Follow the bend in the road, then walk for around 100 metres. If I hadn’t seen the satellite photo a few minutes earlier I’d have had no idea where to look. Beyond the roadside ditch wild flowers were swallowed up by the long grass, and only an occasional car broke the calm of an afternoon stroll in the German countryside.

If I’d been here 26 years ago I’d have had no trouble finding what I was looking for. I was in the north east of Germany, just outside the tiny village of Schlutup on the outskirts of Lübeck. It was just to the east of the village that the final, deadly layers of the inner German border passed as they wound their way south, dividing the country for 45 years before being joyfully overcome in those unforgettable days in November 1989. If I’d been here then and approached from the west, I might have got to within a few metres of the border. From the east, the no-man’s zone began around 5 km away; from there on there was barbed wire; there were dogs and searchlights; there were even landmines. Death was the guaranteed outcome of all escape attempts, or at least that was the clear message given to all who would think about such a terrible act.

I’d had my own brush with East Germany in my teenage years, when I took a train from Copenhagen to West Berlin in 1987. Our train-on-a-ship had docked at Warnemünde, just an hour or so along the Baltic Coast. My backpack was searched by an intimidating official at the port, despite there being no chance of getting off the train before it got to West Berlin; questions were asked about my music cassettes and my notebook; special interest was shown in my address book, which contained the details of several Polish relatives. Notes were taken, grunts were grunted and glares were delivered with maximum contempt before I was given my passport stamp. I remember speeding along a fortified railway line through the East German countryside before stopping for 2 hours in East Berlin. Dogs were sent under the carriages; plastic panelling was stripped from the ceilings of the compartment. More questions. Then finally we were cleared to make the 5-minute crossing to the freedom (and it really did feel like freedom) of West Berlin.

But that was then. Now there’s a just a rock marking out the old boundary, and the former no-man’s land is now a recognised nature reserve. There’s also a small museum just before the border. The Grenzdokumentations-Stätte Lübeck-Schlutup, or Border Documentation Site as it has been imaginatively named, is home to a collection of old East German memorabilia. There’s plenty of official material (documents, stamps, uniforms) but there are also simple everyday items such as communist-era chocolate wrappers and washing powder boxes; there’s even a Trabant rusting outside. Best of all are the videos which play in a little room downstairs. We saw two on our visit: one showing the different layers of the old border and just how impossible escape was meant to be (it’s incredible to think that a few folks managed it anyway); the other was a far more uplifting film, showing the scene from the road outside on the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when cars streamed westwards, with crowds cheering and waving and people from both sides of the border shedding tears of joy. The museum makes no provision for non-German speakers, but most of the exhibits require little translation.

Back in the sunshine I stared again beyond that bend in the road. How could a country be so forcefully divided? Who would have dared think back in 1989 that a drive or a walk along this stretch of road would now be so inconsequential? And what about other divided cities and countries? If this brutal border could be so dramatically cast aside by the people it was built to separate, then perhaps it can happen elsewhere too.

Across the divide – a visit to the former inner German border is a post from: 501 Places

What links the German city of Lübeck, a well-known guidebook and the several of England’s more attractive cities?

Wandering around Lübeck recently I was struck by the way the city has been so comprehensively rebuilt since the end of the war.  As with much of central Europe Lübeck was not spared the ravages of war and indeed received special attention by the RAF bombers. The city had been rich in mainly medieval wooden buildings, constructed during its heyday as a trading port, when goods would pass freely between Lübeck and other cities within the Hanseatic League, a commercial alliance that dominated the Baltic for several centuries.

What marks Lübeck out in wartime history is that it was the first significant city that was bombed primarily for its cultural value, rather than for any military objective.  The city was not well defended when the British bombers arrived on 28th March 1942, and by the time the aircraft had dropped around 400 tonnes  of bombs on the city (including for the first time thousands of incendiary devices) the wooden buildings of Lübeck didn’t stand a chance. One of the city’s most prominent buildings, the Lutheran Marienkirche, received particular punishment and even today you can see signs of the war damage as you walk through the enormous church.

Much of Lübeck was either destroyed or badly damaged and around 300 civilians lost their lives that night. The British would later hone their fire-bombing skills to devastating effect on other German targets.

