Germany travel tips
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Deutsche Zentrale fur Tourismus e. V.
Beethovenstrasse 69
60325 Frankfurt am Main
069/974 64-287
http://www.deutschland-tourismus.de

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Water Worlds in Mecklenburg - Lower Pomerania
River Cruises through Blue-Green Wilderness
Travelers can dive into unique water worlds in Mecklenburg - Lower Pomerania. Most of the more-than-2,000 lakes in the state are connected - Europe's largest enclosed lake area.
The small locks on the Elbe-Elde-Müritz-Havel Waterway allow only narrow boats to pass, while large riverboats can sail on the Oder, Haff Peene, and in the bays of Lower Pomerania.
Can also sail with a houseboat, yacht or canoe.
Heart of the Mecklenburg lake district is the Müritz, at 29,000 acres the largest lake in North Germany. A part of its Eastern shore belongs to the Müritz National Park.
From here, one can sail on the Elbe to Hamburg, but also on the Müritz-Havel Waterway to Berlin. The Nossentin-Schwinz Health Nature Park and the Feldberg lake country - a world of its own made up of five large and many small bodies of water that are connected - also lie in the Mecklenburg lake district.
http://www.auf-nach-mv.de
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Baltic Sea Beaches (Schleswig-Holstein)
White beaches of find sand and tall, steep coasts.
http://www.ostsee-schleswig-holstein.de
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Kiel
http://www.kiel-tourist.de
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Germany's Oldest Open-air Museum
The Diesdorf Open-air Museum in Saxony-Anhalt lies in the Northwestern Altmark, not far from the border of Lower Saxony. It is the only folkloric open-air museum in the state and the oldest of its kind in Germany - founded 1911. Half-timbered houses and barns, day-laborer's house, village smithy, windmill, bakery and dovecote - 17 buildings dating from 17th-19th centuries. Historic useful- and decorate plants and fruit trees. Restaurant has regional kitchen.

http://www.mv-sachsen-anhalt.de/main.pl?lang=uk&page=mus_them&them=agriculture&id=22
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Everyday Life of the Lombards
In the Lombard workshop in Zethlingen, a branch of the Johann-Friedrich-Danneil Museum in Salzwedel, employees recreate the everyday life of the Lombards. Built on historic ground - on the Zethlingen Mühlenberg, one of the largest known Lombard ceremonial burial grounds. The Germanic tribe of the Lombards settled in the Altmark in the 2nd to 4th centuries.
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Open-air Museums in Baden-Württemberg
http://www.landmuseen.de/
- Black Forest Open-air Museum Vogtsbauernhof Gutach
- Upper Swabian museum village Kürnbach
Beuren
Neuhausen ob Eck
Hohenloh Open-air Museum Wackershofen
Farmhouse Museum Wolfegg
Odenwald Open-air Museum Gottersdorf

http://www.tourismus-bw.de

Freilichtmuseen -
http://www.vl-freilichtmuseen.de/index3.html
http://www.biopresent.de/freilichtmuseen.html

Cloppenburg Museum Village
Cloppenburg Open-air Museum in Oldenburg Münsterland region - founded 1934, following the example of Scandinavian open-air museums. No reconstructed houses, only original buildings moved from the surrounding countryside. Important building styles of Low German hall houses and East Friesen gulf houses - 53 original buildings dating from 16th to 19th centuries. Pottery, tin foundry, blacksmith, carter and coppersmith, brewery, leather- and wooden-shoe maker, carpenter's shop, saddlery and gold- and silversmith. Windmills. Also in Oldenburg Münsterland: cycle tour of lakes, visit the Saterland - smallest language island in Europe, & surf and sail on the Dummer Lake.
www.museumsdorf.de
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Celtic Route through Hessen
Various Celtic finds around Glauberg in the Wetterau north of Frankfurt have been connected by the Celtic Route. 1995: discovery of a life-size Celtic prince's stele at Glauberg from 2500 years ago. The mounds under which the richly-furnished graves lay have been reconstructed. Archaeological park and Celtic museum.
Also: ramparts at Dünsberg near Giessen.
and on the Altkönig in the Taunus
+ Biebertal, Butzbach, Büdingen, Friedberg, Bad Nauheim, and Oberursel.
http://www.hessen-tourismus.de/
http://www.keltenstrasse.de/ <<<
http://www.keltenfuerst.de/keltenstr.htm

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Eifel: volcanoes and maars. 20 campgrounds between Trier, Koblenz, Cologne and Aachen (including wooden huts).
Volcano Bicycle Trail
Maare-Mosel- and Nimstal Bicycle Trails for families
Kyltal BT & Sauerland BT - culture and nature.
http://www.eifel.info/

