Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the most beautiful cities we visited in Germany, with its half timbered houses along the cobbled stone streets. We had a beautiful day in the small city situated in central - south of the country.

We arrived in Plönlein, the faity tale like corner of the town. It's a beautiful small square with half timbered houses, shops and beautiful streets going out of the square.

We took a walk on Rothenburg's city walls. The trail on the city walls almost circle the town. It's a fascinating walk with beautiful panoramic views and many old towers and city gates.

We had lunch at Reichskuchenmeister, traditional Bavarian restaurant. We sat outside, in the garden of the restaurant and had some Bavarian sausages and Bavarian beer. 

We took a walk on the streets of Rothenburg old town till we arrived at the Town Hall. We admired its old clock and its hourly performanceand, then climbed on the viewing platform at the top of the tower. Beautiful views from there.

We ended the fairy take tour of this beautiful city with a dinner at Zur Hoell. Very good food and nice atmosphere.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

I visited Frankfurt, the German city on the River Main, for one day. It's a major financial hub, but it's also a super nice to visit, too.

I started the visit with Römerberg, the heart of the old town of the city, which is actually reconstructed as it was destroyed during Second World War, like most of the city. The buildings in Römerberg Square are so beautiful. Half-Timbered, they are a remider of how beautiful the city’s medieval core once was. 

Walked down towards the river, visited the famous Iron Footbridge, which is a pedestrian bridge over the River Main. From the middle of the bridge, there's a nice view of Frankfurt’s skyline. You might also run into musicians playing music.

I visited Frankfurt Cathedral (Frankfurter Dom), which is has an important place in Germany history. I also climbed to the top of the cathedral and admired the very beautiful view over the city, with the old medieval buildings in front and the modern skyscrappers in the background.

At lunch, I visited Kleinmarkthalle, a martket place, where you can find from stalls selling regional products to local snacks and dishes. You can aslo  buy some international food from here as Frankfurt is probably Germany’s most international cities.

I visited Goethe House, where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749

The Museum Judengasse focuses on the Jewish population.

I ended the day with a tour of Like many of the neighbourhoods in Frankfurt, Sachsenhausen used to be an independent village, you can feel that in the center of the neighbourhood, with cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses.

One Day Trip to Frankfurt

Once a small fishing village, Dusseldorf is now a big modern city, a cultural and political center of Germany. It's a beautiful city, known for its art scene and beautiful sights. I was in Dusseldorf for one day and I would reccommend everyone to pay a visit to this nice city situated on the River Rhine.

I started my day in the heart of Dusseldorf. Medienhafen is the area on the docks on Rhine River. I admired the modern beautiful buildings and the futuristic area. It feels like you're tranported to the future while there. :)

I climbed Rhine Tower, which is the tallest building in Dusseldorf, also in Medienhafen district. It's an observation and communications tower with a bar at the top and, of course, some great views from there.

I took a walk on Rheinuferpromenade, the famous promenade on the bank of the Rhine. It's a place where people use to come for a stroll and for the nice views over the river, the city and the harbour.

I slowly walked towards Altstadt, the old town of Dusseldorf. Totally different from the futuristic Medienhafen, Altstadt is a charming old town with narrow streets and cute buildings. It's the place where you can admire the old city hall and other historic buildings.

Konigsallee is a posh boulevard along the canal in Dusseldorf. It's home to luxury shops, but it's also one of the most beautiful areas in the city as it is lined with with big green trees and it's pretty long, around one kilometer.

Carlsplatz Markt is an outdoor food market, where you can buy fresh products, but also enjoy some delicious food on the lovely terrace in front.

I visted he Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. The North Rhine Westphalia is an art museum, better known as K20 and K21. The museum is famous for its cool art instalations, but it contains artworks of big names such as Andy Warhol, Picasso or Braque.

I ended my day with a dinner at Munstermann Kontor, which offers some nice traditional German dishes.

Dusseldorf in One Day

Arrived in Cologne, Germany in the evening. Spent the night there.

First stop, Cochem. A beautiful town on the bank of the Moselle river with colourful buildings lining the riverfront and vineyards on the hillsides surrounding the town and an imposing castle sitting on a hill above the town. Spent the whole day here and also spent the night.

Würzburg is located in a beautiful landscape, on the banks of the River Main and surrounded by hills. Visited the city and Marienberg Fortress.

Well preserved medieval town, beautiful. Spent the night here.

We spent the day walking the city walls and gates of beautiful Rothenburg upon Tauber. Spend another night here.

another beautifully preserved medieval town.