For the German command the bombing of Lübeck was an outrage and a revenge plan was immediately drawn up to revive flagging morale. If the British had chosen Lübeck because of its pretty buildings, the German would use similar criteria for their attacks. Enter the Baedeker guidebook to Great Britain. The authors of the guide used a star system to categorise the main attractions across the country; the higher the rating the more the destination was a must-see for the adventurous German tourist. The message sent out by the Nazis was that they would go out and “bomb every building in Britain marked with three stars in the Baedeker Guide”.

Within a week at the end of April 1942 first Exeter and then Bath, Norwich and York were attacked in night-time bombing raids. The bombs were aimed at cultural rather than military sites and resulted in over 1,000 fatalities, as well as the loss of several old buildings and artefacts. The attacks would later be known as the Baedeker Raids.

Of course, revenge led to further retaliation and in the following rounds of destruction Cologne and Canterbury were hit, before the demands of the war meant that the Germans needed to deploy their limited resources elsewhere and the tit-for-tat attacks diminished.

Visiting York last week it was striking to see the wartime pictures of the city’s Guildhall ablaze during the raids of April 1942. The photos were strikingly reminiscent of the ones I’d seen a few weeks earlier in Lübeck. There was no direct reference in York or Lübeck to the Baedeker Raids and perhaps this is an opportunity lost; after all, the images of historic buildings in both countries being destroyed is one of the most visually powerful symbols of the pointless destruction caused by war.

Lübeck, York and the Baedeker Raids is a post from: 501 Places

People travel thousands of miles to see the world’s top tourist attractions. When they arrive they are hardly likely to be deterred by an overpriced entrance ticket. With this in mind, is it reasonable for tourism chiefs to charge any amount they can get away with, or is there any benefit in providing a good deal to visitors who will probably never come back? Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Romance on the cheap 

If you’re after an example of a value for money day out, look no further than the German town of Rudesheim, the unsophisticated, unabashed tourist hotspot on the Rhine. It’s a popular place for river cruise boats to moor up for a day or two, so it might seem natural for local businesses to hike up their prices to cash in on the passing visitors. When the lady in the tourist office tried to sell us the Romantic Tour package I expected, with the scepticism of experience, to be offered an overpriced tour of the type I’d normally pay to avoid. And yet…

For only €14 we enjoyed the following:

A 15 minute cable car ride up to the Niederwald monument (a panoramic viewpoint over the town and the Rhine valley)

An hour’s walk along a section of the Rheinsteig, a long-distance path, with wonderful views along the river and beyond (ok, this bit is always free)

The 20 minute chair lift ride down to Assmannshausen (a chocolate-box German village)

A boat across the river to Castle Rheinstein and entry to the castle (well worth a visit)

The 50 minute trip by boat along the Rhine from the castle back to Rudesheim.

Boat rides, chair lift, cable car and a castle, all done at our own pace and all for €14. A pretty good deal in anyone’s book and it tended to follow a trend that we found across Germany (away from the circus of Neuschwanstein Castle at least).

Squeeze them until the pips squeak

In a previous post I wrote about the entrance fees for visiting the world’s most famous sites (Entrance fees to the 7 Wonders of the World) – it’s clear that the pricing policies adopted in different nations pay little attention to supply and demand, running costs or anything else you might get taught at business school. Some bean counters (the folks at Petra appear to be a good example) like to find that ‘sweet point’ – a cynical approach that translates as hurting people till they squeal too loudly. They look at the highest price they can charge before enough people walk away to hurt their overall revenue.

I suspect the Shard in London is another case in point. The £25 fee to access the panoramic platform appears way too high – beyond the ‘sweet spot’ their money men have estimated and I would make a bet that the price will come down quickly (or there will be so many 2 for 1 offers that only the most unsuspecting victims will pay the full ticket price).

There’s more to it than profit

Other tourism officials, such as the folks in Rudesheim, seem to have no interest in raking in the profits and are offering tourist prices in western Europe that wouldn’t feel out of place in SE Asia. Perhaps there are subsidies involved, I don’t know and it’s not really my concern. As a tourist I consumed the experience on offer and am passing judgement on whether it represented a good deal for me.

Not only did we have an enjoyable day out and see parts of the local area that we wouldn’t otherwise have seen, but our experience had a positive impact on our overall impression of Germany as a whole and made us more inclined to return. How much is that worth?

Taken for a ride: the price of top tourist attractions is a post from: 501 Places

Ask people where they want to go on their European holidays and if they’re not heading to the beaches of the Mediterranean they’ll most likely tell you about Paris, London, Barcelona or Venice. Some may head east to Prague, Krakow or Budapest. Yet despite being the most populous European country (excluding Russia) Germany hardly ever gets a mention.

