Architecture, history and wine – or beer! – are common themes in our holidays to Germany, whether you are exploring
. On the verdant shores of
, you'll find both a reconstructed Stone Age settlement and a museum devoted to the iconic Zeppelin. In
, so pretty are the whimsical castles built by Ludwig II and so historically significant are places such as the Eagle’s Nest that sometimes the eye doesn’t know which to linger on – man’s legacy or the mountains framing every scene.
In the
Moselle Valley, close to the border with Luxembourg, man and nature again compete, albeit it in a different way. Here, there is a clear winner, as wine-makers conquered the slopes 2,000 years ago and continue to produce delectable Riesling wines from Europe’s steepest vineyards downriver of the country’s oldest city. If you take
our train journey in Germany, you can discover a wealth of history and architecture spanning several centuries, right up to the present day, as you explore the intriguing cities which until relatively recently were hidden behind the Iron Curtain. Other treasures which were revealed at the same time were the laid-back island of
Rügen, whose coastline of white-sand beaches, chalk cliffs and timelessly elegant seaside villages holds a surprise around every bend, and the
Harz Mountains. This central region has its share of ancient towns, but even more fascinating is the folklore surrounding the brooding mass of the Brocken, the ‘mountain of the German people’. If this is a ‘must’ for all German walkers, then so too is the
Black Forest, where you would be forgiven for thinking you are walking through the pages of a fairy tale and where the fine gastronomy serves as a just reward for your efforts.