Traveling to Europe – German-speaking countries
When making the decision to travel to Europe, many things must be taken into account. And the first of them, depending on the time you have to be there, is to decide which regions you want to visit. The cultural background of any of the countries in Europe is very different from all the others, and in this article I will focus on what tourists can expect from German-speaking countries. This will include Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Welcome to paradise is what I would say from the beginning, especially when we look at the scenes that you can find when traveling through the Alps region in Switzerland and also in Austria. These two countries have probably the most beautiful mountain tourism opportunities in all of Europe, with huge snow-capped peaks, glaciers, ski resorts, beautiful green valleys, lakes, and beautiful rivers and waterfalls. It is undoubtedly the paradise of nature and lovers of hiking.
On the other hand, Germany is massively occupied by flat land. A huge territory in the northern center of Europe, where although you can find some amazing natural landscapes, the most important focus will be in the cities. From haunted looking castles built many centuries ago, to thousands of scars from the two recent world wars. The recent history that divided Berlin into two parts is still visible there by the wall that separated them, now a symbol of unification and peace.
Definitely what you can expect geographically is absolutely different in the area, but what makes them stick somehow together is the language, German. Switzerland, in any case, is divided into three zones, and although they more or less know all the languages, in the north they speak German, in the south they choose Italian, and the western parts will be more comfortable with French.
A tour of this region, from my very personal point of view, should be done by train. Of course, there are very good plane services, especially with Ryanair and German Wings, that will take you almost everywhere at incredibly low prices, but taking a train ticket that covers all three countries can be a money-saving strategy.
Germany offers some amazing cities like Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Köln and many others. Visiting Schwarzwald can be a good experience to get in touch with nature, and the famous Baden-Baden hot springs will be a nice relaxing end to the trip.
Austria, full of natural attractions, also offers a city that has earned the name of Vienna, the City of Music. This is due to the large number of classical music composers who lived there composing their songs, and walking the streets still gives the feeling that the melodies wander in the air. Salzburg will be another major destination along with Innsbruck and Linz.
Switzerland is probably the center of paradise, with places like Grindelwald to be visited to get the best photos of your trip. In any case, cities like Zurich, Interlaken and Bern are beautiful and somehow it will give you the impression that although many people live there, you are walking through a small town high in the mountains.
In general, the German attitude leans more towards the do-it-yourself mentality. They are mostly quite proud of who they are, very comfortable with their culture, but sometimes they tend to be a bit stubborn. In any case, they can be extremely kind people and often more helpful than other more outgoing cultures.
In the end, the combination between the treasures of recent history and the activities that you can find in Germany plus the excellent quality of the natural environment that Austria and Switzerland offer along with their timelessly beautiful cities is simply one of the best in Europe. You just have to remember to pick up some German to prepare for the trip!
