Forchheim is a wonderful, tiny town in northern Bavaria, known in the region as “das Tor zur fränkischen Schweiz,” or the gateway to Franconian Switzerland. It is a delightful place to visit for the day while touring the beautiful countryside. Forchheim’s rich medieval history has been well preserved as evidenced by its most striking building, the half-timber Rathaus …
Rothenburg, or more correctly Rothenburg ob der Tauber , is a picturesque Bavarian town that seems almost suspended in time. A centuries old city wall encapsulates charming medieval buildings that attract tourists and locals alike. The city is very popular among tourists and thus is easily accessible via bus provided by various travel agencies. However, …
Germany has worked hard to process and overcome the violent and tragic legacy of the Third Reich. The country’s post-war constitution declares Holocaust denial to be a crime. Persons responsible for atrocities committed under Hitler’s regime have been brought to trial and are to this day prosecuted under German law. Most recently, a 90 year old …
Erlangen is a university town with a population just over a 100,000 near Nuremberg. Here visitors can look into a typical Franconian town without the overwhelming crowds of tourists you’ll find in larger cities in Bavaria. This small city is food obsessed. Traditional German food and upscale cuisine are equally valued in a town that …
Bamberg Germany: A Franconian Gem with Cobblestone Streets and Half-timbered Houses Forty miles north of Nürnberg in the German state of Bavaria is the historic city of Bamberg. Divided in half by the Regnitz River, Bamberg is a rare German city in that it escaped Allied bombing during World War II. While other cities have …
With over a thousand years of recorded history, Nürnberg ( Nuremberg) has a varied past. From a trade center in the medieval Holy Roman Empire and cultural hub in the German Renaissance to host city of Nazi party rallies in the 1930s and the ensuing War Trials in the 1940s, Nürnberg has many stories to …
You can’t help but love Würzburg, Germany; I certainly do. It’s a small town that is steeped in history and culture that happily sits on the banks of the Main River in northern Bavaria. Wurzburg is easily accessed by train from Frankfurt or Nuremburg, and is generally the first stop on the Romantic Road journey through Bavaria. Visitors can …
A visit to Augsburg, Germany takes you back in time. There is evidence of settlements along the Lech and Danube Rivers existing at least seven centuries before the birth of Christ. The Roman city of Aelia Augusta was founded in the First Century, and there are vestiges of this city in Augsburg today. During the …
The medieval Old Town of Regensburg, Germany was fortunate to survive World War II without losing its beautiful architecture, but its beauty was almost lost to “progress”. During the 70s, city leaders wanted to modernize this quaint town and put a highway right through it, but citizens united to preserve and restore Regensburg. They began a huge …