Motorhoming through Northern Germany

We have been to Northern Germany a few times. It might seem like an odd choice of destination but we were attracted to it by accident really. We usually pass through it en-route to and from Scandinavia and the Baltic States and always take the time to spend a few extra days here.

Cologne Cathedral

The first thing to say about Germany as a whole is that it is superb for motorhomers. The network of aires (called stellplatz) is better (we think) even than the French one. There is literally an aire every few miles, which means if you don't like the look of one, you simply drive for a few minutes to find the next one. Many of them are free or charge a small amount (5-10 euros) for the night. They are all in a book (more of a magazine really) called Reise Mobil Bord Atlas, which is available in book shops. It costs around 25 euros and is in German, but you can work it out and you make your money back in one or two nights compared to paying for sites.

Our definition of Northern Germany is very loose indeed here basically covers the route from Holland up to the port of Travemunde i.e. the way we went en route to Sweden. Consequently we are missing out some of the larger towns in the north. Regular readers of the blog will know that I can never do justice to lots of the places we have been to and this will be no exception!

So here's the list of places that we would recommend going (on and around this route) and why:

Hamburg: Germany's second largest city. A massive centre for history, business and tourism. Apparently it has 2300 bridges! Not particularly easy to drive in with busy motorways around it. We stayed 20km out and went in on the train.

Lubeck. Amazing architecture and marzipan!

Cologne (Koln): Germany's fourth largest city nestling on the Rhine. Rich in history with an amazing cathedral. There is a cheap aire here right on the river and only about a mile from the city. Great cycling paths down the river. We preferred Cologne to Hamburg actually. 

Rhine and Mosel valleys: Heading south from here is what some guidebooks think is the most beautiful part of the Rhine valley. Heading east will take you down the Mosel. Both provide many opportunities for wine drinking as you might expect.

Lubeck: University and port town on the Elbe. Beautiful old town with associated architecture and also famous for marzipan production.

Travemunde: We only went here as it's where you catch the ferry to Sweden, but it is actually a beautiful seaside town with large bays running at right angles to each other (if that makes sense). The sea front is lined with restaurants and cafes and it also has a large aire right on the harbour.

Nord-Ostee Canal: An amazing piece of engineering that runs for around 100km with Kiel at one end and the North Sea at the other. Along the route are numerous picturesque towns and loads of aires and wild camping. Much of the canal has walking/cycle paths and small ferries or tunnels making it easy to get along and over. 

Overnight spot right on the Nord-Ostee Canal

Flensburg and Celle: If you are driving up to or back from Denmark there are a couple of places that really are worth an overnight stop. We only found these by accident as they coincided with the need to find an aire for the night. Flensburg has a beautiful harbour and Celle boasts lots of half-timbered houses and a massive town hall.

For those of you who know this area, you will probably wonder why I have missed out so many places: Bremen, Hanover, Munster etc. It' simply because we didn't get to them en route. I've said it before, but one of the great things about motorhoming is that every time you go you come back with a list of places that you want to go back to. We'll there there next time!