Top things to do and to see in Franconia (& 4): Nuremberg
And this is how, after an intense weekend traveling by rail through the Franconia region of northern Bavaria, a journey that took me earlier to the beautiful historical towns of Bamberg, Forchheim and Fürth, reached its end at the Imperial city of Nuremberg.
Why Imperial city? Because since the Middle Ages and until Napoleon dissolved it in 1806, Nuremberg was governed as a free city that owed its allegiance directly to the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
What’s more, Nuremberg was also a designated meeting place for the Imperial Diet, a sort of proto-parliament attended by representatives of the many polities that made up the Holy Roman Empire, and it safeguarded also the Imperial Regalia.
But Nuremberg was also an important commercial city which commanded a rather large and rich hinterland from the safety of its imposing walls.
Nuremberg was perhaps at its peak during the early modern era, in the 16th C. and early 17th C., when it also gave the world its most renowned artist: Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), whose home and studio in the city is still possible to visit in the historical downtown (in addition to giving its name to Nuremberg’s airport too!).
To be honest, this post possibly doesn’t do justice to Nuremberg, because due to time constraints I had to skip some of its top museums: the German National Museum of Toys (Spielzeugmuseum), the museum of the German railways (Deutsche Bahn Museum), the new Deutsches Museum Nuremberg, which focuses on technology, and the more classic Germanisches Nationalmuseum (Germanic National Museum), which focuses on German history.
What I did have time to visit were two sites connected to the more recent history of the city, and not a particularly proud period of it. These are two locations connected with the beginning and also the end of the Nazi period in Germany: Zeppelinfeld, where some of the first Nazi rallies were held, and the Nuremberg palace of justice, where the famous Nuremberg Trials were held after the war.
So, quite a lot to see in Nuremberg, a city that, while big, has still a very manageable size and a public transport system that makes it relatively easy and convenient to move around.
Traveler’s Tip: If you are planning to visit several of Nuremberg’s museums you can purchase a “Nuremberg Card”, which costs €38 and gives you access to most of them within 48 hours and includes also the public transport fare (metro, tram and S-Bahn) for Nuremberg’s Zone A, which covers the airport too.
So, without further ado, let’s have a look at the top things to do in Nuremberg if, like me, you are on a limited time budget!
Top things to see in Nuremberg that are covered in this post:
Nuremberg’s historical center
Nuremberg Castle (Kaiserburg), walls and gardens
Albrecht Dürer’s house and museum
Hauptmarkt, St. Lorenz and the river banks
Nuremberg Memorium:
Nuremberg Trials Museum
Courtoom 600
Zeppelinfeld
A great place to eat in Nuremberg
A great place to stay in Nuremberg
This post may contain affiliate links. If you book or buy something through them, I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It's one of the ways I keep Places of Charm going. Thank you for your support.
I would like to thank also Franken Tourismus for facilitating this journey. All opinions are my own.
Things to see in Nuremberg’s historical centre
Nuremberg Castle (Kaiserburg)
Nuremberg’s castle has been the dominant feature in Nuremberg’s skyline since the Middle Ages. The castle is located on a hilltop at the northern edge of the old town, dominating the historical centre below it and providing some of the best of the city (but perhaps not THE best, as you will soon see further down this post!)
To get up the castle you will need to walk uphill, but the views are well worth it!
You can visit the inside of the castle if you feel inclined to do so.
The castle was, apparently, very heavily damaged by bombing during WW2, so many of the interiors are actually a post-war restoration.
In my case, I just walked around the outer areas to get a feel of the place and to optimize my time.
One of the aspects of the castle that are quite impressive is that it is atop a massive rock, which you can see in some places with the naked eye.
You don’t need any ticket to enter the castle’s enceinte and access the viewpoint facing the old town. It is also possible to walk a segment of the walls, which end in a small square adorned by some perfectly manicured gardens.
Albrecht Dürer’s House and Museum
The other focal point in this part of the old town and very close to Nuremberg Castle is the house where Albrecht Dürer lived part of his life. This half-timbered building is on the corner of a small square which opens up just underneath the castle and adjacent to the city walls.
This is a spot where many people congregate when the weather is nice and warm, since the south-facing slope makes it a good spot for groups to congregate and for tourists to get some rest and refreshment at the several bars that line the square.
Albrecht Dürer is one of the great artists of the Renaissance era. He was contemporary to the great Italian masters of the time (Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael), but developed his own brand and style of creation. And while he was a very talented painter, Dürer is particularly well known for his engravings. This technology, which used an early form of printing press, allowed Dürer’s work to spread fast across Europe, making it famous and celebrated across the continent.
In this sense, Dürer was also “modern”, not just in adopting new technology to amplify its work, but also in that he was one of the first artists to cultivate his own image and fame.
The house you can visit in Nuremberg was bought by Albrecht Dürer when he was already a well-known and reasonably well-off artist and he lived there with his family until his death in 1528.
Obviously, the building has suffered modifications throughout the centuries, but it has been painfully restored to something similar to what it may have looked like at the time. It now houses a small museum about the life and work of Albrecht Dürer.
It takes 30-40 minutes to see and it is a quite interesting way to learn more about a very interesting artist that is perhaps not as universally well-known as his contemporaries south of the Alps.
The entrance fee is €7.5 (it is also included in the Nuremberg Card) and an audioguide is included. Beware, that, as it is common in old buildings, there are some steep stairs to climb to do the visit!
A walk through Nuremberg’s historical center
Besides the castle and museums, Nuremberg is endowed with a very large and mostly pedestrianized historical center to walk through.
As mentioned earlier, a large portion of Nuremberg’s city walls are still standing and in a good state of preservation, complete with the moat and towers.
The river Pegnitz also runs through the city center, dividing it in two, and with its two opposite banks sloping gently towards it. This offers also some nice views from specific spots.
If you are entering the historical town from the side of the central station (Hauptbahnhof) a typical route that would take you to the castle past some of the city’s top landmarks would be through Königstrasse north towards Saint Lorenz (depicted right) and then onwards to Hauptmarkt (the setting of Nuremberg’s famous Christmas market!).
At Hauptmarkt (below left) you will find the Schöner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain) and the Frauenkirche, both built in the 14th C. Just north of it is Saint Sebaldus, another large Gothic church of note.
Continuing further up you reach the Albrecht Dürer house and the foot of the castle.
But you may also choose to walk south and west from Hauptmarkt, across the several bridges spanning the river Pegnitz, towards the Weisser Turm and Saint Jakob’s (below right).
Nuremberg has managed to preserve the charm of its historical centre or, I should rather say “to restore” because the city, including the old town was thoroughly destroyed during the last months of WW2 and later faithfully reconstructed.
Let’s be clear, however, this city is not an open-air museum frozen in time, it has remained a lively,. commercial city throughout and this is apparent in the buzz and activity on its streets, even on a relatively Sunday afternoon, as it was the case of my visit.
By the way, since most of the city’s landmarks are well illuminated at night for effect, Nuremberg’s historical centre makes also for a beautiful walk at night.
The Nuremberg of WW2
Memorium & the Nuremberg Trials courtroom
And from medieval and early modern Nuremberg to WW2, because the city has preserved sites which are linked to two very specific moments to that dark historical episode.
Remarkably these refer to both the rise and the fall of Nazism. One of them is Zeppelinfeld (covered further down this post), the other, and more impressive from a visitor’s point of view, is “Memorium”, the museum and documentation center at Nuremberg’s Palace of Justice, in which Nazi war criminals were tried after the war.
Memorium is located within the Nuremberg’s Palace of Justice. Note that the building, including the historical Courtroom 600, where the trial of the main Nazi leaders (at least those that could be captured alive) took place, is still in use today as a court of justice!
This site is an absolute must for anyone minimally interested in WW2 and, more generally, in international political and legal affairs.
The Palace of Justice is not in the very center of the city, but it is not very far either. It can be reached very conveniently, a 10min metro ride (station Bärenschanze), from Nuremberg’s central station. From the metro station it is a 200m walk to the entrance of the museum area, which occupies a wing of the Palace of Justice building.
The entrance fee is €7.50, although it is also one of the attractions included in the Nuremberg Card.
Once there, you are encouraged to download an app which acts as an audioguide (and it has also some gamified features for children).
It is not a requirement to download it, but I would advise doing so if you want to fully enjoy the experience and get all the wealth of information in it.
