Going to Germany for a Year

Thanks for all the replies. I'll be staying in Herzogenaurach, which isn't exactly close to very much but the nice thing is it's not too far from anything either. I have a few friends there that will be finishing off their work terms when I arrive so they'll hopefully help me in the transition.

I have a few ideas that are car related. I'm thinking about Ring meet and the VLN race next year. A friend also recommended I go to a DTM race. My cousin lives in Paris so I might figure out a way to go to Le Mans too... I also want to visit any technology related museums. Thanks for reminding me about Miniatur Wunderland, D-Fence, I wanted to go there ever since I saw the episode from James May's Top Toys.

Lastly I don't want to sound like a complete tourist but I'd like to visit places with nice scenery and historical sites. Something like what NecroJoe posted above would be great.
 
I've been living in Stuttgart now for about six months and I'll be heading back to Finland in July. And from my experience I can promise you won't be disappointed. :) There's already pretty good list of places to visit on the first page, so I don't have that much to add. Well if you like Porsches and Mercs, they both have pretty awesome museums in Stuttgart, so if you visit Sinsheim it's not that much longer trip.

Travelling long distances by public transportation is ridiculously expensive (I mean ICE trains), so you should get to know somebody willing to travel and has a car :D. I also recommend checking out nearby countries, for example Vienna is a really nice city, and the way to check out some super cars in Modena, Italy is only one day drive. :)
 
I disagree on the train prices: if you do it right, it's affordable. That means booking early and for a specific train so that you get a considerable discount or buying a ?230 (approximately) discount card that gives you 50% off on any train fare. Yes, I did leave the BC25 out because it's crap.

As for historical sites, how about these?

Sanssouci in Potsdam, Hambach Castle (plus all the wine you can taste in that part of Germany ;) ), Checkpoint Charlie/the Berlin Wall, Tempelhof Airport in Berlin (now closed), Schwetzingen Palace, Wartburg in Thuringia, the Bertha Benz Memorial Route

As for car stuff, a lot has already been mentioned but you might also like VW's "City of the Car".
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'll be staying in Herzogenaurach, which isn't exactly close to very much but the nice thing is it's not too far from anything either. [...]
N?rnberg is quite close and with 500k inhabitants one of the bigger German Cities. Have never actually been there myself, but it?s said to be worth a trip ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg
 
Nuremberg is a great city. I spent the better part of two months there.

The HBF is centrally located and there's plenty of U-Bahns and S-Bahns. Don't pay for taxis, they're usually overpriced.

Places to go in Nuremberg:

-Norisring (I saw F3000, Carrera Cup, Cupra Cup races there)- it's also where Hitler held some rallies, so there's lots of interesting historical stuff in the general vicinity. Also in this area is the convention center, where the Nuernberg Toy Fair is held.

-Kaiserburg- main castle

I'll update with more as I remember it...
 

Checkpoint Charlie is the worst tourist trap know to mankind. Seriously, it's up there with the biggest ball of yarn in Minnesota. Visit Berlin, see the Holocaust Memorial, the Museumsinsel, the Topographie das Terrors, the Reichstag and much more, but stay away from Checkpoint Charlie at all cost!
 
I'll be staying in Herzogenaurach,
Does that mean you will be working at Adidas, Puma or Schaeffler?

I disagree on the train prices: if you do it right, it's affordable. That means booking early and for a specific train so that you get a considerable discount or buying a ?230 (approximately) discount card that gives you 50% off on any train fare. Yes, I did leave the BC25 out because it's crap.
There is now a student BC25 on offer, that might just do the trick. If you avoid the high-speed rail lines (Frankfurt-Cologne, Berlin-Hamburg), you can travel across Germany for 19? one-way, but you can only take a certain train. Sometimes there are sets of tickets for sale at supermarkets, they sell for around 100-120? for four one-way trips on any train, on every day but friday. If you want to travel around a bit, those are pretty handy.


Amsterdam. it's not really too far from anywhere and it simply rocks. even without illicit activities.

For a sub-million city Amsterdam is indeed pretty lively, but it is also full of tourists.

I would suggest adding carnival in Cologne to the to-do list and also the Kieler Woche, if you are into boats.
 
Checkpoint Charlie is the worst tourist trap know to mankind. Seriously, it's up there with the biggest ball of yarn in Minnesota. Visit Berlin, see the Holocaust Memorial, the Museumsinsel, the Topographie das Terrors, the Reichstag and much more, but stay away from Checkpoint Charlie at all cost!
Good to know - I've never been there, but the place just popped into my head.

Another thought on trains: I highly recommend catching one through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley on a bright and clear day. It's absolutely beautiful.
 
Does that mean you will be working at Adidas, Puma or Schaeffler?

Yessir, I'm in mechanical engineering so I'll be working for Schaeffler.

EDIT: calvinhobbes that looks amazing. I'll check that out for sure.
 
Last edited:
Nice town, nice people. They are called "Franken", specifically "Oberfranken" are basically Bavarians who think Bavarians are stupid. Cutest German accent ever :p

I'm, sorry but Herzogenaurch is in Mittelfanken not Oberfranken ...
Oberfranken is the best county ever in germany, we have the highest nuber of breweries per capita IMHO.
 
Last edited:
Doesn't matter to me, for me everything south of Frankfurt is Bavaria. :p (Yes, even BW :D)
 
Doesn't matter to me, for me everything south of Frankfurt is Bavaria. :p (Yes, even BW :D)

I thought Italy would start just south of Kassel's city center...
 
I thought Italy would start just south of Kassel's city center...
Hmm... I thought that was "south of the Elbe" back in the days before the reunification. Speaking of that river, I don't think Dresden has been mentioned yet. It's a beautiful city complete with a historically significant rebuilt church, palace, unique car factory, picturesque river valley, nearby palace and park and many more.

Anyway, it's obvious that Denmark starts north of the Main and Poland just east of the Rhine. [/troll]
 
Last edited:
Top