Huh, I adore their lettuces. It's those mayo-based salads I have to watch (allergies).
Food: Pommes Frittes (fries in canola oil), any sausage (currywurst!), cheeses, pastry/coffee shops EVERY corner. Chicken tastes very different - dry processed instead of soaking in vast tubs of water, and not the cornish crosses. Sauerkraut. Pig knuckle.
Coffee: right now there is a premium blend "Crema". Get it. You will be hooked and stuff your suitcase with coffee and chocolates. Don't forget a big bag of the Milka brand double cream milk chocolate instant cappicino.
Go to the local brewery, drink and eat. Go to the winery, drink and eat. Under NO circumstances drink and drive.
There are walking and biking trails/paths everywhere. Much safer than here! So you get to walk off all the food.
Try a May (maypole?) festival.
There are castles and forts everywhere. Some are still lived in by the original family, with part as a museum. These are much better than depressing yourself over the war stuff, IMHO.
Go to the little old countryside villages and look at all the old timber and lathe buildings. Saturday is often street market day. Visit cathedrals.
Interested in alternative energy? There is solar and wind and all sorts of that sort of thing everywhere. "Bio" (bee-oh") is organic. Gluten-free, and other food allergies, is taken seriously and matter-of-fact and is easy to get something. Gluten free and other is seriously regulated in the EU. Lots of demonstration farms and exhibits. And their flower/garden shows! ahh!
Idar-Oberstein: rocks...jewels, minerals, etc. Spend a day there going through the shops, and half your luggage will be rocks. Good jewelry!
Keep your receipts on big purchases to get VAT refunded. (do they still do that?) Remember to pack cookware, wine and beer - even the duty free - in checked luggage if you're going through Atlanta.
Most everyone, esp in the military bases areas, speak some English.
