I think one of the reasons Bavaria is the most frequently visited region in Germany can be said in two words: the Alps. But, in this day and age of information overload people need a bit more than just that. So, if I said that the town of Hohenbrunn is close to the Alps — you’d still want me to tell you more, wouldn’t you?

OK, so I obey. :-)

You’ll find Hohenbrunn in the Munich District of Upper Bavaria just to the south of Munich with easy connections on the S-Bahn. It’s a small town in terms of size (only about 16 square kilometers) and in population (a little less than 9,000 people). But, what it lacks in size and residents it makes up for with heart. And outdoor fun. And beer.

Oh, and the weather’s pretty fantastic, too — with average temperatures in the 20’s (C) or 70’s (F) and evenings in the 10’s (C) or 50’s (F) during the summer. All the better sit outside enjoying a beer garden, right?

All jokes about beer aside, Hohenbrunn’s a historical town with its obligatory Rathaus, a Town Hall that was built in 1725. Even if you don’t have any official business to do here come inside anyway since there’s always an art exhibit showing.

Built at the same time is the St. Stephanus Church. Churches this old are always great for finding priceless works of art, so it’s not all found in the town’s administration building.

I hope you’ve brought your comfy walking shoes since you’ll be doing a lot of it as there are all sorts of hiking and walking trails. Walk over to Putzbrunner 10 for a look at a charming 18th century farmhouse. And of course you didn’t come all this way not to tackle the Alps. Well, I sure hope you didn’t.

After roaming the mountains a soak over at the Hallenbad-Riemerling indoor pool might be just what the doctor ordered.

I’m sure after all that hiking, cycling & swimming you’re a bit tired. Good thing there are plenty of little guesthouses for you to stay the night — all the better to get up the next day and hit up the beer gardens again. ;-)

From the quiet stillness of the forest in the town of Hürtgenwald, you’d probably never believe one of the worst battles of World War II took place here.

What took place here from September 1944 to February 1945 is told daily at the Museum Hürtgenwald, which is along the Kall Trail; it’s where you’ll also find a line of bunkers. The museum explains (much better than I could) how the “Battle of Hurtgen Forest” was one of the longest fought on German soil; and how tens of thousands of men died fighting over the six month period — many of them are buried within two large mass graves.

Walking and hiking (bicycling, too) trails and paths are also found within the the heavily forested area of the town’s thirteen villages.

Since Hürtgenwald lies within the hills of the Eifel the view from the ground is spectacular (and a nice place to BBQ at the many grill huts), but the view from atop the Krawutschketurm (built 1972) from 40 meters above the forest floor is magnificent! Can you think of a better way to get a eagle-eye view of the Eifel’s 230 plant and animal species? No, neither can I.

After trekking the forest, it’s time to see the architectural side of Hürtgenwald. The Chapel in Simonskall might have only been built in 1934, but it’s a lovely piece nonethelesss.

Not old enough for you? How about the fortress looking Burg des Simon, which was built in 1643.

Right around the same time the Haus des Gastes was built, a wonderful framework and stone house built around 1651 and renovated in the 1770’s.

Still not old enough for you? OK, how about the Burgberg, a castle that was built in 1172. Oops, it’s not really there anymore — it was destroyed only about 20 years after it was built…

There sure is a lot of history hidden within the forest that surrounds Hürtgenwald. Imagine what we could learn if the trees of the forest could actually talk. ;-)

Fifteen kilometers northeast of Chemnitz is the town of Hainichen, a place where you might not have wanted to come a little more than seventy-five years ago.

That’s because Hainichen was the site of the Hainichen Concentration Camp. The camp wasn’t open very long, opening in April 1933, closing in June 1933 with its inmates being sent to the Flossenbürg, Sachsenburg, and Colditz Castle Concentration Camps.

Yes, I know it’s a dark piece of Hainichen’s history. But, today you’ll find Hainichen a vibrant small town with intellectual museums to see and beautiful valleys to explore.

If you’re so inclined though, Colditz Castle isn’t that far away. Originally built in the 11th century, it was used as a workhouse, a POW camp, and a mental hospital throughout the centuries. It’s now a museum and you can get to see some of the escape tunnels.

Within Hainichen itself, you’re always welcome at the Tuchmacherhaus, a Clothier Museum in a half-timbered house. Oh, you clothes horses out there will appreciate this.

