Germany to showcase its heritage
GERMANY’S traditions and
customs; reunification 25 years
on; scenic routes; and the 500th
birthday of painter, Lucas Cranach the
Younger, are the focus of the German
National Tourist Board (GNTB) in 2015.
Customs and traditions play a
significant role in Germany’s rural
regions and this year the GNTB
plans to promote rural Germany by
highlighting living traditions, arts and
crafts and culinary aspects.
Heritage and history are among the
top 10 reasons foreign visitors choose
the country as a holiday destination.
Petra Hedorfer, ceo of the GNTB, would
like to see more inbound tourists
visiting rural areas this year, as a
disproportionately large number of
foreign visitors opt for city breaks.
“Twenty-two percent of inbound
visitors to Germany already head
for our rural areas. By picking up on
the current trend for originality and
authenticity, we want to promote
tourism development in these areas,”
said Petra in a press statement.
The GNTB campaign encourages
foreign visitors to sample Germany’s
traditional festivals. Among the popular
festivals are the Munich Oktoberfest,
which attracts six million visitors
annually, the Cologne Carnival, the
Bach Fest in Leipzig, and the Berlin
International Film Festival.
And while beer and bratwurst are
integral parts of German culture (there
are more than 1 300 breweries in
Germany), they’re just a small part of
the culinary delights on offer. Visitors
can sample around 300 varieties of
breads – many regionally distinctive,
more than 26 varieties of German
sausage, and potato dishes such as
pancakes, dumplings, and croquettes.
Germany also has 13 wine-growing
regions, many with small family-owned
vineyards that are well worth exploring.
Last year marked the 25th
anniversary of the fall of the Berlin
Wall and this year Germany will be
celebrating 25 years of its reunification
by promoting the large variety of tourist
attractions around the country.
The roads less travelled...
Germany
THERE are around 150 scenic routes
across Germany offering a great
variety of authentic experiences. These
include cultural, historical, architectural,
gastronomy, golf and spa routes, as
well as Black Forest, garden art and
Romantic Road routes. These can be
explored by car, motorcycle, bike and
on foot.
Some suggestions:
The Baden Wine Route leads through
one of Germany’s most beautiful
gourmet areas, with picturesque winegrowing
villages with Riesling, Pinot
Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir grape
varieties.
The scenic German Alpine Road
is a 450km winding tour through
the Bavarian Alps, from Lindau on
Lake Constance to Berchtesgaden
on Lake Königssee. The route has
21 mountain lakes, 25 castles,
palaces and abbeys, more than 60
spa resorts, charming villages, and
hundreds of peaks.
History enthusiasts will be fascinated
by the German Limes Route, which
transports travellers back to the
heyday of the Roman Empire.
The German Fairy Tale Route follows
in the footsteps of the Brothers
Grimm’s tales. The route offers a
variety of art and history, magical
medieval towns, castles, caves and
museums.
The Allgäu Cheese Route connects
alpine dairies with local farm shops,
holiday resorts and traditional country
inns in the Western Allgäu. The region
is best explored on bike or foot.
For more scenic routes, visit
www.Germany.travel/scenic-routes.
Austria
The most popular destinations in
Austria are Vienna, Salzburg and
Innsbruck but including a visit to the
lesser known country areas where
visitors can meet the locals and
experience their way of life offers a
touch of authenticity to a trip.
Exploring the Austrian countryside by
car is the best way to do it, says Inge
Dobihal, owner of Austria Connection.
She recommends:
Rust on Lake Neusiedl, east of
Vienna. It is a charming small town
with a vast steppe lake that is a
birder’s paradise. It’s also in Austria’s
biggest wine-growing region.
On the way from Vienna to Salzburg,
drive through the Wachau Valley, the
most romantic part of the Danube
with medieval towns, orchards,
vineyards on steep slopes, castles,
fortresses and ruins. Most famous is
Ruine Dürnstein, where Richard the
Lionheart was imprisoned.
South-west of Salzburg is the
Salzkammergut lake area. Here, a
visit to Lake Hallstatt is a must.
To explore Alpine life outside
Salzburg, drive west through one of
the Tyrolean valleys where mountain
farmers feed their cattle in the
mountains. Visitors can sample a
healthy meal with local beer and
wine. Zillertal, Oetztal and Alpbachtal
are some of the most scenic valleys.
In the Graz area, take the Styrian
wine route with its rolling hills.
Annemarie Lexow, Travel Vision’s
sales and marketing manager,
recommends cycling the Danube for
a less travelled route in Austria and
Germany.
The best of both worlds
TRAFALGAR’S guided The Sound
of Music tour covers Austria’s
romantic cities, dramatic scenery,
epic history and timeless
connection to music.
This ‘At Leisure’ trip (later
starts, longer stays, more free
time) is priced from R24 600
(excluding an early payment
discount of up to 7,5% by March
26). It starts in Germany, taking
in Munich, Neuschwanstein
and Oberammergau (site of the
Passion Play) before moving
on to Austria’s romantic spots
of Innsbruck, Berchtesgaden,
Salzburg, Mondsee, the Wachau
Valley and Vienna.
Also on offer is the 13-day
Best of Germany & Austria
tour, priced from R34 900pps
(with the possibility of an early
payment discount as above). The
tour begins in Frankfurt, where
travellers take a Rhine cruise to
Cologne. Then they board the
InterCity Express high-speed train
to Berlin for two nights.
