Reviews (6)

Perfect!
Before our family trip for 10 days throughout Germany, I purchased a few different travel guides. After having each of them in hand before leaving home, we took 3 books with us.By the 3rd day, we only carried 2 books with us: this one and then as a BACKUP, Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2006. Those 2 books were great for finding tourist sites, great restaurants and hotels that could accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids (most hotels don't have rooms with 2 beds!)

The BEST travel guide!
I highly recommend this book to anyone traveling to Germany. Even though my mother is a native German and I spent a large part of my childhood in Germany, this book is invaluable to me! It is packed with a wealth of information. Not only are the itineries well planned, the maps easy to follow and the "day trips" really easy to do in a day, but the restaurant choices are also terrific... Every restaurant that we ate at was in this guide and every one was fabulous.Hurray for Mr. Steinbicker!Please keep them coming!!!!

Great resource!
This book has been well-used during my time in Germany (stationed here with a military husband).On weekends that I feel the need to get out and enjoy the country (which is a lot during nice weather!), I just grab this book and go!The maps and suggested tours are wonderful!
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel / General   

Reviews (5)

Pretty but didn't use it
Before our family trip for 10 days throughout Germany, I purchased a few different travel guides.After having each of them in hand before leaving home, we didn't even put this one in our luggage.I reccommend Daytrips Germany, 6th Edition 1st and then Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2006. Those 2 books were great for finding tourist sites, great restaurants and hotels that could accomodate 2adults and 2 kids (most hotels don't have rooms with 2 beds!)

Germany
As always the eyewitness travelguides are superb. This Germany travelguide meets the expectations i have placed into the exewitness series and is very up-to-date.

One of our favorite Travel Guides
I love the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides for several reasons:color photos, background/history, maps/drawings of destinations, color coded sections, front and back flaps can be used as page markers (plus that's where they put the symbols for the descriptions).
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Germany    3. Guidebooks    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Reviews (5)

Excellent guide - ausgezeichnet!
I used this book as my guide travelling around Munich and I can strongly recommended it to others. The layout of the book is clear and logical which makes choosing destinations and getting there easy. The maps in the book are all in full colour, as always in this series, showing roads as well as public transport routes. Countless illustrations enrich the reading - each carefully drawn so as to say more than a thousand words found in other guides. The choice of restaurants, hotels etc were all great picks. I managed to find a couple of real gems of restaurants in the recommended list here. I can assure that speaking from personal experience: you can use this book with complete confidence!
The best guide on Munich
If you're planning on spending just a few days in Munich, then this compact little guide will be indispensible in locating the famous beerhalls and tourist sights. The maps are more than adequate and the walking descriptions to each locale are precise and accurate. There is also corresponding material on how to use the U-Bahn in the city and which station to take for each particular site. There is a separate chapter on the beerhalls of the city with a brief ranking system for the nosiest places, the friendliest, the cheapest beer, etc. As a resident...
...I can affirm the genuine worth of this book.The maps are convenient, easy to use, and marvelously clear.Furthermore, the organization of the guide is wonderfully helpful in assisting the traveler (or resident, as the case may be) in finding cultural destinations, culinary spots, that may have otherwise been missed.Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - General    2. Europe - Germany    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Reviews (19)

Good exercise, but only as reinforcement
The author seems to have her heart in the right place and the book is well organized, but I really doubt anyone will learn more than number, colors, or other such items.
Finally:A guide that makes sense!
After many books on Italian, French, Spanish, I finally found a learning guide that makes sense. Chapter 1: the alphabet.Chapter 2: key question words (who, what, where, when, why, how, how much).Chapter 3: Odds 'n ends (the words for "the" and "a").And so on.All words are shown phonetically, as well as how they are spelled in the native German.Tear-out sheets for reviewing on the go.Peel-off stickers to put around the house.This one seems to have it all.

