Opening 004
German Small Town Guide 012
A Brief History of Germany 013

Part 1 Southern Germany

A sadly beautiful castle
Fusen 018

An unrealistic fairy tale village created by a cruel fairy tale
Rothenburg ob der Tauber 026

Analog Heaven
Tuingen 034

The roof of Germany towering over the Alps
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 042

A pint of beer at the dictator's villa
Berchtesgaden 050

Germany's eco-friendly mecca
Freiburg im Breisgau 056

The Road to Historic Sausage
Regensburg 064

If you want to reflect, be like them
Dachau 072

The capital of Germany in my heart
Munich Muchen 080

Part 2 Western Germany

Add romance to romance
Heidelberg 092

Drunk on wine, drunk on the river breeze
Rudesheim am Rhein 100

Like a stylish gentleman in a checkered suit
Mannheim 108

Hercules is watching!
Kassel 118

A fairy tale village on a hill that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world
Marburg 126

Here is Rome!
Trier 134

All the ideas in the world in one place
Essen 142

Still a pure masterpiece of the century
Cologne Koln 148

The new embraces the old
Frankfurt am Main 156

Part 3 Eastern Germany

Three Motives That Contributed to the Founding of Germany
Eisenach 168

Time to go see Goethe
Weimar 176

The city's nightscape reflects architectural styles from each era.
Quedlinburg 184

The Holy Land That Changed the World Through the Reformation
Lutherstadt Wittenberg 192

Germany's greatest luxury scene
Meißen 200

The King's Healing Camp, where worries disappear
Potsdam 208

How Germany Overcame Its Wounds
Dresden 214

The world's strangest capitals
Berlin 224

Part 4 Northern Germany

The Queen of the Hanja Alliance, Become a Legend!
Lueck 236

The aesthetics of paradox that protected the patron saint
Bremen 242

If Germany decides to show off
Schwerin 250

Go to the city of cars!
Wolfsburg 257

A fairy tale village built of wood
Celle 264

A town called the 'Rome of the North'
Goslar 272

The power of a rose blooming in the ruins
Hildesheim 280

A university city bursting with the synergy of fairy tales and youth.
Gotingen 288

The old spire that still serves as a landmark
Hamburg 296

A travel story about a small German town that feels like a fairytale village, where you'll want to stroll and take a stroll.
35 Small Towns More Fairytale-Like Than Fairy Tales That Inspired Storybooks, Theme Parks, and Animation
A friendly explanation of Germany's history, culture, and spirit, which becomes more exciting the more you know about it.

Why Germany is called the 'original' fairy tale village!

When you think of traveling to Germany, you think of big cities like Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt.
However, the destinations that German travelers choose are different.
Big cities like Munich and Berlin are just gateways to smaller cities, but the real destinations are Germany's smaller cities.
Travelers stay in large cities with well-established accommodation and tourism infrastructure, and visit charming smaller towns one by one.
So why are small cities the answer to your German travels?

Usually, when I think of traveling to a small city, I think of the unspoiled countryside.
But Germany is different.
Germany's small towns are not rural areas on the outskirts.
It is the home of a principality that flourished hundreds of years ago as the capital of a nation, a strategic point, or a center of trade.
Germany developed around large and small principalities from the Middle Ages to the modern era, and the cities that were the headquarters of these principalities retain the cultural heritage of that era.
Palaces and churches where the powerful resided, squares and streets that were the foundation of life, and more, contain hundreds of years of history and offer the pleasure of a compressed travel experience.
Finding places like this is the charm of traveling to small German cities.


In particular, many small German towns are home to 'original' fairy tale villages that have inspired fairy tales, animations, and theme parks.
Neuschwanstein Castle, which served as the model for Disney Castle, is a representative example.
The wooden houses of Rothenburg Plönlein served as a model for the Finicchio house.
The timber houses lined up on Celle Street and the alleyways of Bremen that appear in the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale "The Bremen Town Musicians" are fairy tale towns in themselves.
A true trip to Germany is to visit small towns with fairytale-like scenery like this.


Where are the 35 charming small towns that attract travelers?

Germany is the center of Europe and the crossroads between Western and Eastern Europe.
It is also a tourist destination with a lot to see, with a long history and culture, clean nature, and villages.
Although it is such a large and wonderful country, Germany is not well known to us as a travel destination.
There are only a few major cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich.
As a result, many travelers turn away from Germany and turn to countries like France, Italy, and Spain.
But this is because I don't know Germany well.
In particular, once you know the charm of traveling to small cities, Germany is a place you will want to visit again and again.


『Travel to small German cities like fairy tale villages』 contains stories from 35 cities.
Germany is divided into four regions: east, west, south, and north, and small cities that travelers must visit are introduced.
It goes without saying that these small towns have beautiful streets like a fairy tale village.
These are places full of emotion that make you want to walk and take a stroll.
Here are a few basic stories that will give you an idea of ​​Germany's long history, culture, and spirit.
So, a trip to a small German city becomes a trip to German humanities in itself.


Among the 35 small cities, there were also several large cities such as Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt.
These major cities are hubs for travel to smaller cities.
Most travelers stay in large cities with well-established accommodation and tourism infrastructure and take day trips to smaller towns by train.
Berlin is the travel hub for eastern and northern Germany, Munich is for southern Germany, and Frankfurt is for central and western Germany.
Therefore, these large cities were introduced as major hubs for travel to small cities.
Also, these large cities have spaces with a small-town sensibility in their old towns when you dig into the city center, so I intentionally included them.


The pleasure of traveling to small German cities is possible thanks to convenient transportation.
Germany's small towns are densely connected by a network of railway lines centered around the major cities.
With such convenient trains, you can stay in a big city and travel to smaller towns on a day trip.
Germany is a country where you can conveniently travel to small, remote cities without a rental car.


The more you learn about Germany, the more fascinating it becomes: cars, beer, world wars, and dictator Hitler!

Germany, a crossroads of Europe, has a long history.
From the time it was under the rule of ancient Rome to the time it was divided into hundreds of principalities as the Holy Roman Empire, it flourished with Germanic culture.
Germany is also the country where Martin Luther led the Reformation, which changed Europe's religious views, and is also the country that produced numerous artists, including the world-renowned writer Goethe.
It is also a country that has left a significant mark on modern and contemporary world history, including two world wars, the dictator Hitler, the Cold War, and unification.


"A Journey Through Small German Towns Like Fairytales" is a storytelling travel essay that explores historical sites, both large and small.
Every city featured in this book has a story or two, and those stories resonate deeply with travelers.
Here, you can find the world's best automobiles, beer, soccer, ceramics, and eco-friendly policies, all of which are the pride of Germans and speak of today's Germany, all in a small city.
In particular, one of the great joys of traveling to small German cities is encountering the passion of the German people who, while rebuilding the ruined cities after World War II, worked to restore them to their former glory rather than seeking immediate convenience.