It does appear that Germany is something of a forgotten country in terms of European tourism and while the main tourist spots in the country can get crowded it is still largely ignored by the millions of tourists visiting Europe each year. I also plead guilty: I spent a few days in Germany last month and this was my first trip there for 20 years. So why should Germany be worthy of a closer look when planning a European trip?

Historical sights

If you like exploring castles you’ll be spoilt for choice in Germany. There’s Neuschwanstein Castle, the most famous castle of all and the inspiration for Disney’s fairytale castles (it is to here that it seems every tourist in Germany heads). But venture along the Rhein and you’ll find many more splendid castles with far fewer visitors. And these are the best type of castles – ones where you can both scramble around the ruins and explore the interior, decorated to reflect life in the building’s heyday.

Then there are the medieval walled cities along the Romantic Road in Bavaria. We visited Nördlingen, a delightful city with the wall fully encircling its perimeter. The 3km walk along the full circumference of the wall would be heaving with tourists anywhere else, yet here on a Saturday in July we barely saw another tourist as we strolled around.

The Great Outdoors

It’s easy to imagine Germany as dominated by its major cities, yet the country probably offers some of the finest hiking and cycling in Europe. Whether we were walking in the Alpine hills above Neuschwanstein or along the Rheinsteig (a long distance trail that follows the Rhein through the winelands between Bonn and Wiesbaden), we found well-marked trails, welcoming rest stops and once again, very few fellow visitors.

Value for Money

The Euro may be used in most of Europe but having the same currency does not equate to having the same prices. Compared to most of its neighbours Germany is surprisingly cheap for the average traveller. As in many countries prices are cheaper outside of the big cities and a pizza and beer is not likely to cost you more than €10 (not that I’m recommending this as a daily diet).

Travel is reasonable too, with Deutsche Bahn offering some fabulous train tickets. Most regions have a day pass where a group of you can travel on any bus or train within that region for a single cheap fare. We paid €26 for two of us to travel freely around Bavaria (the size of Ireland). If there are more of you the deal becomes ridiculously cheap.

In a few paragraphs I can barely scrape at the surface of what Germany offers  and I’ll add a few of our adventures here in the coming weeks.  But as someone who was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed my first proper visit here, I certainly recommend anyone planning a European trip to give Germany a closer look.

Useful sites if you’re thinking of a German trip (I used these myself while planning):

Germany is Wunderbar – a nicely presented site full of handy tips and trivia

Romantic Road Germany – good descriptions of the many places along the Romantic Road

Easy Hiker – Michael and Marlys are hiking enthusiasts and offer some valuable information for those planning to explore Germany on foot

Germany: the best of Europe without the crowds is a post from: 501 Places

It is often said that the best way to get to know a country is through its cuisine. With this in mind I was determined to sample at least one cake in every country through which we passed in our recent rail journey. Even when we only used a country as a transit stop (as in the case of Switzerland), if there was an opportunity to grab a local cake this was not wasted.

The result is this selection of photos showing the cakes of Europe, designed to demonstrate the European penchant for sweet treats. Enjoy, and apologies for the obvious lack of food photography skills. On several occasions I took a few pictures and then gave up and ate the subject before a decent image could be taken.

San Marino: Ricotta cheese, Fruits of the Forest reduction, San Marino honey on biscuit base

Italy: Torta de Veneziana, an exceptionally heavy nut cake

Austria: the world-famous Sachertorte

Austria: Topfenkuchen (allowed a bonus entry for this delicious cheesecake)

Liechtenstein: a very tasty chocolate torte (nothing native about it as far as I know)

Switzerland: A (surprisingly good) cherry cake hastily bought from a supermarket before boarding a ferry to Germany

Germany: a delicious slice of unnamed cake at Schloss Rheinstein (on the Rhine)

Luxembourg: this cheeky little number didn't survive for long (not a native cake)

Belgium: Gooey dark chocolate cake from Le Temps des Tartines in Brussels. You can tell I've even a lot of cake by now

Disclaimer: this post (and trip) was not sponsored by the European Cake Association. If it was, I would no doubt have had a more refined variety of cakes and would not have had to resort on occasion to popping into supermarkets or bakery chains. Maybe next time – Around the World in 80 cakes perhaps?

PS: the San Marino dessert was ‘on the house’. This may well have influenced my opinion and no doubt made it taste all the sweeter.

