Guten Tag! Germany is full of amazing history, vibrant culture, interesting street art, hip urban cafes & bars, delicious street food – bratwurst & pretzels, Haribo gummies, BMW/Mercedes Benz, tall skyscrapers, Oktoberfest and beer halls. My favorites of Germany are listed below:
BERLIN
Berliner Dom – Go to the top to see the panoramic view of the entire city, one of the best things I did in Germany. The inside was ornately decorated and beautiful as well. Has the best views of the TV Tower and down the Spree River (located on Museum Island)
Brandenburg Gate – From 1961 to 1989 this gate symbolized divided Germany, it’s one of the iconic monuments in Berlin
East Side Gallery/West Side Berlin Wall – Rich with historic past, the Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Very interesting to see – the murals were amazing and I heard some of them have rotating artists who change the art work. We got to see the famous Socialist Kiss mural
Berliner Fernsehturm (TV Tower)/Alexanderplatz – One of the main squares and the tv tower was intended to be both a symbol of Communist power and of Berlin
Holocaust Memorial – Very somber place, interesting to learn about all the history
Berghain – One of the most famous nightclubs in Berlin, iconic DJs have played here and it’s one of the hardest to gain entrance to. We biked by it and it was pretty neat to see
Ritter Sport Chocolate Museum- Iconic chocolate of Germany, one of the best European chocolates I’ve ever had. Loved the cute square packaging. Do the create your own chocolate bar – Meine Schoko Kreation – I selected the milk chocolate with strawberry pieces, raspberry pieces and rice crips. Best souvenir ever so amazingly delicious!
Checkpoint Charlie – Checkpoint Charlie was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War. Just north of here during our historic walking tour we also got to see where Hitler’s underground bunker remained – it now stands as a dirt parking lot
NH Hotel Berlin City Ost- We stayed here and it was great, so much variety for breakfast and can we tell European breakfast was one of my favorites
MUNICH
Hofbräuhaus Beer Hall – Multi floor beer hall with intricate paintings and massive long tables, fun atmosphere
Beer stein – Such an iconic souvenir to bring home. These were super neat and they sold all different kinds and sizes. Lots of them hand made – we learned how beer steins were crafted at this little shop below
Rathaus-Glockenspiel – Famous clocktower in Marienplatz. It’s huge and has the most beautiful architecture, such an amazing town square to see
Birkenstock – There’s Birkenstocks sold everywhere in Germany since they were founded here. I didn’t think these were my style before, but the more and more I saw locals wearing them the more I started to like them
Cuckoo Clock – These are iconic in Munich and can be found everywhere, saw one of the world’s largest hanging cuckoo clocks in St. Goar
RHINE VALLEY/ST. GOAR
Rhine Valley and the German Countryside were absolutely beautiful. It’s a cute river front town along the Rhine. Probably one of my favorite places in Germany besides Munich. Loved the nature, so peaceful. Charming fairytale town with castle like buildings
ARCHITECTURE – some of my FAVORITE views throughout Germany of the ornate intricate architecture in the beautiful towns
FOOD – some of my FAVORITE foods I had in Germany were the pretzels, apple strudels, chicken, sausage/bratwurst, potato dumplings, beer (my go to was the Radler – half beer half lemonade), gelato, gyro, pasta and schnitzel. I’m always on a mission to try gelato everywhere I go
And even the police cars are BMW! How cool – we witnessed some crazy driving on the Autobahn
Auf Wiedersehen! Time to head back to Tegal Airport.
To See/Eat Next Time:
German Ice Wine
Neuschwanstein Castle
Reichstag Parliament Building
Haven’t been to Berlin yet! Looks like fun!!