No comments about Eden Project: The Guide 2006-2007.

No comments about Fodors-Munich '89.

No comments about Fodor's Budget Travel Germany 1986.

2 comments about Karen Brown's Germany: Charming Inns & Itineraries 2004 (Karen Brown Guides/Distro Line).

1. These books have been very helpful on our two trips to Europe. I have found every hotel review to be accurate. The authors also give great ideas for side trips and useful maps. You can plan your whole vacation using these books.

   If you want to find charming smaller hotels in Europe this books is your best bet. If you prefer a larger American Style hotel or resort this is not the book for you.




2. When I planned my first trip to Germany, back in 2000, I read through a copy of Karen Brown's guide that I'd taken out of the library. I recall sniffing at it: the hotels it listed were all the expensive, elegant places that I couldn't afford. And there was something about the itineraries that bothered me -- perhaps an emphasis on elegance (presumably at the expense of experiencing the real country).

   However, during my vacation, we found ourselves following much of the Black Forest itinerary that the (then-current) book suggested, and discovered that one of the hotels we picked -- a lovely one in Triberg -- was on her list.

   I've now been to Germany twice, and am planning a third trip. I've looked at this guide once more, and (now that I'm familar with the country) I am incredibly impressed by it. My initial criticisms, four years ago, were completely off the mark. I've done at least part of a few of her itineraries, and they really are very good.

   While it's recommended that you stay a day or two in the major cities (such as Munich), these really get only an arm wave. (You'll want another book that focuses on them.) Where this book shines is in sending you -- in a car, this isn't for the train traveler -- along a well defined route to see stuff outside the litany of museums and yet-another-church.

   In addition, those itineraries take you through regions that other books simply ignore. I've found that several books completely ignore the Black Forest, or briefly mention Frieberg and Baden-Baden. The DK book (which does have beautiful pictures) gives a single page to Baden-Baden, for instance; this one has three or four, including some idea of what to expect at the famous spas.

   Plus, unlike a lot of guide books, this one gives you some idea of how much time to budget for each leg of the trip. For instance, she points out that it's a 5-hour drive from point-a to point-b along this stretch of the Alpine Road, but between lunch and sightseeing you should expect to stay a full day.

   The only earlier criticism that did apply -- an emphasis on expensive places to stay -- has been addressed, as there are now several places listed for 80 euros rather than 200.

   I now have quite a collection of Germany tour books. This one's sure to be among the ones I pack along.

No comments about Baedeker Rhine (Baedeker's Travel Guides).

No comments about Discovering England's Smallest Churches: A Countrywide Guide to a Hundred Churches and Chapels.

No comments about Cotswold Way (Recreational Path Guides).

1 comments about Journey Through Tirol (Sturtz Travel Books).

1. I own many of the books in this Journey Through series and they are all wonderful. I hope more of them become available in English, but the pictures can be enjoyed in any language.

3 comments about Michelin Germany, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic: Tourist & Motoring Atlas (Michelin Tourist and Motoring Atlas).

1. Excellent map book. This is NOT a guide, it is a spiral book with detailed maps of these countries. The scale is:
   1:300,000 (1 cm=3km) for Germany and 1:400,000 for the others
   At the back there is an index of cities and also half page maps for the most important cities.
   The maps are very detailed and one should not get lost with them. They are ideal for driving, but also an excellent resource for studying Germany. I use them for my WWII research, but will surely take the book to my next trip to Germany. For US$ 15, it is a great bargain.



2. Every major city is on the spiral, which makes it difficult to read the highway names around the city. Also, the detailed views of the major cities didn't show enough of the surrounding area. Many city maps had only 2-3 highways shown, with no other details.



3. I love these Atlas books. They are usually easy to navigate and links to the map continuations are numbered on the edges of each page.
   
   However, I would like to have seen a few of the major cities better detailed. And also, the road numbers were not always clear and weren't repeated often enough along the roads on the map. More than once I asked myself, "Is that a mileage, or is that the road number?" More often than not, it was the mileage.
   
   Oh well, it got the job done and I only got turned around in some of the major cities. That's probably more the fault of the lack of street signs in German cities.
   
   I'd be interested to know if there are any other good atlases for touring this region, but despite it's deficiencies, I was happy to have this in the car with me.

No comments about Bregenz and Dornbirn, Austria.