As we near the summer season, I am still thinking fondly of a trip I took this winter. After two plus years or restricted travel, we have kicked 2022 off strong with a visit to our family in the USA, a week in Austria, and 10-days in Andalusia. It has been amazing to be on the road again and experiencing friends and family, new places, and the feeling of possibility.

So back to this trip to Austria. I covered our snow-filled days in mountain-perched Raggal, but – like they say – the journey is half the fun. The drive between our start point and ultimate destination was about 6 hours. In USA norms, this is a total doable drive. But we had time and wanted to take things slower, go at a more European rate. So we picked several places for stops, plus two mid-way destination to stay overnight.

As all of us are long-term residents in Berlin, we’ve visited the usual culprits of Leipzig, Halle (Salle), Jena…. we needed to look further afield. We poured over maps looking over our route and checking lists of “Under-rated towns in Germany” and “Best small towns”. Here is the road trip we took from Berlin to Raggal, Austria and back again, with a side trip thrown in for fun.

Naumburg

Stop in Naumburg Photo: Erin Porter

I had never heard of Naumburg. When trying to tell Germans in Berlin where we were going, they just assumed I was pronouncing Nuremberg (Nürnberg) poorly as many of them had never heard of it either.

It was a good first stop to stretch our legs. Located in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, it is a small city of 33,000. We wandered past the Holzmarkt and a statue of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Turns out, he lived here from 1850 to 1856 and his former home is a museum nearby. There were stucco heads in a window of a theater, a former moat, and then we reached the center of the city and the main point of interest in Naumburg. The Naumburger Dom (cathedral) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is truly unique. Part of the Romanesque Road, it has medieval choirs at both ends so the church is entered from the sides. It was a worthy first stop.

Bayreuth

This German city is practically synonymous with Richard Wagner. Born in Leipzig, his classical works like Tristan und Isolde (1859) and The Ring (1874) are legendary in the opera world and his scandalous personal history still titillates. His mark is permanently left on the city of Bayreuth with the custom-built Festival Hall where the renowned Bayreuther Festspiele (Bayreuth Festival) is held each year. We only stopped by on our way out of the city as it is located in the hills outside of the center and it is an impressive structure, although for a better experience you have to attend an event.

However, our main objective in Bayreuth was finding a meal. We were coming into the city on a Saturday night and didn’t anticipate such trouble getting Bavarian food. When we called our top choice of German restaurant, they nearly laughed when we asked for a spot for 4 (plus two kids) that night. That was promptly followed by several more rejections. Finally, I saved the day with availability at unpretentious and perfect Manns Bräu. We got a schnitzel that hung over the sides of the  plate, Spätzle, and the first of many Schäufele. It was hearty and delicious and the beers flowed. Ideal first stop.

After wandering the dark streets, we retired for the night ready to eat more in the morning. For breakfast we got in to our top choice of restaurant at Oskar and feasted on Weißwurstfrühstück (Weißwurst in warm water, mustard, pretzel, and beer). We came to Bayreuth hungry, but certainly didn’t leave that way.

Regensburg

500-year-old sausage stand in Regensburg Photo: Erin Porter

This was our overnight destination on the way back from Austria and all of us were blow away by this charming German city. Though our visit was temporarily marred by an anti-vaccine gathering, we were still able to walk its post-card perfect streets, cross the iconic bridge, and eat at the oldest restaurant in Germany.

The medieval centre of the city is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site and the fourth largest city in Bavaria. Located where the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers meet, it has been an important location since Roman times. We enjoyed pointing out the chic Tracht (traditional dress) shops, so many antique stores, and many restaurants in which I’d be happy to stop for a bite. This is the rare German city where I wondered, “Could I move out of Berlin for here?”

We ended our visit crossing the Regensburg (which translates to “stone bridge”) which was built from 1135 to 1146. The knights of the 2nd and 3rd crusades crossed the Danube here on their way to the Holy Land. And now we were crossing it, too. We rounded the corner to eat at Historische Wurstküche zu Regensburg (Regensburg Sausage Kitchen) which was originally built to feed the workers who built the bridge. That’s right – circa 1135 AD! If the legends are to be believed, this is the oldest continuously open public restaurant in the world. We bought our requisite Wurst (that is the only thing on the menu) and enjoyed one last wander through the city.

Bonus Destination

Liechtenstein and Switzerland

Bridge from Lichtenstein to Switzerland Photo: Erin Porter

One last location was not on our way, but worth the detour. We were so close to a new country for all of us – Liechtenstein – we couldn’t resist. We drove through Vaduz, the capitol, looking for signs of something different. Mostly, it looked the same to the small-town Austria we had been driving though. We got out by the river and admired Vaduz Castle on the opposing hill. The water was a mineral rich blue and we wandered across an old wooden bridge, Alte Rheinbrücke (Old Rhine Bridge), watching walkers, bicycles, and even horses emerge. We walked thorough to find ourselves in Switzerland on the other side! Crossing back, there are signs in the center where you can place a foot in both countries.

It was the ideal destination to round out the trip.