Buzzing towns close to nature in Western Germany

I'm just wondering is it possible to find a smallish town with more international choice of restaurants and decent cafes but still be located close to nature.

I live in Trier supposed to be 100k people living in and around. But the town is very small and ne're a cafe with decent coffee to be found. There's not a great deal of choice in restaurants either...mostly German, Chinese or Italian. Trier is not very well connected train-wise either. On the otherhand, I do love the nature surrounding this town.

We visited Heidelberg just for last Sunday and I probably had my first decent coffee in six months! And i used to love going to sit in cafes drinking nice coffee. I miss that. We had a meal at an Indian restaurant and my husband swears it was the best he'd ever had!

Is there anywhere else people could suggest on this western side of Germany (weather is better here) that can offer lots of nature and a good choice of restaurants, cafes, shops...
I know jobs will dictate where we will go in the end but still I'd like to hear some feedback on areas that might be nice to explore.

Would appreciate it! cheers Turas

I'd trade with you in a second!

And, thanks to a mutal friend, we know Kaiserslautern is out of the question.

If you want to stay in the southwest, check out Freiburg. I'd move there in a second if we could.

Nice to hear from you! Hope all is going well with you guys.

Now that you mention it, we are checking out Freiburg pretty soon! Cat is booked into cattery and we're heading down to Freiburg end of March for a couple of days...am looking forward to that. We were in Freiburg once on a Saturday, town was very pretty but very very busy. Nearly got run over by vans leaving the market, (wrong time and wrong place!). Found it hard to stop to admire buildings as there were literally people everywhere. We'll be down for a Thursday and Friday this time...so maybe it won't be so mad. Saturdays are crazy everywhere But we did find a lovely relaxed pub and had a great meal later in a sweet restaurant. That was more like it.

Nah, Kaiserslautern would not be in it all! I do think Trier is lovely and hubby really loves it here. But I think it's missing a few things...things which I have to admit are not of German origin so what do I expect, right! Maybe I'm just looking for the impossible. As usual.

Perhaps you should look at Aachen. It is a bit bigger though, at 250K people. There is also Koblenz at 100K people and has a decent international flavor.

Where did you find the coffee you liked in Heidelberg?

-geoff

Which Indian restaurant was it? I have been to all of them & find them mediocre at best, but ok for a German Indian.

Why don't you try Garmisch, it has a good variety of restaurants & cafes an Irish pub , beautiful views, not too large, close to Munich & lots of nature. There are even a few of your fellow countrymen if you ever get lonely.

@Galitz, it was Starbucks of all places. The coffee tasted good and the seating was nice and cushty. Staff were friendly and efficient too. Expensive coffee though!! But you can't have everything...We have Starbucks at home but the coffee is not as good. Mind you, it's in our University so that could be the reason why. Was just in town today and saw a new cafe opening...must try it! Looks a little more special than the rest so far.

Aachen...that's beside Belgium isn't it? Might be worth a look so... Koblenz, I've only seen the inside of a shopping centre so far. At least, I think that was Koblenz.

@Leky, it was the Indian Palace I believe... I love Indian restaurants as I love the food and I think the service is always (nearly always) very good. We had lovely service and we both went for Paneer of some sort..it was lecker!

I'll google Garmisch and have a look at it! Right beside Austria, that would be a nice direction for us as hubby could drive home to see Mama and friends more often. I wouldn't mind bumping into a few countrypeople now and then There's none to be had here, and the Irish Pub is just craicless. But for the most part, am enjoying Germany. No-one ever told me Germany is so beautiful...so many lovely places to visit. They say Ireland is green, but where we are the moment is surrounded by greenery, vineyards, Eifel Naturpark, Sud Eifel Naturpark - lovely. That part is great. Just wish there was a bit more buzz.

Cheers Leky,

t

Two of my closest friends work at the Starbucks at Uniplatz in Heidelberg, I love the Starbucks, very comfortable. I think they opened a new one on Hauptstraße, though, or at least they were supposed to. I'll pass the "friendly and efficient" comment on to them.

Anyway, how about Heidelberg?

I would like to get to know Heidelberg a bit better. I liked the look of the town and there was a happy buzz in the town while we were meandering around. There does seem to be loads of cafes and eateries My husband loved the Brauerei at the end of the town, Scheffel Kunstbrauerei or summat. We don't have these here either...the only other one I've been in was Munich so it brought back happy memories.