To be honest, there is so much information, including all the transcripts of the different speeches and other texts related to the trials, that you possibly won’t use all of it. But, nevertheless, is a good way to learn about the many details of the trials.
The most well-known of these trials are the ones that took place in 1945-46, with some of the remaining Nazi leaders. However, there were other batches of trials in the second half of the 1940s concerning also other lower rank Nazis which also took part in war crimes.
The trials represented quite a feat and not only because they involved getting countries which, while formally allies had very different world views, to agree on some common definitions of justice and in what could be define as a crime against humanity.
There were also quite a few practicalities to solve, such as, for example, having real time multi-language translations or getting the media to cover and document the whole process, something which was not trivial with the technology of the time.
The trials, however, were quite a success in terms of what they were trying to achieve, which was to set an example and standard of justice for regimes that commit atrocities and crimes against humanity.
Courtroom 600
This is, without doubt, the highlight of the visit. It is the very same room in which the trials took place. Even if it has suffered some modifications since the 1940s (which are all explained in the app), the general appearance is easily recognizable if you have seen footage of the original Nuremberg Trials.
Quite an impressive sight, to say the least!
Then, there is the adjacent museum, one floor up.
The museum itself is not huge, but it is very dense in information and content.
The exhibition details the fundaments of international humanitarian law and the legal principles that were used to conduct the trials.
It then moves to explain the trials themselves, the charges presented against the defendants and the arguments that were used by the different parties.
There are lots of details about the practical aspects of the trials, the conditions in which the defendants were kept and their final fate.
You can also see some original items, such as the benches in which the defendants were sitting during the trial.
Below is the view from the wing of the building where the Nuremberg Trials took place. In the background is the former prison, where the Nazi war criminals were kept during the proceedings. Most of that old prison building was demolished some time after the trials, but you can get an idea of the place.
You can also get a view from above of the courtroom. In fact, during the trials, the American forces, which were responsible for the logistics on site, added a sort of elevated stage at this end of the room so that the attending media could better follow the sessions.
Visiting Zeppelinfeld
This is the other place in Nuremberg that is a must-visit for anyone interested in the history of the Second World War.
This is a large open ground which is infamously linked to the rise of the Nazism, since it was here that the Nazis held some of its mass rallies in the years before the war, with Hitler in attendance.
The name of the place actually comes the fact that, way before that, in 1909, airship pioneer Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin landed one of its airships here during a demonstration flight.
In 1937 Nazi architect (and later munitions minister) Albert Speer build a some monumental grounds at this spot, complete with a tribune from where Hitler and the other senior party leaders could preside the military parades.
In April 1945, the US 7th Army arrived in Nuremberg and after fierce fighting managed to capture the city. Shortly after the war was over, in a very symbolic move which was captured on camera, US military engineers blew up the large marble Swastika which was atop the main structure.
You can watch that moment in this short video documentary on Mark Felton’s channel, which contains also some interesting footage of the battle for Nuremberg in the last days of WW2 and shows the state of utter destruction in which the old town of Nuremberg was left.
After the war the venue was used for sports and music events and other public activities, but, apparently, no one was sure what to do with what was left of the main structures, which are still standing today, even if in a rather derelict state.
After the war the venue was used for sports events and other activities but, apparently, no one was sure what to do with what was left of the structures, so they have been left as they stood in a more or less derelict state.
At the time of my visit the tribune at Zeppelinfeld was cordoned off and covered in scaffoldings, since there is a project to conduct some restoration work in order to strengthen the site’s role as a place of memory and remembrance.
Besides the parade ground, with its tribune and grandstands, the Zeppelinfeld complex included also a large congress center across a small lake. Since 2001 that building, which was closed at the time of my visit, has hosted a research and documentation centre about the Nazi period.
The parade grounds themselves are open to the public, and are integrated in a larger outdoor recreation area, with quite a lot of greenery around.
Zeppelinfeld is a bit outside the city center, but it is quite easy to reach. You can take one of several tram lines or the S-Bahn. It takes a couple of stops and less than 10 minutes from the central station, getting off either at the “Nürnberg-Dutzendteich” or “Nürnberg Frankenstadion” stops and walking from there.
Great place to eat local food in Nuremberg
Bratwurstküche Zum gulden Stern
Zirkelschmiedsgasse 26, 90402 Nürnberg
If you are looking for a place to eat Franconian food or, more specifically Nuremberg’s signature sausage, the “Nürnberger Rostbratwurst”, look no further!
In fact, “Zum gulden Stern” claims to be not only the oldest Bratwurstküche restaurant in Nuremberg, but in the entire world!
Nuremberg Rostbratwurst is smaller than other German types of bratwurst and it is typically roasted over an open fire and served accompanied of sauerkraut, horseradish and a specific type of mustard that is sweeter than the standard one.
“Zum gulden Stern” traces its roots back to 1419, although it exists in its current form thanks to the efforts of a local entrpreneur, who is 1985 bought the derelict medieval building to save it from demolition and (re-)start the restaurant. His children are the ones now running it.
Whether the 600-year history claim is legitimate or exaggerated, the fact is that the owners of “Zum gulden Stern” do a really good job in creating the sort of cozy atmosphere with wholesome authentic local food that, I am sure, many visitors appreciate in a place like Nuremberg.
Most of the ingredients are locally sourced, as indicated in the menu, and the sausages are roasted in an open kitchen over a real wood fire. Prices are also very reasonable. So, overall this place provides a very nice experience and would recommend it to anyone looking to get the real Nuremberg culinary experience!
Top (literally!) place to stay in Nuremberg
Cloud One Hotel
Bahnhofspl. 1, 90402 Nürnberg
The Cloud One Hotel has possibly the best views in Nuremberg (by some parameters even better than the ones you get from the castle!).
This is due to the fact that it is one of the few high rises in town. Right outside the city walls but close enough to the historical centre to provide amazing views from its top floors. It is also just meters away from the central station (Hauptbahnhof), which makes it super convenient to go anywhere, since this is really the neuralgic centre of the city with most metro, tram, bus and rail lines converging here.
As an example, the Nuremberg Trials Memorium is less than 10min and the airport, 12 minutes away by direct metro. The nearby city of Fürth is barely 20 minutes and a couple of stops away by S-Bahn.
As you can see in these pictures, the rooms are small, but modern. The views from the 11th floor are absolutely stunning.
The Cloud One Hotel brand is apparently a premium offshot of the same German hotel group which manages Motel One. There are Cloud One hotels now at several German cities and even in New York City. The Nuremberg property, in particular, had been recently renovated at the time of my visit.
The hotel has also a very stylish cocktail bar on its top (14th) floor, also with truly privileged city views.
Breakfast was also pretty good, again with the majestic views (13th floor this time) and with lots of local products to try!
And, with this tasty Franconian breakfast, this itinerary through some of Germany’s most beautiful towns comes to and end.
If you are interested in learning more about Franconia and what to do and what to see in this beautiful part of Bavaria, check out my previous posts this region.
Top things to do and see in Franconia (III): Fürth, the “Franconian Jerusalem”
After visiting the beautiful historical towns of Bamberg and Forchheim, the next stop in my Franconian tour was the city of Fürth.
Now, if you look it up on the map, you will see that Fürth is today pretty much integrated into the greater Nuremberg urban agglomeration.
However, this Franconian city of more than 130,000 people has a rather rich and interesting history of its own and it is well worth a visit.
Fürth has enough to keep you going for a full day and it can also be visited as a day excursion from Nuremberg (since their urban transportation networks are interconnected, including the metro and S-Bahn, the suburban train system).
So, on this post I will share my impressions of my visit to Fürth and its main landmarks.
Here are some of the topics you will find next in this post:
The growth of industrial Fürth & its Italianate town hall
The Jewish heritage of Fürth
Protestantism in Fürth and the 30-Year War
The historical town of Fürth
Henry Kissinger’s birthplace in Fürth
Where to eat Franconian food in Fürth
This post may contain affiliate links. If you book or buy something through them, I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It's one of the ways I keep Places of Charm going. Thank you for your support.
I would like to thank also Franken Tourismus and the Fürth Tourist Office for facilitating this journey and arranging a tour of Fürth with the great local guide Monika. All opinions are my own.
Walking around Fürth
Fürth is quite an old city, the origins of which can be traced back to the early Middle Ages.
