for 2-weeks touring Germany.

We leave Grimsby on the 22nd July and have a stopover on Marina Parade in Dover on the Wednesday night, and ready to catch the Chunnel on Thursday 23rd July.
We tried to write an itinary but the trouble is apart from visiting the Mohne Dam and Konningswinter we are free agents. We would love to aim down as far as Lake Guarda in Italy...is this a bit too far ?
If anyone is staying on Marina Parade on the Wednesday 22nd July, let us know and we could go for a nice evening meal.
If anybody wants to tag along you are most welcome to join us. 
Paul & Gill
Any constructive ideas folks as to what we should aim for.


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## 116388

Lucky you! You'll have a lovely time. I lived in Germany for sevaral years and visited plenty of nice places. May I suggest:

1. Rothenburg on der Tauber (on the Tauber, meaning river). This medievil fortified city was bimber to the ground in WWII but a US General put a stop to it. It has been rebuilt beautifully and the market area can be seen in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when the children were captured.

2. Rothernburg is one of the lovely medievil towns (must visit Dinklesbuhl) along the Romantische Strasse (Romanatic Street) which runs a couple of hundren km from Wursberg (?) south to the German Alps and finishes in Fussen where you will find the castle of Schwanstein which the Disney castle is modelled from.

3. I lived for 2 1/2 years near Heidelberg which is great for shopping and I beleive has the longest shopping street in Europe (over a mile). The castle (schloss) is amazing. In fact a walk/cycle along the River Neckar is worth taking the time to do.

4. 30 minutes SE(?) into the forest from Heidelberg is another half timbered (fachwerk) town called Michaelstadt. TBH you will be spoiled for choice of villages and towns to visit in that region, follow a route and discover as you go.

5. Berlin. Touristy yes but an amazing place with a pure cosmopolitan feel. I last went there before the wall came down so no doubt it will have changed dramatically. In a way the iron curtain added a sense of mystery and danger especially when travelling the Underground (U-bahn) because there was no indication that the train was approaching the East and was just another stop on the line. Enter and you may never return!

6. Dusseldorf. If you are a shopoholic then you must visit Duss!

7. Koln (Cologne). Same as above, shop 'til you drop! A beautiful cathedral in the city centre and if you are feeling up to it a couple of Euros will allow you to walk up inside the spire.

8. Lake Bodensee. This is down towards Bavaria and has excellent outdoor pursuits such as windsurfing, jet-skiiing etc. Oh I wish I was going with you!

Never mind, some time in the next 18 months I'll be travelling over and visiting some of these wonderful places again. I have never driven the entire Romantishe Strasse so must do this.

Well, that should keep you going for a while! Enjoy.

Shane.....


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## gillnpaul

Hey ! thanks for all that info Shane.
The maps coming out tomorrow to check out your suggestions
Thanks a lot.
Regards
Paul


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## gazza333

well i highly recommend a trip down the mossell from trier to koblenz absolutely full of great stellplatz all along the route. A day in Kehl and get the bus accross the border to Strassbourg. few days in the black forest seeing the waterfalls in triberg or the largest cuckoo clock . lake titsee is also very nice. 
just a few ideas and i highly recommend the book bord atlas for all the stellplatz in germany - simply a fantastic must have book

Gary


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## 116388

gazza333 said:


> well i highly recommend a trip down the mossell from trier to koblenz absolutely full of great stellplatz all along the route.
> 
> Gary


Damn right Gary! I once made the journey by train from Heidelberg to Moenchengladbach along the Mosel (?) Valley bypassing Koblenz and you are often so high up looking down. I love train journeys.

Shane.....

P.S. Paul you are so welcome!


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## Zozzer

I must agree with Simplelife, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the Romantische Straße and Füssen are a must when touring Germany. There were many scenes in the Steve McQueen film "The Great Escape" that were filmed in Füssen. Both towns have excellent stellplatz. We've been to both places twice they are firm favourites of ours. If you haven't done the Rhine and Mosel valley's they too are well worth a visit.

