German people love forests and they love water. Naturally you can't compare these lakes with the Great Lakes or the lakes we have up North in Canada.
After the end of the open mining period in the Upper Palatinate water filled up the disgusting left overs and a myriad of lakes converted the former industrial fields in attractive tourist destinations.
Some of them are now surrounded by forests and the water is clean. The "Steinberger See" which I show below is one of the largest and located close to Schwandorf.
Non motorized water sport, fishing, hiking, biking, horse back riding or just having a good time by relaxing has become very popular.

Clean rivers and creeks invite fishermen and boaters. Ask for rentals!
Despite all that the Schwandorf Region became the richest one in the Upper Palatinate. I was really surprised after I daw all the changes which occurred over the years.
Culture is another attraction of this area. We never could count all the castles or the remaninig ruins of them, the museums, the numerous churches and events.

Visit Bruck and stop at the "Mappacher Heimat- und Bauernmuseum".
See how Bavarians lived and worked in the past. If you like it, don't worry there are more museums in this region - just ask at any tourist office.
We always enjoyed to visit such places in Thuringia, in Ontario and in Newfoundland-Labrador.
Walk around in Bruck, using one of the walking trails. If you are still not tired and you want some company, go to the "Freizeitzentrum" (sports complex). You can play tennis, do some "summer curling", try Bavarian bowling - we had lots of fun!
We loved the little medieval town "Neunburg vorm Wald" and its surroundings. The town is located on a small river called the "Schwarzach". Unfortunately, I could not find more free pictures on the Internet to replace ours which we lost during a break in and we never made it back.
We regretted that we could not stay here for few days and watch an event about the so called "Hussenkrieg". The Hussites stood up against the Catholic church and the pope. They recognized and followed only the bible. Their Czech leader Jan Hus was sentenced to death and burned alive. This caused in Bohemia an uprise which spread.

Burglengenfeld is nicely located at the banks of the river "Naab". The name indicates already that this town has a "Burg" which means a castle.
We were tired from some sightseeing which we had done before and I was hungry. Elizabeth told me that she is fine and that I should not eat so much.
I told her that I am born to eat and you are born to shop.
After having found a parking spot in downtown we checked the posted menus of restaurants. Suddenly her appetite came back.
She ordered one of the local specialities - deer. I think it was "Hasenpfeffer&quiot; which is some kind of a stew of wild rabbit. I am not keen on deer etc. so I had a Cordon Bleu - Schnitzel filled with cheese and ham accompanied with French fries, some peas and beer.
After that we walked through the old part of the town and took pictures which I do not have any more.

Each Christian country that I know has still events which have nothing to do with Christianity, but some of them became big business or tourist attractions.
They date back to unknown times, but most of them can also be considered as fun.
So don't think bad if we tell you that a "Geisterwanderung" (ghost walking tour) is offered in "Nittenau". During this evening you will be guided to various spooky places in the valley of the river "Regen". As I heard, it is lots of fun.