The Berkeley Guides:
Berkeley Guide to Europe:
Germany:
Bavaria
Sprawled across some 70,200 square km, Bavaria's diverse, romantic landscape beckons outdoorsy folks, history freaks, and those who still believe in fairy tales. Its four main cities--Nuremberg (in the northern region known as Franconia), Augsburg (in the western region of Bavarian Swabia), Regensburg (in East Bavaria), and Munich (in Upper Bavaria)--are also historic and cultural giants, making a trip to Bavaria diverse, educational, and potentially very, very long. Bavaria was ruled by the royal Wittelsbach Dynasty for seven centuries, beginning in 1180 as a duchy presented to Otto von Wittelsbach by the Emperor Barbarossa, and ending in the turbulent postWorld War I period with the forced abdication of the last Wittelsbach monarch, King Ludwig III. Although the Prussian military and political strategist Otto von Bismarck yanked the land from Ludwig II, incorporating it into his Confederation of Northern German States, Bavaria held steadfastly to its distinct traditions and dialect. Even to this day, Bavarians persist in calling it the Free State of Bavaria.
Northerners--the so-called Prussians--consider Bavarians less refined, too loud and provincial, whereas Bavarians describe northerners as stuffy, high falutin', and boring. Northerners will sternly remind you that Bavaria is not Germany in a nutshell. But nobody can deny that the most common images of the country--lederhosen, brass bands, beer gardens, castles, and Oktoberfest--originated in this southern state. Its contradictions make it the ideal place to look for all that you expect, hope for, and dread from Germany: It's got the scenery, the castles, the lingering legacy of Nazism, the Alps, beer, and history. The one bummer is that Bavarian youth hostels rarely accomodate people 27 and older.
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