Original subtitles

(upbeat music)

- Our journey begins amongst the hills

and medieval ruins of the Palatinate Forest.

Crossing the vast vineyards of the Rhine Valley

takes us to Karlsruhe, the city planned

around its grand palace.

After a detour to Bruchsal we head to bustling Stuttgart,

home of Mercedes Benz.

From there it's east to the wall city of Nordlingen.

Then through the countryside to the enchanted Bavarian town

of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Following the popular tourist trail

known as the Romantic Road takes us to Wurzburg

and its famous palace.

East along the banks of the river Main

is a magnificent city that's the last stop on our route,

the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bamberg.

Straddling the border with France in southwest Germany

is where we find the Palatinate Forest,

home to low lying mountains and swaths

of pine and chestnut trees.

More than a hundred medieval castles and ruins

still cling to imposing sandstone peaks and cliffs.

Beyond the trees, just past the Haardt Mountains

the rolling hills give way to the Rhineland.

This region is Germany's second largest producer of wine,

and here Riesling is king.

The Romans realized grapes could be planted in this area,

but it was the medieval monks

who established the region's finest vineyards.

Today German vintners carry on centuries old traditions

to produce some of the finest wines in the world.

Their heritage lies in 85 kilometers

of ancient vine clad fields whose roots reach east

to cross the Rhine River.

It's where we find the city of Karlsruhe

and its striking palace and gardens.

It was originally built for the Margrave

Karl Wilhelm in 1715.

He ordered the clearing of a large swath

of the northern edge of the Black Forest

in order to build his summer residence.

But as it went its construction also marked the birth

of a new city.

32 streets and avenues radiate out

from the palace tower like the ribs of a fan.

Allied bombing in 1944 destroyed the palace

and narrowly missed the Queen of Sweden,

who was sleeping in one of the resident wings.

It was quickly rebuilt and today houses a museum

and part of the Federal Constitutional Court.

On route to our next stop

is the picture postcard countryside

where asparagus thrives in the fine sand

of the Rhine Plain.

Germany is Europe's biggest producer

of the prized vegetable.

We come to Bruchsal and its 18th Century palace

lorded for its grand courtyard and marble dome.

It was the creation of the architect Balthasar Neumann,

considered to be the foremost master

of the late Baroque style.

He had a hand in most of the major building projects

in this region, including more than a dozen churches.

The palace complex boasts over 50 individual buildings,

and while the foundation stone was laid in 1720

it will be several decades

before construction was completed.

Today Bruchsal palace stands not only

as a stunning illustration of baroque architecture,

but also a study of meticulous and historically accurate

reconstruction work that wasn't completed

until well into the 1970s.

Traveling southeast to the outskirts of Stuttgart

we find another gem, but one with humble beginnings.

Once a hunting lodge, Ludwigsburg Palace

was converted to a residence for a Duke and his mistress

to become one of Germany's premier palaces.

Referred to as a Swabian Versailles

it was amongst the largest buildings in Europe

in the mid 18th Century.

The palatial complex consists of 18 buildings

with 452 rooms surrounded by a park landscape.

A five minute walk from the palace

brings you to a small summer residence

and hunting lodge called the Favorite,

which provides sweeping views of the grounds.

The main courtyard is as big as a city plaza

with elaborate baroque manicured gardens,

and it's these that steal the show.

Thousands of tulips and roses compete for attention

alongside fruit trees and Japanese bonsai plants.

Another popular stop is the fairytale garden

that delights people of all ages.

It features Rapunzel's tower and other icons

from Grimm's fairytales.

One palace resident, Duke Eberhard Ludwig,

is credited with the planning of the gardens,

but they often changed as the royals came and went.

At one point they were even converted to orchards.

Finally, in the 20th Century the grounds

were returned to their former glory.

And in 1953 they were opened to the public.

It's easy to see why they attract

thousands of visitors every year.

We leave the tranquility of the palace garden

and travel south to the bustling state capital of Stuttgart.

Often called Germany's biggest small town

it transformed itself from a pastoral oasis

to one of the country's leading industrial centers.

It's also jokingly known as the town that cars built.

Not only are Mercedes, Maybach,

and their parent company Daimler based here,

it's also the corporate home of Porsche.

And yet Stuttgart is a city of contrast.

Its industries are nestled within a picturesque valley

of leafy hillsides and park lands.

It boasts an abundance of arts and culture.

It's home to the International Bach Academy

as well as top ranked ballet.

And of course there's the ever present

outdoor swimming pool, a common site in many German cities.

No trip to Stuttgart would be complete

without a visit to the old castle.

Standing in the very center of the city

it dates back to the 10th Century

when Stuttgart was a small settlement

for breeding horses.

This place started out as a fortress

protecting the stud garden

from which Stuttgart gets its name.

In the 16th Century the original keep

was converted into a Renaissance palace

with a grand courtyard where royal ceremonies took place.

