On foot over a roller coaster, into a real ice cave or over a Lego bridge: you can experience all this and much more at these crazy travel destinations in Germany.
Keeping children happy when traveling is not always easy – many things are unfamiliar, you are stuck in traffic again or your new best friend is sorely missed. Luckily, there are always funny and spectacular places in Germany that have what it takes to lift the spirits in the back seat: eight ideas from the great book “The craziest travel guide in Germany.”
Duisburg: Tiger & Turtle Magic Mountain © heikoneumannphotography / Shutterstock
A roller coaster that you walk on instead of rushing along in a cart? Where is there something like that? In Duisburg! To be more precise, on the Heinrich-Hildebrand-Höhe in the Angerpark. The 40 by 41 meter large and 14 meter high sculpture has been standing here since 2011. Her full name is “Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain”. You really do feel magical here. It’s just a pity that you can’t also try to do the looping… Especially at night, when the roller coaster is beautifully illuminated, a special atmosphere unfolds.
Address: Ehinger Strasse 117, 47249 Duisburg
Wuppertal: The Lego Bridge © Allard One / Shutterstock
We’ve all probably built a bridge out of Lego bricks at some point. In Wuppertal, however, they went a step further and built a real bridge out of Lego bricks. At least that’s what it looks like when you look at the bridge on the sister road from afar. If you get closer, you can see that you have become the victim of a deceptively real illusion. The stones of the bridge are only painted. Brilliant! Street artist Martin Heuwold’s idea was so well received that a second Lego bridge has since been built in Wuppertal.
Address: Sister Street 5, 42285 Wuppertal-Elberfeld
Harz: cave houses like the hobbits © Photo Agency Zoonar GmbH / Shutterstock
Fantasy experts know that if you want to see hobbit caves, you have to go to New Zealand, where the Lord of the Rings saga was filmed and the filming locations have become popular destinations. If you want to save yourself the long flight and still want to feel like a hobbit, you should head to Langenstein in the Harz Mountains. There are twelve cave dwellings carved into the stone by poor farm workers in the 17th and 18th centuries. The apartments have an area of around 30 square meters each and have several rooms, with the walls between the rooms being made of natural rock. The construction of such a cave dwelling took up to five months. Sheep and goats were kept on the “roofs” of the cave dwellings to prevent trees from growing here and the roots bursting the sandstone and destroying the dwellings. Later, the cave dwellings were even expanded with small additions. However, they have not been used as dwellings since the beginning of the 19th century.
Address: Schäferberg 23, 38895 Lange
Usedom: A house is upside down © DR pics / Shutterstock
In this house in Trassenheide on the island of Usedom, the world is literally upside down. You enter through the roof, walk along the ceiling, and to see the floor you have to look up in the upside-down house. There, slippers “lie” next to a bed. The first few minutes feel weird, as you’re constantly afraid that things could topple over or fall on your head. One or the other could even get dizzy for a moment. But once you get used to the unusual perspective that the house offers, you can take wonderful snapshots that even Spider-Man would be jealous of. The fallen house on Usedom was the first of its kind in Germany.
Address: Wiesenweg 2c, 17449 Trassenheide, Usedom
Bremen: The submarine bunker Valentin © IURII BURIAK / Shutterstock
The submarine bunker Valentin is one of the biggest wounds that the Second World War inflicted on Bremen. Thousands of forced laborers lost their lives during the construction of the gigantic halls. The submarines were to be built here every 56 hours, with which the German army wanted to turn things around in the so-called submarine war. But that didn’t happen anymore. In the spring of 1945, several bombing raids ensured that construction work on the building, which was 95 percent complete, was completed. Like many other structural remnants of the Nazi era, the Valentin submarine bunker is also a sign of the Nazis’ megalomania. With a floor area of more than 35,000 square meters, the bunker is still the largest free-standing bunker in Germany. From the outside as well as from the inside, the building with its enormous dimensions literally overwhelms you. A part of the bunker has now been converted into a place of (commemoration) and can be visited. It is better to pack a jacket for a tour, even in summer. The meter-thick, largely windowless walls ensure that the temperatures inside the bunker do not exceed twelve degrees all year round.
Address: Rekumer Siel, 28777 Bremen
Hunsrück: Geierlay suspension bridge © Jurian Cuypers / Shutterstock
Be careful, this can get shaky. With a length of 360 meters, the Geierlay suspension bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in Germany. It is only surpassed by the Titan RT in the Harz mountains. At the highest point it is at least 100 meters in depth. The fact that the original Nepal feeling arises here also has something to do with the special construction, which is based on the bridges from Asia. A maximum of 950 people could stand on the bridge at the same time. Assuming they weigh an average of 80 kilograms. The bridge itself weighs 62 tons.
Address: 56290 Mörsdorf Coordinates: 50°5’24”N, 7°20’28”E
Saarland: The Gollenstein as from Asterix and Obelix © Matthias Blum / Shutterstock
The Gollenstein has stood on a small hill in Blieskastel for 5,000 years. It is a so-called menhir, i.e. one of those menhirs that the comic Gaul Obelix likes to mess around with. It was built by Stone Age people, who probably held a Stone Age cult at its feet. If you look closely, you can see today that the stone, which is just over six meters tall, has been broken into four parts. Here’s how it came about: After the stone had stood around undisturbed in the area for thousands of years, the Nazis showed up. Fearing that the easily visible landmark could make it easier for enemy armies to find their way around, they wanted to put the stone down. The soldiers tried to protect the Gollenstein with straw padding. But they didn’t do particularly well. The stone shattered. After the war, the individual parts were reassembled with concrete. The niche with a cross in the stone was probably carved in the early 18th century.
Address: 66440 Blieskastel Coordinates: 49°14’40.54″N, 7°14’58.44″E
Berchtesgaden: Impressive ice chapel © ON-Photography Germany / Shutterstock
The Königssee in Berchtesgaden gives rise to a fjord feeling. More than 2,000 meters high rock faces grow up on the shores of the lake, above all the massive east face of the Watzmann. The goal of this stage is also at the foot of this wall: the Eiskapelle, an ice cave that is part of the lowest-lying ice field in the German Alps. To get to her, you first take the boat to St. Bartholomä. From there a hiking trail leads to the Watzmann east face. Once you have reached the sign “The marked path ends here”, you still have to make your way for a good quarter of an hour along an unmarked path that is becoming increasingly alpine in the direction of the Eiskapelle. The best time to visit the Ice Chapel is in July and August. There is a risk of avalanches in the winter months. In addition, avalanches and snow may block the entrance to the chapel. As a rule, the entrance does not open again until spring. There is a constant danger of collapse in the ice chapel. Caution is required when entering. Under no circumstances should you venture alone or too deep into the cave. Inside, however, you will be rewarded with grandiose views and insights.
Address: 83471 Schönau am Königssee, coordinates: 47°32’36.77″N, 12°56’6.72″E
All tips come from the book “Germany’s craziest travel guide: Hidden Places, Curious Buildings and Mysterious Regions” by Daniel Wiechmann (Riva Verlag, 15 euros).