One other area I would recommend (for another time) is Hameln, Quedlinburg and Harz Mountain region


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## cje1

*Munich arrivals*

Just arrived in Munich after crossing the Alps from Italy via Austria. Fabulous - just fabulous.

Our picks for visiting would be Regensburg and of course Munich which is just so wonderful.

After many weeks in France, Italy & Austria we still think Germany takes some beating. We'll be around Bavaria until May 30.


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## vicdicdoc

gillnpaul said:


> . . just booked the crossing via the tunnel for 2-weeks touring Germany.
> 
> We leave Grimsby on the 22nd July and have a stopover on Marina Parade in Dover on the Wednesday night, and ready to catch the Chunnel on Thursday 23rd July.


 :? If your going by tunnel why are you making a detour to stay on Marine Parade in Dover . . tunnel loading is no where near Dover [AFAIK]


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## peejay

Hi Paul & Gill;

You'll have a great time in Germany, guaranteed. Its one of the most motorhome friendly countries in Europe.

A few things that might help..

Have you considered stellplatz? All is revealed >Here<

To make your visit more interesting you could incorporate a 'Deutsche Ferienstrasse' or holiday route into your itinary, all is revealed >Here<

...and you also need to be aware of the requirements if you want to travel into one of their pollution zones, all is revealed >Here<

Finally, if you're stuck for somewhere to stay then browse our campsite database, there are hundreds of sites and stellplatze viewable from the interactive map >Here<

Gute Reise!

Pete


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## pneumatician

*Germany*

Just to concur what has been stated by fellow subscribers.
We did the Romanticshe Strasse then the Alpen Strasse a few years ago.
In fact weather permitting we are hoping to retrace our steps in about 3 weeks time but it might still be a little cold. If so its direct to Italy.

Enjoy yourselves. 
Steve


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## kazzzy

did 3 weeks in Germany last year travelled down through Koblenz, Stuttgart, Munich, weinstrasse and as far a Fussen, fantastic country to visit with some lovely countryside and as already mentioned very motorhome friendly, use the Stelplatz we did last year and it keeps the costs down as well as the options open. Lake Garda is a long way for a 2 week trip I would concerntrate on staying in Germany otherwise you will have to travel through so fast you will miss some beautiful scenery.


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## Bob45

We set off for Germany on 12 May and will be going from Trier to Koblenz, followed by the Romantische Strasse to Fussen. From there to the Bodensee, Black Forest and returning to the Alpilles region in Provence which is just lovely.
We take about 2 months so look out for my blog on MHF.
Bob


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## gillnpaul

*the german trip*

WOW...thanks to everyone who posted all this information, we are now planning where we are going.As has been said already, maybe Italy is too far in one go, thanks for confirming this with us.
We will certainly have a look at these Stellplatze, we have seen the French aires (not used them, but will one day) if the Stallplatz are as good as these we will try and used them
This romantic strasse sounds interesting.

Once again thanks all , (and to those who pm'd me with info as well)
Regards
Paul


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## 119510

We're looking to spend 2 weeks traveling down to & around the Black Forest from 13th August.

I've had a good look at the Spellplatze & will probably use a few of these however we are also looking for one or two sites that we can pull up at for a few days each & really kick back. You know, awning up, bikes out, good food, good beer, lazy days etc etc.

Any suggestions?

Not worried about price per night either.


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## chrisgog

Some great ideas here. We too are heading through Germany end of July and August.Starting in Holland first though. through Germany and back across France. (5 weeks) Going to start planning from some of these ideas. Hope the sun keeps shining too.
Chris


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## chrisgog

By the way, does anyone recommend the cheapest place to buy a Stellplatz book and which is the best one? Are they cheaper at shows such as Newbury, buy in Germany or via the internet?
Chris


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## peejay

There is a nice site called Camping Weiherhof on the banks of Lake Titisee, a few kms west from Titisee town itself. The lake is nice and the town is very popular, if a little touristy. In summer they have a large open air Bier Garden in the town, well worth a visit.
The site is directly on the lakeside and great if you like messing about on water, its quite shallow as well so ok for kids.
Its been a few years since we visited but we loved the place.

