Northern Europe has welcomed me with an unusually hot summer. For this I am grateful. Especially since 4 of us just spent nearly 4 weeks in a camper van travelling around Germany. I had two things on my list to see: castles and water. I got plenty of both. Plus a few added extras!
The most impressive castle was, of course Neuschwanstein, but the tourists! Oh boy! This is the famous Walt Disney Cinderella castle. It is absolutely breathtaking. I can’t wait to go back and see it in the snow. If someone can organise me a private viewing. Thanks.
We did see other amazing castles too, especially along the Mittelrhine – the mid Rhine area – which is a UNESCO world heritage site. This is Drachenburg (The Dragon Castle).
Also worth a mention is Herrenchiemsee. Here the King of Bavaria tried to outdo the Palace of Versailles. Until he ran out of money.
Disclaimer for the oldies out there… teenagers are not so excited by castles.
The tour-of-cute-towns never disappointed me. I especially liked Bacharach. But Burt was nowhere to be found.
The German lakes (confusingly called “see”) were fantastic playgrounds. We were lucky to always get a camping spot right by every lake we visited. We also stumbled upon a music festival called Moments at one of them. My favourite was Chiemsee (sunset was fantastic), but I also liked Murnersee. Bodensee was a bit muddy to make swimming really fun.
Our usual mode of transport was the trusted and rented Vincent Van Gogh. (See what we did there “van”?) In the future we would also get a tent to add outside, to give everyone a bit more privacy. Generally the German roads are excellent so we avoided highways and took the road less travelled. Small town parking did prove difficult and at least one café sunshade can attest to that.
Apart from Vincent we also took boats, SUP’s, horse and cart, a steam train, chair lifts, cable cars….
but most excitingly – this happened:
This is a Zeppelin Airship. (Not a blimp!) If you ever get a chance to go in this – GO!!!! You are in the carriage underneath, windows open and free to move around. This was a highlight for all of us on the trip. It’s not cheap, but it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
So now we are safely back in Berlin and already planning our next road trip.
Any tips?
Click here for a map of where we went.
a 3rd culture adult 
2 Comments Add yours