Cakes of Europe – a photo tour is a post from: 501 Places

If you’re planning a rail trip in Europe you’ll probably need to decide whether it’s worth buying a rail pass or getting individual tickets as you go. Choosing the wrong option can leave you heavily out of pocket.

While arranging a recent trip from Rimini in Italy back to London it soon became clear that getting a rail pass was not a financially sensible option. However it was only when I dug a little deeper into the details that I discovered just how poor value an InterRail pass is these days.

The Route

View Rail Trip across Europe in a larger map

Breakdown of Rail Costs

Leg 1 Rimini to Bologna

Price paid – €9 (advanced online booking)
Price if bought at station immediately before departure – €9.20

Leg 2 Bologna to Venice

Price paid – €9 (advanced booking)
Price available at station – €10.75

Leg 3 Venice to Verona

Price paid – €9 (advanced booking)
Price available at station – €7.40 (for a slightly slower train)

Leg 4 Verona to Innsbruck

Price paid – €38.40 (no discount for advanced booking)

Leg 5 Innsbruck to Vaduz (Liechtenstein)

Price paid – €9 (advanced booking)
Price available at station – €30.90

Leg 6 Buchs to St Gallen
Paid at station – CHF 19.80 (€16.50)

Leg 7 St Gallen to Rorschach
Paid at station – CHF 4.60 (€3.80)

Leg 8 Rorschach to Lindau (ferry across Lake Constance)
Paid in local tourist office – CHF 17 (€14) (it is quite a bit cheaper to pay on ship in Euros)

Leg 9 Lindau to Schwangau
Bavaria ticket bought at station – €26 covers two people for travel anywhere in Bavaria on train or bus for the day. Cost for one person – €22; for three people €30; for four, €34. Astonishingly good value, especially if travelling in a group.

Leg 10 Schwangau to Nordlingen
Bavaria ticket – €26 for two of us

Leg 11 Nordlingen to Rudesheim
Price paid – €24.50 (advanced booking)
Price at station – €61

Leg 12 Rudesheim to Luxembourg
Price paid – €19 (advanced booking)
Price at station – €45.40

Leg 13 Luxembourg to Arlon
Price at station – €10

Leg 14 Arlon to Brussels
Price paid – £6.50 (€8) as a supplement to my Eurostar ticket, to allow me to travel from any station in Belgium to Brussels within 24 hours of departure of Eurostar.
Price at station from Arlon to Brussels – €20.

Leg 15 Brussels to London by Eurostar
I paid £45 for this leg, but have left it out of the comparisons as it is a ticket that almost all travellers will book in advance and even those with an InterRail pass will need to reserve and pay for.

Summary of costs

I paid a total of €188.20 (£150) to get from Rimini to Brussels.

If I had booked nothing in advance I would have paid €293.35 (£235) for all train and ferry tickets for the same journey.

If I had bought an InterRail pass to do this trip I would have paid €381 (or £320) for a pass that would allow me 10 days travel within a 22 day period (the cheapest of several options).

In addition I would have had to buy my Eurostar ticket, pay reservation fees of €10 each for two of the Italian trains (I could avoid these by waiting for a slower train) and would still have paid the ferry ticket to cross Lake Constance.

So an InterRail pass would have cost me over €200 more than I actually spent.

More surprisingly, I would have saved over €100 if I had just turned up at each station and bought my tickets immediately before departure, compared with buying an InterRail pass. Even someone under 26, who enjoys a hefty discount for their rail pass, would only just cover the cost of their pass when compared to walk-on fares.

So What?

I love rail travel and am a big fan of the idea of rail passes. Some of my fondest teenage memories involve me travelling with my InterRail pass and exploring the far-flung corners of Europe. But the costs now appear to have risen to a prohibitive level.

I recognise that my itinerary is only one example (I have done a breakdown of a Lisbon to London trip last year and found a similar result) and that there are some routes where the pass might be a better option. But these are, I suspect, few and far between.

I hope there will be many more European rail trips for me. Train travel is without doubt the best way to see the many highlights and the unsung surprises that our wonderful continent is blessed with. But with the high cost of a rail pass and the additional supplements on one side, and the fabulous deals such as the Bavaria Ticket and the €9 advanced fares on the other, I can’t see myself splashing out on an InterRail pass anytime soon.

Europe by train: why a rail pass doesn’t make sense is a post from: 501 Places