Today the castle is the home

of the Wurttemberg State Museum,

which displays antiquities from the time

when the fortress was founded.

Another Stuttgart attraction is the famous double house.

Built in 1927 it was a combined effort

of 17 avant guard architects, among them

the famed Le Corbusier.

Standing on almost absurdly thin columns

it was constructed as part

of an international building exhibition.

Le Corbusier believed a home should function

as a machine for living, and intended the double house

to be much like a car, popular, standardized,

and mass produced.

It wouldn't be surprising

if the great architects inspiration from cars

sprang from here, just on the other side of town.

This is the renowned Mercedes-Benz works.

The company dates back to Karl Benz invention

of the horseless carriage in 1885.

And while they now operate factories all over the globe

their headquarters remain here in Stuttgart.

Its gleaming multistory museum

draws more than 800,000 visitors each year

who come to view an extensive collection

of antique and modern vehicles.

The official motto of Mercedes-Benz

is the best or nothing.

These cars are certainly among the finest in the world,

but with a price tag of around $90,000

for a top of the range S class many of us

might have to settle with the later,

but we can still enjoy the museum

where admission is free.

But car manufacturing isn't the only industry

the city is known for.

Just on the outskirts is the town of Weinstadt.

Set among 610 hectares of vineyards

it's referred to by some as the Tuscany of Germany.

The name Weinstadt literally translates as wine city.

Tending the land is the Rems Valley Winery,

a cooperative owned by some 15 hundred local growers.

It's the 10th largest in Germany.

This region's signature grape is the Trollinger,

which makes red wines that light in both color and taste

and are grown almost exclusively

in this particular area of Germany.

Here we pass the Ipf, a barely wooded mountain

crowned by the traces of a prehistoric hill fort.

Nearby and overlooking the town of Bopfingen

is another relic of the past,

the medieval ruins of Castle Flockberg.

Once the home of Swabian nobles

all that remains today are the ghostly remnants

of the ancient walls.

We travel east into the Bavarian countryside

and the medieval wall town of Nordlingen.

It's a place where old traditions die hard.

Every half hour between 10 p.m. and midnight

a century climbs an old tower and calls out,

"all's well", across the ancient city.

Nordlingen is built on the site of an unusual depression

which geologists believe was caused

by a half kilometer wide meteorite

that fell to Earth 15 million years ago.

The old walls seem to perfectly trace

the circle of the surrounding crater hills.

One extraordinary legacy of the impact

is that each of the original stone buildings

in the town contains millions of diamonds.

Alas, for potential prospectors

they're all less than .2 millimeters in diameter.

It's believed some 72,000 tons of the tiny gems

were formed when the meteor collided

with the local graphite deposit.

Today Nordlingen remains one of only three

medieval German towns with a fully intact surrounding wall.

Making our way north we approach Schillingsfurst Castle.

Rising high above the town and situated on a rocky outcrop

this massive baroque structure can be seen for miles around.

Though almost certainly a pocket full, local tales

tell of the prince who built the castle

being left with only a single shilling

after paying for the opulent palace.

And thus it was named, Schillingsfurst.

The present structure is a successor

to several fortified castles that have dominated the spot

since the 11th Century.

It was also rebuilt no less than three times

after being destroyed.

Today it stands proudly intact.

Although still in private hands,

it's open to the public for guided tours.

Visitors who come between March and October

can also watch falconry displays

held in the castle's English stype courtyard.

We continue north to possibly one

of the most picturesque towns on this journey,

where a thousand years of history is packed

into its cobblestones, Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

It's a maze of winding streets filled

with crooked half timbered buildings

that look as if they've been snatched out of a fairytale.

From the 13th to the 15th Century

Rothenburg was Germany's largest city.

It intersected two prosperous trade routes,

Prague to Paris and Hamburg to Venice.

But it was to undergo a violent turn in its fortunes

in the 1600s, during the Thirty Years War.

The Catholic army captured the bustling Protestant town

and it was ransacked and looted.

It slumbered for hundreds of years

until it was rediscovered in the 19th Century.

But as it turned out, its isolation throughout

that period had kept it in a sort of time bubble,

eventually reemerging as one of Europe's most authentic

and well preserved medieval towns.

Today it's one of the key stops

on the Romantic Road, a designated site seeing route

for all that might be considered quintessentially German.

Some two and a half million visitors

flock to the town each year to take in one

of Bavaria's most fabled settlements.

Amongst the sites are the perfectly intact tile walls.

They connect five gated towers,

constructed from the 13th to the 16th Centuries.

Guided historic walking tours take visitors

around the gothic churches, exhibits, and museums.

And if that isn't enough to immerse you

in the city's past, Rothenburg also offers a variety

of medieval themed festivals, concerts and plays.

Flying south over Bavarian countryside

the sheer scale of farming gives away the fact

that this state produces the most food in Germany.

