Germany, in short, was amazing. Travelling in winter proved to be much more challenging than expected, since I travelled solo. However, the Christmas markets around Germany gave much warmth.
I made this trip during the end of 2021, crossing a few days into 2022. We were still in the COVID-19 wave then, and Singapore happened to be the first few countries to allow rather seamless travel to Germany. Since tickets were relatively cheap, I decided to get them (can’t remember how much!).
During this trip, I visited several cities and places of interests, namely Berlin, Hamburg, Black Forest and Munich. I will blog about each place/city separately!
Berlin
I landed in Berlin and made my way to my hotel. Hotel prices were pretty affordable, since quarantine was still relatively strict. There was also a specific type of mask that most Germans were wearing (K95, not the normal surgical masks), so I made sure to stock up on these before I left home.
While in Berlin, I stayed at Living Hotel Grosser Kurfuerst. It was a clean business hotel, with an amazing breakfast spread. It was right across the train station (this was key to how I got around Berlin!).
Having learnt about Germany in textbooks, I looked forward to visiting key sites of World War II. The Holocaust Memorial was one of them.
These structures were taller than me, and I felt so lost in the sea of structures. The winter chill added to the sombre mood, and I shudder to think how this place was back then in the middle of war.
I wanted to visit the museums, but my timing for this trip was a little off. The hours for visits were shortened, on top of the Christmas season. Nonetheless, reading all the available signs was enough to understand a fraction of horrors of WWII.
German Christmas Markets
I explored some Christmas markets. There were tons of mulled wine and hot chocolate. I sipped on some hot chocolate, and that was a great feeling especially against the cold.
Lots of candy and home made goods on sale. Beautiful, festive ambience, but bad for my wallet, really!
I wasn’t sure what I was ordering, but I just said no ham and just ate. I was hungry!
The next day, I walked around Berlin Museum Island through a free city tour. Most cities in Europe have this, and at the end, you can tip the tour guide on however much you think is fair. It is a great way to meet new people and learn the history of the city.
German buildings are just stunning.
Humboldt University
Humboldt University was where the Nazi Book Burnings happened. Hearing the tales behind it… burning books marked a huge sad history. We can never recover the knowledge that has now turned to ashes and lost memories.
One of the museums available, which I didn’t get to see!
One of the government buildings that nobody in the world really likes… Bundesministerium der Finanzen! That is the Ministry of Finance (and Tax).
We also passed by other sites such as the Holocaust Memorial.
This other building near Brandenburg Tor is pretty interesting. Hotel Adlon was where the late Michael Jackson revealed his son.
And the famous Brandenburg Tor (Tor means Gate).
Later that evening, there was a small snowfall! It did not last very long, but I admired it from my hotel room. Sad to say, it was the only snowfall I experienced the entire trip. I guess I was still a little too early in the season!
Will be blogging about the next city — Hamburg, and a little side quest where I watched a local German circus. See you in the next one. 🙂
Leave a Reply