I know there is a naturpark near the castle and a tiergarten down the other side of the River Neckar which is nice. I think we're going to go back soon and stay in a hotel so we can spend a bit more time there. I'd be afraid it would be hard to find work. Hub is in IT software and I'm still getting my degree in business and languages.

Do many people work in Mannheim and live in Heidelberg? Is it feasible and manageable?

Yes. I think it is. Many students do the commuting because Mannheim is a lot cheaper to live (they live in MA, and take classes in HD). If you have a car you can use that (though I assume traffic to be hell during rush hour between MA and HD (both ways), but you could also try to live close to a S-Bahn station which takes you to Mannheim in 15 minutes from Hauptbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof, it runs every 20 minutes or so. Of course if you live somewhere out there, and then your work is somewhere far from the Mannheim Hauptbahnhof, the commuting might get annoying very quickly, but generally the public transport connections between the two cities are very good, and many companies take part in the JobTicket which is a monthly ticket valid for all of the VRN area (going as far as Würzburg to the east and Kaiserslautern to the west, as well as to Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Heidelberg).

I lived near Freiburg for 4 years (commuted to work everyday) and wish I was still there. You have the Vosges and Black Forest mountains near by, Switzerland is very near as well. As you stated its got nice buildings and good cafes. The only real downside is that it gets VERY hot in the summer, mind you after all that rain last summer here in the UK I would go back now if I could.

So two towns worth having a look at.

@Mariposa...At home, my husband has to walk circa 20 mins to train station, catch one of two trains an hour to city centre (during peak times!) and put up with delays on trains almost every day...(sometimes on both trains in and out). I have to drive for 40 - 80 mins to college depending on traffic on yet another of our carpark motorways. So we're well used to commuting. We don't like it but we're used to it. I think Mannheim might have more to offer in way of jobs but Heidelberg more in atmosphere. But just impressions from reading what other people have to say here.

@Ohno We had absolutely no summer last year in Ireland due to blasted rain - it's the pits. But I would have to take heat into account, I seem to be the only one in family who melts under the extreme heat of sun. But after years off living in the moist mild climate of Ireland I would certainly work hard at adjusting to blue skies and sunshine. We just have one long season of autumn in Ireland - feels that way! Wouldn't mind being close to Switzerland either Well we'll get a first proper taste of Freiburg this soon.

cheers t

If you are looking anywhere in Germany, I'd also recommend Munich. For a city, it is fairly small and compact and has a good choice of restaurants, pubs, bars, discos etc. The distance between the city centre and the green fields surrounding Munich is nothing. You are close to the Alps for hiking and skiing and close to the lakes for swimming, sun-bathing etc. If you can get along with the Bavarian and Munich mentalities then you'll be fine (not everyone can, though).

Munich is a clean, very safe and quite beautiful city with a very high "Freitzeitwert".

I thought you were studying, T. You can take that on the road?

And I curse you for starting this thread. I WANT TO MOVE.

Maybe Heidelberg has a nice athmosphere, but if you want to go shopping you have to go to Mannheim.
In the Hauptstraße in Heidelberg all shops that offered more expensive stuff closed the last years.
The reason is that appartments and houses are 30% more expensive than in Mannheim.
You can only spent a Euro once.
Btw nature is great here. You have 3 Autobahn und a lot of 4 lane roads. If you go by bike you never get lost in this framework.
Also Heidelberg offers a lot of jobs for educated people.
Mannheim is more or less a normal German town while Heidelberg is very touristic.
Concerning temperatures, in can get bloody hot here in summer. Expect at least 10 days above 35°C. + Heidelberg lies in a valley.
If you don't need an ocean to survive Heidelberg might be ok for you.

Yeah sounds like you are used to commuting already anyway. I do agree that MA probably has more jobs to offer (just because it is a bigger city), but it depends on what kind of job. There is SAP just south of Heidelberg, one of the main employers in the region.
As for what ATL said, I do prefer shopping (clothes) in Mannheim, because there are more stores, but I usually stay in HD. But then I also don't buy new clothes every week. I also usually make the trip to Mannheim to go to the movies (to see the original version of a movie). Heidelberg has one theater that shows one movie / week in its original version (and the movie may not necessarily be in English originally). But that wouldn't stop me from living in Heidelberg.
And both MA and HD get hot in the summer. But I don't find it that bad. Except when I am stuck on a bus without air conditioning. Munich's temperatures are usually 2 degrees lower on those very hot days, which doesn't make that much of a difference, in my opinion.

