{"id":14451,"date":"2015-09-04T08:00:02","date_gmt":"2015-09-04T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toeuropeandbeyond.com\/?p=14451"},"modified":"2022-01-25T18:23:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T23:23:29","slug":"the-complete-guide-to-the-german-framework-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.toeuropeandbeyond.com\/the-complete-guide-to-the-german-framework-road\/","title":{"rendered":"The complete guide to the scenic German framework road"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

O<\/span>ne of the main reasons why I wanted to take a road-trip along the\u00a0German Half-Timbered Houses Route<\/a>\u00a0was because I wanted to draw attention to this exceptional architectural ensemble that somehow only very few people know about; this 3000-kilometre long route stretches from the North Sea to Lake Constance and contains over\u00a02.5 million half-timbered structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah. That’s as awesome as it sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being sort of an architecture and history geek, this was something I just needed to see for myself. And I’m really glad I did. It familiarised me with the Hanseatic League, with Germany’s heritage and its bucolic countryside. It also made me brush up on my German, which, unfortunately, doesn’t go much farther than numbers and greetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s the deal with framework?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The reason why there are so many half-timber houses in Germany is because artisans and farmers figured out it was as good a way as any to make things out of all the extra logs and tree trunks they had at the time, with Germany having so many forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fachwerk, <\/i>as the Germans call it, vary immensely from one region to another, either in architectural style or carpentry techniques; a house in Northern Germany might be slightly different than one near Switzerland, for example, depending on the local craftsmanship or wood type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stade<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
My hotel in Stade: H+ HOTEL STADE<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\"German
A highlight of the German framework road<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I’ve talked about Stade before, as it was my favourite stop on my German framework road trip. If you can’t dedicate a whole trip to the timber houses, Stade makes for a great day trip out of Hamburg seeing as it’s just one hour away. The town has a fascinating history and played a major role in the Hanseatic League, and while the most picturesque buildings are of course located on the waterfront, the entire town oozes the same old-world charm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The picture of the colourful harbour above is one of my all-time best pictures, and I still smile just looking at it. Whatever you plan on doing in Germany, do yourself a favour and go to Stade. Period.<\/p>\n\n\n