In fact, its name is possibly derived from the old Germanic word for “ford” since Fürth sits at the confluence of the Pegnitz and Rednitz rivers (which join together a bit north of the city to form the Regnitz, the river which we have already seen in Bamberg and Forchheim earlier in this series).
While Fürth has grown over the centuries somehow under the shadow of the much larger (and Imperial) neighbouring city of Nuremberg, it has always had a very strong character of its own.
This is reflected today in some symbols of local identity, such as the cloverleaf, which is visible in quite a few urban ornaments (no connection with Ireland that I am aware of!). In past centuries, however, Fürth distinctive status in the German political order was based on a rather unusual political set up in which three entities shared power over parts of the city: the Princely Bishopric of Bamberg, the Principality of Ansbach, and the City of Nuremberg.
By the way, these three powers are depicted in one of the statues that adorn Fürth’s main commercial street (picture to the right).
This means, that, while very close to the Imperial city of Nuremberg, Fürth could sometimes carve its own path. For example, in the early 16th C., when many German territories, including the city of Nuremberg, were expelling their Jewish populations, Fürth welcomed them (in exchange of a “protection fee”, truth be told). This led, over time, to earn Fürth the nickname of “Franconian Jerusalem”, a topic we’ll revisit further down this post.
Another particularity of Fürth is that it was a Protestant stronghold in highly Catholic Franconia, this led to it being also the setting of some big military clashes in the 17th C. during the 30-Year War, something we’ll touch upon later in this post, as well.
So, Fürth evolved as a rather diverse cultural and religious entrepôt all the way to the industrial era, which Fürth also embraced wholeheartedly, becoming not just a major industrial centre but also the terminus of the first railway in Germany, which linked it to Nuremberg.
So, now, without further ado, let’s see what the city has to offer to the visitor today and my suggestions about what to do and what to see in Fürth.
Fürth has managed to preserve a small, nice historical center, however, the city has remained far from stagnant through the last five hundred years. In fact, most of Fürth’s current downtown is the product of the industrial revolution. Since the 19th C. Fürth became home to industries such as gold-beating, toy manufacturing, mirror production and electronics (radio and household appliances giant Gründig was founded in the city).
This gave Fürth the wealth and prosperity that allowed it to fund a world-class urban development program in the 19th C. and early 20th C. with broad avenues, elegant multi-storey buildings, department stores and a number of singular public buildings.
Among the latter was the Church of Our Lady, built in 1829, not long after Fürth joined the strongly Catholic Bavarian kingdom in 1806. Remarkably, the Church was built with voluntary contributions from the Protestant and Jewish communities.
Another civic venue which in the city which was built through citizen contributions (in this case with a major involvement of the city’s Jewish community) was the city’s majestic theatre venue, which was completed in 1902.
Interestingly, the architect that designed Fürth’s theatre used the blueprints it had devised for another theatre which had been commissioned to be built in what was then Czernowitz, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Chernivtsi, in Ukraine). So the two cities did get eventually (more or less) the same building!
But perhaps the most eye-catching element dominating the Fürth skyline is the town hall, which was designed in the mid-19th C. If it reminds you of an Italian scene, it’s for a reason!
In their quest for something extraordinary, the citizens of Fürth decided that their city needed a replica of Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio as their new town hall!
It is possible to get to the top of the Town Hall tower to get a 360º panorama of the city of Fürth, with the city’s two well-defined parts, the old and modern ones, as well as the surrounding countryside and as far as the city of Nuremberg, the main landmarks of which are perfectly visible in the distance.
The Jewish Heritage of Fürth, the “Franconian Jerusalem”
We have already mentioned how Fürth became a safe haven for Jews which, in the 16th C, had to flee other parts of Germany.
Over the next few centuries the Jewish community of Fürth kept growing and the city became, actually, a very dynamic center of Jewish learning to the point that it became known as the “Franconian Jerusalem”.
The hub of Jewish cultural life in Fürth was an area called the “Schulhof” (or “School Courtyard”), which was exactly that: several centers of learning and prayer structured around a large open courtyard.
This part of Fürth’s history came to an abrupt end in the 1930s with the rise of Nazism in Germany. As it happened to other Jewish communities in Germany and Europe, the Nazis targeted Jews in Fürth and razed the Schulhof to the ground.
What you see today is an ensemble of modern post-war constructions more or less laid out around that central courtyard. A monument by Japanese artist Kunihiko Kato, now stands in the middle of the courtyard remembering that past and what happened to it.
Fürth has other sites connected to the Jewish past of the city, although I was not able to visit them all due to time constraints.
For example, there is also a Jewish Museum, which has been housed by a modern purpose-built facility since 2018 and documents the history of Jewish life in Fürth and Franconia.
Another interesting site is the old Jewish cemetery, which is located in the outskirts of the old town. Since it is no longer in use, vegetation has covered most of the large patch of land in which is located, including many of the old tombstones, giving it a somehow remarkable aspect, which invites contemplation and remembrance.
Visiting the historical center of Fürth
Continuing our walking tour of Fürth, we get to the historical town, which is not large, but survived WW2 pretty much intact.
Like many other historical German cities, Fürth has its fair share of half-timbered buildings, but if there is one aesthetic aspect for which this city stands out is its slate-clade facades.
Here, in Fürth, slate panels have been used profusely to cover all sort of surfaces, not just the roofs. Valued because of its insulating properties, slate is in facades and side-walls, often covering most of the building. In many places it is also possible to find facades which have been decorated by using patterned slate coverings.
The other thing that historical Fürth stands out for is the abundance of little courtyards, some public, some semi-private, many of them perfectly well kept as gardens.
This phenomenon may be partly explained by the location of Fürth on a major axis of communication linking Nuremberg to Frankfurt and other major German cities. With Nuremberg a mere five miles away, the city of Fürth made a convenient overnight stop before being able to cross Nuremberg’s city gates in the morning. the courtyards provided a a safe place for travelers to leave their horses or carts for the night while sleeping at the adjacent inns.
Protestantism and the Thirty Years War in Fürth
Fürth has also the particularity of being a majority-Protestant city in Catholic Bavaria. Fürth main Protestant church is Saint Michael’s, which is credired with being, possibly the oldest building in town, as well.
Fürth’s protestantism meant that in 1632, during the Thirty Years War, it hosted the King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, which styled himself as a major defender of the Protestant cause in German lands.
The Swedish king is still remembered in Fürth, where a plaque and a bust remembers the royal visit. Gustav Adolphus apparently lodged at the rectory adjacent to Saint Michael’s church in June 1632. One of Fürth’s main streets is also named after the Swedish monarch.
Gustav Adolphus campaigning in the area of Fürth culminated in a battle at a nearby hill called Alte Veste (“Old Fortress”). There, after a prolongued stand-off, Swedish forces charged the Imperial army under the command of Albrecht von Wallenstein, with the latter reportedly getting the upper hand. The city of Fürth and the surrounding countryside reportedly suffered quite a lot of damage during that conflict.
Visiting Henry Kissinger’s birthplace
Fürth is the birthplace of two prominent statesmen.
One of them was Ludwig Erhard, who was Finance Minister of the German Federal Republic under Adenauer and later, between 1963 and 1966, Chancellor himself. A remarkable man who is widely credited with being one of the architects of the German post-war economic miracle (the so called “Wirtschaftswunder”).
The other major statesman born in Fürth is none other than Henry Kissinger, the formidable US Secretary of State.
Kissinger served in this capacity between 1973 and 1977 under Presidents Nixon and Ford, and later remained a very prominent and influential voice in international affairs pretty much until his death in 2023, at the venerable age of 100.
Kissinger was born to a middle class Jewish family at 23, Mathildenstrasse, in central Fürth and his native home still stands at this exact spot in a good state of preservation. A plaque by the door remembers visitors of this historical fact.
Kissinger’s family, however, had to flee Fürth, in 1938, as the environment was turning increasingly dangerous for German Jews. The Kissingers landed in the United States, where young Henry would go on to make a brilliant career, but this is another story that, I am sure, there are many other books and sources better qualified to tell in all detail.
Btw, the area in which Kissinger was born and spend his childhood in, with its broad, orderly avenues and solid residential and commercial housing blocs, is a good example of the modern expansion of the city of Fürth in the 19th C., as the city prospered as an industrial and trading center (in the picture below you can see how the streets of this district mostly look like).
Where to eat in Fürth
Gasthof Grüner Baum
Gustavstraße 34, 90762 Fürth
This restaurant and guesthouse is located in one of Fürth’s most historical buildings.
