Overview
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Harz Mountains - Brockenbahn
In the middle of Harz, in the Harz mountains, you find the Brockenbahn. It’s part of the Harz Railway. The Brockenbahn itself is a 19km long railway from Drei Annen Hohne, via Schierke to the highest mountain of northern Germany: the Brocken. On this track, a real steam train will bring you all the way to the top of this 1141m high mountain. On his way up, the train makes a 10 minute stop in Schierke to fill up with water to make it to the top.
To explore the Brockenbahn and see the steam train, you can either take the train itself or you can try to catch a glimpse of the train along the track. There are different places and times to make a day trip with the steam train.
If you just want to see the train instead of taking a ride with it, there are different walking routes in the area that will cross the train tracks. We parked our van at the train station of Schierke and then we started walking on a trail along the train track.
Note
Apparently, they use 2 different types of steam trains: a monopoly type, and more of a Hogwarts/Polar express type. We've seen the Hogwarts/Polar Express version, but we've heard that if you want to see the Monopoly version, you're more likely to see it on weekends.
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Rakotzbrücke
Rakotzbrücke, also known as the Devil’s Bridge, is a bridge that would fit perfectly in a fairy tale book. This beautiful piece of architecture can be found in Kromlauer park in Gablenz. This is a 81 ha park similar to an English garden with many small ponds and lakes.
The Rakotzbrücke is a semicircular bridge from the 19th century and is built in such a way that it creates a perfect circle with its own reflection in the water beneath. It’s also called devil’s bridge because its design is so complicated and unique that it could only have been built by the devil. There’s a legend saying that the devil helped to build this bridge in exchange for the soul of the first who would cross the bridge.
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Bastei brücke
The Bastei is a stunning rock formation in the Saxon Switzerland National Park, characterized by enormous steep rocks. Here, you find a few short hiking trails with some impressive viewpoints, through gorges and between and over the rocks. But a must see here is the Bastei Brücke, an impressive stony bridge that connects multiple rocks of the Bastei rock formation. When walking over the bridge you get a beautiful view over the gorge underneath.
The bridge is located close to the parking lot, so you can either pay a short visit to only the bridge or you can follow one of the hiking trails that loop around the area. The trails are safe and well maintained, with railings on the steeper parts. Sturdy walking shoes should be sufficient.
You can also start your hike in Rathen and walk up to the Bastei. This hike is quite pleasant and will take you about 30-45 minutes.
The Bastei bridge leads to the ruins of Neurathen Castle, the largest rock castle in the Saxon Switzerland region. The ruins and the partly reconstructed castle are now part of the open museum at Bastei and can be visited for a small entrance fee.
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Kleiner Winterberg
Kleiner Winterberg is a hill with an amazing panoramic view over the rear of Saxon Switzerland. To get to the top of this hill, you’ll have to hike 3,5km upwards in total with a height difference of 330m. So the total hike is about 7km and will take you approx. 3 hours. It’s not an easy hike as you’ll have to climb a few rocky stairs, but it is certainly doable. If you ask us, this is one of the more hidden gems in Germany.
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Königssee & Obersee - Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden National Park is a park in Bavaria and it’s the only German national park in the Alps. In 1990, the park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. There are a lot of trails and bridges in this park, so you can make many amazing hikes in this area. The most beautiful and popular sights in Berchtesgaden are the wonderful Königssee and the little Obersee behind it.
Königssee is an emerald green lake in the National Park of Berchtesgaden, and probably one the most beautiful lakes in Germany. The lake is surrounded by steep mountains, making it impossible to have a walk around the lake. The only way to visit the stunning waters of the lake is by electric(!) boat. You can either take the boat to st. Bartholomeus or you can go even further until Salet. From here you can walk to the stunning Obersee.
There’s a viewpoint, called Rabenwand that overviews this beautiful lake. This viewpoint can be reached in 30 minutes on the trail of ‘Malerwinkel’. There are a few benches to have a rest and enjoy the view. Make sure to wear sturdy shoes because the trail is quite rocky, but not that difficult.
Fact
Besides being the deepest lake in Germany, Königssee is also one of the cleanest lakes in the country. There’s no wastewater discharged in this lake and only electric boats operate here since 1909. Therefor they say Königssee should have drinking water quality.
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Hotels in Berchtesgaden
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Berchtesgaden
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Schloss Neuschwanstein
On a craggy cliff above the village of Hohenschwangau in Bavaria, you find the world-famous Neuschwanstein Castle. It is probably one of the most famous castles and even sights in Germany. It was built in the 19th century by King Ludwig II. The shy king built the castle to withdraw from public life. Unfortunately, the king died on June 13th 1886, before the construction work was completed. On August 1st 1886, the castle was opened for public and now approximately 1,5 million visitors annually come from all over the world to visit this beautiful castle.
It’s idyllic location on top of the cliff in front of the Alps and its fairytale look is what makes this palace so popular.
You don’t need a ticket to see Schloss Neuschwanstein from the outside. Visiting the castle from the inside is only possible during a guided tour of 30 minutes.
Fun Fact
This castle inspired Walt Disney and served as a model for his famous Sleeping Beauty Castle.
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Partnachklamm
Partnachklamm is a deep gorge in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the South of Germany. The gorge is 702 meters long, with limestone walls that reach 80 meters high and acts as a natural conduit for the Partnach River. There’s a path carved out the rocks, so visitors can walk along the flowing water of the river and behind the waterfalls in the gorge. In 1912, the gorge was designated a natural monument. When you enter the Partnach Gorge, you’ll be amazed by the massive rock faces and the rushing water through the gorge beneath and next to you. It certainly deserves its place in this list of unique places to visit in Germany.
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Burg Eltz
Burg Eltz or Eltz castle is one the most beautiful castles in Germany. The castle is located in Wierschem, in a valley of the Moselle between Koblenz and Cochem. It is built on a rock at a height of 70 meters and is largely surrounded by the water of the Elzbach.
You don’t need a ticket to see the Burg Eltz castle from the outside. Visiting the castle from the inside is only possible during a guided tour of 45 minutes.
In this area, you can also enjoy various walks through the Eltzerbos around the castle. There are walks of different lengths and levels of difficulty.
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Hotels near Burg Eltz
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Geierlay Hängeseilbrücke
Not far from Burg Eltz, in Mörsdorf, you’ll find the Geierlay Suspension bridge. This is a suspension bridge in the low mountain range of the Hunsrück and it connects the villages of Mörsdorf and Sosberg. Crossing the bridge is a thrilling experience, as you’ll walk up to 100 meters above the ground of the Mörsdorfer Bachtal. And on top of that: visiting ànd crossing the bridge is totally free!
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Black Forest
The Black Forest is an excellent and very popular area to go hiking in Germany. It is not only a great destination for hiking, but it is also home the Schwarzwaldhochstraße or Black Forest High Road. This is the oldest and one of the best known tourist roads in Germany. It is a 60 km long scenic drive from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt.
Be sure to map out a route that also passes the the Kreuzfelsenkurve. This is an impressive hairpin turn on a road in the Black Forest.
As you can see in the pictures below, this bend has a very unique shape! There is a small parking lot not far away from the turn, where you can have a quick stop and let the drone out, as we did.
Christmas Markets
Visiting Germany during the holidays? The country is known as one of the best destinations in Europe for Christmas markets. Also in the Black Forest you will find some nice Christmas markets such as in the town of Freiburg, Baden-Baden and the Ravenna gorge. If you visit Germany during the holidays, be sure to visit at least one Christmas Market.
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