Germany is located in Western Europe. I would consider Germany as the leader of Europe in more ways than one.
Well for starters, Germany is home to cars and really good beer. Prost.
Ok but Germany’s obvi more than just that. I had the privilege of visiting two major cities: Berlin and Cologne. Quick shouts to Connor and Brad for being my travel buddies for Berlin part 1.
How I Got There
As usual whenever I travel, I either take a United flight or search for the cheapest flight on kayak.com. I wrote an article about how I stick to flying on United as much as possible to cash out big with my miles.
For this trip, I took a flight from Cairo to Berlin on Lufthansa (a member of Star Alliance like United).
Here were my top 3 favorite memories of Germany.
1. Berlin – TV Tower + Spree River
Berlin’s tallest building and one the most iconic buildings is the… wait for it… Berliner Fernsehturm.
The what? Ok that was a mouthful, I think I’ll just call it the TV Tower.
Berlin – TV Tower + Spree River
The Spree River cuts through the city of Berlin and gives a relaxing sense of openness. The neighborhood in this area is Mitte – which is absolutely where I gladly spent the majority of my time.
It’s the somewhat hipster neighborhood in Berlin that kind of reminds me of the Haight in San Francisco or the Village in New York.
In Mitte, there’s a lot of great street art, museums, and restaurant/bars. There’s the Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Berlin main transit station). Plus, there’s the Brandenburg Gate. Speaking of which…
2. Berlin – Brandenburg Gate
The gate is known to symbolize unity and peace across Europe, especially when the Berlin Wall was broken down in 1989. This is also exactly where US President Ronald Reagan made his famous “Tear Down This Wall!” speech.
I’m not even into history that much and I really enjoyed being around the gate and better-understanding the significance.
Berlin – Brandenburg Gate
3. Cologne – Rhine River
I visited Cologne solely because I hiked Mount Kilimanjaro with two Germans from Cologne – so I decided to stop by and visit them.
This photo was taken on the Deutzer Bridge. You can see the twin-spiraled Cologne Cathedral in this picture too.
There are two sides of Cologne, and the city is divided by the Rhine River. Downtown is located on the west side, and so is the famous World Heritage Site, the Cologne Cathedral (Google Maps location).
Candy Bar Fun Fact: the cathedral is the tallest twin-spiraled church in the world. Also, the city was badly damaged after World-War II except for the church – the church was still standing. Pretty neat.
Honorable Mentions
Alexanderplatz in Berlin was a really cool neighborhood. Lots of bars and restaurants. We did a bike tour of Berlin. That was worth it. The remains of the Berlin Wall. In Berlin.
Berlin Wall
Where I Stayed
When I was in Berlin, I stayed at an Airbnb in Mitte. When I was in Cologne, I stayed at a hostel that I found on hostelworld.com.
By the way, I wrote a separate article on How I Choose Where I Stay when I Travel.
If I Had More Time, I Would Have…
Ok, where do I begin.
I would have wanted to go clubbing in Berlin. Did you know that the two times I was in Berlin, I didn’t go out once? (Plz don’t ask: “What were you thinking?” ok thanks.) But everybody keeps talking about Berghain and I want to know why.
Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. I didn’t get a chance to see that.
OTHER GERMAN CITIES – I would check out Munich. Stuttgart. Hamburg. Hanover. Maybe Frankfurt because I like big airpots?
Closing Remarks
I really like Germany. I like the people, I like that everybody has their shit together.
Can I just say something about Berlin? It’s a major metropolitan city in the European continent. But it is often left out of the conversation when we talk about the “sexy” cities – the London’s, the Paris’s, the Rome’s. What I’m trying to say is that I think Berlin is incredibly underrated. It’s a fantastic city in my eyes.
Germany has the best economy in the EU, so it’s just a respectable country in general. Plus, bratwurst.
Feel free to mark my words, but the next time that I return to Germany will be when I make it to an Oktoberfest in Munich. I’m excited.