While the current building dates largely from the early 19th C., an inn has been documented at this spot since at least 1607. A 2018 renovation uncovered some parts of the old structure, such as a wooden ceiling. Legend has it that the Swedish king Gustav Adolphus may have dined here in 1632, but this is totally unverified!
It has a terrace which is lovely when the weather is nice, as it was the case during my visit.
The food was, you guessed it (particularly if you have followed the previous stages of this itinerary)…Franconian cuisine!
In this case it was the sausages, although those of you that prefer schnitzel, will also be well served here. The dishes were accompanied by a nice potato salad and Bavarian beer.
DÄCHLA Panoramic Terrace
Friedrichstraße 6a, 90762 Fürth
Another place of note in Fürth, particularly if you wish to have a coffee or a drink with some nice views is the rooftop bar at DÄCHLA, which is located at top of a the city’s public library in Dr.-Konrad-Adenauer-Anlage, a public park not far from the main train station.
Dächla, which apparently means “little roof” in Franconian dialect, has a large terrace offering nice views of the city (although not as impressive as the ones from the top of the town hall’s italianate tower).
This modern venue was renovated as recently as 2024. It works mostly as a coffee place during the day, doubling later as a trendy wine bar in the evenings.
Germany’s first railway in Fürth
This post about Fürth wouldn't be complete, even more so considering that this visit was part of an all-railway journey, without a mention of Germany's first railway, which connected the city to nearby Nuremberg.
This first German railway line opened in December 1835, with the Adler ("Eagle"), a primitive steam locomotive, making the inaugural six-kilometre run between the two cities.
The train departed not from the present-day railway station but from where today's Fürther Freiheit square is located. The original terminus, known as Ludwig's Station, was demolished in 1938 to make way for a Nazi parade ground. Today this area is a large open square which acts as a venue for several outdoor markets.
The history of Germany’s first railway is also remembered at Fürth’s railway station, where you can find several decor elements and even a scale model that relate to that major historical feat.
If you enjoyed this chronicle from Fürth, stay tuned for the fourth and last installment of the Franconian series, from its major city: Nuremberg.
Top things to see and do in Franconia (II): Forchheim & its underground beer cellars
We continue our rail itinerary through the heart of the Franconia region of Bavaria with a stop at Forchheim.
First of all, just a quick reminder that this is but the second stage of a four-city tour to explore some of the most beautiful towns in Franconia (“Franken” in German). You can, of course, read this post as a stand-alone, but if traveling to this area, let me suggest also our other stories about:
Let’s start with a few words about Forchheim, because, chances are you
With a population of around 30,000, Forchheim is actually larger than it looks when walking through its historical center. I am saying this, because the place is amazingly calm and relaxed, even when walking around on a weekend afternoon.
I guess this is due in part to the fact that, even if it is not lacking in charm and character, Forchheim does not get nearly as many visitors as nearby Bamberg, but also to a significant degree to the local population living kind of spread out all over the place rather than in a dense town center.
It is also worth noting that, during the warm months most of the social activity, particularly in the weekends and festive days, switches to the Kellerwald area, an outdoors recreation area with underground beer cellars (more on this unique feature of Forchheim further down this post)!
I must confess that I hadn’t really heard about Forchheim when the Franconia Tourist Office, which helped organize this trip, suggested a stop in Forchheim, but the place didn’t disappoint and, if you like artisan beer and traveling through Upper Franconia, you should definitely make some space for this town!
By the way, Forchheim is also considered to be one of the gateways to the “Fanconian Switzerland”, an area renowned for its natural beauty. Although this aspect of Forchheim is not the object of this post (I was sticking to the main rail axis on this occasion), it is worth noting in case you were traveling through Franconia by car.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you book or buy something through them, I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It's one of the ways I keep Places of Charm going. Thank you for your support.
I would like to thank also Franken Tourismus for facilitating this journey and arranging a tour of Forchheim with the excellent local guide Christiane. All opinions are my own.
So, this is how I arrived to Forchheim from Bamberg, which is barely 20 minutes away by regional train (the ticket was around €6.5 at the time of my visit). The central station is literally 5 minutes away from the historical center (and 2 min from my hotel, the Arivo Aparthotel, which I will review, as well, later in this post).
Forchheim is, actually, quite an old place. There are mentions to it already in the Carolingian era and, from the 11th C. it belonged to the Price-Bishops of Bamberg, who had their own palace in town, as well. Like the rest of this ancient princely bishopric, Forchheim was annexed by Bavaria in the early 19th C.
Another important feature of the town is the river Wiesent, which runs through Forchheim’s old town before joining the river Regnitz just west of the city (besides being the same river that flows through Bamberg, the Regnitz is part of the river and canal system that connects the Rhein and Main basins to the Danube).
The waters of the Wiesent provide some of the most picturesque photo opportunities in Forchheim and give it also one of the first landmarks we encountered in our itinerary, the fish cages (“Fischkästen”). These are wooden structures lining up the banks of the Wiesent, where, for centuries, local fishermen have kept captured fish, mostly carp, alive before taking them to the market.
It is also along the banks of the Wiesent that we find a reminder of the fact Forchheim used to have a Jewish community, which was, sadly, destroyed in the late 1930s. A memorial (depicted below) is located in front of where the town’s synagogue once stood before it was torn down in 1938.
The historical center of Forchheim is made of (partly) pedestrianized cobblestone streets, so it makes for a nice walk.
There is one major landmark, which is the former Imperial Palace (“Kaiserpfalz”). This building, which is depicted below right, has a large open courtyard and today it houses the local museum. It takes it name from its early Carolingian origins, although the current structure dates back to the 14th C. when the town was under the rule of the Prince-Bishops of Bamberg.
Another curious structure in the historical center is this leaning timbered-house you can see depicted above.
Forchheim used to be also a fortified stronghold, which resisted successfully attacks by Swedish troops during the 30-years War in the 17th C.
Parts of the massive bastions are still standing and today they are part of the historical trail through the old town.
Most of the old town of Forchheim has preserved its authentic character, although many of its half-timbered houses were plastered over during the last few centuries, as, apparently, this type of style was, at times, not particularly popular. After restoration, many old houses in Forchheim, however, display again their half-timbered structure.
Forchheim is also a majority-Catholic town, so it is common to see religious imagery in public places, like the facades of homes.
Another important fact about Forchheim is that it used to have more than 20 breweries downtown. Their number, however, have been dwindling and today there are only three of them left.
The smaller number of commercial breweries does not mean, however, that the locals have turned their backs to beer. As we shall soon see, beer culture in Forchheim is alive and kicking and this does include a fair amount of home-made, artisan brews which are mostly consumed during the local festivals.
Where to eat Franconian food in Forchheim
Birgits Bauernstübla
Klosterstraße 18, 91301 Forchheim
This is a very nice place to sample from Franconian cuisine, particularly if the weather is nice, since it has an outdoor terrace.
Here I tried Schäufele mit Kloß. This a typical Franconian speciality, which consists in a slow-braised pork shoulder which has been marinated in dark beer. It has a deep, crackling, caramelised crust, the meat underneath which is extremely tender. It is served with a copious amount of gravy and with a side dish of sauerkraut and, another Franconian culinary must, the Klöße.
These are spherical potato dumplings, made from a mixture of raw and cooked grated potato. They are very dense and tasty. All of this, of course, consumed with some local Franconian beer. In this case it was Veldensteiner, made by a craft brewery from Neuhaus an der Pegnitz, a small town east of Forchheim.
Kellerwald & Annafest: exploring artisan beer culture in Forchheim
After our exploration of historical Forchheim and local Franconia cuisine, it is time to check a rather unique feature of the town: its underground beer cellars and the whole beer culture around them.
To do so, we leave the downtown and walk a couple of kilometres to the eastern outskirts of town, to a small forested hill known as “Kellerwald” (“Cellar Forest” in German). It is here that, for at least 400 years, the people of Forchheim have used and shaped the natural underground caves that form in the local limestone formations in order to store beer during the latter’s fermentation process.
The production of the type of beer that is popular in this part of Franconia requires relatively cold and stable temperatures and this is what these underground caves provided, since the temperature inside stays constant at around around 6–10°C throughout the year. This was particularly useful in the pre-industrial era, when to artificial refrigeration was available.
