View Full Version : Stuff to do in southwest Germany
So my company is sending me to Ramstein for two weeks in June, and I'll have one weekend to myself while there. I've never been to Germany and don't speak German. Any suggestions on historical museums or castles that cater to Anglos? Or maybe tour companies? I'll have a car and I'm willing to drive a few hours.
Unfortunately been too long and was too long to remember where the really cool museums about the dark ages were that i saw. Most of the castles I imagine boring or packed. Stuff like Lichtenstein Castle I remember steep walk in long lines.
Really I liked most small towns and their bakeries and food especially if any kind of festival is happening. Forests are nice as well as hilly farm side. I remember some kind of park with a odd mix of old folklore and old agriculture stuff like these giant walls of reeds or brambles that water ran thru.
Probably too far but on East side is bavarian first which has breweries and glass blowing. Then over the border and into praque was fun in high school. Lots of old architexture there and cheap food and drink if you avoid tourist traps.
Some of the big cities along the big rivets and such are cool too.
Not sure how awful it is these days and where the biggest pockets of refugees are. But I'm less excited to return after merkels reign and the many news stories of refugee shenanigans. Same country police have been attesting people posting mean words about the violent immigration problem.....
jimbolay
05-26-2017, 11:14
I'd highly recommend a trip to the Burg Eltz castle. It looks like about a 2 hour drive from Ramstein and you'd be driving through some really scenic areas of Germany.
http://burg-eltz.de/en/eltz-castle-the-attractions/850-years-history.html
If you are interested in seeing castles and small villages - drive east to Ludwigshafen and then go north along the Rhine river.
Paging jerry Mr c
Yep. Hopefully he'll be along with some sage advice.
My recommendation would be to drink beer until you can't hardly stand up and then think of something fun to do.
SideShow Bob
05-26-2017, 14:45
Yep.
My recommendation would be to drink beer until you can't hardly stand up and then think of something fun to do.
Just be sure to show everyone around that you are an American by prefacing the fun part with "Hold my beer and watch this".
Oh, I'm sure after about the third or fourth beer pretty much everyone will realize he's an American.
I'd highly recommend a trip to the Burg Eltz castle. It looks like about a 2 hour drive from Ramstein and you'd be driving through some really scenic areas of Germany.
Wow, great recommendation! Looks really nice. I was thinking I'd only want to see one or two castles, this looks like it's worth being "the" one.
My recommendation would be to drink beer until you can't hardly stand up and then think of something fun to do.
That will be every weekday. [Coffee]
Unfortunately been too long and was too long to remember where the really cool museums about the dark ages were that i saw. Most of the castles I imagine boring or packed. Stuff like Lichtenstein Castle I remember steep walk in long lines.
I hear you, but I gotta see at least one.
Oh, I'm sure after about the third or fourth beer pretty much everyone will realize he's an American.
I think my Make America Great Again hat will give it away before that. ;-)
BushMasterBoy
05-26-2017, 17:11
I think I would want to take a boat ride on the Rhine. Might be too far, I don't know Germany real well.
https://www.viator.com/Rhine-River-tours/Day-Cruises/d767-g3-c7
I was in Karlsruhe (a little south east of Ramstein) a few months ago and I was surprised by how anti-immigration everyone I met seemed to be. That was my first real trip to Germany and it was better than I expected. Not much in English (like signs and bus schedules) and don't expect to find many people who speak much English but everyone was very friendly and helpful. The beer and food was great.
The strangest thing was the comforters; on a queen or king bed the main comforter is split in two so basically two singles. I finally asked for an American comforter and got a single one that fit the bed. :)
Not sure if Ramstein will be the same but in Karlsruhe almost everything was closed on Sunday. I had to walk back to the train station to get some diet coke and water.
What are your interests? Heidelberg has a bit of everything. Hockenheim racetrack might be running. Take a train trip just to see the country. Seriously consider a volksmarch to meet people. Nurburgring race track with the rental car.
hurley842002
05-28-2017, 17:46
What are your interests? Heidelberg has a bit of everything. Will you have a vehicle? Hockenheim racetrack might be running. Take a train trip just to see the country. Seriously consider a volksmarch to meet people.
