Germany is a country with rich history, quaint towns & modern cities. On a vacation to Germany, any traveler will be amazed by these breathtaking views!

Berlin is, perhaps, Germany’s most famous city. Don’t miss these sights in this great city on a vacation to Germany!

Stroll along the famed Unter den Linden avenue to the old town, known as Nikolai Quarter. Then continue to the Gendarmenmarkt, considered Berlin’s most beautiful square. Ask your Local Host about this and other walking routes around town.

Gemäldegalerie

The name means Picture Gallery, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better painting collection than these offerings from the 13th to 18th centuries by such luminaries as Bruegel, van Eyck, Rubens, and Rembrandt. Designed by Munich architects Hilmer & Sattler, the building is a work of art in its own right.

New National Gallery

A must for lovers of modern art.

Ku’damm – shopping

Take advantage of great shopping and fine restaurants on the Kurfürstendamm, or stroll along the Tauentziennstrasse. Visit the Europa Center and Europe’s largest department store, the KaDeWe.

Prater

Enjoy an hour beneath shady chestnut trees in Berlin’s oldest beer garden. Prater has many other areas as well, including a theater.

Türkenmarkt

The local market overflows with fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh-baked breads, and culinary wonders. Since it is located beside a canal, strolling through here is relaxing, and there’s a cozy park nearby.

Riesling, Beers, Bratwurst, Sauerbraten, Dumplings

Try German specialties, fine white wines, and delicious cream pastries.

Berlin nightlife

Stroll the Oranienburger Strasse, a popular place at night and an artists’ meeting point with plentiful cafes and restaurants. For good live music, visit a local Biergarten or Biersalon, or take in a show.

Americans with Central or Eastern European roots have a good chance of finding an ancestor or two in the emigration history of Hamburg. Between 1836 and 1914, 4 million people set sail for America from Hamburg’s Elbe River ports. Mostly from the lands of Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary, these were the true huddled masses—poor, unwashed, uneducated. Perfect targets for xenophobia.

In 1892, a cholera epidemic killed 10,000 people in Hamburg, causing an outcry against emigrants crowded into the filthy sleeping barracks on the America pier. Whether the epidemic started there or not, the foreigners were blamed and their numbers capped. Businesses that lived off the emigrant trade protested, and shipping magnate Albert Ballin hammered out a deal to build Hamburg’s version of Ellis Island.

On Veddel Island in the Elbe River, a quarantine complex was built in 1901 to shepherd emigrants hygienically from the Old World to the New. It had a train station, church, music pavilion, clean latrines and sleeping halls, and dining rooms with white table cloths. Pleasant surroundings, but a nightmare for the emigrants, who were interrogated, examined, tagged, and disinfected in gruff, military fashion.

Today, Hamburg preserves this link with America at the new BallinStadt, a museum and genealogy research center on Veddel Island. Like Ellis Island, BallinStadt recreates the emigrant experience using a restored sleeping barracks, artifacts ranging from antique toys to suitcases, and personal stories told through photographs and letters. Its emigrant database is linked to the U.S. census.

Oktoberfest in Munich is the mother of all drinking festivals. It might just also be the origin of a slew of clichés about Germans and their culture.

Take Lederhosen. It just wouldn’t be Oktoberfest without men in short leather overalls celebrating under the massive blue and white Oktoberfest tents. Lederhosen are a traditional costume tied to the German-speaking Alpine regions since the Middle Ages. Outside of Bavaria, the occasional Lederhosen-wearing gentleman may appear in public, but it’s rare and the man is probably over 60.

Oom-pah music played by a band of tubas and trumpets while beer drinkers link arms and sway to the oom-pah beat is another must-have at Oktoberfest. Does that mean Germans from Berlin to the Black Forest break out the tuba at the first opportunity? Hardly. Schlager is the music of choice when Germans gather to celebrate. These syrupy pop hits from the 1950s to today are branded into the minds of most Germans who sing along once the beer is flowing.

Speaking of beer, the beer stein is a favorite souvenir from Germany. The stein with its hinged lid was a 15th-century Bavarian attempt to keep the flies away during plague times. But today, if Germans aren’t drinking their beer out of the bottle, they drink it out of a glass, so finding a classic stein outside of a souvenir shop or selected areas of Bavaria is hard.