Nowadays, of course, you don’t really need to store beer in caves and, therefore, only a small portion of the underground cellar network is still used. However, a number of beer makers around Forchheim have preserved this tradition.
But don’t think of Kellerwald just as some sort of historical curiosity, it is here that, since 1840, Forchheim puts together one of the largest beer festivals in Bavaria, “Annafest”. Named after the festivity of Saint Anna, which is on July 26th (it takes places in the days around it), Annafest congregates some 500,000 people at Forchheim’s Kellerwald for several days (and evenings!) of beer drinking and fun.
Think of it as a sort of small-scale “Oktoberfest”, just that this one takes place in the middle of summer!
Annafest is really a big thing in Forchheim. It is an event that pretty much the whole community plan for during the whole year. There is even an official “Queen of Annafest”, which is elected every two years and represents the town of Forchheim at other similar events and festivals throughout Germany.
But you don’t need to wait to late July to enjoy beer drinking at Forchheim’s Kellerwald. While Annafest is the peak time of the season, the Kellerwald cellars start opening in spring, as soon as the weather is warm enough.
A whole network of beer gardens, restaurants and temporary food and beer stalls springs up around late April or early May and stays put all throughout the summer offering an outdoor venue for the citizens of Forchheim and visitors to enjoy the outdoors while sampling the fresh local beer.
The party at the Kellerwald starts in the evening, before dusk and can go on until relatively late (there are no sleepless neighbours at the Kellerwald!). It is not just about beer, there are also food stalls, live music and, above else, a lot of socializing!
Where to stay in Forchheim
Arivo Aparthotel Forchheim
Bayreuther Str. 1, 91301 Forchheim
This very modern aparthotel was a truly positive surprise. It is located right next to Forchheim’s train station, which makes it super convenient if you are traveling by train. By the way, the aparthotel may be located close to the tracks, but it is also very quiet, I had a room facing the station and didn’t hear a thing from that direction during my stay!).
Arivo Aparthotel Forchheim operates a clerk-less checkin, you are given a set of codes with your reservation and you can make your way to the room without having to interact with anyone.
The whole building appears to be really new and modern. My room was super big and had a common bedroom-living room area separated by a false wall which holds a large flat screen tv.
It had also a small kitchen and working desk as well as plenty of space to leave the luggage. There was some complimentary welcome coffee (from a Nespresso-style coffee machine) and some fresh sparkling water in the fridge.
The bathroom is also super modern and in contemporary style. Everything was super clean.
The ground floor has a rather large lobby-common area and restaurant, which is where breakfast is served in the morning. You can get the look and feel of the place in the images below. The breakfast was continental-type buffet.
The Arivo Aparthotel has also parking space, not relevant for me in this case, but I guess, it kind be quite an important detail to mention for those that are touring Franconia by car.
You can book this hotel here!
Top things to see and do in Franconia (I): a tour of Bamberg
If you are looking for a Germany of charming fairy tale towns, almost intact medieval heritage, artisan beer and bratwürst, look no further than Franconia.
A Russian doll of cultural identities, local pride rules strong in Franconia (“Franken” in German), which is a historical region of northern Bavaria, itself, a former Kingdom and one of the parts of Germany that has most fiercely preserved its own character and distinct identity.
Culturally, it is equally varied: part of it is wine country, while other areas lean firmly towards beer; and while Bavaria is predominantly Catholic, Franconia contains Protestant enclaves, such as the city of Fürth.
This is perhaps due to the fact that, like much of the German lands, historically, Franconia was a complex patchwork of sovereignties, with different rulers sometimes having overlapping claims to parts of the land. Among them, Nuremberg held a pre-eminent role, since it is the place where the Imperial Diet (of the so-called “Holy Roman Empire”). Franconia only became part of Bavaria in the early 19th century, when the whole area became one of Napoleon’s client states.
In fact, Franconia is large enough that it can be divided in three large areas: Upper Franconia (Oberfranken), Middle Franconia (Mittelfranken) and Lower Franconia (Unterfranken), although this series of posts will cover only a relatively small central section of it, starting in Bamberg in the north and ending in Nuremberg at the southern end of my itinerary.
What’s more, unlike in other itineraries that I have featured on this site, this time my entire journey was done by train, since all four Franconian cities that I had the chance to visit (Bamberg, Forchheim, Fürth and Nuremberg) sit neatly in a straight line. This was, I think, a pretty efficient (and sustainable!) way to explore this region.
So, this post is the first of a series of four installments in which I will share my impressions of this region and some tips about what to do and what to see when visiting Franconia.
My itinerary started in Berlin, from where I traveled by train to Bamberg and then moved continued moving south always by train, all the way to Nuremberg, the largest city of the lot, by far.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you book or buy something through them, I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It's one of the ways I keep Places of Charm going. Thank you for your support.
I would like to thank also Franken Tourismus for facilitating this journey through Franconia and the visit to Bamberg with excellent local guide Sabine. All opinions are my own.
Half a day in Bamberg: what to do and what to see
Bamberg is one of the jewels, not just of Franconia, but of Bavaria as well. Besides being a town of historical significance (it used to be the capital of a small principality ruled by a bishop), Bamberg was practically untouched by WW2, so most of what you see here is what a German pre-industrial city used to look like. Since 1993, Bamberg has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What’s more, it’s geographical setting greatly enhances its historical attractiveness. First, there is the fact that, like Rome and several other cities of note, the city of Bamberg was built on seven hills. Then, there is the presence of the river Regnitz, a tributary of the Main, and therefore, the Rhein, which is navigable and accessible by river cruises (such as those operated by Viking Cruises, an old friend of this site!) and other operators. The river divides its waters between several canals when it passes through Bamberg’s old town, adding significantly to the aesthetics of the place.
I arrived at Bamberg’s main train station mid-morning and, after leaving my luggage at the station’s storage area (make sure you have €2 and €1 coins with you!) I headed on foot towards the old town, which is a mere 15-20 walk away.
I was to meet my guide for the day, Sabine, at Schlenkerla, Bamberg’s most iconic brewery (more on this place further down this article), for a quick but relatively intense walking tour of the city.
Bamberg’s “Little Venice”
When approaching Bamberg’s old town from the train station, you will first have to cross the Reignetz and its several canals. You will then be in an area popularly known as “Little Venice”, obviously because of its connection to water.
There is even a gondola service that would give you a ride through the canals for a fee! Or, if you prefer something more conventional, you will also find here several boats that a carry tourists around. We didn’t do that, and went for a stroll along the banks of the Reignetz instead.
When the weather is nice, as was the case during my visit, Bamberg’s river side is an amazingly beautiful place. However, crowds can form at some spots, and for good reason!
One such spots is the small island that holds what is one of Bamberg’s most distinctive buildings, the old town hall (“Altes Rathaus”), which is the beautifully ornated historical building the picture of which opens this article.
The whole area along the river banks, though, is pretty harmonious and makes for a pleasant walk.
A walk through Bamberg’s old town
Our itinerary then took us uphill, for it is at the top of one of Bamberg’s seven hills that we find what was the nucleus of Bamberg’s political and ecclesiastic power for around eight centuries.
Bamberg’s Cathedral (“Bamberger Dom”) is the most imposing building of the lot and, from its hilltop position dominates the rest of the town. It has Romanesque and Gothic elements and no less than four towers.
Besides its religious and political importance, Bamberg Cathedral has two interesting curiosities: it has the tomb of Pope Clement II, which is the only papal tomb north of the Alps.
And it also has the Bamberg Rider, “Bamberger Reiter” in German (picture above right), which is a 13th C. statue which, to this day, no one knows who does it represent.
It is here, adjacent to each other and structured around a large open and somehow inclined square, that we find two other very prominent structures.
One of them is the Old Court, which is one of the oldest structures in the city and once upon a time an Epicospal residence, the other is the Neues Residenz (below), which was the main palace of the princely bishops of Bamberg.
Below you can see the Old Court, which is a collection of very old timbered buildings organized around a central courtyard.
The old town of Bamberg is surrounded by greenery and, while there is a constant flow of tourists, it has quite a few quite and really calm spots.
Another building of note is the Monastery of St Michael, which sits on top of another of Bamberg’s hills (the” Michelsberg”). It was built in the 11th C. as a Benedictine monastery and was secularized in the early 19th C.
It is one of the most iconic elements in Bamberg’s skyline, particularly when seen from the Rose Garden. The latter, which is an annex of the Neues Residenz, is a perfectly manicured classical garden which opens onto a terrace providing what is likely the best panoramic view of the city.
