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Landscapes of fabled beauty and scenic splendor are found throughout Germany, and views of them are accessible by train, boat, and car. And at one time, Germany was a conglomeration of regional kingdoms, duchies, and vast estates, ruled over by an assortment of kings, dukes, princes, and prince-bishops. As a result, Germany is loaded with a fascinating collection of castles and palaces.
From the majesty of the Bavarian Alps in the south to the sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea in the north, and from the winegrowing Rhine Valley in the west to the high, rocky cliffs along the Elbe in the east, Germany offers a wealth of sightseeing possibilities.
- From Dresden, you can easily explore a scenic region called Saxon Switzerland, where rocky cliffs rise dramatically above the Elbe River.
- The Romantic Road is the most romantic byway of all, offering a remarkable medley of small medieval towns set within a gorgeous Bavarian landscape of river valley and mountain meadow.
- Perhaps the most dramatic of all German landscapes is the Bavarian Alps. The country's highest mountain, the Zugspitze, towers above the alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
- Sophisticated health spas and recreational activities abound in the forest-clad mountains of the Black Forest, where you find lakes, hiking trails, and scenic lookouts.
- The Bodensee, an enormous lake near Germany's sunny southwestern border, is like a bit of the Mediterranean, with semitropical gardens and an almost Italian languor.
- Cruises down the mighty River Rhine take you past castle-crowned crags and legendary sights, such as Lorelei rock.
- The Mosel Valley, between Trier and Koblenz, is a scenic winegrowing region encompassing thousands of acres of vineyards, Roman ruins, medieval castles, and riverside towns with cobbled streets and half-timbered houses.
- With its fruit trees and vineyards growing on sunny, sheltered slopes, the Rhine Valley, from Koblenz south to Alsace, is like a northern extension of Italy.
- The Rheingau wine district, found along a lovely 45km (27-mile) stretch of the Rhine, west of Mainz and Wiesbaden, has been a wine-producing region for upwards of 2,000 years.
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