On a vacation to Germany, Munich is a must see destination. Make sure to include these sights on a vacation to Munich!

Museums

Munich has over 50 museums; Here are some ideas:

Alte Pinakothek

This glorious museum has an immense collection of paintings from the greatest European artists of the 14th through the 18th centuries, including Dutch and Flemish masters. See a self-portrait by Rembrandt and a Madonna by Leonardo da Vinci.

Deutsches Museum (German Museum)

Families and the technically minded will enjoy a fascinating few hours viewing the master works of science and technology.

Stadtmuseum

Wander the themed rooms of the Stadtmuseum. The collections include puppet theaters, thousands of musical instruments from around the world, more than 500,000 photographs, and a history of brewing.

BMW Museum, BMW World

For automobile fans and lovers of this classic car.

Villa Stuck

Paul Klee, referring to the Villa Stuck, called this museum mansion, designed by the artist and owner Franz von Stuck, “frighteningly wonderful.” Stuck’s unique design, which incorporates floors, ceilings, and walls into a single beautiful work of art, was celebrated immediately—even the furniture, which won a gold medal at the Paris World’s Fair in 1900.

Old City Walk

Take a fascinating walking route through the Old City and step back in time.

Asamkirche

The brothers Cosmas Damian & Egid Quirin seemed divinely inspired when they created a baroque church for themselves, which turned out so magnificent that their 18th-century compatriots forced them to make it accessible to the public. From the ornate façade to the ceiling fresco of St John Nepomuk, nearly every inch is a delight.

Schatzkammer der Residenz

See the former royal palace of Bavarian monarchs and stroll through the Schatzkammer (Treasury) halls. You’ll see lavish crowns from generations of monarchs, scepters and ceremonial swords, table wear, and extravagant crafts from China, India, Iran, Mexico, and Turkey.

Beer Steins, Cuckoo Clocks, Wood Carvings

It’s hard to imagine leaving Munich without a traditional German beer stein. Other traditional souvenirs include cuckoo clocks, wool clothing, and carved wood items.

Beer Gardens and Specialties

Countless beer gardens populate the city, and it’s a great chance to relax with the locals. There’s a wide variety of beers to choose from, and seats beneath shady trees are plentiful. Try German specialties including sauerbraten (marinated beef dish), dumplings (maybe ask for the lighter semolina dumplings), sauerkraut, some of the many different kinds of sausage, potato dishes, one of the famous white wines, or the milder radler or speze….and don’t forget gingerbread and delectable cream pastries.

Concerts and Opera

To round off a perfect day, experience a local concert or a night at the Opera.

Germany is a beautiful and vibrant city with rich history and culture. Whether you’re seeking enchanting Christmas markets, raucous good fun at Oktoberfest or uplifting religious architecture, Germany has it all. Don’t miss the quaint metropolis of Heidelberg or the breath-taking Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, which was the inspiration for Disney’s infamous Sleeping Beauty castle.

But first, let’s begin our guided tour of Berlin! Here we’ll discover all that Germany’s largest and most noteworthy city has to offer. The center of both German conflict and reunification, this majestic capital is rife with religious and historical landmarks. We’ll experience the instability evoked by the unconventional Holocaust Memorial and revel in the stately elegance of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a remnant of the Prussian era.  No visit would be complete without seeing the Brandenburg Gate, which will welcome us to ancient Berlin and rests just blocks from where the infamous wall once stood.

From Berlin, our vacation will bring us south to the bustling metropolis of Munich, the capital of Bavaria. The Marienplatz, a city square where medieval markets and tournaments were once hosted, will likely be our first stop. And if we’re lucky enough to be touring during the legendary Oktoberfest, we’ll be sure to take part in the 200-year-old celebration by indulging in delicious German food and Bavaria’s finest beer!

No matter where our journeys take us, Germany is sure to deliver unexpected adventures and unforgettable memories.

A reader favorite from 2009 that is sure to get you excited to travel to Germany!

Oktoberfest in Munich is the mother of all drinking festivals. It might just also be the origin of a slew of clichés about Germans and their culture.

