Images of German people created by movies and other popular media, usually because of the wars, can mislead. Travelers say the people they meet are warm and cheerful and happy to welcome Americans to their country. It helps, as well, that many Germans speak English. Also, American travelers see the country as “clean and well-kept” and safe. Having seen Germany heal its split personality makes travel there even more compelling to those interested in military and political history. The Berlin Wall came down in 1989, and this opened up both great possibilities and old wounds. Tourist travel remains more focused on the west, but there are many worthwhile attractions in the eastern sector.

German food gets a bad rap as being heavy and bland, but German cuisine in its native land is delicious and innovative. The Rhine and Moselle valleys produce white wines that compare favorably with those of any country. And any aficionado will tell you that nothing compares anywhere to German draft beer in a Biergarten, especially during Oktoberfest. The hotels are good, and an excellent train system makes it easy to get around the country without a car. Also, more than one company organizes bicycle tours with a theme (wine country or historical castles, for example). If you are reasonably fit, this is a great way to see the sights from a new perspective.

Germany is about equally popular with all personality types, but venturers in particular enjoy getting close to the lifestyles and customs in a foreign country. They talk about this more than they speak of sports and recreation. From sophisticated Berlin in the north to Munich and the Black Forest in the south, Germany presents many faces to the ambitious sightseer — mountains and forests, small towns and quaint villages, lakes and river ways, ancient castles, churches, concert halls and museums. The country really does offer a great deal of variety for a visitor.

Celebrate Oktoberfest in Bavaria (late September through October). It’s a lot more fun than the pale imitations in the U.S., and you’ll taste your fill of German food and beer.

Take a spa treatment in Baden-Baden, and brace yourself for a tough regimen at the unisex Roman-Irish Bath at Friedrichsbad that lasts three hours during which you won’t be wearing so much as a towel. (The nearby Caracalla Spa requires swimsuits except in the saunas.) Then visit the town’s casino, with its aristocratic old-world glitz and its old-world dress code (jackets and ties for men and formal for women). It is only a few blocks to a more casual bar scene.

Stay at the Hotel Lindenwirt in Rudesheim and ask for one of the hotel’s barrel rooms. These are tiny cottages fashioned from used wine barrels. There are other reasons to visit Rudesheim. It is a charming little village on the Rhine and on one of Germany’s several wine trails. Oddly, it also has a museum devoted to torture.

If supersonic jets interest you, Germany has the only museum with two. The Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim has an Air France Concorde plus a Soviet TU-144. The Soviets built 17 SSTs but operated only 102 scheduled flights.

Have a drink at the Ice Bar in the Cologne Hilton. That name isn’t just a name — the bar top is made of real ice. Bundle up.

Don’t miss Berlin. It is a wild mix of things, but most of all, lively and stimulating. You’ll see the awful post-war reconstruction, plus the surviving and much more charming prewar public buildings in the eastern sector, but most of all, the creative modern construction where the Berlin Wall once stood. Next to the Brandenburg Gate, on the eastern side, walk into the rebuilt Hotel Adlon; you can tell yourself the war never happened. There is so much more, you will want a guidebook.

Plan a driving trip based on one of nine suggested itineraries created by the German National Tourist Board that give you a good look at the country’s historic half-timbered houses and the villages where they are found. The brochure is called German Framework Road (www.deutsche-fachwerkstrasse.de/uk/cont.php3).

Take a Rhine cruise, and plan to stop and explore interesting sites along the way. Some of these are: Rhine Valley vineyards, Marksburg Castle, the old cities of Remagen, Sinzig and Koblenz and the Lorelei Rock. Make Cologne one of those stops, and drive up the Moselle Valley to sample the local light white wines at small outdoor cafes.

Take a guided tour of the Cologne Cathedral, one of Europe’s most famous landmarks. Situated next to the city’s train station, it miraculously survived Allied bombing to stand out among the ruins. Climb the 500 steps to the top of the spire to view this former Roman city on the Rhine. Visit the riverside Chocolate Museum while you are in town.

Visit the Chamber Pot Museum and the Bourdalou Museum, two subsections of the larger ZAM museum in Munich. The Bourdalou was a luxury version of the chamber pot, made for fashionable 18th and 19th century women who could use this device in secret under wide dresses.

Plan a self-drive tour that follows one of several marked wine trails promoted by the tourist office. Make that trip at the right season, and you can attend one or many wine festivals. There are lots of them.

Try out the new Benedict Biking Trail, created to connect the points in Pope Benedict XVI’s early years in Bavaria. The 139-mile trail extends through Upper Bavaria and on to the Chiemgau region and its Lake Chiem (www.benediktweg.info).

Let fairy tales be your inspiration when choosing sightseeing attractions. Some stories are associated with real places: Sababurg Castle in Reinhard Forest was Sleeping Beauty’s castle, and it was from a tower at Trendelburg Castle that Rapunzel let her long hair down.

Attend a Christmas market in Germany, or visit several. Every town has at least one market, and the big cities have several, all usually operational for the last month before Dec. 25, selling gift items and scads of Christmas decorations — and toys, toys, toys. Also, mulled wine and warm food. You’ll find some especially fun examples, too, such as Cologne’s Medieval Christmas Market with sellers and entertainers in period costumes selling traditional wares and providing traditional entertainment, too.

The medieval university town of Heidelberg is a stunning city that will especially delight those who are fans of “The Student Prince.” Climb to Philosopher’s Pass on the bank opposite the city for a great view of the town, the castle and the Neckar River.

Go to Munich for the opera, then take day trips to places like Garmische-Partenkirchen, to the oft-photographed castles built by mad King Ludwig II and to Oberammergau which, besides presenting its Passion Play, offers a health spa and winter sports. For a destination of another order, Dachau is a short train ride away, as well.

Admire the exquisite art and architecture in Dresden, then arrange to tour Meissen, Europe’s oldest porcelain factory. As an alternative, you can tour a porcelain factory in Hoechst near Frankfurt. Of course, the goods are available for purchase on site.

Rothenburg is a picture-perfect, much-photographed town with cobbled streets, town walls and towers. It is only one of the many sights aptly identified with a route now called the Romantic Road. The route originated as a trade and transport link between fortresses in the Middle Ages.

Buy cologne in Cologne. Only two of the several perfumes that originated here survive. First, buy from the 4711 brand, a midmarket product, during a visit to the manufacturer’s ornate headquarters which were beautifully restored after World War II. Then, go for the upscale product a few blocks away at the Farina-Haus, formerly the factory. It now houses the Fragrance Museum and a shop. You could bump into descendants of the founding Farina family.

See the Oberammergau Passion Play. The next production, slated for 2010, is part of a continuing series that dates from 1634.

For more information, consult the German National Tourist Office at www.cometogermany.com
Find travel agents who are Germany Specialists at www.cometogermany.com

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