Didn't read the whole OP I'm guessing?
jerrymrc
05-28-2017, 19:37
There is much to see and do. Depending on when you come we may be able to help out. Do understand that your weekend is one day as nothing much is open on sundays. I will send a PM.
bellavite1
05-28-2017, 19:38
German chicks...[Coffee]
Thanks for all the replies. Good to know about Sundays. It looks like that Eltz castle is open "daily", I assume that means Sundays too, so maybe I'll save that for Sunday.
German chicks...[Coffee]
LOL! Why couldn't I get assignments like this when I was still single?
Martinjmpr
06-06-2017, 08:55
Thanks for all the replies. Good to know about Sundays. It looks like that Eltz castle is open "daily", I assume that means Sundays too, so maybe I'll save that for Sunday.
I think you'll be close to Heidelberg which is a beautiful city.
As far as things being closed, it's been 25 years since I was stationed there but unless things have changed, most businesses (including any retail establishments) close by 6pm weekdays and on Saturdays are only open about 8 - 1pm.
When I was there the only thing you could buy on Sunday was gas and beer. Although if you have access to a US military installation this doesn't apply.
Germany is gorgeous. I'm prejudiced towards Bavaria (I was born there) which is pretty far East of where you'll be (although it's not like it's really that far - Germany is not that big of a country.)
If you're only going to see one castle, why not make it THE castle, i.e. Schloss Nueschwanstein (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle#/media/File:Schloss_Neuschwanstein_2013.jpg
NOTE: Just Google mapped it and it looks like it may be too far (424km, 250 miles - minimum 4 hours each way) so that may be a bit too much "autobahn time." However there are castles on the Rhine that are probably worth visiting.
If you have time try to learn a little German. Even though most people understand English, like anyone else they appreciate it if foreigners at least make an effort to learn some of the language.
[B]Warning: After you have German beer and food, coming back to the US will be a letdown. Don't say I didn't warn you. [LOL]
I'd highly recommend a trip to the Burg Eltz castle. It looks like about a 2 hour drive from Ramstein and you'd be driving through some really scenic areas of Germany.
http://burg-eltz.de/en/eltz-castle-the-attractions/850-years-history.html
This was an awesome recommendation. On Sunday my coworker and I drove up the Moselle River from Trier to Koblenz. We toured both Cochem and Eltz castles, and in my opinion there was no comparison. Eltz was exactly what I was looking for: an actual castle that was not rebuilt in a "fairytale recreation" by some rich guy in 1880. The castle tour was very detailed and gave a good sense of how the rich lived during the middle ages. Their collection of fine arms was really impressive. They had a number of ornate old rifles with O.G. Damascus steel barrels...not the modern recreations. And yes you can tell the difference. All the guns looked extremely well-kept despite being 200-300 years old. It wouldn't surprise me if they could still be fired today. They didn't allow photography at all inside the castle, which was very disappointing. They do sell a book for about $10 which covers the history of the castle. It has plenty of photos of the castle itself, which is great, and a few pictures of the guns in their collection, but the pictures don't do the guns justice.
Warning: After you have German beer and food, coming back to the US will be a letdown. Don't say I didn't warn you. [LOL]
This is true. I love that they can't use high fructose corn syrup and other artificial stuff in their food. Everything I ate was more "basic" tasting than food here, but more satisfying. Also the breakfasts at the hotel were freakin' awesome. Between those and the beer I must have gained 10 lbs. Oh, the beer....everybody talks about German beer to the point that it's a trite conversation point. But similar to the food, the beer was basic but very tasty, perfect texture, and in some ways more satisfying than beer here. I've had Paulaner hefeweizen on tap here in the US before, and from my recollection it was about the same, but I can't do a taste comparison across multiple years. But I feel like a lot of hefeweizen's here are mixed with other flavoring agents, or are actually belgian-style as opposed to German-style. Anyway, I liked them, and miss them already.
electronman1729
06-28-2017, 20:15
Lived there as a kid. Landshul castle is pretty cool. Heidelberg is cool as well but about 1hr away.
Circuits
06-28-2017, 21:09
But I feel like a lot of hefeweizen's here are mixed with other flavoring agents, or are actually belgian-style as opposed to German-style. Anyway, I liked them, and miss them already.
We use different hops than the germans do - it makes a huge difference in the flavor profile(s). Not so much "flavorants", but regional/national differences in the products used to make it.
That makes sense. Are their hops more mild than ours, and/or do they use a lot less of them?
But I swear that most of the hefeweizen's I've had here have the coriander/orange flavors more like Belgian witbier versus a German hefeweizen.