The walk through old Bamberg took us through several picturesque locations, with the unequal terrain offering several interesting perspectives.
There are several other large churches of historical interest in Bamberg, such as Saint Jakob (a branch of the “Way of Saint James”, the famous pilgrimage route, passes apparently through Bamberg), Saint Stephan and the Parish Church of Our Lady (“Pfarrkirche Unsere Liebe Frau”). We only visited the latter of these, which is presided by a rather magnificent Baroque altar.
Where to eat in Bamberg
Schlenkerla Rauchbierbrauerei
Dominikanerstraße 6
96049 Bamberg
Bamberg is known for its smoked beer (Rauchbier) and no better place to taste it than its oldest and most renowned brewery, Schlenkerla.
This beer house was reportedly established in 1405 and it still produces smoked beer in the traditional way (using malt that has been dried over burning beechwood instead of hot air, a process which infuses the grain with a distinctive smokiness before fermentation). It is served in two versions: dark and light, with the latter being seasonal and available only in spring and summer.
So, if you wish to get the full Bamberg experience, make sure you stop by Schlenkerla to try it, even if you are not a regular beer drinker, as it is my case.
What’s more, since it is also a restaurant, you can have your beer together with another of the local specialities: stuffed onions (“Bamberger Zwiebel”). These are filled with pork meat and served with a side of mashed potato and gravy. It’s quite a filling dish!
By the way, the beer you see here is Schlenkerla’s Pale Lager, which is a special edition beer that the restaurant offers exclusively on “Beer Day”, April 23, and while supplies last. No smoked malt us used in its brewing process, however, it’s brewed in the same copper kettles and with the same yeast as the traditional “Rauchbier” in order to give it a slight smoky flavour.
Grüner Markt and other Bamberg specialities
Bamberg’s downtown stretches onto the eastern bank of the Reignetz. And while this is still, technically, part of the old town, the streets here have a more modern feel, with Grüner Markt (“Vegetables Market”) and Maximilien Platz acting as buzzing commercial hubs of the city.
Grüner Markt, in particular, holds a street market for produce where it is possible to find some other local specialities, like the white aspargus and a special type of small crescent-shaped potatoes called “Bamberger Hörnla”.
Maximilien Platz (below), in turn, is the center of the city’s modern administration.
Yet another local speciality in Bamberg, this one in the bakery section, are the “Bamberg Hörnchen”, a type of croissants which are more curved than the regular ones and thinner at the center.
By the way, if you are into beer, before heading back to the station, you can stop at “Die Bierothek”, a shop where you can find specialty beer from Bamberg (including the famous smoked one) and the rest of Franconia (if you like beer, stay tuned for the next installment of this series, Forchheim, since it will feature plenty of it!).
If you enjoyed this post, check out the next stage of my Franconian trip: Forchheim and its underground beer cellars!
Two great unique hotels with character in Berlin
I have been traveling to Berlin quite a few times in the last few months and, for good or for bad, I have had a chance to stay at quite a few hotels all over the city. It is rare when to come across properties that really stand out, but every now and then I come across some true gems which I think it is worth sharing.
To be clear, this is not a post about Berlin’s main tourist attractions, there are plenty of other blogs that can provide that, but to share some details about what I think are two of the best options to stay in Berlin right now at price points that are, I think, not particularly extravagant for the typical business traveler.
A recent trip to the German capital offered me the chance to experience two greatly located hotels which I will proceed to describe next:
Radisson Collection Berlin
The PostHouse Berlin
This post may contain affiliate links. If you book or buy something through them, I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It's one of the ways I keep Places of Charm going. Thank you for your support.
I would like to thank also Radisson for facilitating the stay at this specific property. All opinions are my own.
A review of the Radisson Collection Hotel Berlin
The Radisson Collection Hotel Berlin is truly a landmark hotel. It is located in what must be one of the most prime pieces of real estate of any hotel, of any category in Berlin, right on the banks of the river Spree, next to Museum Insel and the opposite the Berliner Dom.
The building itself is also quite remarkable, a compact and solid, building with a large indoor courtyard that is dominated by a rather impressive central structure that simulates a sort of giant tree.
The overall aesthetic is modern and elegant throughout, but with a rather cozy vibe which is rather different to that of other more, let’s say, “classical” luxury establishments.
In fact, all around the aforementioned central trunk, in the lobby area is a mixed bar/restaurant-library/reading room-workspace area, complete with a fully stocked library (interestingly, with what appears to be a rather large Scandinavian book section, which possibly reflects Radisson’s own roots!)
This somehow round floor plan makes it possible for all these different areas of the lobby to be conveniently compartimentalized while remaining within the same open plan. The reception area is also somehow segregated from this more innerpart (albeit still public) area of the hotel.
Access to the rooms is through the glass lifts which make for quite a scenic up and down the building. Access to each of the floors is also rather grand, with a large open space in a rather modern and harmonious style, including the colour palette, and local touches of decor.
The rooms at the Radisson Collection Berlin
As you may have already guessed, the rooms follow more or less the same contemporary style and no-nonsense approach to comfort. In this case, my room, located on Floor 11 (one of the highest) west side had also a special “surprise” that I will soon disclose, further down this post.
As you can see, the rooms have wooden flooring (another Scandi design touch), which I tend to prefer.
A few other details I liked about the room: note the large amount of storage space, both for luggage and also to layout clothes and personal items. Also, as is the norm in this category of establishment, there’s a coffee machine and some mineral water waiting for the guest.
The two-piece bathroom is also pretty impressive: very modern throughout and with a power shower. Bathrobes are also provided, since the hotel, as we shall soon see further down this post, has also a small indoor pool and a spa area.
The hotel offers also a whole range of additional ancillary services, from a choice of different pillow types to laundry, all through the electronic console which is accessible through the room’s work desk.
Best hotel room views in Berlin?
And now, the “surprise” that I mentioned earlier, because if this was an Instagram account, the moment of opening the room’s small balcony would be the time to do that typical influencer gesture of covering your mouth with the palm of your hand, in awe of the sights! The picture below is the unfiltered picture of what I could see from my room. Does it get better than this in Berlin?
And, for good measure, this is the view from the bed itself! That’s what I would call a central location!
Btw, in this picture you can appreciate the little balcony, which makes it easy to enjoy the views in full, since you can actually open the doors, a particularly suitable feature during the Berlin spring and summer when the weather can be quite balmy in the German capital! Btw, when that’s the case, you can just spend the afternoon watching the boats on the river Spree pass just underneath your balcony.
Also in the room is a work desk: the right size for the traveling professional and with plenty of natural light, as you can see!
Gym, Spa and Wellness at the Radisson Collection Berlin
As I mentioned earlier, there is a fitness and wellness center in the hotel. To be fair, the facilities are small, but they have pretty much all you would possibly need during a urban city break.
The fitness and wellness center is in the basement and accessible directly from the rooms through the lifts. There is a small pool, more for relaxation than exercises, tbh, as well as separate cardio, yoga, and weight rooms.
Eating at the Radisson Collection Berlin
The hotel has, of course, a restaurant. It is located on the ground floor on the west side of the property, which means that it has views of the river bank. The decor is aligned with the modern-cozy style of the rest of the property.
I had the chance to have my buffet breakfast there and it didn’t disappoint. The breakfast offering was predominantly continental, but with a fair amount of choices. This being Germany, the bakery section was particularly impressive!
So, overall, a very well rounded experience with the added touch that, as a guest, you have a very good chance of getting one of the very best panoramic views of the city of Berlin included in the fare (which, I may say, at this property tend to be in a very reasonable range for Berlin standards and adjusting for quality and location!), a true gem.
A review of The Posthouse Berlin Hotel - Potsdamer Platz
This was another find during a recent visit to Berlin, another real gem, offering great value at a prime location. The Posthouse Berlin Potsdamer Platz – Leonardo Limited Edition is a very modern hotel, which belongs to the Italian chain Leonardo.
It has the additional allure of being located in a historical building which once housed Berlin’s main postal distribution center, something that you can kind of guess looking at architecture of the place. In this case, as we shall soon see, Leonardo has fully embraced this truly unique character of the building when it comes to marketing this property.