And you readers out there will no doubt love the Gellert Museum a.k.a. Literature Museum. Who cares if the sonnets, poems, and novels are written in German. No matter what language they’re written in, they always tell what’s in the soul of the writer. Don’t you think?

Afterwards a trip over to the City Park and Game Reserve is always a good idea (well, I think so anyway). Then go see the appealing Evangelical Trinitatis-Kirche. It’s always a surprise to find out there’s so much beautiful artwork to be found in old churches. They sure do tell what’s in the soul of the painter. ;-)

Don’t wear yourself out yet. You still have swimming to do (in either the indoor or outdoor pool) and biking along a couple of cycling tracks. Then you’ll see that I am right about Hainichen in terms of a town within tranquilizing valleys.

If you love skiing, sledding, and just about any other winter activity you’re gonna be smitten with Schmitten. You’ll also be smitten with Schmitten if you’re a huge history buff. Then again, if you just appreciate fantastic countryside with mountain peaks in the distance, you’ll be smitten with Schmitten, too.

Mostly, people who come to Schmitten for day trips, as there aren’t too many hotels or guesthouses within town. Big deal that Schmitten doesn’t have too many places of overnight accommodation. This Hessian town is pretty awesome, so it’s easy to cut the town some slack! ;-)

Cuz of Schmitten’s location within the classy Taunus Mountains, this area is ideal for skiing, sledding, and even tobogganing; especially in the Oberreifenberg area.

But, if you’re here in the warmer months there is kilometer upon kilometer of walking and bicycling paths (including mountain biking trails) to tackle.

For a historical look at Schmitten, you have your choice of castles or Romans. No, sorry, no choice — have a look at both! ;-)

Schmitten used to be on the border of the Roman Empire; and the Limeskastell Kleiner Feldberg are the foundations of one of their forts.

Next stop: castles! Sorry, I should say castle ruins! The ruins of Castle Hattenstein is the older of the castle ruins in the town. It was built around the mid-12th century, destroyed in 1467.

The other castle ruin is Burgruine Reifenberg. This castle was built not too much after Burg Hattenstein, although it stood much longer — not destroyed until 1689. Destroyed or not, it still makes a dramatic background for the town’s festivals and concerts that are held here.

It’s time now to go from the medieval to the 20th century. Schmitten once had a bustling Jewish community, with a synagogue built in 1844. It was destroyed on Kristallnacht in November 1938, then totally demolished in 1955. You’ll find a memorial to the town’s community at the old Jewish cemetery (which was used from the 1820’s until 1935) on Synagogenstraße.

Despite having a tad bit of a dark history, Schmitten is a great town for everyone. I know you’ll just be smitten with Schmitten!

Sometimes things in Germany can be a bit confusing — even for me and I do this all day long. So, I can just imagine your confusion if you hear that the town of Sebnitz is in a region known as Saxon Switzerland. Oh, be for real — Sebnitz is a stone’s throw from the Czech Republic, not anywhere near Switzerland. See, told you, confusing! ;-)

To make things a bit less confusing, Saxon Switzerland is really a 93 square kilometer nature park in southern Saxony. Seems kind of strange to refer to Sebnitz as the City of Artificial Flowers (or City of Silk Flowers) with all the real live flora found within the nature park. Don’t ya think?

Sebnitz isn’t all about nature (and flowers), although the view from the 36 meter high wooden observation tower might make you forget about everything else.

OK, maybe not because the Prehistoric Park with over 400 gigantic sculptures is downright impressive.

If larger-than-life Jurassic experience isn’t your bag, perhaps the many festivals are. There’s the Flower & Music Fest, the Weifberg Fest, and the Outdoor Festival in July.

For something a bit more “refined,” enjoy a number of theater performances or musical concerts at the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The church itself is a piece of Sebnitz’s history. It was built in the 15th century, but its interior underwent renovations two centuries later. Sebnitz’s Catholic Church wasn’t built until the 19th century.

Prefer museums? Great, because Sebnitz has its own Heimatmuseum (Local History Museum), housed in the Community Center in a building dating to 1731. Over at the Afrikahaus, you can learn a bit about the continent from as far away as the little town of Sebnitz.

The last of Sebnitz’s sightseeing ends at the memorial at Haus #49, for 600 people who died along a death march. There’s also a memorial found on the Bahnhofstraße for those who suffered from fascism, and lastly the town’s Bismarck Monument.