We enjoyed the city and, of course, the beer halls.

Romantic Road

Modern Berlin is one of the most popular cities to visit in Europe. It's a historic city, full of culture and, in modern times, has become very cosmopolitan. Here's how my city break in Berlin looked like!

In my first day in the city I visited some major attractions. I started with Checkpoint Charlie, which was one of the most well-known border crossings between East and West Germany. It's now a symbol of the once divided city and it's one of the most visited spots of Berlin.

East Side Gallery are remains of Berlin Wall, now covered in beautiful graffiti. You can walk along the pretty long wall and admire the meaningful graffiti.

I also checked Berlin Holocaust Memorial, a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It's a large square which small slopes and many concrete slabs symbolizing the lost lives.

The huge Brandenburg Gate is a landmark of Berlin and has become a European symbol of unity and peace.

After my long walk along Berlin's history, I ended up in Tiergarten, one of the most beautiful urban parks I've been to. Originally, a hunting ground, it's now a very big park with meadows and alleys and lakes and shadows where you can walk or have a picnic.

I started my second day in Berlin with a walk along the River Spree. I walked along the banks of the river admiring the scenery along the way. Spree Riverfront is a nice area, where local use to gather on weekends, sitting on the green area by the river.

Also on the River Spree, Museum Island is a gather of many Berlin museums and attractions. You can take a full day only to check a few of them, like Old Museum, New Museum, Bode Museum, the Old National Gallery. It's also a place where youngsters come and meet and spend time.

I decided I had enough of history and main attractions for this short visit to Berlin and just wanted to feel the atmosphere of a hip district of Berlin. Kreuzberg is a hip corner of Berlin with  street art, graffiti, and nice cafes and the coolest people around.

Finally, I paid a visit to Markthalle Neun, a food market with a fine variety of international food, also shops and a cool place for some cultural events.

Weekend in Berlin

Munich is among the most popular cities of Germany. It's the capital of southern region of Bavaria and the place where Oktoberfest is happening, but the city is much more than that.

We always like to start exploring a city from its center. With Munich it was the same. We made our way to Marienplatz, the main square of Munich, surrounded by historical buildings.

One of the most impressive buildings around Marienplatz is the New Town Hall. Built in 1874, the beautiful Gothic building became on of the city’s most famous landmarks. The Town Hall is most famous for two things. One is its Glockenspiel with daily performences of dancers. Ant the other one is the tower of the City Hall. We climbed on its top and admired amazing views of the city.

We paid a visit to St. Peter’s Church, the oldest church in town housing the jeweled skeleton of St. Mundita. It's also possible to climb in the church tower for some other amazing views over the city and the are, but you have to walk up there, here there isn't any elevators.

Viktualienmarkt is the main food market of Munich, we had some amazing wurst and, of course, beers there.

Once the residence of the royal Wittelsbach family of Bavaria, Munich Residenz is now a beutiful museum where you can visit the exquisite palace rooms with original interiors and artworks and gardens.

We also paid a vist to Pinakothek, an important art museum complex housing three different art galleries, each displaying artworks from different eras: Alte Pinakothek, the Neue Pinakothek and the Pinakothek der Moderne. We visited the contemporary art museum of Pinakothek der Moderne.

Hofbräuhaus is a traditional Bavarian beer hall dating back to 16th century that was part of an important brewery. And it's the place where Hitler gave his first political speech.

Explore the City of Munich!

Arrived in Munich, the departing point of our Bavaria trip, South Germany.

Probably the best known castle in Germany, it is almost all the time full with tourists. It can only be visited by guided tour. Must be booked in advance.

Germany's highest elevation in the Alps. A beautiful panorama.

a small town in Bavarian Alps. It is well known for its wall paintings.

Einstein's birthplace. Visited around, climbed up the tallest church spire in the world.

Visited the city center, with 11th-century St. Mary's cathedral and the Fuggerei, a 16th-century social housing complex still in use today, but it can also be visited.

Bavaria, Germany

I happened to be in Stuttgart with a free day and I took the oportunity to explore the city a bit. I did not know much about the city in Soutwestern Germany, but I managed to find out a bit and had a lovely day in the end.

After I got something to eat to get some energy for the day, I started my Stuttgart tour with the funniest thing around, the Pig Museum. It's an old slaughterhouse focused on the history, mythology and gastronomy of pigs.

Finished with the pigs and got into cars. :P At Mercedes-Benz Museum for a history ot the automobile.

