Nearly all caves and mines are easy to access with little need to walk. The last show cave with carbide lamps was modernized with electric light several years ago (unfortunately). Mines typically offer hard hats and some kind of overcoat.
Germans like to travel themselves, most of them speak, or at least understand, some English. On the other hand, they are not used to foreign visitors. American and Japanese tourists tend to accumulate at a few spots (Oktoberfest, Neuschwanstein, Heidelberg and Christkindlesmarkt). At other locations they are rather rare. So it is difficult to get a tour in a foreign language. Only very few caves offer them, typically only after appointment. Some caves provide written translations.
Most German caves and Mines are maintained by a Verein, a (caving) club, where most of the work is done by volunteers. This reduces cost and is the reason why entrance fees in Germany are lower than in most other Western European countries. But the quality of the cave tour depends much on the respective guide (typically also a volunteer). Most of the sights have very good booklets on a high scientific level. Unfortunately again only in German. Photography is allowed in most sights. Nearly all caves and mines in Germany are closed in Winter. The often told reason is to protect bats, but another good reason is the lack of visitors in winter. The caves of the former German Democratic Republic (DDR) were maintained by the socialist state, who paid all year guides. This happened to be impossible under the new capitalistic system. So they changed their open hours too.
Most caves are open in winter to groups by appointment. This is not mentioned on this site, as it is a basic fact. So if you think about visiting a cave in winter it is always worth to contact the administrator.
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