Enticing Food Tour of Germany: Michelin Stars to Local Taverns

Rudesheim sits at the heart of Germany’s most famous wine region, and today’s wine tasting journey will take place on the river. Cruising in a private boat, you will stop at three vineyards to sample some of the world’s finest Rieslings. There are other wines to try as well, and you will gain insight from a local winemaker. Cheese dominates the lunchtime menu en route, and you will have a leisurely evening back in Rudesheim, where there are some other classic Rhine dishes to sample.

A tiny Black Forest town of just 15,000 inhabitants is home to seven Michelin stars. Baiersbronn is a baffling place, and it is the high-end culinary hub of Germany. During these two days, you will have reservations at two competing Michelin-star restaurants to discover tasting menus that morph from old-world to next century. You can walk off the culinary indulgence by exploring Black Forest trails during the day. This is a fabulously scenic region, and there are hiking roots to accommodate every fitness level as well as driving routes that offer spectacular vistas.

As the road winds out of the Black Forest, you will make a stop at Hohenzollern, which is a dramatic castle that is home to a very peculiar old recipe. Here, you indulge in a Swabian style of pasta with cheese, which is quite different from what you will find in Italy. Then, it is onward to Lake Constance for an evening of wine tasting in the Alps. The menu will be wider than in the Rhine Valley, and tonight’s dinner will pair seven different wines with seven different local dishes.

After a leisurely morning around the lake, you will continue east with your private guide to a hotel in the heart of Munich. A short tour of the city will showcase various highlights, including Marienplatz’s clock tower and some glamorous townhouses. Bavarian has its own cuisine, and the classic dish to try is Schweinshaxe, which is a pork knuckle that goes best with draft beer. Your guide will know of just the place: a small tavern, where the food has hardly changed for two centuries.

This part of Europe holds the history of beer in its hands. You will find famous breweries here, such as Paulaner, but the real brewing secrets are found in microbreweries. On today’s beer tour, you will meet the brewers and go behind the scenes of beer history. You will also have the chance to taste a full range of different beers. Pungent aromas dominate the breweries, and you can see the process from barley to beer before embarking on a tasting journey. Food will be provided to help you manage all the beer, and you may continue tasting in one of the city’s 400 beer gardens.

Traveling north from Munich, you will enter Franconia, which is a region with a distinct gastronomic scene to explore. After your arrival, you will enjoy a baking class, which will allow you to explore and practice the secrets of crafting the original gingerbread. You can make your own batch by adding the spices and honey before tasting what has always been considered a holy food. Franconia also displays a different style of brewing. This evening, you will visit two traditional beer halls to sample wheat beer along with a smokey brew that is still made by drying barley over burning logs.

You can spend your morning exploring Nuremberg’s history, from its Gothic churches to peaceful squares and from its cobblestone lanes to timbered facades. A Franconian cooking class will then introduce you to a traditional take on the most famous German dish. During your class, you will learn how to bake a pie of bratwurst and sauerkraut. From here, it will be a short drive to Rothenburg, which is an enchanting medieval town. Here, a dinner of potato dumplings will provide you with an iconic last meal in Germany.

From Rothenburg, it will take just under two hours to reach Frankfurt. As your loop around Germany comes to an end, you will have so many recipes and memories to take home.