Took the bus to Killesberg, one of the most modern and liveable neighbourhoods in Stuttgart, with modern architecture, parks, shopping and dining areas.

We then took a walk on the neighbourhood's park, Killesbergpark, which is a beautiful pretty large park with a tower in the middle. From the top of it, it's a nice view over the city.

I checked Hoppenlau-Friedhof, which is the oldest cemetery in Stuttgart. Well, it was a cemetery now, it’s a park. :)

I got back in Stuttgart Mitte, which is Stuttgart city center, walked aimlessly on the streets for a while looking at buildings and people.

Schlossplatz is a beautiful large square in the city center where people gather  for open air concerts or other celebrations

Königstraße is the main shopping street, it's one km pedestrian streets.

Arrived at this beautiful old church with stained-glass windows, ancient bells & a pipe organ.

I ended my day in Markthalle, city’s central market hall 

One Day in Stuttgart

Nuremberg is a German city in southern region of Bavaria. We explored the city for a day and I can say it is quite nice, with fine medieval architecture buildings and some beautiful half-timbered houses.

Altstadt, Nuremberg's historic center, houses many of the city's main attractions, so it was natural to start our day within the area. The historic center is actually devided in two by the Pegnitz River that crosses the heart of the city. Hauptmarkt is the main square, surrounded by important landmarks.

Frauenkirche or the Church of Our Lady, right in the main square, is a nice example of brick Gothic architecture dating back to the 14th century.

One of the nicest things to do in Nuremberg is take a walk along Pegnitz Riverfront. There are some nice cityscapes along the way. We criss-crossed from one bank to another for a while admiring the views.

One of the nicest views from the riverside is from Fleischbrücke, this nice late Renaissance stone bridge. 

One of the nicest squares in the old town of the city is Tiergärtnertorplatz, surrounded by beautiful buildings and sights, such as Tiergärtnertor, one of the most impressive city gates or different half timbered houses

We visited the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg, located on a hill. Once a residence for the Holy Roman Emperor, the imposing 11th century castle complex includes a royal palace and gardens. From there we admired some amazing views over the city.

We could not have been in Nuremberg and not visit the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds, the imposing building where Nazi mass rallies took place. It's one of the main attractions in Nuremberg.

Nuremberg

The Black Forest is a fine mountainous region of south-west Germany. The Black Forest itineray take tourists through this beautiful region connecting towns and villages through nice scenery in the mountains, from forests to lakes and waterfalls and into towns and villages.

We started our Black Forest itinerary in the lovely town of Freiburg. We took the day to explore the town and its lovely old town.

We started our urban exploration of Freiburg with Munsterplatz, the main square of the town, and we walked on the beautiful streets of the town from there.

We took the time to check on Munsterplatz Market, which is a colourful market open daily. It's a nice way to see local people and theri habbits and products. And to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and not only. :)

We also visit Wiwilíbrücke, The Blue Bridge, it's painted in blue - it's a nice place in the town with views over the area. 

We creossed the bridge and visited Sacred Heart Church that stands at the end of the bridge

At the end of the day we stopped at Cafe Huber for dinner. We spent the night in Freiburg.

From Freiburg, we took the car and drove to Baden-Baden through nice beautiful scenery. We stopped avery now and there, admiring the lanscape, taking small walks or to eat.

We arrived in Baden-Baden in the afternoon. We checked in and spent the rest of the day on a spa resort. The area of Black Forest is known for its several spa towns. Baden-Baden is one of these spa towns, actually the most famous one, so we could not miss the experience. We enjoyed it a lot. Spent the night in Baden-Baden.

The next day, we had a small tour of the city center in Baden Baden, just to see the place a bit and grab a nice breakfast.

We got in the car and continued our trip in the Black Forest. We stopped in the small town of Triberg. It is quite small, but it's home to the tallest waterfalls in Germany.

It was a short hike trough the forest till we reached Triberg Waterfalls. It's a beautiful multi-level waterfall. The path is not very well marked, but we found our way to the forest and even climbed to the top of it. We enjoyed the hike.

Got back in Triberg and got back on the car. 

We arrived in Feldberg in the evening and spent the night there.

Feldberg was the last destination area of our trip in the Black Forest. We explored the beautiful area.

We went to Feldsee Lake. The lake is hidden in the forest and can you have to take a short-medium hike to reach it. From the car park it's around one hour walk. We liked the area a lot.

We next paid a visit to Lake Titisee. It's among the most touristic attractions in the Black Forest area. The lake is very beautiful and is surrounded by green mountains where there are plenty of hiking trails.