Circuits
06-28-2017, 22:55
That makes sense. Are their hops more mild than ours, and/or do they use a lot less of them?
But I swear that most of the hefeweizen's I've had here have the coriander/orange flavors more like Belgian witbier versus a German hefeweizen.
They typically use less than we do, and their hops have less floral/citrus components than most American-grown hops varietals. Typical Deutsches-Hefe has sweet malt notes with "banana" floral nose, and slight bitterness to offset the sweet.
American Citra or Cascade hops are much spicier, with more orange/citrus nose. The citrus notes, especially, are what make American hops more closely resemble the citrusy lemon and orange notes in Belgian Witbiers.
Some American wit-style beers do flat-out add flavorants, though - like coriander and allspice in New Belgium's wits and abbeys, or "grains of paradise" used in Blue Moon. But those are wits/whites, not true hefes.
Very cool. Thanks for the info!
Sooo.... any suggestions for beer here that is more German style then after that little beer lesson? I hate hops at least american and all the citrus/spiceyness. Granted I like 1554/Abbey ale, but want something more like what I had over there.
Martinjmpr
06-29-2017, 07:43
American microbrewers seem to add all sorts of flavors I guess because they're afraid people might not like the taste of ... beer?
I dunno. My time in Germany was almost 30 years ago (actually now that I think about it, it was 30 years ago - I got to Germany in July of 1987) so it was before the big "micro brew"craze here in the US.
When I was there, the one thing I noticed was that you didn't order by "brand" the way you do in the US (bud, coors, fat tire, etc.) Most of the bars only served one brand and that was whatever was brewed locally. In Ansbach, where I was stationed, the local brewery was Tucher. So you'd order whatever TYPE of beer you wanted, i.e. Pils (pilsner), Hefeweizen, Kristaller Weizen, Bock, etc, and they'd bring you the local variant of that type.
Kristaller Weizen was my favorite. It had the same flavor as Hefeweizen but where Hefeweizen was thick and cloudy, Kristaller was light and clear (hence the name.) Kristaller Weizen was normally served with a slice of lemon (Germans love lemons, they put it in lots of stuff and even mix lemonade half-and-half with beer, a drink called "Raedler.")
But other than the lemon slice (and that was only in Kristaller Weizen - no other beers got the lemon) there were no additions to the beer. It was just beer, and man, was it good!
During Lent (being as how we were in Catholic Bavaria) the monks would fast and to support their fast they would brew "Weizen Bock", which was almost as heavy and thick as syrup and black as night. But it was filling (we called it "liquid bread.")
ChunkyMonkey
06-29-2017, 10:42
German chicks...[Coffee]
EEW
Circuits
06-29-2017, 10:52
Sooo.... any suggestions for beer here that is more German style then after that little beer lesson? I hate hops at least american and all the citrus/spiceyness. Granted I like 1554/Abbey ale, but want something more like what I had over there.
You looking for a traditional german/bohemian pilsner (those have hops notes)? Or you want darker, stouter beers?
A good german dunkel makes for a satisfying quaff.
The classic pilsner would be Pilsner Urquell, though Trumer Pils is a worthy substitute. For a dunkel, I'd recommend Warsteiner Dunkel.
Anything. Bad at fancy terms. At gabf i enjoyed a really dark oatmeal stout but most stouts since then not a fan. Think i dont like most pills, so I imagine a more true hefe. Did at gabf love some btands imperial hefe. Most hefes from new belgium, sam adams etc are certainly different from the weibe biers I remember a couple decades ago.
Basically hate hops/excessive citrus or spice. Prefer more light easy drinking stuff. I remember having no issues just xhugging stuff there vs here the carbonation or strong sting i guess gets me and i end up just sipping.
Sooo.... any suggestions for beer here that is more German style then after that little beer lesson? I hate hops at least american and all the citrus/spiceyness. Granted I like 1554/Abbey ale, but want something more like what I had over there.
I don't know if there are still any around (I know they closed down the one near me) but see if there's a Cheeky Monk somewhere and try their beers. Lots of stuff from Belgium, Germany, Austria, etc.
I get intimidated by just the normal giant pick 6 type wall. Too many choices to try side by side without getting into like total beverage oddbal 16/bottle imports.
I went to the Yardhouse downtown. I think they have like a hundred beers on tap. That made for a tough decision.
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