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German Castle Route
On the Castle Road between Mannheim and Bayreuth, one of the oldest tourist routes in Germany.
- "Residenz" of the prince electors of the Palatinate - Mannheim
- Heidelberg Castle
- the knights' castles in the Neckar Valley
- the wine area around Heilbronn
- medieval towns: Schwäbisch Hall, Langenburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, margrave Ansbach, & the Dürer city Nürnberg.
- leads through Franconian Switzerland with river valleys and castles, to the bishops' city Bamberg, ducal Coburg and the fortresses of Kronach and Kulmbach. From the margrave city Bayreuth with its many splendid buildings from the Baroque era, continues on to Prague. Around 100 museums on the route.
- Castle Road bus run by Deutsche Touring, May to September, between Mannheim and R o d T.
- Continuous bicycle trail the whole way.
http://www.burgenstrasse.de/
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RIVERS

Peene River in Mecklenburg-Lower Pomerania - "Amazon of the North": thickly-forested shores. MS Fluvius through September, between Berlin and Malchin, stopping in Ueckermünde, on Usedom, in Anklam, Jarmen and Demmin. Seven-day trip on the Odor, Haff and Peene - 890 euros.
http://www.kvs-tours.de

One-week cruise on the MS Serenité from Potsdam to Waren - castles in Miro and Klink. Between Havelstadt and Müritz. 1790 euros.
http://www.serenite-rivercruising.de

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Lahn bicycling - tour operator Ameropa. One week along the Lahn Bicycle Trail from Marburg via Limburg to Bad Ems. At the end, detour to the Loreley with a cruise on the Rhine to Braubach. 410 euros.

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Berlin from the Water - The "Stern und Kreis Schiffahrt GmbH" offers 25 different tours in Berlin - from the Havel-Odor Waterway via the Teltow Canal to the Teupitz Lake. For example, book the Castle Tour from the Wannsee on the Havel to Cecilienhof, for 8 euros roundtrip. City tours of one hour. Day trips into nature areas of Brandenberg. River cruises on the MS Berolina between Berlin and Stettin.
http://www.sternundkreis.de

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BALTIC SEA
Bicycle Schleswig-Holstein, passing sailboats in the Kiel Fjord and big ships on the North Sea-Baltic Sea Canal. Husum. Hütten hill country. One-week cycle trip with luggage transfer - 499 euros.
http://www.mecklenburgerradtour.de
http://www.sh-tourismus.de

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KIEL = SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
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Niendorf on the Baltic Sea
http://www.gaestezentrale-niendorf.de
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OPEN-AIR MUSEUMS
Hessen Park Open-air Museum in the Taurus - guided herb hike.
http://www.hessenpark.de
Franconian Open-air Museum in Fladungen (Rhön)
www.freilandmuseum-fladungen.de
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Cloppenburg Bicycle Tour
Oldenburg Munsterland - six-day bicycle tour + visit Cloppenburg Museum Village. Tour covers 120 miles around the Thulsfeld Dam through moors, heaths, forests. Elisabethfehn Moor and Fen Museum.
http://www.lkclp.de
http://www.oldenburger-muensterland.de

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Limes Road along the Middle Rheine
The "Middle Rhine" cultivated landscape was influenced by the contact between the Romans and the native people. The best example for this is the wine production along the Rhine.
The tour of Limes, the Roman border fortifications, begins in Bad Hönneningen/Rheinbrohl and goes through four German states to Regensburg.
http://www.limesstrasse.de

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German Gem Road around Idar-Oberstein
http://www.deutsche-edelsteinstrasse.de/


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Fairy-Tale Road: ruins of Grebenstein Castle in Reinhard's Forest and the Krukenburg near Bad Karlshafen + completely preserved medieval castle Trendelburg and the Sleeping Beauty castle Sababurg.
http://www.gasthaus-gaide de
http://www.deutsche-maerchenstrasse.de

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CAMPING:
Camping in Hesse: 40+ campgrounds - from Reinhards Forest in the north to the Bergstrasse in the south, from the Rheingau in the west to the Meissner and Rhon in the east.
http://www.hessen-tourismus.de

Indian teepee village at the Bertingen campground in the Elbe-Borde Heath + 40 campground in the picturesque regions Altmark, Elbe-Borde Heath, Harz, Anhalt-Wittenberg and Halle-Saale-Unstrut.
http://www.lmg-sachsen-anhalt.de

East Bavaria Camping
http://www.ostbayern-tourismus.de

Tents and Beavers: Brandbenburg: 43 campgrounds. Beavers live along the Elbe. North Brandenburg has trolley tracks.
http://www.camping-in-brandenburg.de

Black Forest Camping - 70 campgrounds.
http://www.tourismus-bw.de
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