Food and Drink

The cooking found in Germany today is perhaps the best in Europe. Certainly there are now as many Michelin starred restaurants in Germany as in France. It may not always be haute cuisine, but it is tasty and wholesome. Breakfasts are substantial and include cheese and cold meats, ideal before a day's cycling. Typical local dishes are frequently offered by our hotels.

Where half board is booked, we can usually arrange vegetarian food if requested in advance. Otherwise we will advise hotels, but can take no responsibility for the menu available at the time.

First class wines are produced in Franconia and on the Rhine and Mosel, while Bavaria and Franconia have some 800 breweries, many making highly distinctive beers. A good range of fruit juices and mineral waters is always available too.

Hotels

There is no compulsory grading system for hotels in Germany, and most small, family run hotels do not take part. We categorize accommodation as follows:

Pensions are very small, family-run establishments that only serve food to residents, often breakfast only, and only have a few rooms. There is normally no bar on the premises.

Inns approximate to pubs in the UK. Their main business is providing food and drink to visitors and local people, but they also have rather more bedrooms than pensions.

Hotels are larger than inns. The bedrooms are larger and there is often a restaurant as well as a bar. There is often a lift too.

Superior hotels are large establishments that have a wide range of facilities such as a swimming pool or sauna, as well as large bedrooms and often more than one bar.

Please do not expect to find Tea and Coffee making facilities in hotels.

German Forests

The forests of Germany are totally different from the dead, regimented plantations that bear the name forest in Britain. The German Wald teems with life and colour; it is the home for many species of animal and plant. Trees may be evergreen or deciduous, or they may be mixed, while alongside the forest tracks a profusion of butterflies dance among the wild flowers.

Wildlife

Roe and red deer are common, wild boar and polecats less so and buzzards, red kites and goshawks may be seen overhead. Parts of many forests are set aside as small nature reserves to protect this richness for the future, demonstrating to all the German love for and care of their environment.

Discounts

Significant discounts are available for children under 14 when travelling by train, as well as when they share a room with their parents. Please contact us for more details.