BARBARA GEIER: There’s no place like home

Here we are. Summer. I’ve finally decided that it might actually be worthwhile to change the wardrobe order from winter to summer and move those tees from back to front row. Let’s just hope that, by the time you’re reading this, I haven’t had to chuck them back again. In any case, we’re thinking sun and we’re thinking holidays.

Any plans yet? Maybe the usual British ‘suspect’ Spain? Or staying in the UK and following the growing trend of domestic holidays. Be it for Brexit-induced pound devaluation reasons or others. Germans, for their part, who are known as ‘Urlaubsweltmeister’ (‘holiday world champions’), have known for years that their country is a prime holiday destination. Holidays at home are all the rage. Yes, sure, the classic beach destinations Italy, Spain and Greece are still top but, based on figures by organisations such as the German Tourist Board (Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus), on average more than a third of Germans also go on holiday in their own country each year.

Why? Well, it’s convenient in times of international unrest. The ‘Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis’ (‘value for money’), a particular German obsession, is very good and, it needs to be said, the country actually has a great deal to offer and is much more varied than many would think. There’s beaches (yes, in the north, and beautiful they are), lakes and mountains, great hiking, cycling and a wide array of cities to discover. In particular, city trips are a growing trend with the ‘big three’ Berlin, Hamburg and Munich as long-term favourites but, increasingly, smaller cities are also on the list for Germans when exploring their country. I’ve always thought that from north to south and west to east, from Lübeck to Regensburg and Trier to Görlitz, the country has so much to offer in terms of beautiful, interesting and historic cities that many international visitors overlook. Well, you shouldn’t, I said it here.

So, yes, I can understand my fellow countrymen and women pencilling in a ‘Deutschlandurlaub’. According to German holiday site trivago.de, who’ve analysed search enquiries, there are a number of specific summer holiday trend destinations this year for Germans. They’ve compiled a top ten list and, interestingly, half of them are in Germany. At number one: a place called Glowe on Rügen, Germany’s largest island in the Baltic Sea, described as a small town with kilometres of fine, sandy beach. Sounds good to me.

If you’re into history or monumental historical events, you might want to check out another one in the said top ten list: Lutherstadt Wittenberg, birthplace of the Reformation where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the local Castle Church and a centre of this year’s celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. So, you can see there’s variety and every interest being catered for in good old Germany. In any case, and no matter if you consider giving it a go for a quick trip this year or not, I hope you enjoy your holidays! Fingers crossed for all of us that the sun continues to shine down on the British Isles, just for a change…

TEXT: BARBARA GEIER | PHOTOS: PEXELS.COM, BARBARA GEIER

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Discover Germany Magazine.’