While it is not located right next to the city’s top landmark, like the previous hotel we have seen, The Posthouse is also incredibly well located from the point of view of its centrality in the city. It is located within walking distance (10min) of Potsdamer Platz, right at the core of the Government District and pretty much on top (give or take a few dozens of meters) of where the Berlin Wall used to be. It has also within 5minutes walk of the Anhalter Banhof S-Bahn station and the Möckernbrücke U-Bahn station (in addition to the aforementioned Potsdamer Platz, which is also a major railway station).
What’s more the area is very walkable and safe, with broad avenues and lots of hotels, restaurants, shops and museums in its vicinity.
The rooms at The Posthouse Berlin
The rooms are large and very modern and cozy, with a mix of coulours that is warm and sophisticated at the same time. The little touches of colour make the whole ensemble more lively preventing it from being too “neutral”, while keeping the whole subdued.
The bathroom, rather large, also super modern and impeccably clean.
There is a little work desk, also very stylish.
On top of it, a little electronic console provides information and access to services, doing away with the old-school service directory folders.
Some more details that make The Posthouse Berlin a great hotel
A couple of additional details here: lots of space for luggage (you may have noted in the pics above that there is also a rather long bank opposite the bed) and even to sit down to take your shows on or off.
The windows open into a very calm street next to a large green area. In fact, the hotel is located in a rather nice area, with several pedestrian streets around and some shops.
As mentioned earlier, Leonardo has developed a whole brand identity for The Posthouse which is pervasive throughout the property. I particularly liked the very elegant way in which it is applied to all the small items you find in the room and in other parts of the hotel.
The Posthouse has also its restaurant, which shares the same ground floor space as the lobby and reception area. The different spaces are blended seamlessly and get plenty of natural light through the large windows that open onto the street on one side and onto a very large open courtyard on the other.
A couple of other details I liked in the lobby area:
A snacks and water station which guests can access at all hours. Even if the hotel staff renew the bottles of mineral water in the room, its location on the way to the lifts makes for a very convenient stopping point to get some refreshments on the way to and from the rooms. Btw, note also how the hotel decor takes into account the postal history of the place.
When you come into The Posthouse you will notice a bicycle parking. These bicycles are actually available for rental by the day, you just need to ask at the reception, here below you can see the prices.
So, what’s our take: this hotel offers also amazing value for any visitor to Berlin, whether for business or leisure. As was the case of the Radisson Collection Berlin, The Posthouse Berlin Postadamer Platz offers and amazing combination of modern, spacious and pleasant facilities, impeccable service and prices that are truly hard to believe for what you get!
Is this the world's most beautiful border? Driving from the Rhine Falls to Diessenhofen
A road trip along the Swiss-German border on the Rhein
This is going to be a short post sharing my experience driving, in the course of a single day, along the German-Swiss border and the river Rhine, visiting the Rhine Falls and several picturesque spots.
There’s just a caveat, though: I was fortunate to do this on a very sunny, warm day, which I guess it helps a lot when it comes to forming an impression about a place!
My trip actually started at Basel-Euroairport (BSL), a place that deserves, perhaps a post of its own (this piece about border airports I published on CNN comes close!), but this post will cover only the stretch between the Rhine Waterfalls (“Rheinfall” in German) in Schaffhausen, and the Swiss town of Diessenhofen, to the east of it.
In between the two is the German enclave of Büsingen, which is entirely surrounded by Swiss territory. On this site we are fans of enclaves, exclaves and all sort of border curiosities, so, of course, visiting Büsingen was also on the menu!
This is, in fact, an itinerary that is entirely recommended for border geeks, because, in addition to the beauty and general pleasantness of the place, crosses a number of international borders (as well as the outer EU border) quite a few times! The most picturesque of all these border crossings, though, was the Diessenhoffen bridge, which I leave for the last.
The Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen (Switzerland)
So, our itinerary starts in the Rhine Falls, which as the name implies, it is a major waterfall in the river Rhine. This is most likely the largest waterfall in Western Europe (outside of Iceland).
To be honest, it really surpassed my expectations!
It is not, of course, on the same level as the Niagara Falls, but they are certainly much larger and impressive than I expected. The river Rhine is gorgeous at this point, with very clean and turquoise water and the setting is quite beautiful with plenty of forestry and even a castle lining it.
What’s more, visiting the Rhine Falls is quite easy. They are located right next to the center of Schaffhausen, so they are very accessible and there are quite a few options to park your car nearby (it’s metered parking, so make sure you have some Swiss Franc coins with you, because the metering machines are rather old style!).
On the north side, which is the one on the Schaffhausen bank of the Rhine, there are several viewing platforms connected by stairs which let you get very close to the water. Access to the Rhine Falls viewpoints is totally free, btw.
The German enclave of Büsingen
So, after spending some time admiring the Rhine Falls, get back in the car and take Rheinhaldenstrasse, the street in Schaffhausen that follows the banks of the Rhine towards Büsingen and the German border.
You can also cycle this route or even walk it, because the banks of the Rhine have bike and pedestrian paths that will take you all along. As mentioned earlier, it was a really sunny day, and a weekend, so the area was packed with people strolling leisurely around.
There was quite a lot of activity in the river too, with boats and leisure craft of all sorts moving on the water too.
The Rhine at this spot upstream from the water falls is a rather wide and fast flowing river.
There are plenty of interesting spots along Switzerland’s borders (check, for example, my CNN story about the hotel that sits exactly on the border line between Switzerland and France) and Büsingen is one of them. This tiny German (and EU) town is separated from the German mainland by barely half a mile of Swiss territory, enough for it to have a special status in certain areas, which is regulated by a bilateral treaty between the two countries.
For example, while Büsingen is under German sovereignty, it is included in the Swiss tax and customs area, so VAT and other taxes are managed as if it was on Swiss territory. Likewise the Swiss Franc is the currency in use in Büsingen (although I guess the Euro is also commonly accepted). Both Swiss and German postal and telephone codes are also in use.
There are also no border controls coming in and out of Büsingen form Swiss territory. There is some border control infrastructure in the border between Switzerland and the German mainland east of Büsingen, although these are not manned (at least at the time of my visit), since Switzerland is now part of the Schengen area.
To be honest, there is not much to see in Büsingen, but from what you can see as you drive through it, it seems quite a pleasant and neat place and definitely worth the visit if you are interested in border curiosities.
Diessenhofen, a historical international bridge among the vineyards
So, having left Büsingen behind and never far from the river Rhine, I went on to our next and last stop of this border tour: the Swiss town of Diessenhofen and its very picturesque international bridge.
To get to Diessenhofen from Büsingen, rather than continuing all the way to the town of Gaillingen am Hochrhein, take a right immediately after passing the border of the German customs house (which is a couple of hundred meters after the actual border). This is a small local road that will take you directly to the bridge and to a large parking lot located on the German side of the river (here you will need some euro coins!).
The whole place is simply gorgeous!
There German side of the river has rather steep banks at this point, but the slopes are all covered by wineyards, which in late summer give it a lot of greenery and a rather gentle aspect.
The highlight here, however, is the bridge. It is, in fact, hard to get an international bridge as picturesque as the one at Diessenhofen.
It simply has it all: it is a beautiful wooden structure with a history that goes all the way back to the 13th Century (although the current structure is from the early 19th Century, the previous one having been destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars by retreating Russian troops), you can cross the international (and EU!) border on foot and there is plenty of beauty on both sides of it.
What’s more, adding to the sights, the Rhine itself is a constant spectacle.
It is not just the constant traffic of boats on its crystalline waters, but when the weather is nice, lots of people swim downstream, many of them on floats and inflatable devices of all sorts.
To be honest, I was really tempted to jump into the water and do the same!
The bridge can also be crossed by cars, although most of the traffic at the time of my visit were pedestrians.
This being one of the EU’s outer borders, there is the whole array of flags and national borders, although no passport controls (the old guard posts are closed).
It’s interesting to imagine what the experience of crossing this bridge may have been like in other times in which international borders, even between similar countries within Europe, was a much more formal affair.
Only the Swiss side is urbanized here (although there are some cottages on the German side) since the town of Gaillingen, Diessenhoffen’s German counterpart is a couple of km further north. In this pictures you can see how Diessenhofen looks like as you approach from Germany across the bridge.
And voilà! We are in Switzerland. Diessenhoffen is actually part of the canton of Thurgau and it is exactly as you imagine a fairy tale Swiss town would look like.
