With almost 40 million foreign overnight guests every year, Germany is one of the seven most visited countries in the world. There are 6,135 museums, 366 theatres, 34 leisure and adventure parks, 45,000 tennis courts, 648 golf courses, 190,000 km of hiking trails, 40,000 kilometres of long-distance cycle paths as well as holiday and theme routes available for use in tourism.
Business and congress tourism is of outstanding importance; Germany is the most important international trade fair location with several world-leading trade fairs: Caravan Salon Düsseldorf, CMT Stuttgart, etc. The Internationale Tourism-Börse Berlin is the world's leading tourism trade fair. Germany also has the highest density of festivals like Wacken, Rock am Ring,
Outstanding sights: Sanssouci Castle - Brandenburg Gate - Cologne Cathedral - Saxon Switzerland National Park - Wadden Sea - Hamburg Harbor - Brocken - Old Town of Hameln - Externsteine - Wartburg - Neuschwanstein Castle - Zugspitze near Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Rothenburg ob der Tauber - Königsee in Berchtesgadener Land - Old town of Bamberg - Imperial castle in Nuremberg - Mainau Island in Lake Constance - Lichtenstein Castle - Meersburg - Ulm Minster - etc.
Traveling regionally again, this time we ended up in the Upper Harz near Clausthal-Zellerfeld at the Prahljust campsite, where we not only wanted to explore the cycling and hiking trails of the Harz, but also specifically the water supply for driving water wheels to generate energy for the former wanted to take a look at the Upper Harz ore mines.
We were coming back from Neuharlingersiel on the North Sea when Jochen chose county road 89 via Middoge, Tettens, Pievens and Oldorf for the way back.
It really was pure coincidence that our trip to the North Sea, which we had planned together with Brita and Gerda, fell on the weekend when the old town festival, which is well known far beyond the city limits of Jever, was being celebrated.
Our stay in Friesland had extended more than originally planned due to the extended visiting program, but there were many really interesting encounters with the local culture, which let the time flying by.
We discovered a strange-looking vehicle on the Pilsum dyke during our tour with Laura von Emden along the coast: a mudflat or mud sled, which is also called Kreier here in the region.
The following day brought us another wonderful excursion, this time through the Ammerland to Barßel. During our hearty breakfast with Mariechen and Jochen, we decided to go on a day trip along the Fehn canals through the peat areas of East Friesland and Ammerland, which are hardly used any more today.
For the following Sunday morning we had decided to take a short trip to Dangast, which is known far beyond the national borders and well attended due to the Kurhaus with its cultural events and the almost legendary rhubarb cake available there.
After our stopover in Suurhusen, it is only 6 kilometers to the city center of Emden. We quickly arrived at Laura's apartment, who was already waiting for us with a coffee.
After our walk through the fishing village of Greetsiel, we went back to Emden, where a short tour through the city, should end our day trip to Ostfriesland completed by Laura.
We were coming from Jever via Aurich on the B 210 to Laura, who has been studying in Emden for some time, when we came across the Leaning Tower of Suurhusen.
On our journey north, we had chosen accommodation in Osnabrück for the overnight stay, which firstly gave us the opportunity to take a short city tour and secondly to meet Lynn, the daughter of an Alaturka employee who lives in Osnabrück, and who immediately acted as our private city guide offered.
During our walk along the dunes of Spiekeroog, we had already noticed the group of kitesurfers who seemed to be flying through the waves at high speed along the endlessly wide sandy beach of Spiekeroog.
Due to the high tide time of the next day, which also fits well, we had planned the crossing to the island of Spiekeroog for the next day immediately after returning from our mudflat hike.
And if it is just an artificial waterfall, we have taken the path from the peat house in the direction of Goslar for a little stop in icy cold conditions , after all minus 17 degrees, just to take a look at the equivalent of the Romkerhaller waterfall.
In front of the incomparable historical skyline of the old town of Osnabrück one of the most beautiful Christmas markets in Germany in the city centre was presented to us.
To the northwest of the Castle, in the center of Oldenburg, the architecturally wonderful building of St. Lambert's Church can be visited that is often referred to holy St. Lamberti.
Our tour through the north of Germany had led us, next to the visit of the still relatively "young" Museum and Park Kalkriese as the presumed site of the Varus Battle (we will report later) to the Ahlhorner Heide at Wildeshausen next to the local megalithic tombs from the time period between 3500 - 2800 BC.
The “Road of Megalithic Culture” connects Osnabrück and Oldenburg in 33 stations, the most impressive and best preserved Neolithic megalithic tombs of northwest Germany.
Our trip to the north had brought us again to the road of megalithic culture, one of the holiday streets in Germany and as such the Lower Saxony section of the "Megalithic Routes".
One of the numerous North German legends states that the emergence of the Zwischenahner Meer was a devil's work (Düwelswark).