Berlin and Munich: Germany's "must do" cities
Germany. Such a HUGE place. It would take months to fully travel and understand this country to its entirety. So, with that being said, this blog is separated into two. One for the big cities and one for the smaller towns. They focus solely about the cities I visited, what I thought, what I felt and what I did while I was there. I wish I had more months to fully see the cities I visited, and maybe even visit more, but there's more life to live and I have more time to give. Next time!In Germany, there is a lot of history, most of which is widely known. There is a lot of culture, most of which is widely known. And there is a difference in each city, most of which is not widely known.We began our German experience in Munich. We have now learned that, Munich or Bavaria, is not "real Germany". At least that's what the Germans tell us. They say Munich is different from the rest of Germany and I agree with that.Munich has that old city vibe. There is the old town square with the city hall, and church. Then there are more old churches, beer gardens and a huge market with a May pole in the center. The city Itself is extremely clean. And besides the culturally rich center and the Bayer-Munich stadium, you have your state of the art suburbs. Sprinkled with small cafes and supermarkets. It's a nice city to visit for a few days.
The town hall in the center of Munich
We spent two days in Munich. And that seemed to be a good amount of time to explore the city.The first day in Munich we found the free walking tour, drank a liter of beer at the Hofbrauhaus, had a german sausage at Vilkuenmarket, wandered around the English garden and watched the surfers in the river. It was quite a day! (Especially for rolling my ankle the day before, as I was leaving Prague).
Viktualienmarkt
the liter of beer!
surfing in the river!?!
The second day was more mellow. I had become sick in the middle of the night with a high fever and what we eventually found out to be a sinus infection. Yes, I was a hot mess. But i was still determined to make the best of our time. We started the day walking to the market to get some fresh juice and pretzels. Then headed to watch our host (a man we met in Edinburgh who offered us a place to stay) play some soccer with this league. After his game, we made a quick stop to the Bayer- Munich stadium and walked around the grounds. It was a fun day despite being sick!
Bayer-Munich Stadium
As we had felt like we saw Munich, we made our way to Berlin.Berlin was a much different experience than Munich. For starters, it was a bigger city. There was graffiti everywhere as well as memorials.
We again took the free walking tour out first day to check out the main sights. We saw Brandenburg gate, the Berlin Wall, checkpoint Charlie, a Holocaust memorial and the bunker of Hitler where is said to have killed himself. The place was a historical gold mine.
Brandenburg Gate
Standing on top of Hitler's bunker
Unfortunately for me, I was getting sicker by the day. So I was forced to rest and find a doctor.
Lucky for us, we were given our own room(at dorm price) since the dorms were full at our time of arrival. This was definitely a comfort while being sick.Our second day, we headed out in search of a doctor (one was recommended by our walking tour guide). Let's just say finishing a doctor was incredibly stressful and frustrating. It took me two days but I finally was able to find a doctor on day three and received the medication needed. (I hope).
** check out sickness is everywhere blog for thoughts and feelings on being sick while travel**As we couldn't find a doctor the second day, we went on with our day. We were in a completely new part of Berlin and we were ready to explore. We walked around Grölitzer park, ate some Shawarma from Rissanni's (per recommendation from our friend Paige) and headed to the East Side Gallery. This gallery is different pieces of artwork on the side of the Berlin Wall. We spent hours just observing all the different expressions and perceptions of others. I loved it!!
Camden and I at the East Side Gallery
We made it a day about museums after the East side. We were inspired to walk to the Paramagon museum where the Ishtar Gates of Babylon where housed. There was a lot of interesting history in that building. We again, took our time learning about this the various artifacts.
Gates of Babylon
We were wiped out after our big day out. And I wasn't feeling too well.On the third day, and our last, a doctor was the ONLY plan. And if I couldn't find one, Camden had explained, I would HAVE to stay inside the hotel to give my body rest. I didn't realize how much I don't rest, or haven't rested. It's something I have to take a bit more seriously.Lucky for us, we found a doctor, I had some dinner and we retreated back to our hostel.We stayed in our room the last day, and I don't regret any of it at all. It was nice to just be with Camden and let our bodies just chill. We didn't have to plan anything or be anywhere, it was great!Keep a look out for the next post about the smaller Germany cities I traveled to!!
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