Our thoughts after touring through Germany in 2016-17 and again in 2022.
Strengths: Germany is a wonderful place to explore in a motorhome. Excellent roads, lots of stellplatz (aire) with power and water. Clean and tidy streets, beautiful scenery only spoilt by wind turbines. Hosting many of europe’s great rivers if you fancy a cruise. Folksy villages, historic cities and disturbing modern history. No tollroads ! Excellent beer and wine (Pam recommends the troken riesling) at supermarket prices. Germany is home of Aldi and Lidl, hence economic shopping. Many Germans speak enough english to help you out.
Weeknesses: ย Hard to think of any ? ย Not easy to find a nice baguette or any light breads and the sausages all taste like a side-show frankfurt. ย Germany has lots of rules, just read the sign and follow the rules. ย The average cost in a stellplatz is โฌ18-20 in 2022.
Opportunities: ย If you like watching the latest AMG Mercedes and Porsche going flat stick, you’ll love the autobahns. ย In 2022 we toured northern Germany, the Rhein and Moselle. ย There are excellent roads and cycle paths along the rivers and canals and most towns have a stellplatz.
Threats: Germany’s open door policy for refugees was our only concern. However being realistic about the risk of terrorism, the risk in Berlin or Frankfurt is probably no different than London, Paris or Brussels. As motorhomes we don’t spend much time in airports and railway stations and try to avoid such places. You may find it difficult to find a vacant park bench in any of the larger towns, as bored young men are sitting around everywhere waiting for their permanent resident papers.