Take lederhosen. It just wouldn’t be Oktoberfest if there were no men in short leather overalls celebrating under the massive blue and white Oktoberfest tents. Lederhosen are a traditional costume tied to the German-speaking Alpine regions since the middle ages. Outside of Bavaria, the occasional lederhosen-wearing gentleman may appear in public, but it’s rare and the men are probably over 60.

Oompah music played by a band of tubas and trumpets while beer drinkers link arms and sway to the oom-pah beat is another must-have at Oktoberfest. Does that mean Germans from Berlin to the Black Forest break out the tuba at the first opportunity? Hardly. Schlager is the music of choice when Germans gather to celebrate. These syrupy pop hits from the 1950s to today are branded into the minds of most Germans, who sing along once the beer is flowing.

Speaking of beer, the beer stein is a favorite souvenir from Germany – the stein with its hinged lid was a 15th century Bavarian attempt to keep the flies away during plague times. But today, if Germans aren’t drinking their beer out of the bottle, they drink it out of a glass – so finding a classic stein outside of a souvenir shop or selected areas of Bavaria is hard. At Oktoberfest, beer is served in a Maß, a liter of lager in one fat glass mug. (Beware: Some bartenders at the festival short change you on beer, filling half the glass with foam.)

As one decade closes and a new one begins, we would like to take the time to say thank you for traveling with us through our vacation themed posts.  We are grateful to be able to share our stories and experiences with fellow travel enthusiasts.

Over the next month, join us as we take a look back at 2009’s most memorable posts, including some reader favorites.  We will travel to Germany, vacation in France, honeymoon in Hawaii and hit the must-see sights of Rome.

Pack your bags & let’s start traveling because 2010 is the time to make vacationing a priority again!

Oktoberfest in Munich is the mother of all drinking festivals. It might just also be the origin of a slew of clichés about Germans and their culture.

Take lederhosen. It just wouldn’t be Oktoberfest if there were no men in short leather overalls celebrating under the massive blue and white Oktoberfest tents. Lederhosen are a traditional costume tied to the German-speaking Alpine regions since the middle ages. Outside of Bavaria, the occasional lederhosen-wearing gentleman may appear in public, but it’s rare and the men are probably over 60.

Oompah music played by a band of tubas and trumpets while beer drinkers link arms and sway to the oom-pah beat is another must-have at Oktoberfest. Does that mean Germans from Berlin to the Black Forest break out the tuba at the first opportunity? Hardly. Schlager is the music of choice when Germans gather to celebrate. These syrupy pop hits from the 1950s to today are branded into the minds of most Germans, who sing along once the beer is flowing.

Speaking of beer, the beer stein is a favorite souvenir from Germany – the stein with its hinged lid was a 15th century Bavarian attempt to keep the flies away during plague times. But today, if Germans aren’t drinking their beer out of the bottle, they drink it out of a glass – so finding a classic stein outside of a souvenir shop or selected areas of Bavaria is hard. At Oktoberfest, beer is served in a Maß, a liter of lager in one fat glass mug. (Beware: Some bartenders at the festival short change you on beer, filling half the glass with foam.)

It’s just a white shed and a stack of sandbags filled with concrete, a replica of Checkpoint Charlie. Visitors to this traffic island on Friedrichstrasse pose from two directions – west and east – because they’re standing on the old symbolic border of the two Berlins.

Checkpoint Charlie was for diplomats, Allied military and foreign tourists wanting to get into East Berlin, and that’s the source of its mystique.

Today’s Cold War buffs have to be content with photos by the 1960s-era replica shed, or browse through the private collections of the nearby Haus am Checkpoint Charlie – and maybe a visit to the Allied Museum in Berlin’s Zehlendorf district, where the original Checkpoint Charlie building is on display.

The huge portrait photographs over Checkpoint Charlie are of two soldiers – one American, one Soviet – symbolize the Big Brother military presence of Cold War Berlin.

Little known fact – the young Soviet guard isn’t Soviet at all; the photo was taken in 1994, three years after the fall of the Soviet Union. He’s wearing the uniform of the Russian Federation.