h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi, Garfield.

After three years working in Duesseldorf, I think you might be better off if people judged the country by Munich or Berlin

Seriously, though, you're right that it's easy to get seduced by the Bavarian image, or failing that the Prussian one. I like Cologne a lot, and my fiancee and I had a lovely long weekend just up the road from you in Dresden last year - it's like Prague without the yuppy tourists.

On the other hand, the worthy but dull Ruhr Valley is never going to be a selling point - though more people might come to Essen if they knew it had a Marks and Spencer's . (that's an English store enjoying cult status, in case you're confused).

Sadly, we have to recognise that to the foreigner, England will always be tea, roast beef and bowler hats; France will be wine, garlic and berets; and Germany will be beer, suasages and leather shorts.
The only tool we have to change that is this Guide - so let rip and tell us all you know!

Okay - here it goes.
Dresden: stunning town, lots of history and nice restaurants and cool bars, locals are friendly and open and speak in a
funny Saxon accent other German people from other areas might class as sounding dumb but I class as cosy; Canalletto painted it a lot (if I spelled the
name correctly; church bombed during WW2 being rebuilt by famous architects...nearby the Saxon Switzerland, a
natural reserve with weird looking mountains of stone and brilliant views
Leipzig: lively town with lovely old market, two town halls and lots of stunning architecture, but also lots of horror architecture from the 60ies;
brilliant night life, lots of new bars popping up and events happening, student town, lovely lakes just outside for
swimming in the summer, small city - and yet again that cosy accent...

My favorites are Bamberg, Regensburg and Lübeck, why does no-one know about these fantastic citys in Britain?

Hi,

I like Regensburg very much because it's my hometown
Regensburg is nice! We got the Wurschtkuchl, the Salzstadl, the "Steinerne" and a lot more of exciting things to visit...

Guten Tag Autistic Cucoo then. Welcome to h2g2. If you go to my home and write something there people will be able to pop by and say hi. I'll be back later to check it out.

DD

If your'e still around.... I LOVE Bamburg. Great place. Another of my favourites (because I grew up there) is Soltau and Lüneburg. I also like Köln (but only because of the Marks & Spencer). Write an entry on it, please!!???

Having lived in Hamburg for nearly three years and worked here for a year before that I have to say that on the whole some German people can be a bit dull. Having said that I have met some very interesting St Pauli football fans. Hamburg is possibly the most cosmopolitan of German cities and appreciates world affairs. It has afterall centred itself around its large port on The Elbe river and made most of its money through international trade.

I think native Hamburgers (yes, thats what they're called) get quite annoyed at the stereotypical image of Lederhosen and "ump-ta-ta music" (native to Bavaria) that so many non-Germans have.

Yes, it's 'Hummel Hummel' for Hamburgers, as well as 'Stolpern übern spitzen Stein' (the way Hamburgers used to pronounce st and sp rather than saying scht and schp like the rest of Germans).