Destination Germany, a country rich in history and culture with mountain ranges, spectacular forests and rivers. City life in the capital of Berlin is diverse, and the art and nightlife scenes are sure to surprise you.
The city is home to the Brandenburg Gate and the Neptune Fountain, a baroque fountain of bronze and granite, commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II and made by Reinhold Begas in 1891.
There are many sites relating to WWII. The Reichstag and Bundestag Buildings among them, and, of course, the Memorial to The Murdered Jews of Europe. The memorial, designed by the New York artist Peter Eisenmann, consists of a large space filled with 2711 stelae. These look like sarcophagi built of concrete, placed in a regular pattern of varying heights.
The Berlin Wall has to be at the top of the city’s tourist hot spots. Many of us will recall seeing the Fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, broadcast on news channels all over the world. Afterward, a project called the ‘East Side Gallery’ was started. This initiative involved over a hundred artists who were asked to make murals on a remaining stretch of the Wall in East Berlin.
Munich is known for its Oktoberfest and beer halls with hearty foods including, of course, delicious sausages. While in Munich it’s great to enjoy a beer and a hearty Brotzeit (which is a bread-based snack).
The bread baking tradition here is deeply important and inspirational, and many of the local bakeries date back to the 19th and early 20th century, while the Hofpfisterei goes back at least as far as 1331.
For more rugged adventures, the German Alps are not as high as the equivalent parts in France or Austria, for example, but they make up for it with an equally beautiful natural scenery full of fascinating palaces, castles, monasteries, and fortresses that shape the area’s unique face.
The Alps are one of the greatest mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, and winding through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. Perfect for hikes, paragliding or hang gliding, there’s also the opportunity to admire the stunning backdrop of the mountains in perfect relaxation with a good beer if that is your choice of holiday fun.
There is something for young and old alike with bars and restaurants for all tastes in the cities, and the German beer flows well throughout. Germany as a tourist destination is a diverse and vibrant location, from the Black Forest, the mountainous Alps region and picturesque villages, not to mention the northern beaches, magnificent art museums and culture.
Every year, Berlin’s most fashionable shopping street, Ku’Damm, becomes even more glamorous with an extensive Christmas lights display. The Kurfürstendamm, or Ku’damm for short, is the city’s famous shopping boulevard. From late November to early…
Autumn is my favourite time of year to visit two of Berlin’s most popular lakes: Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke. The other seasons have their charms of course, but by early October the days are still…
Those of you born after 1989 may find the hard to believe but the in the post war era, during the so called Cold War, the ‘Two Tribes’ of Communism and Capitalism faced off against…
It’s only a short walk from the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to the Memorial to The Murdered Jews of Europe. It consists of a large space filled with 2711 stelae – which…
To those us brought up on The World at War documentaries the very word ‘Reichstag’ summons up images of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, goose-stepping SS and the dreadful, hideous reality of the extermination of up…
Like many German cities, Cologne (or Köln to use its German name) sparkles brightest at Christmas time, when its festive markets become the star attraction. This year are seven different markets dotted around the city,…
After a lunch break near the Neptune Fountain the sky seemed to clear a bit and it stopped raining. Time to move on to our last Berlin location: East Side Gallery. Two months after the…
Although the sun was really trying hard today, the grey clouds still filled the sky. We had to move on, leaving the Berliner Dom behind us, we crossed the road and ended up on a…
A day to explore. And for exploration you cannot go wrong from the centre of Berlin. The Hostel I was based at provided us with an enormous amount in any any direction. We turned right out…
It was time to catch the train this time heading further South from Hamburg to Germany’s capital, Berlin. A city that has been transformed so much over the years and still continuing to do so….
Time to explore some of the Altstadt quarter in Hamburg… Because Generator Hostel Hamburg is located in the city centre, it only takes a couple of minutes walk to visit some wonderful historical sites. Our…
After the delights of Copenhagen it was time to fly a little southwards to a German city that is close to my heart, Hamburg! I lived not too far from Hamburg for many years when…