Sorry, this book is not a good way to learn German
I've been learning Russian by self study for the last couple of years and recently decided to brush up on my German as well.I've purchased a LOT of language learning products as of late, and I've found that the quality and effectiveness of learning materials can vary greatly.I bought the Russian version of this text and was incredibly disappointed.I was in a bookstore recently and checked out the German version.Yup, more of the same.This book might be okay for kids, but it's not a serious learning tool. Learning a language in ten minutes a day may be a fun fantasy, but the resources available in this series of books won't do much to help you learn German.
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Subjects:  1. Conversation and phrase books    2. English    3. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    4. Foreign Language Study    5. German    6. German language    7. Language    8. Travel / Europe / Germany    9. Europe - Germany    10. Language self-study & phrasebooks    11. Self-instruction    12. Textbooks for foreign speakers    13. Travel   

Reviews (9)

Useful but limited and too patronizing
There is no denying it, this book has lots of useful tips and is easy to use but I did find the tone a bit patronizing at times. I really don't need someone to tell me what to think, even when in a foreign country. I also did not like the "show this book for x% discount" offers - I rather pay full price elsewhere and know the place is in the guidebook on its own merits.
Trite and conventional
Was very disappointed with this book.Not only did it cover only the most touristy places, but it left out many more interesting, not as common, sites.The real tip off is that he lists places that "guarantee the price listed here if you show them your copy of this book" or offer a "10% discount" with this book.That isn't really objective reporting in my opinion.

A bit too opinionated for me!
I haven't see the TV show, but a friend loves the series and strongly recommended the book.Before our family trip for 10 days throughout Germany, I purchased a few different travel guides. After having each of them in hand before leaving home, we took 3 books with us.By the 3rd day, we only carried 2 books with us: Daytrips Germany, 6th Edition and then as a BACKUP, Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2006.It was okay, but a bit too snarky for me.Using the 2 books together were great for finding tourist sites, great restaurants and hotels that could accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids (most hotels don't have rooms with 2 beds!). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Europe - Eastern    3. Europe - Germany    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Austria    7. Germany    8. Travel & holiday guides    9. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Reviews (8)

OK, but not as your only resource
This map is convienient (like the others in the series) because you can fold it in half and stick it in your pocket without it getting all ripped up.However, I ended up referring to other maps as well to verify where I was going. The Prague map is particularly inconvenient in that it divides the Stare Mesto (the central area where most tourists spend their time) in half, such that I frequently had to turn it over as I traced my path.

My favorite brand of maps
I've become a loyal fan of Streetwise maps, and the Prague map is no exception. The detail and accuracy of the map is great, and the laminated format makes it very easy to use. I never get stuck trying to re-fold Streetwise maps, and they're easy to fold down to view just the panel you need, so that you're not so obvious as a tourist walking around with a huge, unwieldy map. Plus, you never have to worry about tearing or spilling on them!

i agree, you do better for free
for all of the reasons described above, i too, like the streetwise series, but i didn't end up using this map...i'd say it rates fair/fine/ok.i had done some travel planning but upon arrival in prague found that the local/free/tourist maps showed more of central prague, better.just one specific example: the uzjed/petrin funicular was left off (or covered up by a key).and the flipping back and forth was inconvenient - something i'd expect and accept for central to suburb transition but not central to central locations. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Eastern    2. Maps & Road Atlases    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Czech Republic    5. Germany    6. Maps, charts & atlases    7. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Europe - Germany    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. Austria    7. Germany    8. Travel & holiday guides    9. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Reviews (4)

Typical Frommer's
I usually enjoy the Frommers format and approach to guidebooks and this one is no exception. It is beautifully detailed on the major cities but I found it less so for smaller and rural places. At times, the maps, especially town maps, are not that detailed but that is for me a lesser problem as I always get or buy proper maps from the tourist office / hotel / bookshop. On the other hand, it does have nice diagrams of the major museums. I also love the long lists and detailed descriptions of restaurants as well as the sections on what to do after dark in the major cities. However, I needed another guide once I wandered off the better-known and more rural destinations.