>MHFacts entry for Camping Weiherhof<

>Camping Weiherhof Homepage<

If you don't fancy that one then there are a few more sites dotted around the lake, just google 'camping titisee'

Don't bother with the stelplatz at Titisee itself for an overnight stay, just a car park next to the train station, overpriced for what it is, but having said that, it is handy for daytime parking and visiting the town.

>Titisee Stelplatz<

Pete


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## peejay

chrisgog said:


> By the way, does anyone recommend the cheapest place to buy a Stellplatz book and which is the best one? Are they cheaper at shows such as Newbury, buy in Germany or via the internet?
> Chris


In my opinion the Bordatlas is the best one.

Cheapest way is to buy once you're over there from a newsagents or large supermarket in Germany at €19.90 but if you want it before you go then get it from >Vicarious Books< at £24.99 inc p&p. Or you can order direct from >Reisemobil International< at the slightly cheaper price of €24.90 inc p&p.

Pete


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## Bob45

*Black Forest campsite*

GMW try this under Freiburg in the CC Europe 2 book
We stayed at Kirchzarten just of Freiburg a few years ago and intend going again this year. Great site with good amenities, fabulous pools mext to the site, a short walk into the village, free local bus and train tickets.
Bob


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## Carper

GMW said:


> We're looking to spend 2 weeks traveling down to & around the Black Forest from 13th August.
> 
> I've had a good look at the Spellplatze & will probably use a few of these however we are also looking for one or two sites that we can pull up at for a few days each & really kick back. You know, awning up, bikes out, good food, good beer, lazy days etc etc.
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> Not worried about price per night either.


Hi

We stayed at kleinenzhof last May. Everything you want, good forest cycling, nice site and good food. You can cycle in to Bad Wildbad and have a ride on The Sommerberg funicular Railway.

Doug


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## 116388

GMW said:


> We're looking to spend 2 weeks traveling down to & around the Black Forest from 13th August.
> 
> I've had a good look at the Spellplatze & will probably use a few of these however we are also looking for one or two sites that we can pull up at for a few days each & really kick back. You know, awning up, bikes out, good food, good beer, lazy days etc etc.
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> Not worried about price per night either.


GMW, the German countryside is geared towards walkers and cyclists. Where in the UK you will be greeted with 'get orf moy larnd' by some hairy backed farmer, in Germany there are concrete roads for farmers and country goers through fields, adjoining villages etc. It really is a joy to live there and enjoy ALL of the countryside.

Sustrans went about setting up cycle paths throughout the UK for the well being of all of us but TBH it's like trying to dig up the railways and lay new routes 160 years after the Industrial Revolution. Sure they can paint a white line on the side of the road and call it a cycle path but would you chance it with these idiots on the road?


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## 119510

To everyone that has responded, Thank You, some great pointers, just what I was after.

If anyone else has any great sites I'd love to hear about them.

Also, anyone been to Burg Eltz?? http://www.burg-eltz.de/e_index.html it looks fantastic, is it worth the excursion

Thanks again, Gaz


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## Boff

Hi,

and sorry for the late response, had to take the van out for a week. 



chrisgog said:


> By the way, does anyone recommend the cheapest place to buy a Stellplatz book and which is the best one? Are they cheaper at shows such as Newbury, buy in Germany or via the internet?


In Germany, prices of books and magazines are fixed. Means that no matter where you buy one, you pay the same price. Online shops might add shipping costs. And, of couse, if you order abroad then prices might vary. So most probably it is cheapest to buy in Germany over the counter.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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