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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:02:37 GMT
1 ~~~ Matador's Ultimate Guide to Germany ~~~ Germany is among the most diverse places to visit in Europe for food, drink, nature, and culture. Here, you can walk through epic Christmas markets or work your way through 27 different types of sausages. You can drink beer in the motherland of hops and experience the famous counterculture scene of Berlin. Oktoberfest is behind us, but it’s never too late to plan a trip for the holidays (or get an early start in planning for next year’s Oktoberfest). This week, Matador explores Germany. Let’s dive in. matadornetwork.com/destinations/europe/germany/?+ Beginner’s Guide to Train Travel in Germany Germany beats like the heart of Europe, at the center of a flowing, intricate web of connections. But this web is built of iron and steel, traversed by a fleet of high-tech trains offering quick, comfortable, and sustainable travel — without breaking the bank. (And without the security lines and baggage limits.) Whatever your travel taste, Germany’s got it, and Deutsche Bahn can get you there. Using the train-travel primer below, soon you could be hiking the jagged hills of Sächsische Schweiz National Park or tasting wines in the Rhine Valley. You could be plumbing the depths of Berlin’s nightclub scene or exploring the Port of Hamburg, Germany’s “door to the world.” With Deutsche Bahn, you’ve arrived at the door to the world, indeed. matadornetwork.com/read/beginner-guide-germany-train-travel/ |
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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:06:15 GMT
2 ~~~ This Obscure Region of Northern Germany Drinks More Tea Than Anywhere Else in the World If you had to guess which region of the world consumes the most tea, you’d probably overlook the obscure northern German region of East Frisia. And yet, according to the 2021 Tea Report by the German Tea Association, East Frisian tea consumption outpaces the tea consumption of famously steeped-leaf-loving destinations such as the UK, Turkey, Iran, Morocco, and all five major tea regions in Asia. matadornetwork.com/read/east-frisian-tea/ |
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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:09:34 GMT
3 ~~~ 5 Real Places You Can Go That Inspired the World’s Most Famous Fairy Tales A trip to a witches festival in Germany’s Black Forest Nowhere screams fairy tales like Germany, the home of the Brothers Grimm, and the German landscape that’s most closely associated with fairy tales is the forest. Tramp between the pine and maple trees of the Schwarzwald, the Black Forest, and those childhood fantasies of witches and wolves and gingerbread houses will press against your vision all over again. matadornetwork.com/read/real-world-fairy-tale-locations/ |
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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:14:11 GMT
4 ~~~ This German Spa Town Is the Most Relaxing Post-COVID Escape Confession time: it’s been a year since I last boarded an airplane. Longer since I’ve flown internationally. Sitting in various stages of lockdown for 14 months, pretending to enjoy jigsaw puzzles and delusionally believing Duolingo would make me fluent in French, I fantasized about what my triumphant return to travel might look like. Each time, it resembled a scene from Heart of Darkness — an intrepid, harrowing adventure that would more than compensate for my sedentary months in front of the TV. Well, when international borders finally reopened to US citizens, I identified more with Bilbo Baggins than Marlow. My travel muscles were heavy with rust, and I had gotten used to my hobbit hole. That’s why, when I had the chance to take a relaxing wellness trip to Baden-Baden, Germany, I jumped on it quicker than a hobbit on pipe-weed. matadornetwork.com/read/baden-baden-best-spa-town-germany/? |
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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:16:41 GMT
5 ~~~ Soak Up Stunning Views, Booze, and Brats on the Bavarian Gourmet Trail Crystal clear lakes, dense pine forests, storybook villages, and weißwurst sizzling on the grill — welcome to Bavaria’s Gourmet Trail. As the name suggests, this route is largely devoted to local eats inspired by southern Germany’s long-standing tradition of hospitality and indulgent cuisine. The beauty of Bavaria is that it has plenty to offer year-round. Spring and summer are ideal for hiking, exploring the alpine trails, and swimming in the Isar River’s refreshing waters. Winter is the definition of comfort for anyone who loves to cozy up with a glass of glühwein (mulled wine) at a family-run inn. Regardless of the season, you’ll be able to go on a culinary adventure, sampling cheese, wine, sausage, pretzels, and desserts. For anyone who appreciates good food and fine beer and wine, Bavaria will very likely be the trip of a lifetime. matadornetwork.com/read/bavarian-gourmet-trail/? |
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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:19:53 GMT
6 ~~~ 6 of the Best Cycling Routes in Germany There are more than 250 designated cycling routes in Germany, which leaves one thing certain: Germans love their bikes. Radwanderwege is the German term for these trails, and a rad wander they are, indeed. But instead of pouring over hundreds of maps to see if one might work for you, let this list be your starting point. Spanning the entire country, from UNESCO World Heritage Sites to rolling vineyards, here are six of the best cycling routes across Germany. matadornetwork.com/read/best-cycling-routes-germany/? |
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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:22:37 GMT
7 ~~~ The Most Unusual Green Spaces in Berlin You Need To Visit After World War II shattered 80 percent of the city, thousands of trees were imported to Berlin from across Europe in an effort to disguise destruction with foliage. As a result, Germany’s capital city is being reclaimed by nature. Trees erupt from the pavement and creepers wrestle down crumbling facades. The city teems with delightful parks, but it’s the spaces where natural and man-made collide that offer the most insight into the city’s history. These urban spaces give Berlin an unusually charming green thumb for a major international hub. matadornetwork.com/read/unusual-green-spaces-berlin-need-visit/? |
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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:24:47 GMT
8 ~~~ Saxon Switzerland Is a Stunning National Park That’s Actually in Germany Saxon Switzerland National Park is a magnificent nature reserve that suffers from mistaken identity. You’d be forgiven if you thought it was in Switzerland, but you’ll actually find this forested, rocky wonderland in eastern Germany on the border with the Czech Republic. Saxon Switzerland got its name from two Swiss men who explored the area in the 18th century and were reminded of their home country. Although established in 1990, the park’s 36 square miles of land still feel relatively undiscovered by tourists — which is just one of many reasons why Saxon Switzerland is a hiker’s dream. matadornetwork.com/read/saxon-switzerland-national-park/? |
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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:27:58 GMT
9 ~~~ These 10 Spiced, Buttery, and Nutty Cookies Are the Flavors of Christmas in Germany Every Christmas when I was a little girl, my godmother Judith would invite my mother and I to her home for tea. Judith visited Germany multiple times every year after studying abroad there as a high school student, and she always returned from these trips bearing goodies: German Christmas cookies fanned out a white plate and served with a pot of Sugar Plum Spice tea. My favorite were lebkuchen, a soft and chewy gingerbread-like cookie covered with a crisp sugary outer shell. I loved that satisfying pairing of textures, and the warming spices were the perfect complement to the chilly weather outside. matadornetwork.com/read/german-christmas-cookies/? |
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Post by Owen on Oct 12, 2022 4:31:26 GMT
10 ~~~ Why You Should Take a Factory Tour on Your Next Trip To Europe. Yes, a Factory Tour. There’s something about seeing age-old traditional crafts being made and learning about the people who choose to keep these skills alive. But it can be equally interesting – and arguably even more valuable – to know how the things we use every day are made. Touring the facilities that produce the clothes we wear and the cars we drive helps us not only appreciate those things on a deeper level, but also to make better choices as consumers. It also turns out that these modern factories can be as important to a place as leather is to Florence. Portugal has been producing textiles since the 18th century, after all, and can you really imagine Stuttgart without Porsche? matadornetwork.com/read/clothes-car-factory-tour-europe/? |
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