No place like Bavaria
IT’S the place where BMW and Oktoberfest come from, but how much more do we know about a beautiful place like Bavaria? Known as Bayern in German, it is the largest of the 16 states, or bundesländer, in Germany. It lays to the south and shares borders with Austria, Czech Republic and Switzerland through Lake Constance.
Major cities are Munich (München), Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Augsburg, Würzburg, Regensburg, Ingolstadt, Fürth and Erlangen.
Having called this place home for a certain part of my life, Bavaria has remained very close to my heart.
The traditions, dialect, food, and not to mention all the nice friends I have made, are definitely just a few of the many things that bring me back to this part of Germany over and over again.
Arriving in any part of Bavaria is a lot easier because of the many international flights into Europe. The most convenient for me is finding an airline that flies direct to any city, like Munich, which in my case, remains to be the base of my travels.
Traveling by train into most cities is never a problem because of the efficient German train service. Traveling around Bavaria has been made even more affordable with the introduction of the Bayern ticket, which allows five persons to travel together for a fraction of the cost.
If one prefers to drive, this is also possible with any car rental service found in Europe.
Not to miss
There are definitely a lot of things to see in Bavaria, some places that are worth looking into include Munich, the capital, and the location of the world famous Octoberfest.
Bayreuth was made famous by Richard Wagner and is known as a festival city in Oberfranken. Nuremberg (Nürnberg) is famous for being a city of toys, Christmas markets and former host of the Nazi Party rallies.
Regensburg, a Unesco world heritage site, is famous for sites like the Cathedral of St. Peter, Old City Hall and Imperial Diet, and the Stone Bridge. Würzburg is a beautiful, historic university city that is often overlooked by a lot of tourists.
If you enjoy spas, you will probably enjoy Bad Reichenhall and the many number of spas found there. A small medieval city worth taking a look at would be Augsburg, not too far from Munich. Nearby would be Ulm, a town that has a church with the highest steeple in the world (161.53m), even higher than the Dome of Cologne.
Lake Chiemsee, Bavaria’s largest lake is where the famous castle, Herren Chiemsee Palace, built by Ludwig II, is located. Ludwig II, known as the fairytale king, built the world famous Neuschwanstein, often called the “Walt Disney castle” (www.neuschwanstein.de/english/index.htm).
Berchtesgaden is a famous ski resort but is also known for beautiful scenic spots like Lake Königsee, Hitler’s Kehltsein Haus or “Eagle’s Nest” and Berchtesgaden Salt Mine. Another famous ski resort location would be Garmisch-Partenkirchen, location of the 1936 Winter Olympics and the highest mountain in Germany, Zugspitze.
Oberammergau is famous for its Passion Play held every 10 years as well as the “Luftmalerei”, beautiful paintings found on exteriors of the houses.
Also famous is the “Romantic Road”, a term coined in the 1950s by American soldiers who took this famous route. This includes Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the city of Würzburg (a major wine region), Füssen (at the foot of the Alps), Augsburg, and the small but delightful town of Dinkelsbühl.
Need to know
Before traveling to any destination, always read up and do more research. Here are some helpful websiteswww.bayern.de/English/Tourism/ and www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/destination_germany/master_tlbundesland-id11.htm.
Always remember, try to take note of some important facts that you need to know about the city, such as business hours and telephone numbers or hotlines of the police, hospitals, banks, credit card companies, embassies, airport, train stations and tourist offices.
Dressed to the nines
Bavarians take great pride in their traditions. It would not be difficult to see Bavarians dressed in traditional costumes collectively known as tracht that are worn on special occasions and include lederhosen for males and dirndl for females.
The most famous Bavarian festival is Oktoberfest, a 16-day celebration held each year during late September and early October.
Beer and sausage
I am a big fan of Bavarian food because of the tasty delights. It would be a treat to try schweinsbraten roast from pig, bratwürstl sausages, nürnberger bratwurst- very small sausages, weisswurst sausage made from veal, leberkäse (meatloaf), schweinshaxe (grilled pork leg), different versions of knödel (dumplings), hendl (chicken), käsespätzle (cheese noodles) and kartoffelsalat (potato salad).
Let us not forget their beer, because for many Germans it is their grundnahrungsmittel, or “the base foodstuff”. There are so many kinds of beer in Bavaria, but I think one should try the Weissbier, a cloudy, unfiltered beer brewed with wheat.
Bavaria represents a part of Germany that will always bring me back fond memories of a beautiful place. I hope this will be the same for you too. (Albert Alvarez)