At least ten days above 35 C sounds wonderful...at home all I can hope for is ten days above 20 C... so wouldn't mind a bit of overpowering heat in the least. Better than overpowering wet weather! I did read that Heidelberg is more expensive than Mannheim and I did notice there is more cafes and restaurants than shops in Heidelberg, or that's how it seemed! But as I say we already have to depend on lousy infrastructure at home to get around so possibly distance from Heidelberg to Mannheim won't seem so great.

I've never considered Munich as thought it was a huge place ... isn't it? Isn't the population something huge? I was only in Munich for a weekend of Christmas markets but I really did like it! But then who wouldn't at Christmas time We were at some fabulous brewerey there too, I think it was the one King so and so had built as he couldn't find a beer he liked so he built his own brewery to make him a proper beer. Good man! Found people in shops and restaurants very pleasant in Munich and noticed that people did seem to let themselves go in Munich! Have yet to see that really anywhere else so far. hmmm food for thought!

Bohemka, I am studying and we can't move at the moment. But hub is getting on so well in German and we do like so much about here, it would be a shame not to come back and spend more time here. And I want to do some research on towns here while we are here to visit them. So it will cut out some of slack before coming back. Tut, tut on the cursing by the way We should organise another meet up soon so you can talk about all your problems and feel a bit better! Or we could just meet somewhere for a drink! We are going to Lux for St Patricks now if you're free and interested.

Don't think hubby knows any SAP

Have not been to movies since we got here! Cannot bring myself to pay to sit through a dubbed movie...plenty of those on telly already. Didn't go all that often at home but we have one really nice cinema in Dublin showing mostly foreign films so not just the usual Hollywood blockbusters but usually something different and really interesting.

Yip, 2 C won't make much difference to us, it will be the first 10 C that do!

What about Beelefeld

Jobs in Heidelberg are more for people who know what SAP is.
For jobs in Mannheim you don't need to know.

There are a lot of tourists here in Füssen, and as a result there is a large selection of cafes and restaurants. There's even a Croatian restaurant, which made me happy as I am half Croatian.

It's tucked next to the Alps, there are a shitload of lakes here...it's beautiful I tell ya! Especially if you like to hike, bike, etc. Although with a population of 14k, it may be a bit too small for you.

Back to restaurtant choices, there are several good Asian restaurants, a Mexican restaurant (although I can't give it my endorsement yet), a BBQ joint, Italian...lots of choices.

Just a suggestion.

turasteanga: Maybe you are interested in the thread comparing Mannheim and Heidelberg: Comparing Mannheim and Heidelburg
Should you ever plan to visit Heidelberg in future, consider a visit in Schwetzingen.
Schwetzingen has a castle with a fairly large park. In summer that is the place for having breakfast.
(not the castle, but the place in front of the castle). It is also a nice little city to live.

Depends. Overall, it's more like one of the "second-stringers" with around 10k employees in Walldorf, HD and Rot. BASF at LU is the big one at over 30k plus at times another 20k from other companies working at their plant.
Other "second-stringers" are HDM (10k at HD and Wiesloch), Freudenberg (12k at Weinheim), Daimler/Evo-Bus (10k at MA), Roche Diagnostics (7k at MA). And then there's the "middle league" below that, all above 2k employees... like Alstom Power in MA, Wild-Werke in Eppelheim, Stotz in HD, HDCement in HD and Leimen...

And that's just the industry.


If you have a car. Otherwise it's hell, in particular if you're not living in the inner part of the town between castle and train station.

Dobra vecer, Betty Tyranny,

Fuessen does look really sweet but probably a little bit small, but sweet. Btw my husband is fully croatian! I'm trying to learn the language but it's like nothing I've ever encountered!

I've checked out that thread Answertolife42, thanks for that. We may check out Schwetzingen another day. Always nice to hear somewhere new to see, cheers.

I don't know what I'm looking for but I just feel Trier as long term or even just longer term isn't quite it. Am fierce hard to please at the best of times! Suppose it depends on weighing the pros against the cons.

cheers everyone for all suggestions!

t

No joke! I picked up very little of the language over the years, even though I grew up with it being spoken in the house. But the funny thing is now that I'm learning German, some of it is coming back to me. Odd!