Pretty Good but no Great
I recently went to Germany for the world cup and found this book somewhat helpful but really the Lets Go Germany gave me much better advice on how to see Germany on a budget.Lets face it we are all on a budget these days.

Fine guide but leaves out too many interesting areas
A fine, well-written guide if it covers the places you want to go. I found it leaves out completely too many areas of Germany and focuses only on the well-known tourist areas. These areas are covered very well with comprehensive and easy to use hotel and restaurant listings.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Reference - Guides (General)    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. Germany    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Reviews (3)

Get the Best German Dictionary on the Market!
This is the best German dictionary by far that I have used in the past 30 years, it's truly outstanding.
Excellent desk reference
This is a great dictionary to have regardless of how new you are to German. With over 850,000 entries, this is not only a standard German-English, English-German dictionary, it includes dozens of idiomatic permutations for nearly every entry, helping with context, sentence structure, conversational usage--everything. It's especially good for students and businesspeople who need to strengthen their German. This dictionary has proven to be very helpful even in the short time since I've bought it, and I can definitely say that it was money well spent.

A great reference tool and aid to learning German
My school district purchased 8 copies for my German classroom. This dictionary has a type face that is easy to read and the English section is found in the front, which my students prefer. The best features are the focus on colloquial usage and the extensive inclusion of idiomatic phrases and meanings. It is, in my opinion, simply the best German-English dictionary available. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries - General    3. English    4. English language    5. Europe - Germany    6. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    7. German    8. German language    9. Reference    10. Reference / Dictionaries   

Reviews (8)

60% of contents are useless facts.
just on principle, i have returned the book even though it was only $9.it's definitely not for someone looking for a guide to german ways; the book should have been updated since 2002.

Useful
This book is a good reference for anyone planning on spending any time in German Europe.At the very beginning of the book there is quiz to test your knowledge, of which the answers are provides at the back of the book.Flippo uses culture and history to explain the German way of life.He covers all the main travel subjects such as entertainment, food and drink, language, and transportation.He also talks about other topics not often found in the common travel book; such as business and economy, health and fitness, and education.
Nice stories but it reinforces stereotypes and urban legends
I have lived in Germany for more than 20 years and am currently residing in the United States.
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Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. Culture shock    3. Etiquette    4. Europe - Germany    5. German    6. Germany    7. Germany - History - Post Unification (1989-)    8. History    9. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    10. National characteristics, Germ    11. National characteristics, German    12. Social life and customs    13. Subjects & Themes - Travel - General    14. Travel    15. Travel - Foreign    16. Cultural studies    17. Places & peoples: general interest    18. Guidebooks    19. Usage guides   

Reviews (5)

Very uneven, but sometimes useful
I agree with the other reviewers, who objected to Steves' dismissal of Rudesheim and Heidelberg. It's particularly arrogant of him to include nothing about them in the book. I visited both and enjoyed them, particularly Heidelberg, and I'm not a Disneyland/Hilton kind of traveler. He has some good nuggets of info. For example, we tried to get a room in Dresden on the spur of the moment, and the tourist office had nothing within 10km of town. But an agency listed in his book, renting private apartments a stone's throw from the Frauenkirche, had some very nice, reasonable units. That alone was worth the price of the book, but overall I think Steves is a little too sure that he knows the one and only right way to see Germany. Take another book with you, too.

Reasonably accurate with caveats
Ricks book on Germany was, for the most part accurate and useful. I had booked my trip and planned my itinerary before I had purchased the book so I mainly utilized the dining, shopping, and points of interest information. Rick was dead on about skipping Mainz--I should have--but didn't and wasted 2 perfectly good days in Germany. However, I feel Rick was totally wrong about skipping Rudesheim, inasmuch as I had the best time partying with the natives in the beer gardens along the Drosselgasse, and the Asbach cognac factory tour and tasting was neat too. Combo gondola/chairlift/river boat ride package from Rudesheim to the Germania monument then to Assmannshausen to sample spatburgunder and back to Rudesheim for 9 euros was a bargain and great fun too.Rothenberg was more of a tourist trap than I imagined, but Rick's book got me some incredible discounts at the store he recommends. A very useful book to have, but not the only one I would use !

