Heatwave in Germany: 9 places where it's cool even in summer

(Almost) everyone can cool off in the water. Instead of going to the outdoor pool or lake, how about a day trip? This way, you can explore your hometown and cool off at the same time. The travel reporter has tips for keeping cool in the sweaty weather.

What to do on hot summer days? It's simple: hit the slopes! In Germany, this is possible, even if not in nature. Five indoor ski slopes are open year-round, and here, snow is 100 percent guaranteed.

In the north, the Alpincenter in Hamburg with a 330-meter-long slope and the Snowdome in Bispingen await you – there you can even chill in the beer garden or play beach volleyball after skiing.

Tobogganing fun on the A7 in Lower Saxony: The indoor ski hall is 300 meters long and 100 meters wide.

Source: Snow Dome Bispingen

In the east, the Oberhof ski sports hall is open in the summer. Here, you can strap on your cross-country skis and try out the 1,200-meter-long trail – or test your accuracy in biathlon. There's no downhill slope, but the temperature remains constant at minus four degrees!

You have even more choice in western Germany: There are three indoor ski slopes located not far from each other. You can find them in Bottrop, Neuss, and Landgraaf, just across the Dutch border.

Simply burying your head in the sand? Unfortunately, that doesn't help against the heat. But head in the right direction! You're guaranteed to find some cooling off in one of the many visitor mines throughout Germany—as long as you don't go too deep underground.

At the Rammelsberg visitor mine in the Harz Mountains (Lower Saxony), for example, the temperature remains constant between ten and twelve degrees Celsius, and cool water drips from the rock. A treat for any summer hater!

Cool tour: In the Rammelsberg visitor mine (Harz) it is a cool twelve degrees.

Source: imago images/Schöning

On one of the many guided tours, you'll learn a lot about the 3,000-year-old history of copper and silver mining. Don't forget your jacket and sturdy shoes!

• Address: Rammelsberg World Heritage Site, Bergtal 19, Goslar
• Opening hours: April to October 9am to 6pm, November to March 9am to 5pm
• Admission (including guided tour): 21 euros, children 14 euros, family ticket 50 euros

Not everyone can “lay in an ice bucket for three days,” as World Cup winner Per Mertesacker announced in a legendary interview at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

If you don't have an ice bucket, there's an alternative in Berchtesgaden (Bavaria): the Ice Chapel on the Watzmann (2,700 meters). Below the mighty east face lies the lowest permanent ice field in the German Alps, a pile-up of snow masses from avalanches.

Cold all year round: The “Ice Chapel” at the foot of the Watzmann East Face.

Source: imago images/imagebroker

Inside, there's a glacier gate leading to a cave system that's up to 30 meters wide and 15 meters high in summer. To reach the area, you'll need to complete a roughly six-kilometer hike from St. Bartholomä (elevation gain: 250 meters).

You shouldn't enter the Ice Chapel, though, as it's constantly in danger of collapsing. The view is still pretty cool – and even then, a cool breeze will blow towards you.

• Tour start: By boat across the Königssee to the St. Bartholomä stop
• Tour length: 6 kilometers
• Duration: about 2 hours
• Difference in altitude: 250 meters

The Devil's Cave in Pottenstein, Bavaria, is one of the most spectacular caves in Germany. Many secrets lie hidden behind the gigantic entrance, as deep crevices, large overhangs, and stalactites have formed in the Franconian Switzerland region over the 2.5 million years of its history.

The entrance to the Devil's Cave is as big as a house.

Source: Voights/Klimahaus

Speaking of stalactites: What's the difference between stalagmites, stalactites, and stalagnates? On a guided tour among the cool stones, you can refresh your knowledge. And you might encounter a bat or two—and definitely a cave bear. This species of bear lived in the Devil's Cave around 30,000 years ago. The skeleton was assembled from the bones of approximately 80 animals found there.

Cave temperature in summer: nine degrees! A visit in winter is also recommended, as it's usually warmer inside than outside.

• Address: Pegnitzer Straße 100, 91278 Pottenstein
• Opening hours: April to November 9am to 4.30pm
• Admission: 9 euros, children (up to 15 years) 5 euros, family ticket (up to three children) 25 euros

At the " Climate House ," an exciting interactive museum in Bremerhaven, you'll embark on an expedition through the world's various climate zones. On the family-friendly route along longitude 8°34′ East, you'll experience the climate of our world firsthand, including in Switzerland, Sardinia, the tropical rainforest of Cameroon, and Samoa in the South Seas.

Great architecture: The Klimahaus is located at the historic port of Bremerhaven.

Source: imago images/blickwinkel

You'll find the ultimate shivering experience in Antarctica. On your journey through the icy landscape, temperatures drop to a chilly minus 6 degrees Celsius! However, you'll have to cross the Sahel zone in Niger on the way there. But the African heat (a dry 35 degrees Celsius) is a laugh compared to the summer temperatures in Germany.

• Address: Am Längengrad 8, 27568 Bremerhaven
• Opening hours: daily 10am to 6pm
• Prices: Day ticket 24 euros, children (from five years) 14 euros

If the hike to the Ice Chapel at Königssee seems too strenuous, you can easily visit the spectacular ice cave in Marktschellenberg near the Austrian border. A cable car takes you up to an altitude of 1,570 meters. Once at the summit, you'll continue via the Salzburger Hochthron and the Thomas Eder Steig to the entrance of the Schellenberg Ice Cave. The hike takes about two and a half hours.

Ice Age in midsummer: Cave guide Ludwig Mayer explains the ice cave.

Source: BGLT Press

The legendary cave is a portal into a cold, magical world. On the tour, you'll get up close to the magnificent ice formations inside the Untersberg. Temperatures hover around freezing. Tour guides recommend sturdy shoes and a warm jacket.

• Tour start: Ice Cave parking lot, 83487 Marktschellenberg
• Cable car: Untersbergbahn valley station, Dr. Oedlweg 2, 5083 Gartenau (Austria)
• Opening hours: 10am to 4pm
• Admission: 12.50 euros, children (6 to 16 years) 6 euros, family ticket 28 euros

Those seeking the extreme can visit a cold chamber. This is usually only possible with a doctor's prescription, as cold therapy, also known as cryotherapy, involves temperatures as low as minus 196 degrees Celsius. And there's no polar suit for this; you enter the cold chamber in swimwear and must endure it for three minutes. This is intended to alleviate conditions such as rheumatism or arthritis.

If that's too extreme for you, just check whether the spa or sauna next door has an ice barrel, an ice pool or a cold chamber.

Enjoying a drink – while wearing a thick fur coat. It might not be your first thought in a summery 30-degree heat, but it's certainly possible. In Germany, the Index nightclub in Schüttorf, Lower Saxony, has a permanent ice bar complete with a toboggan run.

However, this is only a short refreshment, because after 20 minutes, with temperatures between minus seven and minus 18 degrees, it becomes too cold for most guests.

Many local ice rinks are only open in winter, when people are more interested in skating and ice hockey and less energy is needed to operate the rink. However, some offer their services year-round, such as the Willingen Ice Sports Hall in Hesse or the Bad Sachsa Ice Skating Hall in the Harz Mountains.

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