Customer Reviews

Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2008

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Preparing for a trip includes a great deal about unknown tricks of the trade. Steves handles many of those issues at the beginning of the book, and sorts out others later in the book.

The introduction handles issues of culture which I had not previously been able to fully grasp. For example, the tipping system of Europe is well explained, use of guides at cities is better outlined, the issue of bed and breakfast as opposed to hotel, and finally how to use the certain shortcuts - hostels, necessary drivers' id's, necessary insurance on rental cars, car leasing, and more.

By the time I have reached page 30, I have some grasp of the culture. And, then off we go from port to town until he has told us "yep" or "nope" to the sights or sites which we have always heard about. Great clues and insight.

I enhanced my reading with two other staples: Michelin and Lonely Planet. Michelin provides greater historical perspective, Lonely Planet provides more cheap angles. If you merged the best of those two guides, you have Steves. And, in a nice size.

And, as he tells you - choose only a few guides. Read them all before departure, but lug only - at best - two. If that be the case, this is one I am taking for the road.

Rick Steve's does an amazing job with these countries. We spent time in Munich, Salzburg and Vienna and used this book for each city and for stops in between (we had a car). His suggestions we spot on and had all the things that you should do with all the insider tips. I would now buy any of his books for any other place I travel to in Europe. He does a great job with giving some history, but not too wordy. You should buy this book! Happy travels.

I love this book! It is very thorough on the major destinations' history and sights. It thoroughly explains things such as how to take the subway, how to interact with the waiter, and how to see the Opera cheaply. It has small black & white photos throughout which help give a feel for a place before you actually get there. He gives very detailed instructions on how to get around, even within a place such as Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum. I will be on an escorted tour but now I know that I could have planned my own trip with this book.

I recommend borrowing one of "Rick Steves' Europe 2000-2007" DVDs from your library to see if you like Rick's style. (Don't miss the "Travel Skills" DVD!) Rick's books and DVDs are clearly aimed at Americans, so others will most likely prefer other guidebooks. Rick has clear preferences on where to go, so if you already know which cities and towns you will be visiting, be sure to use the "Search Inside" feature to look at the Table of Contents to be sure all your places are covered in this book.

When Amazon briefly offered the 2007 version for $4.99, I jumped on it. I cut that one into cities for carrying around while sightseeing, because the sightseeing details are so good, and the history shouldn't change much!

The tour book is very good. It provides enough detail and much needed opinions of tourist spots. However, I also purchased the map which accompanies the book and was disappointed in the lack of detail.

His books are fantastic and are our main guides for international travel. His guides to museums, hotels, transportation, phone systems, history, castles, weather, food, language, culture, special events, etc. can't be beat. As fans of Rick Steves' shows on PBS, we decided that we'd try using his books to do a self guided tour. Since then we've been to Scotland, England, Italy and Germany 4 times each; Austria and Switzerland 3 times each; France and Belgium 1 time each. We get the latest issue before each trip - there's always something new in each year's update.

This little book went everywhere with us and was very helpful. It's one of the best European guidebooks out there on Germany and Austria

This book was so useful since we were going to Europe on our own. His self-guided walking tours are fun and informative.

This book is great as are all of Rick Steves' travel books. As my friends who have traveled extensively said when I asked them questions,"Do what Rick Steves says". I also have his other terrific guide books for Switzerland, Prague & the Czech Republic, Europe through the Back Door, and Europe 101.

Rick Steve's Books are amazing. We traveled to France and Ireland last year and are heading to Germany this year. I wouldn't visit a foreign country without one of his books. They made our trips so much more enjoyable. Highly recommend investing in one of his books a couple of months before you travel so you can read and highlight the things that you want to do. It saved us time and money.

The best description of the book is captured in the introduction of the book itself: "If you plan a month or less in this region and have a normal appetite for information, this book is all you need". That is absolutely true, and very likely even if you spend more time than a month. Yes, the Lonely Planet, the Rough Guide, and other books out there tend to have more information, but the bottom line is that there is so much to see, and if you are touring and have limited time, and do not intent to spent 3 weeks in the same place, then this is all that you need and this book will give you the best and assures you will have an unforgettable experience by pointing you to the best and most representative things that should be seen.

I spent 2 weeks touring Austria and Germany (Tirol, Bavaria, the Rhine valley, Cologne and Nuremberg) by car during August 2008 and this book was a goldmine. Truly!

I typically get two books when planing a trip and travel, and almost always one of them is a Lonely Planet book (I must admit I just love their format and consistency). It was no different this time. I had with me Rick's book and the Lonely Planet books on Austria and Germany. Regardless, I ended up using almost exclusively Rick's book.

There are so many essential, invaluable general tips (on accommodations, sights, how to prepare for the visit, ticket info, how to beat the crowds, etc.) that save me so much time and money that in the end paid for the book many, many times its cost!

Another aspect, that many other travel books just get so wrong most of the time by being out of date, was the recommendations for eating and sleeping; they just worked great for me almost exclusively - they truly were as described in the book.

A cautionary note on the time given in the book as required to perform certain visits... I found them to be on the overly optimistic side... I suspect many people will find them close to a "marathon" and that they require a more leisurely pace. Regardless, they can be done. Just keep in mind that you might want to budget for extra time. If you've seen Rick's documentary on how he makes his travel show movies you'll understand why... he's not your typical individual and it is amazing how much energy he seems to have, hence, no wonder the overly optimistic estimate of what one can do in a day.