You know, the area around Sebnitz might be a bit confusing about the whole Saxon Switzerland thing. But, there’s no way being confused about what a great town Sebnitz is.

Here’s a name that’s going to look kind of weird to you: Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem. The what? The who?

Well, maybe you know them by a different name, the Teutonic Knights. And what do these guys from the Middle Ages have to do with the Thuringian town of Schleiz?

Stop harassing me and I’ll tell you. ;-)

Schleiz was a settlement site of this Catholic religious order. I mean crusading, heading off to the Holyland blokes. OK, they were both. Whatever you want to call them, this is a pretty interesting piece of history. Don’t ya think?

Schleiz’s Altstadt (Old Town) was built around the time of the Teutonic Knights, dating back to around 1200. The “Neustadt” or New City was blended with the old in 1482. So now they’re one and the same.

Quite a few old medieval and other sites (like the Rathaus and 15th century Bergkirche) somehow managed to survive the wars and elements for the last several centuries.

Sadly, Schleiz Castle didn’t survive World War II; and is now in ruins (though its two towers still stand). Another piece of interesting history, Napoleon stayed here in the castle in the autumn of 1806.

Also damaged heavily during World War II was the Old Mint, restored in 1946. It’s an absolutely beautiful burnt-orange building neatly decorated with flowerboxes. In the 1930’s, prior to the war years, the Nazis had used the Wisenta-Haus as some sort of administrative building.

Not all your time in Schleiz can be spent in town. This town is in the idyllic Vogtland, a nature area extending outwards as far as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Czech Republic. Oh, just think of how far you could go on any one of the many walking, hiking, and cycling trails.

Although the days of maidens fair and chivalry are long gone, Schleiz will always be worthy of a Knights Order.

Bordering the Netherlands in North Rhine-Westphalia is the town of Südlohn; and I don’t mean like 15km to the border either. I’m talking about right foot in Südlohn, the left foot in a whole other country. Pretty neat, huh? ;-)

OK, when you’re done playing the German/Dutch version of the Hokey-Pokey it’s time to get down to business. The business of festivals and sightseeing, that is.

And in honor of this dual country border there’s no place better to start than at the Turmwindmühle or Tower Windmill that was built in 1812. Inside you’ll find what a 19th century Miller’s house looked like. Just one thing… you have to call ahead to see the inside.

One of the oldest sites to see in Südlohn is the Burgturm, which is a Castle Tower. Well, what was once the castle tower, built in 1353. It’s now partially integrated into a hotel so you won’t have to go far from your bed to be close to all the history.

Pretty much though, the oldest site in town is the chapel at the St. Vitus Church that dates back to 1231. The rest of the church is a late-Gothic style (built 1507) with added Baroque elements. What’s that mean? Think gold, marble, cherubs; and you’ve got the right idea.

Which is also what you’ll find at the St. James Church. This church is famous around town for local music concerts and exhibitions.

Oh, thanks for reminding me about special events. September brings the Südlohner Wiegboldfest and February brings on Carnival festivities before the Lenten season begins.

When you think you’ve done it all in Südlohn, you haven’t. Rent a bicycle and take any one of the network of cycle paths that criss-cross across the Westphalian (and Dutch) countryside. I know, you could walk, so that’s another option.

Just be careful which side of the street you’re on. You don’t want to leave Germany now, do you? ;-)

Schlangen (which actually translates to Snakes) has just about anything and everything you could ask for in a small German town. There’s good local German cuisine, a beautiful nature area, and more history crammed in than a high school textbook. Not too shabby, huh?

The only thing you’re not going to find is a theater of some sort. That’s all right, Schlangen is just between Detmold and Paderborn so everyone just heads over there.

Other than that, you’ll find just about everything else right here.

Like what? Oh, how about the Dorfmuseum und Alte Schmiede Mötz with over 5000 exhibits on agriculture, crafts, and textiles and original furnishings. The museum is open 3pm-6pm on the 3rd Sunday of the month.

Then over at the Heimathaus Oesterholz-Haustenbeck there’s more than 1,100 years of history under one roof (the building alone is a piece of village history — a 200+ year old farmhouse).

Another piece of Schlangen’s history is the Burgruine Kohlstädt. Well, it wasn’t always in ruins. The castle was built around 1050 and stood for more than 700 years before it was torn down in 1770.