To be clear, Diessenhofen is quite tiny and it doesn’t take much time to see its historical center and perhaps sit down at one of the local cafés. There is not much else to do other than digest the urban cuteness overflow!
Road trip through the heart of Germany - UPDATED
It is not as celebrated as its French or Italian counterparts, but the German countryside has a charm of its own…
The original post has been updated with additional tips, pictures and info from a second visit to Schwäbisch-Hall in late 2021.
It may not be as celebrated as its French or Italian counterparts, but the German countryside has a charm of its own.
In fact, to talk about “countryside” in Germany may not carry the same meaning as in other European countries where there is a more neat divided between urban and rural life. Germany’s economy is quite decentralized and you can find industrial activity pretty much everywhere. Even the smallest of towns may be part of a long, global supply chain that starts at the nearby Autobahn exit.
It is, in fact, one of these small-town global industrial giants that I had come to visit in this quiet corner of Germany, but, as usual, the long drive from Frankfurt Airport to my final destination of Schwäbisch Hall offered some interesting sightseeing opportunities along the way.
While Germany’s larges cities where bombed almost to obliteration during WW2 and, therefore pretty much all you see around is either modern or reconstructed, small cities in towns have often managed to preserve quite well their old, traditional looks.
Driving from Frankfurt International Airport to Schwäbisch Hall
The 200km-long route on the rented car had some surprises in store…
Although I set out from Frankfurt (FRA) with the idea of stopping somewhere around half-way for a quick bite. Serendipity intervened in quite an unexpected way.
Sinsheim, Germany
Imagine you are driving along the Autobahn, concentrated looking ahead and all the sudden you get a glimpse, just ahead of you, on one side…of a Concorde…yes, nothing less than the now-retired supersonic airliner….But what if I told you that, next to it there was a…wait for it…a Tupolev Tu-144, the Concorde’s Soviet equivalent!
I could not believe my eyes at first, but as I the car got nearer it became clearer that this was no mirage.
As soon as the first exit sign appeared on the side of the road, I didn’t hesitate. That was the first (unscheduled) stop of the trip and well worth it.
Technik Museum Sinsheim
The Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim is quite a treat for anyone with an interest in all sort of vehicles and moving machines. A proper celebration of motion technology.
A Tupolev Tu-104, the first viable jet airliner in the World, a Tu-144, the “Concordsky” and the Concorde, all in one row
In my case were the aircraft on display that caught my eye, but these are just a part of the larger collection that includes a large number of classical cars, tanks and railway material as well.
In fact, it is quite amazing how in the middle of a non-descript German provincial town you can find such an amazing technology museum.
Since my time was somehow limited, I did not pay the full ticket to get inside of the two industrial-style buildings that contain the indoor collections, mainly cars, and I went, instead, to see the aircraft collection, which is totally outdoors.
Aircraft from different eras, both civilian and military, on display in the most incredible positions from the roof of the museum and even on top of several stalls in the parking lot.
Here are some of the pictures that I took before heading back to the Autobahn, as I intended to reach Schäbisch Hall in daylight.
As you can see, some of the most iconic aircraft of aviation history are represented at the Sinsheim museum outdoor display: the Junkers Ju-52, The Douglas DC-3, the Concorde…
Bad Wimpfen, Germany
Next stop was not far ahead: the tiny village of Bad Wimpfen, a short 10km detour from the Autobahn.
As all German places with the word “Bad” in their name, Bad Wimpfen is a spa town. In this case, the exploitation of a natural salt-water source during the 19th Century for therapeutical uses is at the origin of this name.
The wall-enclosed old town its on an elevated escarpment overlooking the river Neckar.
Bad Wimpfen has actually a very long history, as this area was settled already in pre-Roman times. Most of the old town developed in the Middle Ages, when the town got its status as “market town” and even some German emperors passed through it occasionally.
The cobbled streets and wood-framed houses, some of them dating back to the 13th Century, give it a sort of fairy tale atmosphere. Bad Wimpfen is still today a market town, but on the day that I visited, a cloudy Winter working day, little was seemed to be happening. In fact, I hardly saw anyone during my short walk through the pedestrianised center of the old town.
One piece of advice I would give is: bring small change coins with you if visiting Bad Wimpfen, all parking spaces around the old town are paid by the meter, but unless you have a resident’s pass, the machines only admit coins (no cards or notes).
Schwäbisch Hall, Germany
A scale model of the old town of Schwäbisch-Hall
Another 45 minutes in the car would take me to the ultimate destination of this trip, the curiously named city of Schwäbisch Hall.
(actually I got curious about the name, so I checked it only and it is apparently a combination of a reference to the Swabian League, a German medieval confederation of different territories, and the word Hall, that often refers to places where salt was produced)
If you are accessing the historical center from the other side of the river, you will have the chance to cross a couple of old stone bridges, one of them with a wooden roof, which makes it a bit more picturesque
Schwäbisch Hall is a town of some 40,000 inhabitants. The old town is nested on a foothill along the banks of the river Kocher, that traverses its urban center.
It was already getting dark when I arrived, so the light was far from ideal to take pictures, but at least I had enough time for a stroll through the streets of the nicely preserved historical center.
The old town is built on an inclined planed, literally on the side of a hill, and presided by the towering presence of the church of St.Michael, right in the center of the Marktplatz (or “market square”).
This focal point, the main place of interest in Schwäbisch Hall, is on the upper part of the old town, so you need to walk up some steep streets to reach it.
Schwabisch Hall Marktplatz and Saint Michael church in the evening hours
Portico of the church of Saint Michael in Schwäbisch-Hall
Unlike other German market squares, the one at Schwäbisch Hall has the particularity of not being flat, the floor it is built on has quite a steep gradient. Perhaps to compensate for this, the church has quite an impressive set of stairs at the front.
There are quite a few remarkable houses around the Marktplatz and, as you can see here, not all of them are timber-framed!
Also, at the edge of the old town, on the banks of the river, there is a modern shopping area, but well integrated in the harmonious style of its surroundings.
Timber-framed houses are all over Schwäbisch Hall
Here are some more pics of my second visit to town. As you can tell from the light and colours, I enjoyed somehow sunnier weather this second time around!
Where to stay in Schwäbisch Hall
Aspire Kronprinz, Trademark Collection by Wyndham
Bahnhofstraße 17, 74523 Schwäbisch Hall
This four star independent hotel is located next to the river bank, just opposite the historical center (if you get a room on the upper floors you get the views).
The decor is a far cry from the contemporary design that prevails in most business hotels nowadays, here you will find more of a “homey” atmosphere. Also important is the fact that it is just 5min walk from the very center, yet not exactly in the core of the old town, which I guess facilitates it having its own parking space (always quite handy in the narrow streets of Europe’s old towns). Not luxurious, but clean and correct.
Hotel SMartino
Dolanallee 17
74523 Schwäbisch Hall
This is a functional, modern hotel that provides great value. There is just a caveat, though, and it is that you will need a car, since the hotel is in the outskirts of Schwäbisch-Hall, on a little hill and next to the town’s small airport (which gets only executive and general aviation flights).
The hotel has its own parking for guests and, in any case, it is no more than a couple of km from the very center of town, so it is actually quite convenient.
To be clear, this a motel-type place, but in a nice way, even stylish in a sort of contemporary designer style. The breakfast was also pretty good.
An interesting excursion around Schwäbisch Hall
Hohenloher Freilandmuseum
The next day, after finishing my work commitments, as I had still quite a few hours to make my way leisurely to Frankfurt Airport, I decided to stop at the Hohenloher Freilandmuseum.
Located in a rural area just a few km from Schwäbisch Hall, the Hohenloher Freilandmuseum is an open air museum that aims to display how life was in this part of Germany in centuries past.
The museum is actually spread over several hectares. Buildings from several location in Baden-Würtenberg were dismantled and brought here to the reassembled.
Although the museum was, technically, closed when I arrived, one of the paths that leading to its grounds was open, so there I went. After all, I was not interested in one specific aspect of German rural life, but looking to get a sense of the place.
As I approached a cluster of houses, each of them representative of a specific rural construction style, I stumbled upon some people that were doing repair work.
One of them offered to show me one of the houses so that I could get a glimpse of what the museum is about. Thanks to him I can show you what’s inside this 16th Century German farmhouse.
I must say, though, that one of the places I liked the most was the old train station. This station was also brought to the Hohenloher Freilandmuseum from its original location.
It even has a tiny old steam locomotive on display!
