What to do in Germany

Join the Oktoberfest

Germany is considered the home of good beer, and every year, five million people come to Germany to attend an authentic German Oktoberfest, a festival that has been running since 1810.

 The Oktoberfest is a 16- to 18-day fair held at Munich’s Teresienwiese (“the field of Therese”), near the center of the city.

 The festival runs from September to the first weekend in October. One of the reasons why Oktoberfest starts in September is because the weather in that month is better than that of October.

 During this event, only beer that is brewed within the city limits of Munich is served; all other types of beer made anywhere else are not served at the Oktoberfest. This is helps Munich promote their local beer and introduce to the world how good it really is.

 Nearly 7 million liters of beer are consumed during this affair. The Oktoberfest is definitely a must-attend event for beer drinkers; but teetotalers can also enjoy the Oktoberfest, because with the overflow of beer comes an overflow of German food. Everyone can enjoy German pretzels, potato dumplings and pancakes, grilled fish, roast pork, chicken, and of course, sausages to their heart’s content.

Go castle-hopping

We’ve all heard of bar hopping and island hopping, but with almost 300,000 castles in Germany, this is a place where one could seriously do castle hopping.

 Germany has properly preserved almost all of its castles. The most famous castle to date is the Neuschwanstein Castle, which is also considered a fairy tale castle. Many movies have been shot here, making it one of the most visited castles in Germany.

 There is also the famous Castle Road, located near Heilbronn. From this route, tourists will get to see all types of medieval architecture and romantic towns.

 Incidentally, Castle Road does not just boast of magnificent architecture but also of beautiful vineyards. While driving through Castle Road, you will get to see the ancient towns of Kronach, Bamberg, and Bayreuth.

Watch the Bundesliga

The Bundesliga is made up of the top football leagues in Germany. They may not be as famous as other European football leagues, but in Germany, it seems that they have a little football universe of their own.

 Bundesliga matches are quite famous, and if you’re a fan of the game, you simply can’t go to Germany and not watch a Bundesliga game at least once.

 Football is considered a national sport, so almost everyone in Germany watches the Bundesliga matches.

 By the way, in Germany football is not a man’s sport only; the Bundesliga also has its own women’s league.

 The Bundesliga was founded by the German Football Association, but it is now operated by the Deutsche League. It ranks as the top league with regards to attendance; almost 42,000 fans watched its games from 2009 to 2010; it was only recently beaten by the National American Football League.

See how cuckoo clocks are made

Some of the best cuckoo clocks are made in Germany. The pieces of wood used to make these are taken from the Black Forest; there are actually tours that bring you to the different places around the Black Forest where the wood is taken from.

 The tours also show you not just where to buy the famed cuckoo clocks but also how they are made. This tour is called the cuckoo clock route.

 Tourists can also see the cuckoo clock museum in Furtwangen. This museum has the largest collection of authentic German clocks; it has 4,000 clocks to date.

 You can also visit the clock factory where the very first cuckoo clock was made in 1733.

 Last but not least, you can go and visit the town of Schwenningen, which is one of the largest clock-making towns in the world.

 The Burk Factory, which is located nearby, has displays of the early industrial clocks.

Visit a car museum

We all know that some of the most expensive cars in the world are made in Germany. Volkswagen, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz are all included in everyone’s dream car list.

 So for car enthusiasts, your journey to Germany will not be complete without a visit to the German car museums.

 Learn all about the who’s who in the automobile industry. Discover how the industry and the technology all come to be.

 Some of the most famous car museums in the country include the Mercedes-Benz museum, where visitors can see the 120-year history of Mercedes-Benz and get really up-close and personal with the cars.

 Another very popular museum is the new Porsche museum, which is located in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. Visitors to this museum get to see a collection of more than 80 Porsche cars and walk through the century-old car-racing tradition of the Porsche.

 One of the best-loved car museums in Germany is the Transparent Factory in Dresden. Here, you can see, through transparent walls, how a luxury-class Volkswagen is made, from start to finish. At the gigantic glass tower, finished vehicles are kept, just waiting to be picked up by their new owners.