We ended our journey in the Black Forest in Feldberg. It's a beautiful area, a ski resort in winter and a popular mountain destination in summer.

Black Forest Itinerary

Hamburg is an important German city, the second largest city in Germany and also an important port. If you happen to have a full day to visit it, like it happen to me, you can enjoy some of its nicest attraction.

I always like to explore a city starting with its city center, so I made my way to the center of Hamburg. Hamburg Town Hall is right there. It’s a large sumptuous building dating from the 19th century, one of the most important sites in the city.

I then passed by Jungfernstieg, an important shopping area in Hamburg. If you want to buy some souvenirs, this is the place you have plenty to choose from. It's also a nice area for promenade.

I made my way to the Port of Hamburg and to Speicherstadt, a complex of neo-Gothic buildings, canals and bridges which make it one of the most scenic sites in the city.

Elbphilharmonie is a new beautiful building open in 2017 as a concert hall. Its design that resembles a boat quickly catches your eye. From its upper floor, there's a beautiful view over the city.

I ended the day with some drinks in Reeperbahn area, the biggest red-light district in Europe

One Day in Hamburg

Koln or Cologne is a modern city in Germany known for its beautiful Gothic cathedral and for its local beer, Kölsch. I was in Koln for one day and I quite enjoyed my time there.

I started my Koln exploration with the famous Cologne Cathedral (or Kolner Dom) of Gothic architecture. The beautiful cathedral was reconstructed after it was severely damaged during Second World War. During summer, there are free organ concerts in the cathedral every Tuesday evening. It's free to visit the cathedral, but you have to pay if you want to climb in the tower. It's a spectacular view over River Rhine and the city from there.

Hohenzollern Bridge is famous fot the impressive collection of love locks. They say that you have to lock your padlocks on the bridge and throw the key in River Rhine for the love to last. You can buy padlocks from the souvenir shop nearby.

Cross the Hohenzollern Bridge to get to KölnTriangle Panorama where you have a nice view over the bridge, the river and the imposing cathedral.

I visited Dufthaus 4711 or House of Fragrances 4711, which is the birthplace of the famous Eau de Cologne, the modern perfume. “Eau de Cologne – 4711” is produced since 1700 and its name means water from Cologne.

Passed by the Cologne City Hall. Cologne City Hall is the oldest city hall in Germany, with a history of almost 1000 years.

Not far from the Cathedral, on the river bank there's a green place, "The Garden of Rhine", where you can have a break or a picnic admiring the landscape and the beautiful colorful buildings on the river banks.

In Koln there's a nice chocolate museum that you can visit or simply buy chocolate from the museum's shop.

And you can try a great ice cream at Ice Cream United.

Back on the river banks, take a walk on Rheinboulevard for a bigger picture of the city center with the river, the cathedral and the beautiful coloured houses.

Ended the day with a traditional German meal and beer at Peters Brauhaus or Gilden im Zims. Oh, yes, and the most delicious Apfelstrudel mit Vanilleeiscreme, 

One Day Trip to Koln

The German city of Leipzig, situated in eastern part of the country does not seem to receive all the attention it diserves. It's a an interesting and diverse city full of culture, history and places to visit. This is our short stay itinerary of Leipzig.

The Markt Square in central Leipzig is the core of the Old Town, surrounded by historical and modern buildings, with  the 16th century Old Town Hall dominating the square.

The Old Town Hall now is home to the Museum of City History in Leipzig, which details Leipzig’s history to its Slavic origins.

We walked the streets of the old town, which is not as finely preserved as other old towns in Europe, but still nice to have a walk around. 

The 15th century St. Thomas Church is a nice church with a mix of Gothic and Romanesque architecture. It has a large statue of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach just outside as the composer was the music director at the church for a long time before his death.

We paid a visit to Bach Museum. There are nice interactive exhibits where we learnt a bit more about the composer, his life, and his career. 

Outside the old town, Augustusplatz is one of the main squares of the city, surrounded by many landmarks of Leipzig, like Leipzig Opera, Egyptian Museum, Gewandhaus concert hall or University Church.

We ended the day with a spectacular panoramic view of Leipzig from 36th floor of City-Hochhaus Leipzig skyscraper.

We started our second day in Leipzig with an intersting museum. As Leipzig was part of the Communist Germany, the Museum in der Runden Ecke keeps the details of the communist era when secret police used to spy on citizens. The building of the actual museum is the former Stasi headquarters.

