Reader Travel Tips

I have been to Dresden three times, only briefly. I went on a day trip in 1993. Reconstruction of the Frauenkirche had just begun. In September 2005, I walked around for three hours and noticed a vast difference from my 1993 visit. I was unable to get reservations in Dresden this September because of a trade show so I stayed in nearby Meissen and saw the porcelain factory there. I was able to get to Dresden to go to an organ vesper service in the Frauenkirche, which I'd wanted to see. I also explored the Neustadt and was impressed with the Königstrasse, the fountains at the Albertplatz and the Alaunstrasse area. I would like to spend more time in Dresden. My family always felt that the bombing of Dresden was totally unnecessary and I have always had a great interest in Dresden, probably due to Dresden china (correctly, Meissen china), of which we had several pieces. -- Peter Iveson

My biggest surprise on my trip in Germany was just how friendly and helpful the people were. The city of Cologne and the Lake Constance area were the areas I visited. Someone was always there to help with luggage or directions. Walking the streets of Cologne or biking around the lake I continually ran into friendly people. -- Miriam Lynn Barron, Farmerville, LA, USA

I lived in Germany for a year. Although I lived in Bonn, I spent a bit of time in Berlin. I recommend paying attention to the street names, especially on Akademiestrasse, which is very big. You can get lost easily, which is what happened to me. -- Orlando J. Marin Artavia Costa Rica

My husband, daughter and I visited Germany in November 2004 and again in December 2005. We visited Cologne and Berlin. We were able to visit the Christmas market in Berlin, as it had just opened the day before we departed. We decided to visit Germany and Austria in December 2006 because of our Christmas market experience. We are now hooked! We love the food and the festive atmosphere. We plan to return again. -- J. Werner

I miss being there. It has been over two years since my last trip to Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, and Dresden. I got many Bayern Munich hats and a Hertha Berlin scarf. -- Bill

Franconia, the northeastern part of Bavaria, is what I call the heartland of beers. With about 4 million citizens, there is great diversity of local beers -- they have more than 200 small breweries. For every beer fan, this is a place of special interests. During my last visit to Germany I had a nice time at many pubs. The last one, in a village called Trebgast, was very unique. The furniture was cozy -- wooden, warm and smoked. This was a good place to meet the locals in this small protestant village. Why was the place nice? First, because of the excellent, fresh beer. The second important thing was the atmosphere in the bar. The people were relaxed. They just came for a beer or two (or maybe more), to tell some jokes and have a nice time. People of all ages were speaking quietly and there was no music in the bar. At that time of the year they produced a very tasty Haberstumpf Hopfen (Doppel)bock, but generally the guests drink Zwick’l, an unfiltered beer. With my poor German, I tried to communicate with the locals who could speak English or German. The people really tried to discuss and laugh at jokes, despite the language barriers and after a few Zwick’ls we drank a Doppelbock before running to the train station. - Tivadar Gaudenyi, Neusatz, Serbia