It’s then on to Bayreuth and
Rothenburg before stopping
in Munich for two nights.
Neuschwanstein Castle and
Innsbruck follow, then Salzburg,
where a local specialist leads
a walking tour to locations of
The Sound of Music, as well as
Mozart’s birthplace. From there
it’s off to Vienna via Dürnstein.
A Best of Germany tour and a
Highlights of Germany Costsaver
trip are also available.
Austria 2015 – music and festivals
AUSTRIA is known as the
home of music and festivals,
and there’s always something
on wherever you go in the
country, says Inge Dobihal.
There are jazz festivals,
dance, gourmet and film
festivals, street theatre and
even an avant-garde pop
festival.
The country is also home
to some of the world’s most
popular classical music
festivals. Topping the list is
the Salzburg Festival, taking
place this year from July
18-August 30.
Other ‘must-visits’ this
year are the Salzburg Easter
Festival (March 20-April 5),
Vienna Festival (May 15-
June 21), Mörbisch Operetta
Festival on Lake Neusiedl
(July 9-August 22), the
International Haydn Festival
in Eisenstadt (September
3-13), and the Bruckner
Festival in Linz (September
13-October 7).
But one doesn’t have to be
there at festival time to enjoy
the music, says Inge. In cities
such as Vienna and Salzburg,
operas and operettas, Johann
Strauss and Mozart chamber
music concerts take place
almost daily, except in the
holiday months of July and
August.
This year also marks the
50th anniversary of release
of The Sound of Music, which
was based on the life of
Austria’s Von Trapp family.
Each year, around
300 000 fans of the movie
visit Salzburg, where filming
took place. There are a
host of special productions,
events, exhibitions and even
The Sound of Music Choir
Festival taking place this
year.
The Von Trapp family’s
former Salzburg home is
now a hotel, with its ground
floor dedicated to their story.
In 2015 there’s a special
exhibition at the house, and
a 45-minute tour includes the
rooms where the family lived.
Sell these!
Self-drive
AUSTRIA Connection is
offering a seven-day, selfdrive
Beautiful Austria 2015
package from €557pps
(R7 246). It takes in Vienna,
Salzburg, Innsbruck, Zell am
See, and Graz, includes six
nights’ accommodation with
breakfast in three-star hotels,
and car hire with unlimited
mileage, CDW and theft
insurance.
The tour operator is
also offering two Vienna
packages:
The Vienna Interlude
with three nights’ hotel
accommodation with buffet
breakfast from €330pps
(R4 293) in a three-star
hotel and airport hotel
transfers, a 72-hour Vienna
Card, two-day hop on, hop
off sightseeing tour; coffee
and cake at a traditional
coffee house; and a
traditional lunch or dinner
at a restaurant.
The Vienna – Music
Experience package with
two nights’ accommodation
with buffet breakfast in a
three-star hotel; tickets to
a Johann Strauss concert,
and return airport transfers
from €178pps (R2 316).
Cycling and cruising
Travel Vision’s walking and
cycling adventure holidays
in Germany and Austria
are routed from Passau to
Vienna, enabling travellers
to explore some of the
best destinations in both
countries. The activity level
ranges between leisurely and
moderate, and they are great
for young and old alike.
“Starting in Passau, you
follow the bends of the
Danube through steep
valleys and wide riverside
woods, passing many
delightful castles, ruins and
abbeys and visiting historic
towns such as Linz, Melk
and Krems before arriving
in beautiful Vienna,” says
Annemarie Lexow.
For those seeking more
luxury, Travel Vision offers
Danube river cruising.
The seven-day Cruising –
Christmas Markets cruise
from Vienna to Nuremburg
via Passau departs on
December 11 and is priced
from R9 927pps. “Travellers
will be enchanted by the
snow-covered winter scenery,
and attractively decorated
villages and towns, all getting
into the Christmas spirit,”
says Annemarie. Shore
excursions take travellers to
the Christmas markets for
gift shopping.
Grand Prix
F1 Grand Prix Tours is
offering an attractive threenight
package to the 2015
Formula 1 Austrian Grand
Prix from June 18-22. The
package is priced from
R22 187pps (ex-JNB).
Included are return
economy flights and taxes
from JNB to Klagenfurt
via Paris; accommodation
in a superior four-star
hotel, service charges and
taxes, return airport/hotel
transfers, guided group circuit
transfers; and the services
of an F1 Grand Prix Tours
tour director. Breakfast (add
R202pppn) and race tickets
from R2 159-R7 984 are
excluded.
Also on offer is a threenight
package to the 2015
Formula 1 German Grand
Prix from July 16-20. Package
prices start from R18 648
(standard four-star hotel), and
R20 638 (VIP four-star hotel)
ex-JNB. It includes return
economy-class flights via
Zurich, service charges and
hotel taxes, return airporthotel
transfers, guided return
circuit transfers and the
assistance of a tour director.
Weekend race tickets are
excluded and range between
R5 424 and R8 046.
Full Paddock Club (VIP
hospitality) and exclusive
F1 Team hospitality (be a
guest of a Formula 1 team
of your choice) are available
for both individual and
corporate clients.