After the museum, we took a walk in this beautiful big central park, Clara-Zetkin Park

We then headed away from the city center to check a bohemian neighbourhood, called Plagwitz. It's a former industrial area of Leipzig that has been transformed in recent years in a bohemian area by the city’s creative community. Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei area is now home to many art studios and galleries.

My favourite part of the neighbourhood is Karl-Heine-Canal, a nice green waterway with fine residential buildings facing the canals.

We then moved to another cool area in the city, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, filled with bars and cafes and street art. One of the coolest part of the neighbourhood is Feinkost, an old brewery transformed in a flea market with beer garden and outdoor cinema.

We returned to the city center for a good meal before we left the place. 

Leipzig Itinerary

Germany created several thematic itineraries in the country for tourists to easily choose their favourite routes according to their theme preferences. One of these routes is the "Fairy Tale Route", actually one of Germany’s most popular tourist routes. It follows the footsteps of Grimm Brothers into a fairy tale world of charming castles, beautiful medieval towns, forests and enchanting landscapes. This is our experience on the route. We arrived in Hamburg.

We rented a car and transfered to Bremen, which was the beginning point of our fairy tale route. The route can also be done by public transportation, but the most common way is by car, it gives you the liberty to move, plus the landscape on the way is beautiful. And, yes, German roads are very good. As we were traveling with kids, the car was the best way for us. We spent the night in Bremen.

We had the entire day to explore our first fairy tale world. We enjoyed wandering through the tiny streets of Bremen’s historic area, Schnoor.

We had lunch on a pirate ship and enjoyed some of unbelievable German pancake combinations. Everyone was delighted with their choises of the menu on the boat.

We drove to Botanika, the botanical garden with interactive activities for kids, and even with monkeys. There's a restaurant there in case you get hungry while exploring the beautiful garden. 

In the evening we explored Bremen Market Square, which by itself is like out of a fairy tale with the fine buildings surrounding the square. The picturesque town square is actually hosting annual holiday markets. We spent the second night in Bremen.

We left Bremen in the morning, just after breakfast.

We stoppped in Hamelin, the town known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. On summer Sundays, there are live retellings of the Pied Piper story, which is beautiful especially for kids. Even if they are in German, kids understand the story thread. We had a walk in the historic part of the town and enjoyed a delicious ice cream before we moved further. 

We drove further to Trendelburg. We stopped at Hotel Trendelburg just in time to see Rapunzel let down her hair from the tower. The entire hotel is a fairy tale ground. We spent time outside, in front of the hotel, with nice views overlooking the town and valley below. We spent the night here.

On the next morning, we slowly moved further.

We arrived in Hann. Münden, which is one of the most beautiful towns I've seen. It's filled with colourful restored half-timbered houses and the the town is surrounded by forested mountains. It also has fortified towers, medieval bridges and city walls. There are also bike trails around the place and because the town sits at the confluence of three rivers, you can also try kayaking or other water activities.

We moved further and drove through scenic lanscapes towards our destination, Waldeck Castle, which is a a stone castle on a hill overlooking Edersee Lake. We took a walk around the castle, then took a gondola ride, had something to eat and got back on the car again.

Marburg is the town where Brothers Grimm attended school. We arrived there in the evening, just had time to check-in and went out for dinner.

It's a super nice restaurant with delicious food and it's a beautiful place to go with the family. You can either stay inside or outside, on the restaurant's green courtyard.

The next day we took time to explore Marburg town a bit. Marburg is built on a hill, we started from the bottom and wandred up on the beautiful streets till we reached Marburg Palace and the castle above the town. There's a nice view from above.

We stopped to eat and drink something at Bückingsgarten. With that we ended our fairy tale road here. There are many stops you can do on the fairy tale road depending on your time and travel habbits. This is our share of the fairy tale road, that we fully enjoyed.

Fairy Tale Route in Germany

Arrived in Munich. Visited the city center on foot, had a beer and a wurst, yum.

Took the train to Augsburg, visited the small city, with its cute The Fuggerei, which is the world's oldest social housing complex still in use, but can also be visited. 

Took the train to Innsbruck, in Austria. It only takes around 2 hours. Visited the city center with its cute colourful houses by the river. Spent the night there.

Took the train to Innsbruck, in Austria. It only takes around 2 hours. Visited the city center with its cute colourful houses by the river.

Took the bus to Stubai Ski Resort. Got accommodation in the area. Spent the next few days skiing on this beautiful slopes.

Spent the day skiing on this beautiful slopes.

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