Germany - what sites to see

[pianoplunker]

Hi,
I may have a chance to travel to Germany next summer 2014. I was just wondering what kind of sites or museums or anything musical/cultural we could go see. Something like a performance house of a famous composer. I dont know much about Germany or anything else for that matter but if I go there I want to find good German beer, and composers. I want to make sure I can see something else to see besides WWII/Hitler stuff.  As an American who is not well traveled, I dont really know much about Germany. If you are familiar and know some sites to see, let me know. Thanks

[Mayla]

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[Bob]

Visit all the composer houses/towns.  They're all from Germany.

[j_menz]

Might I suggest you seek out the composers before the beer. Otherwise the composers may get overlooked.

[indianajo]

JS Bach worked at Lubeck, Weimar, Muhlhausen, and Liepzig.  Many of those places the organs still work.  Former East Germany is economically depressed, maybe the prices for hotels or food are lower.
Buxtehude, JS Bach's ideal,  worked in Lubeck and the organ still works there, too, I believe.
Beethoven was born in Bonn but didn't spend much time there.  There is a concert hall or something.
I rode all around Bavaria in five ton US Army tractor trailers, and the view was superb.  Germany looks like Kentucky, only there they make the landowners pick up the garbage by 10 AM. Not too many billboards to spoil the view. There were lovely forest preserves and paved tractor paths and dairies and things.  I rode the Romantische road in a Mutt at 2-5 AM looking for a lost tank (it had been towed away to the impound lot by the city) and those walled cities like Rothenberg are interesting.  there is a hop on hop off bus service on the Romantische road.  
There is a steam train ride in the Harz mountains I want to take someday, in former East Germany.  Big 2-10-0 locomotive, not a dinky little engine.  
There is a nicely preserved castle in Bittberg? on the Mosel I saw on Rudy Maxa once I'd like to see.  The castle at Heidelberg is so ruined, it is hardly worth the effort except to look down on the Rhine.  
 WWII has been pretty much erased, however big it looms on our US television shows.  There are some memorials out around the upper end of the Mosel where the Bulge was fought. In the memorial department, there is a huge one at the junction of the Mosel and the Rhine to the German nation erected by Bismark, not much talked about today.
Aachen has a nice 11th century (pre Gothic) cathedral linked with Charlemaign with a nice chandelier; and some Roman Baths, I believe. The cathedral in Koln is huge, but otherwise undistinguished IMHO no matter how many tourists go there.  I liked the archtecture of the cathedral at Speir better; it's two towers stand above the town and the Rhine, visible for miles away still.  
The drive or train ride from Kaiserslautern to Speir (direct route, not the autobahn or river route) is very pretty.