And more land than anywhere else in the land

is given to growing hops, after all

it's an essential ingredient in Bavarian beer.

Our next destination lies along an inland port

on the River Main, Wurzburg.

It's a city steeped in history,

the site of numerous revolts and invasions,

and the devastation during World War Two

where nearly 90% was reduced to rubble.

Many of the original buildings

have been laboriously restored to their former glory,

a fitting tribute to the resilience of the local people.

Today it remains the regional capital of Lower Franconia.

Wurzburg is a city of university students and industry.

It's renowned for its art, architecture, and wine.

The great 20th Century German author, Hermann Hesse,

once said, "if I could choose my place of birth

"I would consider Wurzburg."

To the east is a real pearl of the city,

a castle to beat all castles, simply called The Residence.

This magnificent baroque palace

is one of the largest in Germany, and deemed by Napoleon

to be the loveliest parsonage in Europe.

Once home of the Prince Bishop Sir Wurzburg,

this 400 room masterpiece is said to be rivaled

only by Versailles near Paris.

In 1780 construction was coordinated

by the young architect Balthasar Neumann

who worked with a talented pool of craftsmen

from all across Europe.

The Bishop who commissioned The Residence

wanted a proper palace rather than the drafty old fortress

of his predecessors.

It seems his wish was granted.

And towering over the city is that very drafty old place

that served the Prince Bishops five centuries prior

to the building of The Residence, Marienburg Castle.

What it may have lacked in comfort

was made up for as the undisputed symbol of Wurzburg.

The oldest building within the fortress walls

dates back to the eighth Century.

But beginning in the 1200s and continuing

throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods

fortifications were continually added.

Its first test of strength took place

during the peasants revolt of the 16th Century

when an army of 15,000 peasants

were unable to breech the outer walls.

As a result they were soon outflanked

by Swabian forces and half were massacred

in the battel that ensued.

Today it's an all together more peaceful place,

and the Furstenau Museum in the prince's wing

of the fortress allows visitors to walk

through 1200 years of Wurzburg history.

But one thing that hasn't changed over the march of time

is the German love for the outdoors.

On hot summer days most locals choose to cool off

at the community pool.

Some 400 of these facilities are dotted around Germany,

offering the opportunity to swim and bathe

beneath the open sky.

Such scenes have been prevalent throughout the country

since the 18th Century.

But Germany's love affair with swimming

goes back even further.

In 1539 the world's first swimming manual

was written by German languages professor, Nicolas Wynman.

In doing so he hoped to reduce the dangers

of drowning whilst swimming.

But even if you haven't read the professor's book

we all know it's safest to swim accompanied.

Judging by the numbers here, there's nothing

to worry about today.

Traditionally the community pools

are built alongside the waterways,

this instance the River Main.

It winds its way for 574 kilometers

from Mainz to Bamberg, and has played a vital role

in trade and fishing in the three states it serves.

The Main River is seen as a dividing line

between northern and southern Germany.

Leisure cruises offer fascinating trips

through these historic heartlands.

Off the beaten path, but not far from the river

is Weitzschenhain Castle, built in the 18th Century

for the Prince Bishops of Wurzburg.

Perhaps more famous than the castle itself

are the lavish gardens containing a man made lake,

and fountain as a centerpiece.

They were designed according to the principles

of the French rococo style.

It's one of few such examples in all of Germany.

The grounds were restored to their former glory

in the 1950s.

They're now looked after by the Bavarian State College

for Wines and Gardens, which was founded on this site

in 1902 as the Royal School of Gardening and Wine Culture.

Heading east we pass the 17th Century Furbroch Sanctuary.

It's cared for by Augustinian monks

and is a popular site of pilgrimage.

Rejoining the River Main takes us to Bamberg,

the last stop on our journey.

Here on the outskirts is the city's inland harbor,

an industrial and commercial center

for textiles, electrical equipment,

and heavy machinery.

The docks have long been vital to the region

since it's part of a waterway system

that connects the Black Sea to the North Sea.

Beyond the harbor is the historic town of Bamberg itself.

Pretty as a picture postcard

having been left relatively unscathed

by Germany's tumultuous past.

It's maintained at least one good example

of every European architectural style

from the Romanesque onward,

without losing its medieval charm.

The meandering river, lined with old half timbered houses,

hearkens back to a simpler time

when Bamberg was a small independent state

ruled by an elected Prince Bishop.

A short walk through orchards leads to Michaelsberg Abbey,

now a retirement community.

Its baroque church is dedicated to St. Michael.

The building was damaged by an earthquake and fire

in earlier times, but was fully restored

and is still in use for worship today.

And finally, we come to the city's beloved landmark

and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bamberg Cathedral.

With its four towers dominating the skyline

it's an exquisite monument to late Romanesque

and early Gothic architecture.

A splendid place to end this journey.

(light music)