Don't leave home without it
Will be bringing this with me in Sept. for a tour of Bavaria and Austria. Rick's books even have up to date hotel information. Can't wait to try his recommendations. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Austria    2. Europe - Austria    3. Europe - Eastern    4. Europe - Germany    5. Germany    6. Guidebooks    7. Travel    8. Travel - Foreign    9. Eastern Europe    10. Travel & holiday guides    11. Travel / Europe / Eastern   

Reviews (6)

Lovely!
Ideal for anyone contemplating a precarious excursion to Germany.

Married to a German and this was very helpful..
I have never been to germany although one day I really hope to go. My husband is german and his mother does not speak a lick of English. This desperate daughter-in-law was saved many embarrassing and fustrating moments by this book. It is a handy size to keep in the car or in a good size purse. I had to live with my MIL for a couple months and weeks at a time and this book has helped me communicate with her on many levels about many necessary topics, especially when my husband wasnt always around to translate or got tired of it.
It'll work, yep.
The ultimate compliment you can pay a travel guide?"Works as advertised".I'd argue the same goes for this survival guide of Germany and to a less extent, Austria.Read more

Subjects:  1. Austria    2. Conversation and phrase books    3. Description and travel    4. English    5. Europe - Austria    6. Europe - Germany    7. German    8. German language    9. Germany    10. Travel   

Reviews (9)

Eyewitness Berlin
The book was very useful. We have used these guides in several cities and they are always informative and well arranged. My only disappointment with this one was the map section. It lacked a good overall map. Once we got on the correct page it was OK but it was cumbersome to get there.

the PERFECT Guide
Being an Spaniard I has been compelled to buy this guide in English because the spanish edition was exhausted...Nowadays, and after my trip to Berlin I can say: Yes, really the Perfect Guide!!!

Great Travel Guide, Beautiful Coffee Table Book!
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Subjects:  1. Berlin (Germany)    2. Europe - Germany    3. Guidebooks    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel Guides    7. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Subjects:  1. Language    2. German    3. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Reviews (2)

good, but not wonderful
Good:Excellent writing, great pictures, and would recommend it for anyone who wants to know a little bit more about German culture and history.Alo liked the fact that it was in color.
Best of three guides to Germany I've used
I've lived, studied, and travelled a lot in Germany, and I've used three guidebooks: Let's Go (2003 edition), Lonely Planet (the two most recent editions), and this edition of the Rough Guide.The Rough Guide is the best of them hands down.For starters, it contains more text than the others: though I don't have the Let's Go on hand for comparison, the Rough Guide is almost 300 pages longer than the most recent Lonely Planet Germany, which comes in at about 800 pages.(Because of the thinner paper, however, it is almost exactly the same size as the LP.)The print is also denser and finer, so that the Rough Guide contains probably twice as much actual text as the LP.Legibility suffers a little, but it's a fair trade-off.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Germany    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Editorial Review

It's an enormous place with overwhelming tourist options. Smack in the middle of Europe, Germany's got the Bavarian Alps, windswept North Sea islands, the Black Forest and the castle-dotted Rhine. And there's Berlin, a city where you could easily spend all your vacation and not see a tenth of what it has to offer. Germany has history aplenty, an enormous variety of museums, cosmopolitan sophistication and rural quaintitude, camping, beer gardens, and music of all kinds. In short, Germany is the kind of place where a guidebook makes all the difference.Read more

Reviews (16)

