Summer in Germany: Three regions for a relaxed vacation without the crowds | Germany vacation

GGermany is usually a little lower on the wish list of British holidaymakers than heavyweights like France, Italy and Spain – that means fewer tourists and more space for experienced Brits. The country is bouncing back on tourism, with social distancing measures in most states and masking requirements in hotels, restaurants, shops, and on public transit. While most Germans vacation at home, there are still fewer visitors than usual, especially off the beaten track. Here are some good places to get lost for a while.

The Baltic coast

The state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which stretches 1,243 miles of coastline along the Baltic Sea, is overlooked by most international visitors. In addition to some of the most beautiful beaches in the country – the islands of Usedom and Rügen – it also offers beautiful Hanseatic cities such as Rostock and Wismar.

A good start is Klütz, Home of the huge, baroque Bothmer Castle, and the Uwe Johnson Literaturhaus – a museum dedicated to the native writer. Try lunch at the Klützer Mühle, a Dutch-style windmill that serves pasta, fresh fish and schnitzel. Children will love a ride on the Lütt Kaffeebrenner narrow-gauge railway to the beach in Boltenhagen.

Unesco listed Wismar, occupied by Sweden for 155 years, is only 15 miles away and has lots of eye-catching architecture, churches and a large market square. North of Wismar is peaceful Poel Island, with old mansions, cobblestone streets and a sandy beach. The Romanesque-Gothic church from the 13th century has a 47 m high tower, an old lighthouse and guided tours to the adjacent island of Langenwerder, a bird sanctuary.

Further east lies Rostock, with its brick Gothic and docks; then northward the river is small but lively Warnemünde, for excellent fish restaurants and a spacious beach. To the east of here are the charming seaside towns of Zingst and Darß as well as the island of Rügen with many cute villages and the ruins of the former Nazi holiday park Koloss von Prora. If that’s too busy, the white cliffs of Jasmund National Park, whose white cliffs were immortalized in the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, are not far away.

Wismar has beautiful holiday apartments in the historic granary – Ohlerich-Speicher offers design apartments for four people from 170 euros per night in August / September. Schillings (double rooms from € 65, limited summer availability) has cozy rooms and a restaurant with seasonal cuisine. For a little more hustle and bustle, the Containerhostel Dock Inn in Warnemünde offers double rooms from € 149 in summer / € 75 in the off-season.

The Black Forest

Although known within Germany, the southern state of Baden-Württemberg offers a variety of sights off the beaten path as well as hotspots such as Lake Constance, romantic Heidelberg and the spa town of Baden-Baden.

The Black Forest is an obvious choice for some R&R: It stretches over 2,320 square miles from Karlsruhe in the north to the Swiss border and offers endless relaxation areas. It’s especially great for hiking, from a distance (217 miles) Albsteig, which now has several trekking camps with fire pits and composting toilets on the way, to the 29 miles Albtal Adventure Track, with steep climbs of up to 1,000 meters per day.

Another great day hike is through that Wutach Gorge (Wutach Gorge): the largest gorge in Germany with a great variety of flora and fauna. Even today there are some interesting places to stay, including natural dreams, a tent dangling 30 meters above the ground (€ 165 pp per night including a picnic basket) in Schenkenzell, near the Hirschgrund zipline area. At the end of 2020, a new visitor center in Ruhestein (part of the Black Forest National Park) will offer a brand new Skywalk experience.

The often overlooked ones are to the east of the Black Forest Swabian Alb, a Unesco Global Geopark characterized by high peaks, patchy lowlands, ancient volcanoes and around 2,500 caves; there are guided tours through the four-kilometer-long Falkensteiner Cave in Bad Urach with its underground river. The area is also known for nomadic sheep breeding, and visitors to Hofgut Hopfenburg (also tipis and yurts, apartments from € 87, sheep wagons from € 53.50) can accompany a shepherd for a day or two who sleeps in a traditional wooden wagon. .

The mountains of Saxony

The Bavarian Alps are rightly popular, but the eastern federal state of Saxony also offers plenty of thrills. The largest mountain range, the Ore Mountains, forms a natural border with the Czech Republic. It is associated with the fairytale Saxon Switzerland (Saxon Switzerland) Area that spans the Czech border east of Dresden. Its dramatic, rugged mountains, rock formations, and beautiful gorges and valleys have been used as the setting for films such as Cloud Atlas and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The best way to explore on foot is the historical Malerweg, named after the artists who found inspiration here. Most tourists don’t go further than the much-photographed Bastei Bridge, almost 200 meters above the Elbe, but the trail continues through dense forest and picturesque villages with lots of restaurants and the Königstein Fortress, and there are hundreds of less. visited hiking trails.

Further south the area around Oberwiesenthal (once the top Alpine town in the GDR) offers opportunities for hiking, cycling, climbing and mountain biking; it has the only Stoneman mountain bike route in Germany. The cultural landscape of the Erzgebirge Mining, a UNESCO site that illuminates the mining history of the region on the 160 km long route, is also worth exploring Silberstrasse (Silberstraße), between Zwickau and Dresden.

North of the Ore Mountains is the Zittau Mountains nature reserve with smaller sandstone mountains, volcanic peaks and picturesque valleys as well as moors, meadows and forests – a good place to watch deer, eagle owls and peregrine falcons.

Pirna and Bad Schandau are both good bases for Saxon Switzerland. In the vicinity of the latter there are picturesque and historical accommodations such as the Villa Waldfrieden (double rooms from € 219) and the Hotel Fortshaus (double rooms from € 110 bed and breakfast). In Zittau, the Hotel Weberhof (double rooms from € 110 BB) offers comfortable rooms and an Italian restaurant.