Just got done reading the Lonely Planet Blue List. Actually, it really does not need reading, just scanning. The book is a collaborative effort. The front portion of the book lists the 10 best of a variety of different topics. (Although they are not called the 10 best since some other travel company has already trademarked that. Also this way they can slip in a few more or a few less without breaking the flow of the book.) This section was the most interesting and was far too short. The 10 best were selected by actual travelers and posted, voted on and discussed on the Lonely Planet web site. Their choices are very timely and cover the globe. You are sure to find a new place to explore, no matter how well traveled you are.

The second part of the book was a bit confusing. It consists of 3 pages that form a brief thumbnail of the countries in the world. But all of the countries did not qualify for 3 whole pages. Some only warranted a paragraph. Ok, I can understand that Lonely Planet is pressed for space and wants to keep the book small enough to fit in a backpack. What confuses me is how France and England qualified for 3 pages of info and Germany only got a single paragraph. You should have seen me looking for Germany and not able to find it. Sometimes I have trouble finding England in guidebooks because I don’t know whether to search for “England”, Great Britain”, or something else. But Germany has always been Germany. There was that period in which there was East and West Germany, but generally you can’t go wrong looking for Germany.

For the next edition of the Blue List, fans of Germany ( and the German Tourist Board) should get together a guerrilla campaign to get Germany its rightful 3 pages.

Lonely Planet Blue Book Germany France England 10 best