The castle is part of the southern Teutoburg Forest Nature Park, where you’ll also find many walking paths, hiking trails, bicycle tracks, and caves to explore. Nearby you’ll also find the Haustenturm, once an observation tower now a nesting site for many birds.

When you’ve made your way back to town, you still have more sightseeing to do. Don’t miss the Rathaus (Town Hall), the Catholic Church St. Marien, and the Evangelical Church whose foundations are that of the original 9th/10th century original.

All this activity sure works up a hearty appetite, so here’s your chance to try the Lippischer Pickert. This regional pancake looking dish is made with flour, potato, currants, and raisins; and eaten with sausage, jam, and butter. Yummy!

With all this wonderful stuff to see, do, and eat — you’ll never once miss that missing theater. ;-)

Around 4000 B.C the area around Schwaikheim was just wooden hills and meadows as far as the eye could see. Then many centuries later the Romans came and changed the landscape a bit. The Dark Ages came and went, the Middle Ages flew by, and the centuries that followed, well followed, after that.

Now, some six thousand years later the area might be a bit altered (like that word?), but instead of just the wooded hills and meadows you’ll find fields of fruit growing trees and plants, too.

If you like just walking around the natural landscape and smelling fresh, sweet, unsmogged (is that even a word?) air, then Schwaikheim is for you. And sometimes it’s just nice to let the kids run amuck on the playground, not having to really do anything at all, other than just be a kid.

There isn’t a whole lot of sightseeing (but you’re only 17km northeast of Stuttgart), but the town does have its own Local History Museum and Photo Archives.

And just because Schwaikheim is a totally uncomplicated town, doesn’t mean that it’s some backwoods place with no culture or international cuisine. Want pizza for dinner? There’s a pizzeria. Want Chinese? Yup, got one of those restaurants, too. Ready to try some rustic German cuisine? No place better than right here to do it.

For a bit of culture to go with the cuisine, I can’t think of anything better than the three day Fire Festival (held every other year). Some primeval, Freudian ID part of me gets a bit excited when thinking about setting things ablaze (of course in a controlled, legal, safe way).

With this three day Feuerwehrfest or Fire Brigade Festival going on, it’s probably a reasonable guess that you’ll meet a nice looking fireman, too (known as the Feuerwehrmann here in Germany).

For some outdoor fun, follow the Remstal Route this town is part of. The Remstal is a nice valley with some pretty vineyards and restaurants serving traditional German cuisine.

Visitors to the air health resort town of Niebüll might see it name written in a few ways. In German it’s Niebüll, in Frisian it’s Naibel, and in Danish it’s Nibøl. Why would you care how the name is spelled in Danish?

Simple. It’s because this North Sea coastal town in the North Frisian part of Germany is near the border of Denmark.

This just means that if you’re in Denmark, there’s no reason for you not to hop the ferry (or car, bus, train, etc) and come on over. If you’re already in Germany, just take the railway right into town from Hamburg. Seems simple enough, right? It is.

Whatever your mode of transportation to come to Niebüll, you’ll enjoy its three museums. One is the Outdoor Frisian Museum, with exhibits on the Frisian way of life. The other is the Natural History Museum (called Naturkunde-Museum on plates); and lastly is the Richard-Haizmann-Museum of Modern Art.

Who is Richard Haizmann, you ask? Mister Haizmann was a German painter & sculptor who died here in 1963. His works hang not only in the museum bearing his name, but also in the Alte Rathaus (with other modern day artist’s works); and in the Fine Arts Museum in Hamburg.

Afterwards, why not cycle around the North Sea? You never know, you might be inspired to paint something that might one day hang in the Old Town Hall. ;-) Maybe this is how Mr. Haizmann was inspired, too.

If you don’t think with that side of your brain, how about a guided day tour along the Stollberg Mountain Route or the Stollberg Horse Tour? There are also guided natural history tours, urban tours, and guided bicycle tours. Or, just take a leisurely boat ride around.

Oh, I know that’s awesome to do here in Niebüll! Besides just walking through the forest marshlands, nature reserves, or bird watching in the bird sanctuary — why not go mudflat hiking!

I would recommend taking a guide with you, since you have to know the tide schedule of when to go walking out in the mudflats of the North Sea when it rolls out. It’s so easy, anyone of any age can do it — all you have to do is walk!

It seems to be much simpler than trying to figure out which is the right way to spell Niebüll. I mean Naibel. Sorry, I mean Nibøl. Whatever! ;-)