Badly outdated
Normally, I am a faithful LP travel guide user, the books have always been helpul for trips I have taken in the past. On a 3 week trip through Germany in May-June 2006, I used the Germany LP and was unpleasantly suprised time after time at the outdated or just plain incorrect information in the book. Not little things like prices, which always go up, but major problems like listings for buses to the airport in Berlin, that I discovered after much searching, had been discontinued two years ago.This type of thing happened repeatedly. At the end of the trip I actually felt cheated and as if I had wasted my money, and worse, valuable time depending on information provided in this purchase. The only thing it ended up being good for was finding hotel listigs to make reservations with during the planning stages. I don't have another guide to suggest instead, but leaving basic transportation info outdated for so long is just negligent. I'm going to to try Rough Guide next time.

Makes the travel easier
For my one-week-only trip (I circulated around Frankfurt and Wiesbaden) the book did it's job.The maps are great; the articles refresh your memory and help you look knowledgeable enough when talking to locals.Overall I think it makes the visit through this very hospitable country easier and even more entertaining.

Extremely Helpful!
The best thing about Lonely Planet guide books is it gives you tons of useful information from customs and culture to language to the nitty-gritty how to, where to go, and what to see and do. We just returned from a one week trip to Germany. It was wonderful, and we took the Lonely Planet guidebook with us everywhere. It led us to many great cities, sights, restaurants, and places to stay. Highly recommended! We have also used Lonely Planet guidebooks on our trips to Thailand and Japan. It has never led us very far astray. :) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Germany    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Germany    5. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Reviews (1)

Planning my trip
I recently bought the 2006 Fodors Germany Guide.I am using it in conjunction with my Michelin green guide.Fodors is really very good for planning a trip to an unfamiliar place that they are acquainted with the area, the hotels and restaurants which is a strong point for them.The Green guide offers longer descriptions of some towns than Fodors but it also has its shortcomings.I also like the maps in Fodors and have been using one of their guidebooks for many years now for different countries.As an all around guidebook, even for an experienced traveler they are handy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Reference - Guides (General)    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. Germany    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Reviews (17)

The German Way
This is a great book even though it is ten
An OKAY guide...(Used for a school trip to Austria)
Just to let everyone who is reading this know, I was assigned this book for a class I took while studying abroud throughout Europe. I was specifically interested in using this book for information on Austria. Here's what I think:
A Quick Read
This slim volume presents dozens of aspects of German culture.For example, why do Germans value privacy?Why do they always close windows when they feel a draft?I definitely learned a lot from this book.My only complaints is that it could have gone a little more in depth about the causes of German behavior.Also, this book is a little out of date.It was published in the 90's, so there is a lot of talk about Marks rather than Euros, and you read a lot about the reunification of Germany, which is not as hot a topic as it was in the 90's.Even with these weak points, I think you'll be able to learn a lot.I wish that the author would release a more up-to-date version, though. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Etiquette    2. Europe - Germany    3. German    4. Germany    5. National characteristics, Germ    6. National characteristics, German    7. Social life and customs    8. Sociology    9. Travel    10. Travel - Foreign    11. Anthropology    12. Language learning: specific skills    13. Travel / Europe / Germany    14. Switzerland    15. Travel Guide    16. Austria   

Reviews (2)

brilliant! way better than lonely planet!
I just got back from a summer trip to Germany and Let's Go was my constant companion. My Let's Go guide survived violent almost-deadly storms on Lake Constance, brave climbs straight up the cliffs of the Rhineland, and not just one glass of fabulous German wine spilled on its pages. The Southwest Germany section is especially intriguing and rich in wilderness adventures (but watch out for those nettles!). A definite "thumbpick" for this book! :-P

the most up-to-date and useful guide i have found
i am just thrilled about let's go germany, 12th edition. it is an amazing book, much much superior to its predecessors. in comparison, the new guide offers many more pages of detailed advice, including new sights (such as toy-making towns in the former DDR and a brewery-monastery atop a hill near munich).
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Germany    5. Travel & holiday guides